Dog Food Ingredients To Watch Out For

by Melinda Smith

Purchasing dog food is baffling even under ideal circumstances. However, with the current economic situation, there are further concerns. This is because there are inexpensive foods and some pet foods that are costlier. An abundance of brand names, like sojos food, are available. So, how can consumers know what to purchase?

Price, of course, is often at the forefront of buyers' minds. Is it worth it, they might ask, to pay more money for premium, organic, or healthy dog food? The answer depends on how much you care for your pet. Would you feed your child bad food? Of course not. So why should your dog be any different?

When buying dog food, be sure to look at the list of ingredients! Many manufacturers will attempt to save money and put filler into their product instead of actual food. This is bad for pets because these filler ingredients are either non-nutritious or even actively harmful to their digestive systems. Some ingredients to watch out for include the following.

Corn is probably the number one filler in dog food, just as with human food. It is cheap and not digestible and does nothing but take up space. This can be in the form of ground corn, corn meal, corn husks, or even corn syrup! None of this is good for your dog and should be avoided at all costs, especially if it is in the first few ingredients.

Different ingredients to be on the alert for are any that are called /"by-product."/ Essentially, this refers to any ingredients that aren't suitable to be eaten, such as hooves, brains, contaminated meat, or actually roadkill! You have no means of knowing what this constiutes, so why would you run the risk? /"Mill run"/ is a different term you may find, and it is nearly as dreadful, referring to mill waste products. If you're lucky, this means simply hulls.

Be careful about the quality of dog products besides just regular dog food. Doggy treats, for example, are frequently loaded with greater amounts of filler than ordinary food, justifying this by claiming that since it's only a treat, it doesn't need to be healthy. Don't be fooled. When you give your doggy treats, they ought to be the top quality available.

You might question why it is important to put forth the time analyzing your pet's food. Obviously, many dogs eat the less expensive dog food, and do fine with it. But, these pets are inclined to have an increased risk of health problems, particularly digestive troubles. This can cost you more over time in the form of veterinarian bills. Anyway, your dog is your best buddy. It is important to find superior dog food so that your best buddy will be happy and healthy.

In these trying times it is important to remember that your pet is a part of your family and you are responsible for them having a healthy diet. It is essential to learn how to read dog food labels, as well as other dog products, to ensure your pet is not getting harmful or unnecessary fillers or additives. There are so many options out there for pet food, such as sojos food, that you need to be sure to understand what you are looking for. Common unnecessary things you will find on these labels are corn, in any form, and by-products. These are just fillers and provide no nutritional value.

Published January 29th, 2009

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