I started to get serious about health issues for dogs once mine started having them at the age of six. Instead of wasting time watching TV, lately, I have been studying ways to ensure my dogs have the longest lives possible.
For the ones that are familiar with my work and opinions, you will already know that I feel that commercial dog food is one of the main cause of health problems. For this reason I have become practically evangelical about the benefits of homemade dog food; I truly believe that it is the best dog food out there.
In actuality, the majority of people will need to provide supplemental commercial food in addition to the homemade diet. This is the reason I take a lot of time with the best dog food topic.
One area of controversy that I encountered was the usage of meat by products in dog food. You'll recognize this because a meat, such as lamb or chicken, will be shown with the word by-product attached.
What does it contain and is it any good for your pet? If you really get into this matter, you will discover there are two different groups, one the feels that by-products are just fine, and the other that feels that they are unhealthy to feed your dog.
The truth is, it depends let's take a look at the definition of Poultry by-products.
"Poultry derivatives contain mashed up, renderings, clean portions of murdered poultry cadavers, such as necks, beak, feet, unhatched eggs and intestines, leaving out feathers, "except in various amounts that might happen by accident in normal processing"The trouble is you are not aware of the ingredients all the time. There isn't any standard that states there are a certain amount of feet or a measurement of intestines or any form of nutrition at all. In reality, none of this is actually suitable for a person to eat.
There are some who will make the argument that because some of the by-product ingredients are what the dog would actually eat in the wild, they are fine for them to eat in a dog food. Even if this is the case it is tantamount to saying that because homeless people eat out of garbage cans, dumpster food is great for everyone else, too.
Since I plan on feeding my dogs the best food possible, by-products will remain in the trash and won't be found in any of the food I provide.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
What Does it Take to Make the Top Ten Best Dog Food List?
Do you consider big name dog food brands to be made with the best dog food ingredients? Brand names are often well advertised but that does not mean they are what is right for your dog.
Sadly the best dog food for your dog is probably not even being sold in your Vets office. Just because a dog food is sold by your veterinarian does not mean it is the healthiest food available.
After my Beagle started having Seizures, I have spent many hours researching how to pick the best dog food. I have learned more about how to decipher a dog food label and understand what all the ingredients are, than most people know about their own human food.
The more research I did, the deeper I entered the ugly world of commercial dog foods.
It became apparent that in order for me to be sure I was feeding the best dog food, I would need to understand a whole lot more about how the pet food industry worked.
I have documented my findings in many articles about the pet food industry, which is virtually self-regulated, and about how the industry uses deceptive labeling language to deceive pet owners about true contents of pet food.
The only thing that even comes close to helping us figure out the best dog food, is the requirement that the Industry must list the most prominent ingredient by weight first on the label. So if the first ingredient is a corn product, it doesn’t matter if the name on the bag says Chicken dinner delight, the main ingredient by weight is the corn product.
Do yourself a favor and ignore the name on the bag and take a look at the ingredient list to determine what the food really is. After you make it through the first couple of ingredients that you think you understand what they are, that is where the fun begins.
As you start to look at ingredient lists, your going to see healthy sounding ingredients like dried egg products. Don’t be fooled this particular ingredient is anything but healthy. You would find what's in dried egg product very sickening to eat so why foist it on your dog. Another good one, is Chicken by-products, if you think this has anything to do with chicken you would serve your family, think again.
Though some of the listed ingredients are self explanatory, there are preservatives and vitamins added that may be unnecessary and hard to identify.
This why I was happy to find during my research a very strict guide of what to look for on a dog food label, and this is what I use to find the best dog food, for my dogs.
With this guide I have been able to go through a list of 150 brands of dog food, and come up with the best dog food top ten list. It is very obvious once you compare the ingredient list of the 10 best dog food to the brands your Vet probably sells, that you probably shouldn’t be depending on your Vet for a healthy dog food selection.
Check out the 10 best dog food list here
Sadly the best dog food for your dog is probably not even being sold in your Vets office. Just because a dog food is sold by your veterinarian does not mean it is the healthiest food available.
After my Beagle started having Seizures, I have spent many hours researching how to pick the best dog food. I have learned more about how to decipher a dog food label and understand what all the ingredients are, than most people know about their own human food.
The more research I did, the deeper I entered the ugly world of commercial dog foods.
It became apparent that in order for me to be sure I was feeding the best dog food, I would need to understand a whole lot more about how the pet food industry worked.
I have documented my findings in many articles about the pet food industry, which is virtually self-regulated, and about how the industry uses deceptive labeling language to deceive pet owners about true contents of pet food.
The only thing that even comes close to helping us figure out the best dog food, is the requirement that the Industry must list the most prominent ingredient by weight first on the label. So if the first ingredient is a corn product, it doesn’t matter if the name on the bag says Chicken dinner delight, the main ingredient by weight is the corn product.
Do yourself a favor and ignore the name on the bag and take a look at the ingredient list to determine what the food really is. After you make it through the first couple of ingredients that you think you understand what they are, that is where the fun begins.
As you start to look at ingredient lists, your going to see healthy sounding ingredients like dried egg products. Don’t be fooled this particular ingredient is anything but healthy. You would find what's in dried egg product very sickening to eat so why foist it on your dog. Another good one, is Chicken by-products, if you think this has anything to do with chicken you would serve your family, think again.
Though some of the listed ingredients are self explanatory, there are preservatives and vitamins added that may be unnecessary and hard to identify.
This why I was happy to find during my research a very strict guide of what to look for on a dog food label, and this is what I use to find the best dog food, for my dogs.
With this guide I have been able to go through a list of 150 brands of dog food, and come up with the best dog food top ten list. It is very obvious once you compare the ingredient list of the 10 best dog food to the brands your Vet probably sells, that you probably shouldn’t be depending on your Vet for a healthy dog food selection.
Check out the 10 best dog food list here
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