Pet Food, What's Really In That Bag?

When it comes to feeding your pet, do you know what is in the food you are buying? You may want to take a good look at the bag of the bag or can and see exactly what is in this food. Similar to the ingredient labels on the back of foods we eat, the first ingredient is going to be the main ingredient.

Main Ingredients

The main key ingredients you should be aware of are wheat, soy or corn. This is not what you want to be the mainstay of your dog's diet. Often this can be the cause of problems with digestion or throwing up due to a weak stomach.

The ingredient that you want to see listed first is animal protein, not a grain protein. Furthermore, there should not be by-products in your dog's food. Would you like to eat feet, bones, head, guts or lungs? Neither does your dog.

As with the foods we consume, dog food should not be laden with preservatives. BHT, BHA and Ethoxyquin should be avoided. The more natural preservative would be vitamins. Many manufacturers of pet food will use wheat, gluten and corn as the protein in their product. Why? Because it is cheaper to make using these products rather than meat.

However, your dog will be the one to suffer because grains as protein do not provide the nutrition your pet needs to be healthy. As a responsible pet owner, you owe it to your dog to make sure the diet he has is as healthy as it can possibly be. No one wants their pet to be ill all the time and the food he eats can be the main culprit in causing allergies, upset stomach, lack of energy and premature aging.

Profit Versus Quality

When considering what to feed your dog, you should look at the ingredients in the same light as if you were going to be eating them. The things that you would not want to see as ingredients in your food are the same things your dog does not need either. Some manufacturers of pet foods use the cheapest products they can find. The object is to make a profit. Unfortunately, this happens all too often.

This also holds true for treats, cookies ad supplements. Some companies add so many artificial colors to make the product look good to you. They also add artificial flavors so it will smell good to your furry friend. Many of these products contain little or no nutritional value and our made up of fillers and artificial everything.

Needless to say, you must be very careful when it comes to the food you feed your pet as well as treats and supplements. Many of the ingredients are not only bad for your dog's diet, but may actually cause harm in the long run. Stick to one rule when checking ingredients - if you would not want to eat it, do not feed it to your dog.