Pet Nutrition 1-2-3
You may not know it, but your dog could be eating a corn/wheat diet with very little meat at all! We all know we shouldn’t feed our kids McDonald’s every day for dinner because it isn’t healthy. But dog nutrition is trickier – how do you know when you’re pouring the equivalent of a box of French fries into your pet’s bowl? Every dog food brand tells you it’s healthy, part of “a complete breakfast”. But what’s the truth?
Here’s the 411:
There are essentially three types of dog food on the market:
It is important to know the difference between these types of dog food in order to make an informed decision about your pet’s nutrition.
Grocery Brands
These foods are by far the cheapest and the easiest to get your hands on. These include brands like Kibbles N’ Bits, Pedigree, and Beneful. It’s basically any food you can find in your local grocery store with the exception of Iams (a premium brand.)
The obvious benefits are the price and availability. But what’s in it for your dog?
Dogs are carnivores, though, like humans, their teeth are designed to eat veggies as well. As any pet owner can attest, most dogs will eat anything. But, true to their wolfish nature, dogs are primarily looking for meat and the protein meat provides.
Let’s look at the three main ingredients in the three grocery brands mentioned above (prices are Vons prices):
Kibbles N’ Bits Original
($13.79 for 17.6lbs):
1. Corn
2. Soybean Meal
3. Ground Wheat Flour
Pedigree Complete Nutrition
($9.99 for 15.9lbs):
1. Ground Whole Corn
2. Meat and Bone Meal
3. Ground Wheat
Beneful Original
($11.99 for 17.6lbs):
1. Ground Yellow Corn
2. Chicken By-Product Meal
3. Corn Gluten Meal
All three dog foods have the same main ingredient: corn. Corn!? Corn is not exactly the protein-rich meat dogs are looking for. In fact, disturbingly, Kibbles N’ Bits doesn’t even have anything resembling meat in the first three ingredients.
But even those with by-products in them aren’t to be applauded. Do you know what “Chicken By-Product Meal” is? Those of you with weak stomachs may want to skip on to the next paragraph. Chicken by-product meal is the grinding and rendering of the unused parts of chicken carcasses, such as necks, feet, and intestines. It is considered an inferior source of protein. That’s the “meat” they’re including!
I don’t think I need to tell you what “Meat and Bone Meal” is made of.
Will your dog die from these foods? No. Will they be less healthy? Possibly, and, in my and many vets' opinions, probably. I am in no way shaming pet owners who buy the grocery brands. Many pets have lived long, happy lives on such foods. I just feel it’s very important to know, as a pet owner, what you’re giving your dog, in order to make an informed decision.
So what are your other options?
Premium Brands
These foods are held up to a higher standard. These include Iams, Eukanuba, and Natural Choice. Iams and Eukanuba are both made by one company, and Natural Choice by a second called Nutro.
These foods tend to cost a bit more. Iams is the only premium dog food to be sold in grocery stores (brilliant) – for the others you will need to find your local pet store. They are definitely at PETCO and PETsMART and most likely stocked in any pet food store no matter how small.
Let’s look at the ingredients (prices are PETsMART prices):
Iams ProActive Health Mini Chunks
($16.49 for 20lbs):
1. Chicken
2. Corn Meal
3. Ground Whole Grain Sorghum
Eukanuba Medium Breed Adult
($21.99 for 20lbs):
1. Chicken
2. Chicken By-Product Meal
3. Corn Meal
Natural Choice Lamb & Rice Adult Formula
($20.99 for 20lbs) :
1. Lamb Meal
2. Ground Rice
3. Rice Flour
Hooray! We finally found dog food that has actual meat as its first ingredient! Premium dog food is the way many pet owners go, as it splits cost and health right down the middle.
There are premium foods that don’t use any “by-product meal” if you prefer – you just need to read the ingredients on the back.
This healthier food is becoming more and more popular and each brand is coming out with new types of food all the time. Now they have size, weight, and activity level-specific foods, and some are even making breed-specific foods! As a tight-budgeted pet owner, I stick with this middle ground. However, if I had the money to spend, I would definitely go on to the top tier.
Holistic Brands
These are the cream of the crop. They are pricey, but made by very serious pet professionals who are highly health conscious. Think of dog holistic as the difference between your Big Mac and taking fresh, organic, raw meat and making a burger. It’s all natural.
Some of these exquisite foods include Canidae, Solid Gold, and Wellness. Here is a look at the ingredients (prices taken from various sources):
Canidae All Life Stages, Chicken & Rice
($23.99 for 20lbs):
1. Chicken Meal
2. Brown Rice
3. White Rice
Solid Gold Hund-N-Flocken Adult Dog Food
($22.99 for 15lbs):
1. Lamb
2. Lamb Meal
3. Brown Rice
Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Dry Dog Food
($24.99 for 15lbs):
1. Deboned Chicken
2. Chicken Meal
3. Oatmeal
No by-products here for sure, and if you continue down the list of ingredients you will find a lack of things you can’t pronounce. I know if my dog ate these foods she’d be eating better than I do!
Now that you understand a bit more about dog nutrition, remember to turn the bag of dog food over and check out the ingredients. Is a form of protein ingredient one? Are there by-products in it? What goes in your dog’s body should be as important to you as what you would put in your family’s. Not to mention it could save you thousands on vet bills down the line, especially in health issues relating to obesity!
Five Signs it might be time for a Dog Food Upgrade*:
**always taper off one dog food while starting another. Do a week of ¼ new food, ¾ old food; a week of ½ new, ½ old; and finally a week of ¾ new, ¼ old.
Here’s the 411:
There are essentially three types of dog food on the market:
- Grocery Brands
- Premium Brands
- Holistic Brands
It is important to know the difference between these types of dog food in order to make an informed decision about your pet’s nutrition.
Grocery Brands
These foods are by far the cheapest and the easiest to get your hands on. These include brands like Kibbles N’ Bits, Pedigree, and Beneful. It’s basically any food you can find in your local grocery store with the exception of Iams (a premium brand.)
The obvious benefits are the price and availability. But what’s in it for your dog?
Dogs are carnivores, though, like humans, their teeth are designed to eat veggies as well. As any pet owner can attest, most dogs will eat anything. But, true to their wolfish nature, dogs are primarily looking for meat and the protein meat provides.
Let’s look at the three main ingredients in the three grocery brands mentioned above (prices are Vons prices):
Kibbles N’ Bits Original
($13.79 for 17.6lbs):
1. Corn
2. Soybean Meal
3. Ground Wheat Flour
Pedigree Complete Nutrition
($9.99 for 15.9lbs):
1. Ground Whole Corn
2. Meat and Bone Meal
3. Ground Wheat
Beneful Original
($11.99 for 17.6lbs):
1. Ground Yellow Corn
2. Chicken By-Product Meal
3. Corn Gluten Meal
All three dog foods have the same main ingredient: corn. Corn!? Corn is not exactly the protein-rich meat dogs are looking for. In fact, disturbingly, Kibbles N’ Bits doesn’t even have anything resembling meat in the first three ingredients.
But even those with by-products in them aren’t to be applauded. Do you know what “Chicken By-Product Meal” is? Those of you with weak stomachs may want to skip on to the next paragraph. Chicken by-product meal is the grinding and rendering of the unused parts of chicken carcasses, such as necks, feet, and intestines. It is considered an inferior source of protein. That’s the “meat” they’re including!
I don’t think I need to tell you what “Meat and Bone Meal” is made of.
Will your dog die from these foods? No. Will they be less healthy? Possibly, and, in my and many vets' opinions, probably. I am in no way shaming pet owners who buy the grocery brands. Many pets have lived long, happy lives on such foods. I just feel it’s very important to know, as a pet owner, what you’re giving your dog, in order to make an informed decision.
So what are your other options?
Premium Brands
These foods are held up to a higher standard. These include Iams, Eukanuba, and Natural Choice. Iams and Eukanuba are both made by one company, and Natural Choice by a second called Nutro.
These foods tend to cost a bit more. Iams is the only premium dog food to be sold in grocery stores (brilliant) – for the others you will need to find your local pet store. They are definitely at PETCO and PETsMART and most likely stocked in any pet food store no matter how small.
Let’s look at the ingredients (prices are PETsMART prices):
Iams ProActive Health Mini Chunks
($16.49 for 20lbs):
1. Chicken
2. Corn Meal
3. Ground Whole Grain Sorghum
Eukanuba Medium Breed Adult
($21.99 for 20lbs):
1. Chicken
2. Chicken By-Product Meal
3. Corn Meal
Natural Choice Lamb & Rice Adult Formula
($20.99 for 20lbs) :
1. Lamb Meal
2. Ground Rice
3. Rice Flour
Hooray! We finally found dog food that has actual meat as its first ingredient! Premium dog food is the way many pet owners go, as it splits cost and health right down the middle.
There are premium foods that don’t use any “by-product meal” if you prefer – you just need to read the ingredients on the back.
This healthier food is becoming more and more popular and each brand is coming out with new types of food all the time. Now they have size, weight, and activity level-specific foods, and some are even making breed-specific foods! As a tight-budgeted pet owner, I stick with this middle ground. However, if I had the money to spend, I would definitely go on to the top tier.
Holistic Brands
These are the cream of the crop. They are pricey, but made by very serious pet professionals who are highly health conscious. Think of dog holistic as the difference between your Big Mac and taking fresh, organic, raw meat and making a burger. It’s all natural.
Some of these exquisite foods include Canidae, Solid Gold, and Wellness. Here is a look at the ingredients (prices taken from various sources):
Canidae All Life Stages, Chicken & Rice
($23.99 for 20lbs):
1. Chicken Meal
2. Brown Rice
3. White Rice
Solid Gold Hund-N-Flocken Adult Dog Food
($22.99 for 15lbs):
1. Lamb
2. Lamb Meal
3. Brown Rice
Wellness Super5Mix Chicken Dry Dog Food
($24.99 for 15lbs):
1. Deboned Chicken
2. Chicken Meal
3. Oatmeal
No by-products here for sure, and if you continue down the list of ingredients you will find a lack of things you can’t pronounce. I know if my dog ate these foods she’d be eating better than I do!
Now that you understand a bit more about dog nutrition, remember to turn the bag of dog food over and check out the ingredients. Is a form of protein ingredient one? Are there by-products in it? What goes in your dog’s body should be as important to you as what you would put in your family’s. Not to mention it could save you thousands on vet bills down the line, especially in health issues relating to obesity!
Five Signs it might be time for a Dog Food Upgrade*:
- Diarrhea
- Dull coat
- Lack of energy
- Weight gain
- Disinterest in food
**always taper off one dog food while starting another. Do a week of ¼ new food, ¾ old food; a week of ½ new, ½ old; and finally a week of ¾ new, ¼ old.