The following is a list of ingredients that you should try to stay away from when purchasing dog food:
1) By-products. By-products are what is left over after the processing plants remove what meat is fit for human consumption and send it to the grocery stores. By products can contain anything from chicken heads and feet, to cow hooves and horns, fur, feathers, blood, skin, bone, feces, and even dirt and sawdust from the floors. By products are not kept fresh, and in some cases have even been known to sit in containers for 5 days or more before being picked up from the meat plant and taken to the dog food rendering plant.
2) Corn in any form, including “ground yellow corn,” “corn meal,” and “corn gluten meal.” Corn is what is called a ‘filler,' and it serves one purpose in pet food – to make the animal feel full. Dogs and cats cannot digest corn, so it just passes right through the digestive system and you get the privilege of cleaning it up when it comes out the other end. Some dogs are also allergic to corn, so just avoid any foods that contain any form of corn in their ingredients listing.
3) ‘General' ingredients like “animal fat,” “animal digest,” and “meat meal” – you have no idea what these could contain (and you don't want to know). Instead, you want to look for things that are more specific, like “chicken fat” and “chicken meal,” that way you know exactly what is in the food.
4) Chemical preservatives such as “propylene glycol,” “BHA,” and “BHT.” Chemical preservatives make the food last longer, but every single one of them has been proven to cause cancer in lab rats. They will tell you that in small quantities, the preservatives are safe, but if you stop and think about it, your dog will be ingesting small quantities of these preservatives every day over his entire life span. They then build up to toxic levels inside his body and that's when they become dangerous and cancer-causing. You want food that's been naturally preserved. “Mixed tocopherols” is a natural preservative.
5) Soy, in any form. Soy is another filler, like corn, and some dogs are also severely allergic to it. It's best to just stay away from foods containing soy altogether.
6) Sorghum is another filler. Sorghum is an Old World grass that is cultivated as grain and forage.
7) Wheat – I only say this because some dogs are allergic to wheat. If your dog isn't allergic to wheat, then foods with “wheat flour” are okay. It won't hurt her unless she's allergic to it, and then you'll know because she'll likely develop skin problems.
8) Salt, while found in many dog foods, is an unnecessary ingredient, so if the dog food you choose contains salt, make sure it's down near the bottom of the list of ingredients, as there is usually a form of sodium in the added vitamins, and you don't want to be giving your dog too much of it.
I know this seems like a lot, but you say you want the best for your dog, and unfortunately, you just aren't going to get the best if the food you feed her contains the ingredients named above. The three ingredients listings I gave you will help you when looking at and comparing labels in the store, because all three are foods to stay away from.
