What Constitutes a Good Quality Dry Dog Food?

There is no question when looking at all the varieties of different dry foods that are available in your local store, picking the right one for your pet can be very confusing.  Big corporations that will cut into the quality for better profit margins will go to great lengths in hopes to capture your attention so you can select their brand.  With creative print ads, television commercials flooding the airwaves and an artistic design team that will devise the food bags and labels, unfortunately, most are misleading once you know how to read the "fine print" (a/k/a "the ingredient list").

When educating my customers who believe they have been feeding their dog a good, quality food, I always ask why they selected that certain brand to begin with.  Many say it was because it was recommended, but there is still a large portion of consumers who choose the brand based on what the bag said and/or looked on the front, or simply a television commercial they saw.  However, most, if not all, never took two minutes to look at the ingredients on the back of the bag before they bought it.  Interestingly enough though, many are then looking for advice AFTER their dog is showing symptoms of allergies or another medical issue since being on that brand, but still have never looked at the ingredients and/or just didn't know what really constitutes a good  quality dog food to begin with.

To help you better understand on how to read a dry dog food ingredient list, here are things that your dog's food should never contain.  If it does, then it's simply G-A-R-B-A-G-E and highly recommended to find another brand that does not have any of the below items listed!

SINCE THE FIRST SEVEN INGREDIENTS ARE MOST VALUABLE TO YOUR DOG'S OVERALL HEALTH, IT SHOULD NEVER CONTAIN:

* Any type of wheat, corn, soy, by-products, sugars, or animal digest material.  Out of the first seven ingredients, you should have a MINIMUM of 2-3 WHOLESOME PROTEINS LISTED, EITHER AS WHOLE OR MEAL BLENDS. Dried egg product does not constitute as a wholesome protein, by the way.

THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS SHOULD NEVER HAVE:

* More grain listed, by-products, sugars, animal digest material, artificial flavors and colors, propylene glycol, BHA/BHT, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity) or ethoxyquin. 

As an example, here is an ingredient list off a NATIONALLY KNOWN COMMERCIAL DOG FOOD BRAND that is one of the worst on the market, yet, sell millions a bags a year to pet owners who are under the influence of what I call "unethical marketing strategies".

Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soy protein concentrate, soy flour, water, rice flour, pearled barley, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, propylene glycol, animal digest, dicalcium phosphate, salt, phosphoric acid, sorbic acid (a preservative), calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried spinach, dried apples, dried sweet potatoes, choline chloride, calcium propionate (a preservative), added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Yellow 6), Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, DL-Methionine, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate,menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

As you can see, there is absolutely NOT ONE SINGLE WHOLESOME PROTEIN LISTED!  As a carnivore, your dog NEEDS WHOLESOME PROTEINS to be healthy; not SOY PROTEIN OR FLOUR!.  Furthermore, this food is ridden with grains that not only produce allergies in dogs but with the combination of pure sugar, WILL create obesity, diabetes, gingivitis, and an over growth of yeast in your pet at one time or another.  In addition, it contains propylene glycol which is the additive found in anti-freeze that prevents pipes from freezing, animal digest (which they are not being specific to the "type" of animal and unfortunately, can be ANY TYPE of animal), artificial colorants which are linked to certain types of cancers, and lastly,menadione sodium bisulfite complex which has been banned in human foods because of the link to liver failure.  But on the flip side, the bag shows a healthy looking dog surrounded by pictures of chunks of protein meats and vegetables.  Interesting, huh? 

An example of a good quality kibble would read something like this with a lot of added probiotics for added digestive and immune support: Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Whitefish Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), Dried Egg, Tomato Pomace, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Peas, Spinach, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Taurine, Cottage Cheese, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, Beta-Carotene, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, L-Carnitine, Vitamin B12 Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Manganese Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentatio

Remember, as the saying goes, "you are what you eat" and the same holds true for your pet.  So, stay true to your dog's natural, intended diet that it's body is designed for (protein, vegetables and fruits) for a healthier dog for years to come.