Hey Guys, I did an extensive article on the ingredients to look out for in your dog’s shampoo but I haven’t gone into any dog food ingredients as yet, so here we go!
Buy pet food made in Australia to avoid the irradiation treatment often applied to imported foods. Pet food is allowed to be irradiated with 20 more kGrays of irradiation than food for human consumption.
More Info Here
INGREDIENT | WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? | BENEFIT | DETRIMENT |
Meat Meal (or Chicken,beef, pork, fish Meal) | A by product of the meat industry. The contents can vary between abattoirs but is leftover meats and sometimes blood and bone which is heated to a high temperature (rendered) to kill off any diseases within the mixture. This leads to a very high protein ingredient with little to no other qualities. | High in protein | A questionable ingredient, can contain low quality meat and is often cooked so much that most of the nutrients are lost. |
Artificaial Colours & Preservatives (Usually displayed as numbers) | A lab made product of petroleum and crude oil. | Makes the food look better & allows for a longer shelf life. | No beneficial nutrients & have been linked to many diseases. |
Corn Syrup & Sugars | Made of corn starch & special enzymes that break down that starch. | Improves the taste | Mainly weight gain & tooth decay. |
Nitritates & Nitrites and/or Sodium Nitirte | A common preservative found in prepared deli meats to extend their shelf life. | Extends the shelf life of the food. | Toxic in high doses causing Methaemoglobin and is linked to cancer. |
Ground Wholegrain Corn | Corn that is left in tact. No removal of any parts. | Makes pet food more affordable as it’s cheaper to produce. | Causes blood sugar spikes, It must be highly refined for a dog to be able to digest it, provides less energy than meat and is linked to many allergies. |
Beet Pulp | A by-product of processing sugar beet. *Sugar beet is like Beetroot but is used to make sugar due to its high sucrose content. | High fiber and low in sugar (thanks to being processed) & Helps absorb water to prevent runny stools. Cheap ingredient & readily available. | Excessive amounts can lead to constipation and dry crumbly stools. |
Iodised Salt (Can be group under vitamins & minerals) | If you’re interested in how salt is made here is the link to an article. | Dogs, just like people require a small percentage of Sodium in their diet. Iodine is a much-needed mineral. | The amount of Salt that is usually added to dog food is way too high. Dogs also get these vital vitamins and minerals from food itself. So adding salt can lead to excess consumption. Iodine can be found in many-many foods such as carrots, blueberries & even fish. Vitamins & minerals are generally added to ensure the food they’re selling contains the correct percentages of these ingredients so just check to make sure they’re not excessive. |
Cereals or Cereal By Product | Leftover grains from producing human food. These by-products and listed as ‘not fit for human consumption’ – yet fit for our pups! It can include ANY type of grain from corn to waste from fermentation processes. | None really as there are no specific grains listed. | If your dog’s food is filled with grain, it leaves little room for good quality ingredients such as muscle meat, vegetables and organ meat. It’s purely designed to fill up your dog’s stomach and gives the producer a cheap bulk ingredient. They don’t mention specific grains that way they can buy whatever is available at the time, often, with little interest in whether or not the grain they’ve used is healthy. After all, they’ve already added all the vitamins and minerals artificially so why add them as a whole ingredient? |
Just a side note, many of these ingredients can be labelled slightly different from the words I’ve used, so, If you’re not sure do a quick internet search.
Don’t be confused by the word complete. It means the food is nutritionally balanced to give your dog what it needs to survive. The key word here is ‘survive’. I can survive on eating Mc. Donalds, it doesn’t mean that it’s good for me. I’ve seen first-hand what a dog looks like when it eats poor quality food and the impact switching to good food can have. A shiny coat & clear skin, better stools & digestion (yes poop is important!), more energy, muscle tone and an overall improved condition.
Signs your dog is eating a low quality diet
- Runny or dry and smelly stools. Accompanied by a general struggle to poop.
- Dull, dry coat and sometimes dandruff.
- The opposite of the above, a very oily, flaky and grimy coat.
- Bad teeth & Bad breath. This is often from food that is too hard to chew (Bones are included in this) or lacking in nutrients causing breakage or food that is too soft allowing a build-up of plaque & decay.
- Poor body condition. Overweight or underweight.
- Itching! Can be an allergy to anything in the environment, food included. Altering your dog’s food is the easiest and least expensive way of testing for an allergy.
- Flatulance, gurgling stomach & reflux. Your dog is trying to tell you their tummy is not happy with the food they’re eating!
Dog poop should NOT smell disgusting! It can smell like poop, of course, but you should not have to run away every time your dog has to ‘go’.
Lydia, Organix Dog Spa
It would take way too long to go through every ingredient possible but I think you guys are catching my drift here. Before you choose your dog’s food, take a look at the back and have a good read. Research each ingredient and the brand that comes along with it. It can be tricky as basically all companies market themselves as being ‘For The Dog’, so to speak, but the ingredients don’t lie. If you take a look at the back of a bag of Pedigree dog food, a commonly fed brand that is quite cheap to buy, you’ll definitely see why it’s so cheap to buy.
Need help choosing a cost effective dog food?