does anyone know bad ingredients in dog foods? (and two more questions)?

Question

3 questions. does anyone know any bad ingredients in dog foods besides by-products? i need to know what's best to feed my dog. can someone recommend a dog food? and does anyone a know a website i can check for whats in the dog food? thanks.

Answer 1

http://community.inkfrog.com/index.php?action=vthread&forum=6&topic=13225
that might be helpful.

Answer 2

The two sites below should help you answer those questions.

What's best for your dog may not necessarily be what's best for my dog. But in general, if you get a high quality food that doesn't have a lot of grains and fillers, you've made a good start.

On the second site, look at th 5 and 6 star foods, and compare ingedient lists with the 1 and 2 star foods. That will give you some good indications of the differences. The first site goes into detail as to what various ingredients are, and how they're processed.

Answer 3

My vet told me when looking for a dog food, it's most important to check the composition of the ingredients on the bag (the protien, carbs, fat breakdown). What you are looking for is a high protein content. Premium brands like Iams, Science Diet, and Beneful have about 30% protein content- that's what you're looking for. Cheaper brands will have higher carbs and lower protein content. When looking at the ingredients list, make sure some sort of meat is either the first (preferable) or second ingredient.

Then you need to decide if your dog has any special needs- weight management, skin condition or coat needs, sensitive stomach, allergies (rice and lamb mixes are often available for the last two). If so, then take these into consideration when looking at the type of food within a brand family.

Finally- decide where you're going to buy your dog food on the most regular basis. There are some brands that are only available at stores like Petco/Petsmart (like Science Diet) and some brands that are available at supermarkets (like Iams and Beneful). If you're not going to go to a Petco/Petsmart on a regular basis, don't look for brands only available there.

Once you know where you'll be shopping, really, the easiest thing to do is to go the store and go up and down the isle reading the ingredient list and thinking about your pets likes. Also, keep in mind the size of your dog when buying a pack, don't buy a 50lb bag for a 10lb dog or it will spoil before they eat it all.

My vet and rescue group both recommended Science Diet, but I don't go to a Petco very often so I switched to Beneful because I can get it in the grocery store and it has the same composition of ingredients.

Answer 4

Anything you find at a grocery store or Walmart isn't going to be a good quality food.

Stay away from by-products, wheat, corn, and chemical preservatives.

Wheat and corn are fillers, offer little to no nutritional value and are common allergens.

Chemical preservatives include BHT, BHA and Ethoxyquin and have been linked to cancer.

Stay away from well known foods, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Purina, Pedigree etc. these companies seem to spend more on advertising than they do healthy ingredients.

Canidae, Wellness, Innova, Solid Gold and Eagle Pack are all good foods.

Websites for each where you can look up the ingredients in them are:

Canidae: http://www.canidae.com/
Wellnes: http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/
Innova; http://www.naturapet.com/
Solid Gold: http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
Eagle Pack: http://www.eaglepack.com/

General information: What's Really in Pet Foods http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

Answer 5

On choosing a quality dog food:

Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food. A grain should not be in the first couple ingredients ingredient (corn and such are mainly fillers, dogs don't digest it well). Avoid foods that have a lot of "by products" listed.

Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

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Some GOOD foods are :
* Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Solid Gold - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Canidae - http://www.canidae.com/
* Timberwolf - http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Orijen - http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Wellness - http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/
* Chicken Soup brand - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* Blue Buffalo - http://www.bluebuff.com/
* Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Innova EVO - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp

Or check this website for good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
(I recommend only feeding foods rated 4, 5, or 6 stars. Anything 3 stars or less, I would stay away from.)

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Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)

Beware "premium" foods. "Premium" does not mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. It has the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.

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Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, it will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

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"Big box" petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. (I do believe that PetCo sells "Solid Gold" and "Natural Balance" brands and Petsmart sells "Blue Buffallo", which are all quality foods, but most of the foods aren't.)

Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren't good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:
- small, locally owned petstores
- dog boutiques
- farm supply stores

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When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A
.

Answer 6

Well, never EVER give ur dog chocolate, or anything with too much MSG (salt basically), also, i would recommend something with tartar control, and make sure that you get ur food at a veternary clinic AT FIRST, just to make sure its ok with your dog. That way, if anthing happens, the vets might know why (because they have had other costumers who have had the same problem)

Answer 7

I switch it up between Karma Organic Dog Food and Canidae both can be found at www.onlynaturalpet.com. I usually mix both of these in a big bin and feed them that.

Answer 8

I recommend Nutro !
If its for a puppy they serve oatmeal and rice which is easy to digest and is natural the whole gains and whole meat which is actually the meat not the procressed chickenheads or the corn meals/corn becuase corn cant be digested .
PLus thet show you the ingredients intead of the other brans which is on the side where u have to strain your eyes to see it.

Answer 9

We feed Canidae. They have ingredient lists at their website, www.canidae.com. All the major brands have websites and ingredient lists.

Answer 10

check out PetSmart.com
they have a complete list of ALL the recalled dog food
and also answers to FAQ's

i feed my dog Pedigree Chicken & Rice & Vegetables. she is a senior dog, age 14 & it agrees with her very well & maintains her weight since she exercises less & less

Answer 11

Salam

Ash, potash, why does a dog need to eat ash?