Well... in a nutshell...
BAD dog food contains (among other things): corn, soy, wheat, meat and grain by-products, dangerous preservatives such as BHA/BHT, unidentified meat sources ("poultry", "fish", "meat meal", "liver", "digest"...), colors, excessive salt, sugars, etc.
GOOD dog foods will contain whole ingredients and list identified meat meals in the first ingredients (ex: chicken meal, lamb meal, turkey meal, salmon meal, etc). More meat, less grains and no fillers. Did you know Hills uses peanut shells in some of their foods? yep. gross isn't it?
Whole eggs vs "egg product"
Whole fruits and vegetables vs "dried or powdered" versions
Whole tomatoes vs "tomato pomace" which is the leftover skins, often full of pesticides
Identified meat meals vs mystery meats, or by-products, or whole meats (which contain mostly water, which tricks the consumer into believing the dry product has more meat than it actually has)
Whole rice vs "brewer's rice", which is a by-product from the alcohol industry
Corn and soy are fillers, dogs cannot digest these grains - they are just there because they are cheap and artificially boost the food's protein content - it just ends up in your dog's poop!
Wheat is a major cause of allergies in many dogs
Beet pulp is full of sugar and is a stool hardener, good foods don't need this
Once you know how to identify good ingredients vs bad ones, and know the tricks the petfood industry uses to trick consumers.. you'll be fine
check this out for grins and giggles: 10 Secrets Pet Food Companies Don't Want You to Know
http://www.petextras.com/birclubbon.html#pfsr
exerpt:
Quote:
5. The #1 vet recommended brand is probably the #1 worst pet food value.
Without mentioning any names, if it lists corn as the first ingredient on the label and gets blasted by the competition for it, you know the company. Read the label! Compare it to the cheapest stuff you can find. There isn't a dimes worth of difference in most cases. How much does it cost them to make a 40 lb. bag of this stuff you may wonder? Right? Sit down. How about less than $3 including the cost of the bag? How much does the duped public shell out for the bushel of corn and peanut shells most recommended by vets? About $35. "Have a nice flight to Maui, Dr. Cutter and thanks again for your support". .
|
