How to Pick a Healthy, High-Quality Dog Food

With the huge assortment of dog foods and pet foods on the market today, it can be a mind-numbing experience trying to pick a healthy and nutritious dog food. Our dogs are beloved members of our families, and striving to pick a healthy, high-quality dog food is important. Read on for some helpful tips on what to look for(and watch out for) when trying to select a nutritious, high-quality dog food!

Things You'll Need

• Careful Attention
• Knowledge
• Effort

Instructions

1. Learn to Read Labels - Just as you read food labels on food that you buy for yourself and your family, you must start reading and paying careful attention to dog food ingredients labels. Not only will you need to look for certain healthy, high-quality dog food ingredients, but you will also need to learn how to spot junk, worthless dog food ingredients. Careful dog food label reading is your key to picking out a healthy, high-quality dog food.

2. Look For Whole Grain-Based Dog Foods - The healthier dog foods on the market are made with whole grain products such as ground rice, whole wheat flour, and barley. These types of whole grains are unrefined and packed with vital dog-friendly nutrients and high fiber contents that will aid in your dog's digestion and elimination.

3. Run From Corn-Based Dog Foods - Many of the cheaper, lower-quality dog foods on the market use refined ground corn or corn meal as a popular(cheap) ingredient. The key word here is "cheap!" Ground corn and corn meal are very cheap ingredients, and they add a lot of bulk and consistency to dog food - but little else! Dogs, for the most part, have a hard time digesting corn-based ingredients(due to their naturally shorter digestive tracts), and many dogs are highly allergic to all things corn-based.

4. Buy Quality Meat Dog Foods - In other words, forget about buying dog foods that list various types of "meat meals" or "meat by-products" in their ingredients lists, especially if these ingredients are at or near the top of the ingredients lists. These meat meals and meat by-products are the scraps, the remnants of the lowest-quality meat sources available - think hot dog and spam-type meat! Instead, look for dog foods that list whole meat sources - lamb, fish(salmon), beef, or chicken as their meat ingredients - not "meals" or "by-products" but the real things! Organ meats are also good: chicken liver and beef liver.

5. Avoid Corn Syrup Sweetened Dog Foods - Corn syrup, which is a popular, cheap, low quality sweetener used in many commercial dog foods, is a very high glycemic and nutritionally-devoid sweetener. Excessive corn syrup intake has been linked to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes in humans. Its effect on the dog population is suspect, and this widespread sweetener should be avoided. Instead, purchase dog foods that use natural sweeteners instead: molasses, honey, and agave.

6. Look for Natural Preservatives - Most of the cheaper, less-healthy dog foods on the market use a variety of "suspect" preservatives, with the most popular offenders being BHA(Butylated Hydroxyanisole), BHT(Butylated Hydroxytoluene), and Ethoxuquin, which are all chemical preservatives that are banned in many countries for fear that they are carcinogenic(cancer-causing). Instead, look for dog foods that use natural preservatives such as rosemary, sage extracts, and mixed tocopherols.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid plant-based proteins(corn gluten meal, soybean meal) in favor of whole, meat-based proteins(chicken, lamb, fish).

• Avoid unspecified fats("animal fat," vegetable oil) in favor of whole fats(poultry fat, beef fat, whole egg, flaxseed)

Resources

• Flint River Ranch(Premium Dog Food)