Reading Dog Food Labels

Love this article!
I am a constant label reader when it comes to the foods my dogs eat!
It took a lot of research to find a food that I comfortable feeding them!
I look forward to reading more great tips:)

Outwest Canine Consulting and Pipeline Leak Detection
Nutrition
Lets get right to the facts. Dogs are carnivores; their digestive system is designed to process raw meat. If you are feeding a commercial dry kibble you will find most are grain based and the only meat content it contains is a film of animal fat sprayed on at the end of the manufacturing process.
Commercial brands (purchased in grocery stores or box stores) spend billions of dollars on advertising telling us how there products provide 100% of the nutrition our pets need to lead a healthy life. Feeding carnivore’s wheat, corn, beet pulp and brewers rice to name a few is not a balanced diet. If I told you “from now on you only get to eat potato chips for the rest of your life”, how would you feel?
Six months ago I thought my 10 year old Lab was dying. His coat was literally falling out, along with discolored spots and he became very lethargic. I noticed at the same time his food dish had a ring of unidentified “slime” around the top of the dish. Putting two and two together I decided to change brands. I talked to some people and discovered that the brand I was feeding had gone commercial. Needless to say after a few days on a high-end, non-commercial food, he was back to his old self, and I now have a 10-year-old puppy.
Commercial brands for the most part, sell convenience. It is so easy to open a bag, dig out a scoop-full of kibble and pour it into a dish. A balanced diet takes more time and effort and is more expensive. But the rewards of your time and money are worth it. Read the label on the bag of food you are feeding now. I know what chicken is but I have no clue what chicken meal is. Or fish meal. Ingredients listed such as, meat and bone meal, or by-products, are parts of a carcass that are not fit for human consumption. (I’m not going to list what those parts are because they are so repulsive.)
I still feed my dogs kibble, as well as frozen raw and fresh raw vegetables and fruit. The ingredients in the kibble I feed now are less grains and more vegetable based than what I was feeding. As well I have learned that it is very important to vary the diet between white and red meat and fish.
There are alternatives to commercial brands; it’s just that you can’t get them in the same stores you buy your food in. If you need some ideas on where to shop for pet food e-mail me at outwest@eclipsewireless.ca and I can give you some suggestions.

Bill, Do you cook (or feed raw) fish to your dogs? I feed a diet of half premium kibble and half home cooked meals (a mixture of meat, vegetables, and fruits). I know I need to work more fish into their diet, though, and wondered what types of fish are most popular with your dogs? Paris

I live in Alaska and I have the opportunity to provide fresh salmon to my dogs on a regular basis. I find raw has really improved his coat. You can cook. We take a fillet and slice into bite size bits that we give as regular treats through out the day. Occasionally we will have a ‘burned’ fillet that we will give out. I don’t reccommend thawed and raw, to messy!

You can cook = You can cook the fish, but it neutralizes some of the benifits.

Wow apparently English was not my favorite class . After we chop the fish into bite sizes we freeze it on a cookie sheet and then put in a Ziplock container.

Good tips – my dog won’t eat any tinned dog food at all – even the expensive little ones like Cesar!! He just gets skinned roast chicken and likes grilled bacon or sausage and home made dog treats – I don’t find this a problem.