Have you ever stopped to wonder what’s in your dog’s food? Sure, you know that it’s probably turkey, chicken, or beef flavored and the wet kind has a bit of gravy to keep it from being dry, but do you ACTUALLY know what’s in your dog’s food? Don’t be ashamed. Most people don’t have a clue. It’s a lot like when we go shopping for our own food. Most of the time, we’re not too concerned with the ingredients unless we’re on a strict or conscious diet. Well, since you’re dog can’t shop for themselves, it’s up to you to be their detective and make good choices on their behalf.
With that being said, let’s talk about some things to look at when you’re shopping for your dog’s food. Corn & Wheat Just like people don’t process corn or wheat properly, neither do your dogs. Yes, they can eat it but that doesn’t mean that they should eat it. If corn or wheat is what’s in your dog food, then you might be in trouble. Pet food companies tend to use these types of foods in their formulas when they’re trying to put filler in the bag without any real substance.
You want to be sure that your pup is getting as much nutrition as possible, so if the first few ingredients you see are corn or wheat, then that’s a clue that you need to abandon ship. Crude Protein & Crude Fat Another thing you need to look out for is the crude protein and crude fat in your dog food. Most if not all dog food bags will have the information on the back. As a general rule of thumb, you want for your crude protein o be at 30% or better and for your crude fat to be at 20% or less. So, what does that even mean? That means that your what’s in your dog’s food needs to ideally be much higher in protein and lower in fat–a lot like ours.
Vitamins and Nutrients So this is what’s in your dog food starts to really make a difference. It’s a no brainer that you want for your dog food to contain a mix of vital vitamins and nutrients to keep your dog healthy. Where your dog food starts to differ is in how they’re going to get them. While some brands will have the vitamins and minerals added to the base food–similar to have we take multivitamins to make up for the lack of vitamins in our diet–others will simply add the foods that are rich in these vitamins to the actual formula. As you can imagine, the dog foods with the most real ingredients will be the ones that cost the most. Our recommendation is to try to find dog foods that fit your budget and contain the most real ingredients without added filler. What are some things that you look for when you’re shopping for your dog food? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
