The Importance of Nutrition in Dog Food
High quality, nutritious dog food is the key to your dog’s long term good health. You may be aware of this. Most food that we buy to feed our dogs is extremely low in nutritional value. If you are buying your dog’s food in a grocery store or a pet supermarket, you may be slowly killing your dog.
Comparing Dog and Human Nutrition
Think about human nutrition. If we feed ourselves unhealthy food over a period of years, our bodies will begin to deteriorate. We suffer from a higher incidence of degenerative diseases.
The same thing is true for our dogs. An unhealthy diet (one lacking in good nutrition) results in gradual deterioration and increased disease in our beloved companions.
The Rise of Degenerative Diseases in Dogs
Why do you think that so many of our dogs are dying from kidney failure, cancer, heart failure, and other degenerative diseases? These diseases in our pets were almost non-existent before the advent of commercial dog food.
The Responsibility of Dog Owners
You are probably like me. I want my dog to live a long, happy, and healthy life. He gives me unconditional love. He is completely dependent on me. I owe him the very best nutrition.
Real-Life Example: Romeo’s Story
You can see a picture of my dog, Romeo at the bottom of the page. Romeo is the one with the beautiful hair. I’m the one who doesn’t have much. Romeo is a 6 year-old mutt. He has been fed high quality, nutritious dog food for 5 years now. He is the healthiest, sweetest, happiest dog we have ever owned.
The Problem with Store-Bought Dog Food
Even when a company puts out a dog food product that is somewhat nutritious, it is probably 6–18 months old if it is sold in a grocery store or pet supermarket.
Misleading Claims About Freshness
If you are told by a pet product store owner or employee that the food is fresh, they are probably being dishonest or don’t know what they are talking about.
Storage Issues
A pet supermarket may or may not sell its dog food fairly soon after it is received. But they don’t know how long it has remained in a warehouse before shipment to the retailer. As it ages, the food and its nutritional content deteriorate because of mold, bacteria, heat, and other reasons.
Cooking Methods Matter
Another major factor in determining a good dog food is the cooking method. It is best that the food is cooked at a low temperature and for a short period of time. If you find a food that that claims it is high in nutrition but is cooked at a high temperature or for a long period of time, most of the nutrition has been destroyed.
Unfit for Human Consumption
As the article states, most of the food we provide our dogs is “unfit for human consumption.”
This includes both meat and grains. Is that what we want to feed our dogs – food that is unfit for human consumption?
Ingredient Labels Can Be Misleading
You can’t properly evaluate the quality of a dog food by simply reading an ingredient label. The label may say it is a “premium” or “top quality” food, but it may be far from that.
Recommendations for Finding a Good Dog Food
1. High Meat Content
The food should contain a high percentage of meat. Completely disregard any product that includes by-products.
Don’t be concerned if you see chicken “meal” or fish “meal” as one of the ingredients. Chicken meal and fish meal are great ingredients as long as they comes from high quality chicken or fish.
Understanding Chicken Meal
For example, water is removed from the chicken to form chicken meal. So if you see “chicken meal” as the first item on the ingredient label, you know that there is a lot of chicken in the product. If “chicken” is listed as one of the top ingredients, it may be much lower on the list of ingredients when the water is removed. The manufacturer may be trying to mislead the consumer to think that chicken is one of the top ingredients.
2. Ensure Freshness
Make sure that the food is very fresh. I have found that the best and freshest dog food comes from an online source that delivers a very fresh, nutritious food to your doorstep.
3. Safe Cooking Methods
Check out the cooking methods. The food should not be cooked at a high temperature or for a long period of time.
4. Avoid Harmful Ingredients
The food should contain no corn, no wheat, no dairy, no artificial colors, no artificial preservatives, no steroids, and no hormones.
Conclusion: A Healthier Life for Your Dog
Feeding your dog high quality, nutritious dog food will enable your pet to have a healthy, happy, and longer life. I personally feel that I owe that much to my little guy.
