So i said i would post something on dog food so here it is!
I am sure most of us who own dogs want what is best for them? We want them to live a long,happy and healthy life,but what most people don't realize is that what we feed our dogs not only effects their overall health but it can also shorten their life by many years and can have unwanted effects on their behaviour.
Does your dog race around in circles soon after having his dinner or after you give him some treats? If so then maybe you should read on and find out what really goes into the food that you feed your dog.
Lets look at wet food first.
The quality of wet foods varies immensely and there is so many varieties and flavours to choose from. You have pouches,tins,trays and tubs to choose from and many flavours such as chicken,rabbit,turkey,fish,beef,pork etc.
You would expect that wet food would contain mainly meat,i mean that is what it looks(and smells) like when you open a tin doesn't it. But no,many of the wet foods most people feed are full of grain,fats and derivatives and not to mention the poor nutrition dogs get from these ingredients. Have you ever wondered why you have to feed your dog over 2 cans of food a day and even then he appears hungry? Lets have a look at pedigree tinned food,
PEDIGREE CHUNKS IN JELLY
Ingredients
Meat and animal derivatives(45%, Including 4% Chicken, 4% Fresh Meat), Cereals,derivatives of vegetable origin (0.5% Dried Sugar beet pulp),oils and fats (0.5% Sunflower oil),minerals.
Typical analysis
7% protein,6% fat, 2.5% inorganic fiber, 0.8% crude fiber, 81% moisture.
What does all that mean? Well the ingredients are absolutely crap,it says 45% meat but only tells me 8%,what is the other 37%,most likely roadkill or something similar. The food is also made up of 81% moisture! Your dog might as well be drinking water and out of the other 19% about 12% is cereals,unnamed cereals at that!
Not something i would like to feed my dog!
But not all wet food is bad,take natures harvest or nature diet for example.
NATURE DIET CHICKEN
ingredients
chicken (min. 60%), brown rice (min. 15%),carrots (min. 8%), natural ground bone, kelp, vitamins & minerals
Much better indeed!! And something i have fed to Oscar before. And there are many other wet foods like this out there,just have a little look around.
And now for dry food
Again the quality varies a lot. Dry food is probably the most common food people feed now,thanks to its price and convenience. But before you pick up the bag of dog food off the supermarket shelf please take a look at what you are about to buy. Lets look at bakers complete.
BAKERS COMPLETE CHICKEN
Ingredients
Cereals (35%), Meat and animal derivatives (26% meat in the chunk, 4% chicken in the brown & red kernels), Vegetable protein extracts, Derivatives of vegetable origin, Oils and fats, Various sugars, Minerals, Vegetables (4% vegetables in the green & yellow kernels)
Now what meat is in this food? 4% chicken,but what about the other 22%,what is that? And they don't even tell you the cereals used. Not good at all,and not to mention the added coulours in the food to make it so coulourful.
I wouldn't touch this food with a barge pole.
But lets take a look at Applaws dry food.
APPLAWS COMPLETE CHICKEN
Ingredients
Chicken 66% (from Dried Chicken), Chicken Mince 8%, Peas 8% (from Dried Peas), Potato Starch 6%, Poultry Oil 2.5% (Source of Omega 6), Beet Pulp, Poultry Gravy, Whole Egg (from Dried Egg), Cellulose Plant Fibre, Minerals, Vitamins, Salmon Oil (source of omega 3), Tomato (from Dried Tomato), Carrot (from Dried Carrot) Chicory Extract (F.O.S), Alfalfa Meal, Seaweed/Kelp, Yeast Extract (Purified Beta Glucan 0.1%), Glucosamine, Methylsulfonylmethane, Chondroitin, Carrot, Peppermint, Paprika Meal, Turmeric, Thyme Extract, Citrus Extract, Taurine 1000 mg/kg, Yucca Extract, Cranberry, Fennel Extract, Carob Extract, Ginger, Rosehip Extract, Dandelion Extract, Rosemary Oil Extract, Oregano, Probiotic: Contains E1705 Enterococcus faecium cernelle 68 (SF68: NCIMB 10415) 1,000,000 cfu/kg as an aid in the establishment, maintenance and restoration of a balanced gut flora in dogs.
Now there are a lot more ingredients in that but very good quality,no fillers and all meat amounts are stated along with the type too. And i do feed this food and what can i say,i love it and so does Oscar!
Plenty of dry foods like this about,they may not be grain free but still there are very good quality diets out there! But bewarned sometimes price doens't mean its good. I used to feed Science Plan(which i despise)which was full of crap but it was 5euro more than Applaws and Applaws will last 1 month longer!
So how can you tell what is good and what is not? Fairly simple really,just look at the ingredients.
You are looking for at least 30% meat content and all the meat must be stated,no derivatives and if at all possible no grain. But if grain must be in the diet then only rice,it is much easier for dogs to digest. There shouldn't be any salt in the food either and beware of hidden sugars as these cause hyperactivity!
So whats the problem with grain you ask?
Well grain is not natural for a dog to eat.Put a bowl of grain in front of your dog and put a bowl of meat beside it and what do they chose,the meat. Grain is hard for a dog to digest and causes allergies and loose or soft stools. But grain is a source of carbohydrate and many companies use this as an excuse.But potatoes and fruits and veg are much better sources of carbohydrates for dogs and they are easier to digest too.
The myth of high protein diets.
For years now vets and other professionals advise people to stay away from high protein diets because it seemed as if they caused kidney problems and hyperactivity in dogs. But this is not true. High protein diets that get the majority of their protein from a stated meat source will not cause any problems in dogs because dogs easily digest meat protein. It is the diets where the most of the protein comes from grain that you should be worried about,because this type of protein isn't easily digested and that's when the problems start. And years ago they didn't have the equipment to put that much meat in the diet so high protein diets were mainly grain based,this is why the myth started. With today's technology,high amounts of meat can be processed into these foods and high protein diets,such as Orijen,Ancana and Applaws,are now thriving along with the dogs fed on them!
Top 10 dog foods
- Orijen
- Ancana
- Applaws
- Natures harvest
- Nature diet
- Arden Grange
- Fish4Dogs
- Clinivet
- Barking Heads
- Natures Menu
Top 10 worst dog foods
- Pedigree
- Bakers
- Store brands
- Purina
- Iams
- Science plan
- Eukanuba
- Happy Dog
- Royall Canin
- Supadog
All the brands named on the worst list are there because of poor ingredients,animal testing or unclear labeling All brands on the top 10 list are there because they deserve to be. This is my own opinion though,i have done amounts of research on dog foods for the past 6 months and this is the result of my research.
But in my opinion the best diet is a Raw diet! I would feed it myself but due to current circumstances it is not financially and option. However a Raw diet is not one that you can just decide you are going to feed in 1 hour,it takes lots of research into the diet before you start.
Anyway that is just the bones of dog food and nutrition,there is lots more i could have added in but if you know and understand that much then you are on the right track. But please be aware that what you feed you dog will effect him forever,it may even be the thing that kills him in the end. So do your research and invest in good nutrition for your canine friend(s)
EDIT: TASTE OF THE WILD HAS BEEN REMOVED AS ONE OF THE TOP 10 BECAUSE OF EXCESSIVE FOOD RECALLS BY DIAMOND PET FOODS. And i do not feel happy recommending a food that may harm your dog.
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