Healthy dog food

 

What's in healthy dog food? It may alarm you to find out that there are certain things you definitely don't want to see in your puppy's food - yet many of these ingredients are in readily available commercial dog foods.

But there are many ingredients that are very good for your dog - you just need to know what to look for.

Here are some tips about what to look for when shopping for puppy kibble - and what foods you should keep well out of the way of your dog!

 

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On this page:

What's in healthy dog food? ...

... and what's not in good dog food!

What NOT to feed your puppy!

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What's in healthy dog food?

These days, we are all more aware of what goes into our own human food and we try to avoid nasties such as pesticides, preservatives, known cancer-causing ingredients or simply too much fat or sugar.

It's just as important that healthy dog food has as few of these elements as possible. Various things they eat can make dogs more likely to get cancer and other illnesses as they age.

Dogs need a diet based mainly on meat - but not only meat. Dogs are not full carnivores - they don't eat only meat in the wild but eat bones, internal organs and the stomach contents of their prey, which usually contain green vegetable matter.

So although meat is an important part of your dog's diet, he also needs nutrients from other sources.

Although dogs can't live on human food, as far as possible, healthy dog food should be made up of human-grade ingredients. This means you should try to buy good quality meat and other foods that are passed fit for human consumption, not labelled 'pet food only' or something similar.

Why 'human-grade'? Sometimes foods passed off as 'pet food only' contain levels of pesticide residues, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics, parasites or additives that would not be accepted in human food. Yet dogs are just as likely as humans to get cancers and other diseases as they age and we know that humans can reduce the risk of cancer by eating foods free of these nasties - so why would you consider feeding your puppy on them?

Cheap pet meat from the supermarket can contain sulphite preservatives that can cause severe vitamin deficiencies in your dog over time.

It makes sense to ensure his health by feeding your puppy healthy dog food right from the first day you bring him home.

A top quality puppy food I can highly recommend is Orijen Puppy Food. Orijen is made with human-grade natural ingredients, such as meat, fruits, vegetables and grass - just as a puppy would encounter if living wild. It's an excellent product - regarded as one of the world's top dog foods - and is a great way to get your puppy started on dry food. Of course, you can also buy Orijen for the older dog, such as Orijen Adult Dog Food.

What to look for

As a general rule, look for foods that say they use fresh meat or meat meal (meat meal is simply dehydrated fresh meat). If the food contains grains, it should be high quality grains such as brown rice, oatmeal or barley.

Even better are foods that don't use grains - many dog nutritionists now believe grain-based diets are not good for dogs as they do not digest grains well. Grains may even cause allergies in dogs. Instead, look for foods that use potatoes (easily digested and full of vitamins).

Make sure the meat is from a named species - that is, that it states that it is beef or lamb or chicken etc, not just 'meat' in general.

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... and what's not in good dog food!

There are some foods that are toxic to dogs and that you should never feed your puppy (see What NOT to feed your puppy below).

But there are also some more general foods and ingredients you can avoid.

In general, avoid commercial dog foods that use meat by-products. By-products are usually things like hearts, lungs and other internal organs - all excellent foods for your dog if you buy human-grade ones at the butcher but unfortunately many dog-food manufacturers simply use cheap by-products not passed as fit for human consumption. They may have unacceptably high levels of pesticides or preservatives that can cause allergies and cancer.

Avoid wheat and corn, and especially wheat or corn gluten. Dogs would not normally eat much, if any, grain in the wild and do not absorb the vitamins and minerals well from them. Corn is believed by some dog nutritionists to cause allergies in dogs. Grains such as rice, oatmeal and barley are better.

Grain gluten is a grain by-product. It could be wheat gluten, corn gluten or rice gluten.

It's what is left after you take away almost all the actual goodness in the grain and are left with nothing but grain bits.

Grain glutens act as fillers to bulk out the dog food but they simply pass right through the dog without being properly digested. And that means larger stools - much more messy and much harder to clean up!

So it's better to feed your puppy healthy dog food that will actually be digested and give good vitamins and minerals.

Beet pulp or beet meal is made from sugar beets as a by-product of the beet sugar producing process. It is a controversial ingredient, with some nutritionists saying it causes allergies, places stress on the kidneys and is associated with ear infections.

Avoid artificial colours, flavourings and preservatives. In dog food, these are usually BHT, BHA, Ethoxyquin and Propyl Gallate. These are banned from use in human foods.

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So healthy dog food probably doesn't come from the supermarket and it isn't filled with the cheapest ingredients. You may need to shop around a little (try Orijen Puppy Food) or even make your own to get the best food you can afford but you'll be rewarded with a healthy, long-lived pup!

 

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