Choosing a High Quality Dog Food

Choosing a good kibble for your dog doesn't always seem easy. The labels on the packages can be confusing, and beyond identifying whether a food is chicken or lamb-based, people often come away feeling they need a science degree to decipher the rest. While an ingredient may sound good and conjure up images of plump juicy meat parts, you need to be aware that the definition of what constitutes that ingredient (if it even has a definition) can be quite different. While we can't change the labeling laws here– we can give you an overview of what we think you should be looking for in a good quality dry dog food.

First and foremost, dogs are carnivore/omnivores – a good proportion of their diet needs to be from meat protein. Plant proteins tend to be more difficult for dogs to digest, are less palatable and offer less nutrition. Grains are lower than vegetables on the digestibility and nutritional adequacy scale.

So, look at the top five or so ingredients - these will be the most abundant ingredients by weight in the food. So that means that the first ingredient in the list has the greatest volume in the food. You want this to be a named meat source, e.g.; Chicken, Beef or Lamb, you NEVER want an unidentified “meat” or anything listed as a "by-product". Since the list runs in order of weight, it is better to see “chicken meal” than “chicken” at the top of the list. “Chicken” includes a high degree of water content, “chicken meal” does not – so with “chicken” it is quite possible that once the water content is removed, it may actually be the fourth or fifth ingredient, not necessarily the first as suggested. This is OK as long as the second ingredient is another named meat protein, especially if it is in a “meal” form.

Within the first five ingredients we want to see at least two (preferably more) named meat sources, and as few grains as possible. The first ingredient should certainly be a named meat source. Grains are almost unavoidable in kibble, but they are not a natural source of food for dogs, are often indigestible (what's the point of a food if your dog can't digest it?) and are common allergens. Whole ground grains are far better than grain fragments (floor sweepings?) which typically have little or no nutritional value. Brown rice (a whole grain) is better than white rice, which has been stripped of about 75% of its nutritional value. Whole fruits and vegetables are better nutritional sources than grains; Oatmeal and Sweet Potato are other good choices.

We prefer not to see any corn products in the food (corn, corn meal, corn gluten meal, corn syrup, etc) as corn is very difficult to digest, of little nutritional value, and a very common allergen in dogs. The same is true for wheat products/fragments and for beet pulp or molasses (sugar). It should go without saying that you should never buy a food with any form of corn or wheat in the top five ingredients.

You do not want to see any by-products in the food , especially from an un-specified source. The AAFCO definition of “chicken by-products” for example is “ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Now some of that stuff is OK – nothing wrong with chicken necks, but it is impossible to ascertain the quality of the parts and most of the ‘good stuff' such as hearts, livers, and kidneys don't go into by-products, they are useful elsewhere, unless the quality is too low. By-products are really those parts that can't be used anywhere else and a lot of it isn't OK. Without any ability to determine quality, and specific part, you should avoid by-products at all costs.

Do not forget to look at the preservatives used, some of these are carcinogenic. Some common carcinogenic preservatives to look for and avoid are: BHT, ethoxyquin, BHA and propylene glycol (a less toxic form of anti-freeze ). Citric acid as a preservative can also be problematic as it dramatically increases the risk of bloat if the food is moistened before feeding (according to veterinary research). It is better to purchase a food using tocopherols, ascorbic acid (Vitamin E) or anti-oxidants such as rosemary extract as preservatives. In addition, you do not want to see any artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners added to the food.

Cunning deceptions and other issues:

“Splitting” This is where the manufacturer “splits” the total amount of an ingredient into component parts to make it appear as though there is a lesser amount of the ingredient. An example would be an ingredient list that reads: “ chicken meal, ground corn, brown rice, corn gluten meal, lamb meal… ” Looks OK – the top ingredient is chicken meal. But is it really? Well, probably not. The manufacturer has “split” the corn content into component parts of ‘ground corn' and ‘corn gluten meal'. As a total, the corn content is probably greater than the chicken meal (remember that we don't know the %, only the order of weight). 

Unlisted preservatives: The pet food maker is only required to disclose on the ingredient list those ingredients and preservatives that they themselves added to the food. Some ingredients – usually fats, and some fish products – have preservatives (usually ethoxyquin) added before they arrive at the pet food factory. You will not see this included on the ingredient list. Note that the use of ethoxyquin to preserve food for humans is strenuously debated as it is thought by some to be carcinogenic. The amount of ethoxyquin allowed in human food is a fraction of that allowed in pet food. 

Let's look at some examples:

EXAMPLE 1:
Chicken Meal, Chicken Meat, Whole Brown Rice, Whole White Rice, Hulless Barley, Sunflower Oil, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols (vit E), citric acid (vit C) and Rosemary extract), Salmon Meal, Dried Whole Potatoes, Rice Bran, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Whole Apples, Dried Whole Carrots, Ground Flax, Bee Pollen, Dried Whole Garlic, Ginger, Dried Alfalfa, Dried Whole Egg, Beta Carotene, Dried Whole Cranberries, Kelp, Yucca Shidegera, Glucosamine, Chondroitin Sulphate, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Vitamin A acetate, Cholecalciferol (vit D), dl alphatocopherol acetate (vit E), ferrous sulphate, **zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, niacin, calcium pantothenate, copper sulphate, **copper proteinate, manganous oxide, riboflavin,
calcium iodate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vit B6), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite, cobalt carbonate, menadione sodium bisulphate complex (vit K), Vitamin B12.
** these items are chelated minerals.

Analysis: our opinion

EXAMPLE 2: Ingredient list for ‘Purina Pro Plan' adult lamb and rice formula:
Lamb, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, chicken meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), oat meal, pearled barley, fish meal, dried beet pulp, natural flavors, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, salt, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), zinc sulfate, ascorbic acid (source of Vitamin C), ferrous sulfate, riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite. H-4470 

Analysis: our opinion

For more advice, you can go to the Whole Dog Journal at: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com

Allergic dogs

Food allergies are common in dogs, and we recommend that you avoid foods that contain ingredients such as corn (any form), wheat, brewers yeast, any form of by-products and artificial flavors and colorings (even if it's called “natural” flavor – there is no regulation of the word natural in pet food). These grains are the most common allergens and in any case, are not a good nutritional basis for dogs as they are not well designed to digest grains.

Sometimes dogs can be allergic to particular meat proteins though. Turkey and beef are common culprits, though dogs can also be allergic to chicken, lamb, fish – in fact just about anything. Some manufacturers do produce foods made with fewer and less common meat protein sources and without grains that can be very useful for allergic dogs. Examples include duck and potato, venison, bison, or fish and potato formulas.

If you suspect your dog has allergies', then choosing a food with a low number of grains and only one or two different meat protein sources is a good start (e.g. a food with chicken and lamb, rather than chicken, turkey, lamb and fish). Common signs of food allergies are red itchy skin, ears or feet, persistent ear infections, diarrhea and throwing up, and raised bumps on the skin.

Also don't forget about environmental allergens, such as detergents, weather, Fabrese, and other aerosols. All these things can contribute to allergies and should be looked at if your animal suffers from allergies. There are also many natural supplements, treatments, and products on the market that you can use to eliminate any potential cause of allergens.

	Eagle Pack ® Holistic Select ® and Eagle Pack ® Super Premium brands offer natural, human grade ingredients and the highest quality meat meals, grains, and fats and oils available. Both contain at least 8 of our holistic, custom supplements.
	Holistic pet care products are the focus at Halo; our healthy, natural, dog food and cat food is proudly consumed by our employees, thousands of pets, as well as celebrities and media moguls.

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