How to Select a Healthy Dog Food

Learning about dog food and what is good for your dog can be a long drawn out process. Personally, I have always been interested in feeding my dog the best of the best, but the the massive pet food scandal last year truly pushed myself any many others over the proverbial edge. Researching and learning about pet food and nutrition has been a passion of mine and I have learned a lot. In past articles I have recommended specific dog food brands, but in this article I am simply going to make some guidelines that you can use when selecting a quality dog food.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. When you read the ingredient label, the first ingredient listed on a dog food should be a meat. Not a meat by product. Meat by product should not be listed on your pet food label at all. You can also look for dog foods that use USDA approved meats. USDA meats are good enough for people to consume and many premium brand dog foods use USDA certified meats in their formulas.
2. Stay away from dog food brands that use fillers like wheat and corn. Neither of these ingredients are nutritionally beneficial to your dog and are only used by pet food companies to inexpensively fill up the cans and get them to shelf weight. Secondary ingredients should primarily consist of variety of vegetables. Green beans, peas, squash, carrots, spinach, zucchini, potatoes, pumpkin and sweat potato are all great vegetables for your dog. Stay away from broccoli, tomatoes and corn.
3. Make sure that your dog's food meets all nutritional guidelines. Dogs are carnivores so there food should be protein rich. Dog foods should be enhanced with vitamins and minerals. Preferably chelated minerals, because they break down easier and your dog receives more of their benefits. You can also look for foods that use probiotics to enhance the nutrients in the food.
4. Most importantly, stay away from dog foods that use synthetic ingredients. Dog foods that don't use artificial colors, preservatives and flavors are best. Often brands preserve naturally with vitamin E, which is better than using chemical preservatives.
5. Research your brand of dog food. Look at the ingredient label, generally the shorter the label the better. Additionally, you should for the most part be able to recognize and read all of the ingredients on your dog food label. Dogs have sensitive little digestive tracts and giving them a proper healthy diet, with quality ingredients is essential to their over all health.