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BlondieGirl87 · 03-21-2007, 09:28 AM

Here's a GREAT article on dog food and why you should feed your dog a high quality kibble!

Any food off of this list:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/3 Is an extremely high quality organic dog food! Personally, I will not feed my dogs any food that is not on this list.
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Many people don't have a clue what is in some of the most common marketed dog foods made available to the general public. The labels are confusing and there are so many to choose from! Would you believe there are things like chicken feet, cows stomaches, feathers, bones, cow hooves, horse intestines and pig bile in the majority of dog foods sold! These foods are packed with fillers and by products and what does that mean for your dog? A shorter life and more health problems! Here are the things that I look for in commercial dog food: No generic fats or proteins (eg animal fat, poultry fat, or meat meal) -- instead, look for named sources such as beef fat, chicken fat or lamb meal (the generic term indicates a mixture coming from a number of sources, a sign of a very poor quality food). Human grade ingredients (USDA approved). This item is somewhat controversial, as dog foods by law cannot be labeled human grade, but I look for companies that use human grade meats (not meats that were rejected by the human food industry). For even higher quality, look for hormone and antibiotic free meats, especially those that are free range or pasture raised (note that all poultry is hormone free, as it is against regulations to give hormones to poultry). Avoid foods that use corn gluten meal, a cheap waste product from the human food industry that provides incomplete protein for dogs. I consider this ingredient to be one of the hallmarks of poor quality foods. No meat by-products or digest (meal is OK). There is some disagreement whether whole meat or meal is preferable. Meal has been rendered, but it is also dried, so if a meal is listed as the first ingredient, you can be assured that it is really the largest ingredient in the food. Meat such as chicken, lamb, turkey, etc. that is listed as the first ingredient may actually be a much lower content due to the weight of the moisture in the meat. Both whole meats and meals are considered acceptable as long as they are identified and not generic (eg, not "meat meal" or "animal meal"). No by products of any kind. No BHA/BHT or Ethoxyquin (preservatives), another sign of a low quality food. No artificial colors, no sugars and sweeteners (such as corn syrup, sucrose, ammoniated glycyrrhizin), no propylene glycol (added to some chewy foods to keep them moist, toxic in large amounts). As few grains as possible (a whole-meat source should be one of the first two ingredients, preferably two of the top three) -- watch for splitting, such as listing ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal as separate ingredients which together might add up to more than the first ingredient. Note that canned foods often have fewer grains than dry. Added taurine. Taurine was added to cat foods in the 70's when cats began going blind and dying due to taurine deficiency. Taurine is thought not to be an "essential" amino acid in dogs because they can convert carnitine to taurine. However, links are now being found between problems such as dilated cardiomyopathy and taurine deficiencies. Some dog food companies have begun adding taurine to their foods, and this is probably a good idea. Taurine is destroyed by heat, so there would be no natural taurine in processed dog foods. A few brands of some high quality organic dog food are: ACANA ORIJEN Addiction Back to Basics Blue Buffalo Canidae Castor & Pollus Organix Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Doctors Foster & Smith Dog Lover's Gold Eagle Pack Holistic Select Flint River Ranch Fromm Four Star Nutritionals Go! Natural Innovative Veterinary Diets Merrick Pet Foods Nature's Variety Prairie Raw Instinct Natura California Natural Innova HealthWise Evo Natural Balance Ultra Premium Newman's Own Organics N-R-G Solid Gold Barking at the Moon Timberwolf OrganicsOcean Blue WellnessSimple Solutions Wenaewe Wysong ZiwiPeak A great sight that carries many of these wonderful brands on it is www.petfooddirect.com, Two excellent sites concerning dog food that are a "must read" in my opinion are: http://dogtorj.tripod.com/ and http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html When looking for dog food, try to stick with all dry kibble. This helps clean the tartar off of your dogs teeth and allows their itestinal track to run more smoothly. If you must feed some wet food use a high quality one and use it only as a supplement and make the majority of the food available dry. Remember to read labels, look at the first 5 ingredients they will tell you the most about a dog food. If any of the first 5 ingredients have corn, or anything corn related on it - cornmeal- cornflour, etc. it is not a high quality dog food. Preferably your first 5 ingredients will be protien sources and in some dog foods a few whole wheat grain sources and they will be pure sources such as meal or whole.

03-21-2007, 09:28 AM	#2
BlondieGirl87 No Longer A Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Big Friendly City :) Posts: 4,236	Here's a GREAT article on dog food and why you should feed your dog a high quality kibble! Any food off of this list: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/3 Is an extremely high quality organic dog food! Personally, I will not feed my dogs any food that is not on this list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many people don't have a clue what is in some of the most common marketed dog foods made available to the general public. The labels are confusing and there are so many to choose from! Would you believe there are things like chicken feet, cows stomaches, feathers, bones, cow hooves, horse intestines and pig bile in the majority of dog foods sold! These foods are packed with fillers and by products and what does that mean for your dog? A shorter life and more health problems! Here are the things that I look for in commercial dog food: No generic fats or proteins (eg animal fat, poultry fat, or meat meal) -- instead, look for named sources such as beef fat, chicken fat or lamb meal (the generic term indicates a mixture coming from a number of sources, a sign of a very poor quality food). Human grade ingredients (USDA approved). This item is somewhat controversial, as dog foods by law cannot be labeled human grade, but I look for companies that use human grade meats (not meats that were rejected by the human food industry). For even higher quality, look for hormone and antibiotic free meats, especially those that are free range or pasture raised (note that all poultry is hormone free, as it is against regulations to give hormones to poultry). Avoid foods that use corn gluten meal, a cheap waste product from the human food industry that provides incomplete protein for dogs. I consider this ingredient to be one of the hallmarks of poor quality foods. No meat by-products or digest (meal is OK). There is some disagreement whether whole meat or meal is preferable. Meal has been rendered, but it is also dried, so if a meal is listed as the first ingredient, you can be assured that it is really the largest ingredient in the food. Meat such as chicken, lamb, turkey, etc. that is listed as the first ingredient may actually be a much lower content due to the weight of the moisture in the meat. Both whole meats and meals are considered acceptable as long as they are identified and not generic (eg, not "meat meal" or "animal meal"). No by products of any kind. No BHA/BHT or Ethoxyquin (preservatives), another sign of a low quality food. No artificial colors, no sugars and sweeteners (such as corn syrup, sucrose, ammoniated glycyrrhizin), no propylene glycol (added to some chewy foods to keep them moist, toxic in large amounts). As few grains as possible (a whole-meat source should be one of the first two ingredients, preferably two of the top three) -- watch for splitting, such as listing ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal as separate ingredients which together might add up to more than the first ingredient. Note that canned foods often have fewer grains than dry. Added taurine. Taurine was added to cat foods in the 70's when cats began going blind and dying due to taurine deficiency. Taurine is thought not to be an "essential" amino acid in dogs because they can convert carnitine to taurine. However, links are now being found between problems such as dilated cardiomyopathy and taurine deficiencies. Some dog food companies have begun adding taurine to their foods, and this is probably a good idea. Taurine is destroyed by heat, so there would be no natural taurine in processed dog foods. A few brands of some high quality organic dog food are: ACANA ORIJEN Addiction Back to Basics Blue Buffalo Canidae Castor & Pollus Organix Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Doctors Foster & Smith Dog Lover's Gold Eagle Pack Holistic Select Flint River Ranch Fromm Four Star Nutritionals Go! Natural Innovative Veterinary Diets Merrick Pet Foods Nature's Variety Prairie Raw Instinct Natura California Natural Innova HealthWise Evo Natural Balance Ultra Premium Newman's Own Organics N-R-G Solid Gold Barking at the Moon Timberwolf OrganicsOcean Blue WellnessSimple Solutions Wenaewe Wysong ZiwiPeak A great sight that carries many of these wonderful brands on it is www.petfooddirect.com, Two excellent sites concerning dog food that are a "must read" in my opinion are: http://dogtorj.tripod.com/ and http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html When looking for dog food, try to stick with all dry kibble. This helps clean the tartar off of your dogs teeth and allows their itestinal track to run more smoothly. If you must feed some wet food use a high quality one and use it only as a supplement and make the majority of the food available dry. Remember to read labels, look at the first 5 ingredients they will tell you the most about a dog food. If any of the first 5 ingredients have corn, or anything corn related on it - cornmeal- cornflour, etc. it is not a high quality dog food. Preferably your first 5 ingredients will be protien sources and in some dog foods a few whole wheat grain sources and they will be pure sources such as meal or whole.