Let's Dissect Dog Food! (Part 1 of 2)

Over the years, I've learned quite a bit about canine nutrition and dog food labels. There is much to be confused about when it comes to dog food. Commercialism has played a huge roll in falsely convincing owners that their food is of great quality. In most cases, that's the farthest from the truth. And they always show a dog gobbling it up. Of course they are. It's the fast food of the dog world!

The first, and one of the easiest things, to look for on your labels is the age old preservatives listed as BHA and BHT. These are two chemical preservatives used to preserve meat. They can be found in many of our packaged summer sausages, pepperoni, and other like meats not requiring refrigeration while sealed. Some dog food manufacturers still use these while most have evolved. So why the concern? While we consume these chemicals very seldom, providing it as a daily meal can lead to some health problems as these chemicals are repeatedly introduced into their systems and begin to build. BHA and BHT have been linked to many organ failures, cancers, and even death in dogs. It's a sure fire sign that your dog food should be changed!

The next thing you want to stay away from is byproducts. Most people think byproducts are quality innards like the liver and heart. Let me clear that up for you. It's not. Any part that can be sold to humans is more profitable than being sold to a pet food company. Now think about what is available in your supermarket. You can find beef and chicken liver, hearts, stomachs, and even pigs feet. Now lets look at what's left that is not available, you just might want to skip this part: eyeballs, brain matter, noses, lungs, beaks, feet, smaller organs, miscellaneous parts of the intestinal tract including the throat bits and colon (maybe even an anus or two) and, I'm sorry to say, genitalia. Pretty much everything else left after the butchering process is complete is sold to the pet food companies. If it does not specify the animal, then it is not just one kind of animal. While there aren't any health concerns to discuss with regards to byproducts, it is important to understand where your protein sources are coming from. And I must ask... Sound appetizing?

This next item is also a flag in dog food but it won't stimulate your gag reflex. Corn. Corn is the cheapest filler a company can purchase that allows them to add volume to their food while maintaining a lower price per pound. However there is very little nutritional value to corn and dogs process it about as well as we do! So all this does is add volume both going in and coming out while lowering the overall nutritional value per kibble forcing you to feed more so your dog can get the nutritional requirements needed! Getting the big picture there? Are there related health complications? Generally speaking, no. However, if you feed once a day and feed the quantity recommended, it can cause bowl variations and digestive upset including gas. Larger, deep chested breeds can also have increased risk of bloat.

So I challenge you to review your dog food label and look for these dreaded items. In Part 2, I'll discuss what you DO want to see on the label!