Continuing on in my crusade against most commercial dog foods!

While I’m not naive enough to ever think that what I say or do here on the Web will make a HUGE impact – I’m hopeful that someone, somewhere might re-think what they feed their pooch and just perhaps – a few dogs might get a better dinner!

So – with that in mind, perhaps I might start off by getting you to at least read the ingredients on the bag? Notice I did not say on the can? That’s because canned dog food has just too much water and fillers in it – to be of value in my opinion!

The very least you should do for your dog – if you won’t cook or provide a BARF diet – is to buy fresh meat and mix it with kibble! At least you know the dog is getting REAL MEAT and not T.V.P. (textured vegetable protein) – read that as fake meat! PLUS, since the kibble is supposed to be balanced, your dog will get the nutrition that it contains!

But not all kibbles is kibbles! So – go get your pack and lets read the Ingredients listing?

Got it?

Okay in a perfect world, you want the 1st or the 2nd ingredient to be meat? Please note that you DO NOT want the 1st ingredient to be Meat By-products or Meat Meal or Poultry By-products or Poultry meal? Remember that foul smelling powder I mentioned elsewhere on this site – well this is the stuff!

So – if your 1st ingredient is ANY kind of By-product or Meat Meal – no matter what the ads say; your dogs food is of a VERY low grade and I’d suggest you toss it or if you absolutely insist it gets used, donate it to a rescue shelter!

The first couple of ingredients will tell you a lot about the quality of the kibble! If you MUST buy a brand with By-products or Meat Meal in it – try to have those ingredients as far down the list as possible!

Now – look for any type of colour listed? If there is colour, it’s there for you only – the dog doesn’t need it and colours can have side effects that can affect the skin and cause allergic reactions etc – so they are best left OUT of dog food!

Also, if you know that your dog has a particular problem with any cereals (some dogs do with wheat and corn), read the label to see if its listed. Unfortunately, the laws are fairly liberal when it comes to listings and they may just specify cereal, without mentioning type! Rice is generally considered to be an acceptable cereal for dogs, and is fairly readily digested!

Generally there will be a panel on the pack that will say Typical Analysis or similar? You will want a high protein level ranging from around 20 -25% as a guide, though if you ARE feeding real meat this is not as critical. And you WILL want a significant ratio of fat, since dogs have higher needs for fat than we do. Look for a fat ratio around half of the protein level?

OK – so how did you fare – is the food any good? If not – at least you know what to look for in future, which is more than most? Just try and ask about By-products in the pet store, watch the vague responses you’ll get – many people just DO NOT KNOW! Look for a better quality food next time you shop?

Steve