Best Food for Dogs 101: FREE Dog Food Buying Guide

Best Dog Food Guide

There are tons of options out there for best food for dogs available today, and it can be very intimidating for new pet parents and those new to the dog world knowing how to choose the best dog food brand. The plethora of choices makes for a confusing trip down the supermarket aisle, and a lot of us have been in that position before.

Fortunately, with the proper know-how and education on what are the criteria in choosing the best food for dogs, you’ll be able to select your pet’s favorite dog food brand that is not only healthy for your specific dog, but also the type of kibble your dog will not refuse.

Part of selecting the right dog food is knowing what exactly you’re looking for. You also need to have some basic understanding of the components and ingredients that make up that dog food which are vital for your pet’s diet, as well as the ones that have the potential to be harmful to your dog.

My dog, an Australian Shepherd named Walter, is notoriously picky. When we adopted him from the rescue shelter as a puppy, he put us through the ringer when it came time to select his dog food brand. It seemed as though the foods he liked were all unhealthy for him, and the foods he despised were the best for his health. It took a process of (costly) trial and error for us to finally find the best dog food brand that Walter was both acclimated to and that would keep him growing as a healthy canine.

When it comes to finding the best food for dogs, all dogs will always demonstrate their say in the matter. My Walter had his share of picky habits, but much of the process’s difficulty was due to us not really knowing how to select the best dog food for him and what to look for in terms of dog food ingredients, quality, and other important dietary indicators.

Now as a long-time dog owner, I know that reading and learning about food for dogs is vital. Back then, some type of dog food buyer’s guide would have helped me and my family immensely in our search, and it’s in that vein of education and understanding that this free best dog food buying guide is made.

Buyers Guide of Best Food for Dogs All pet owners want to know a way to make their pets grow healthy, active, happy and strong without accidentally harming their health due to improper dog nutrition. As pet parents, we also want mealtime to be something fun for our dogs, not a drudge-fest that makes our pet openly resent us.

In this dog food buyer’s guide, we’ll show you all of the features and aspects of the best dog food brands that you need to know as a pet owner to get you on the right track to purchasing most appropriate nutrition for your pooch. Below, I’ll give you a brief index of the topics that will be covered in this free dog food guide. This way you’ll know just what to look for and what you’ll be reading.

I hope that this buyer’s guide will be a fun, practical and, most importantly, informative enough for you to become acquainted with the terminology and ingredients in dog food, as well as the health benefits and risks that are associated with such ingredients.

What is Dog Food

1.1 What is Dog Food and Why You Need this Guide?

This question may seem like a total no-brainer. I suppose that a more fitting question would be “Why can’t I feed my dog people food from the table?”

Table food (human food) is fine for humans, but a lot of it can be very toxic to dogs. Although humans are no stranger to sneaking their pups an extra something under the table here and there, making a habit out of this practice—or giving your dogs human food in large quantities—is actually a very inadvisable thing to do.

Dogs can’t eat human food because their bodies are not set up to digest things the way a human’s body does. People foods are often saturated in fats, preservatives, additives, and other unnatural things that dogs don’t process the way we do simply because their bodies didn’t evolve to. Dogs who eat a lot of table food tend to gain weight and become recalcitrant, as the food inhibits their exercising capabilities and other physical activities.

Dog food, on the other hand, is specifically formulated to fit your dog’s dietary needs and requirements. Dogs tend to eat more meat than humans do, and less grains. Meat provides animal proteins that are vital for dogs’ growth and bone structure and humans don’t require that same high level of sustenance. Even though eating “clean” foods is certainly a good idea for us as well, a human’s body doesn’t require such a high amount of protein and low amount of carbs as a canine’s body.

Dog obesity, while certainly not on the same national awareness level as the human obesity in America, is still problematic. Veterinarians are concerned about the high level of obesity in dogs, and the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention has estimated that a whopping 52.7% of dogs are obese or overweight (17.6% are actually obese).

Human foods and lack of dietary discipline, as well as minimal exercise, has a lot to do with those statistics and their disturbing results. Obesity-caused illnesses in dogs, just like with humans, reduce the quality of life for your pet and can lead him or her to have a shortened life span that takes them away from you.

Canine obesity caused illnesses in dogs resemble those of humans in that they involve a high cholesterol level, blood pressure problems, damaged bones and joints, fatigue, and mental and physical detriments that prevent your pet from living his or her life to the fullest. Obviously, we don’t want to lose our pets due to improper nutritional choices, much less to a preventable condition, so reducing and nixing the table food is a very good goal for owners.

The most common conditions caused by obesity in dogs are:

Arthritis
Bladder/Urinary Tract Disease
Low Thyroid Hormone Production
Liver Disease
Torn Knee Ligaments
Diabetes
Diseased Disc in the Spine
Fatty Growth
Chronic Kidney Disease
Heart Failure

The statistics on obesity in pets are scary. Fortunately, those numbers are to be decreased and the health of our pets can be restored through one smart decision at a time, and it starts with proper dog nutrition and choosing the best food for dogs that’s healthy for them.

It is very tempting for all of us to give dogs human food from the table, especially when dogs look at you with those puppy eyes that simply implore you to give them a treat. It’s understandable. But you need to make sure that you are sticking to proper dog food only when it comes to feeding your canine, and completely exclude human food for your Fido’s diet.

Even though you may think that a little piece of hot dog here or there, or a hamburger chunk occasionally isn’t going to hurt him or her, there’s absolutely no reason to train your dog that he or she should expect any treats from the table. As owners, we cannot allow that to become a regular practice because before we know it, there’s an increase in quantity and decrease in dog’s health.

Commercial dog food diets are formulated to keep your pup in tip top shape, especially if you purchase the organic, holistic and human-grade healthy dog food that keeps in mind the natural condition of dogs as meat-biased omnivores. Dogs, ancestrally, have always eaten meat. Meat is a very important part of their diet and animal proteins promote lean muscle growth and strong joints, bones, and ligaments.

A human’s diet isn’t based upon that ancestral urge for meat—we are omnivores, and we don’t have the same needs and requirements that dogs do. Even though many label dogs as omnivores as well, a canine’s nutritional base is still animal meat proteins. Dog food companies understand that and are dedicated to providing their customers with high-quality dog nutrition that will boost pet’s quality of life to the fullest.

Some pet owners might feel that that is negotiable, especially since often, dog foods are recalled and there is a concern that no additional measures are being taken to prevent further dog food recalls or side effects of these diets. We all want to be certain that our dogs’ food is natural and is not manufactured in some unknown factory in China.

It’s true – there are some bad quality commercial dog foods out there, but most of the famous dog food brands out there are actually pretty good and healthy for dogs. Alternatively, you can always opt to making your own homemade dog food, which is a totally viable option and we will cover that aspect in here too.

What this best food for dogs guide will demonstrated is a way on selecting the most reputable and trustworthy dog foods. We explain in one of the next sections how to handle a dog food recall and what to do about it. This dog food guide is a comprehensive and exhaustive analysis of the best ingredients in dog food, and we hope that you’ll rest assured that the quality of dog food companies is, in most cases, the highest out there.

Dog food doesn’t have to consist solely of human grade ingredients for it to be reputable. In the next chapter, we’ll discuss how dog food is made, going all the way back to where it is grown. Knowing the origins of your pet’s food is important for anyone who is a little squeamish about buying bagged kibble in stores. Continue on to the next section to learn more about the process of cultivating the ingredients for dog food.

How and Where is Dog Food Made

1.2 How and Where is Dog Food Made?

Dog food that is made in America is cultivated here in most cases, although there are some companies that outsource their ingredients (some or all of them) to China because it is much cheaper. Those companies that outsource to China are to be avoided because, as we’ll discuss a little later, China has a problem with quality control and consumer safety that extends not only from human products, but to dog food as well.

How dog food is made depends on whether or not it is dry food or wet food. Regardless, the ingredients start on the farm (for this section, we’ll just assume that the dog foods we are talking about are made naturally and are organic—that’s the best dog food to select anyway).

Dog foods that contain animal proteins such as chicken, turkey, beef, bison, or any other meat get their start on the farm. Ethically raised farm animals (the term “ethical” when used to describe dog food generally describes cruelty-free farming and slaughtering) are not kept in tiny, close-together cages that are dangerous and disease-filled.

A Certified Humane product is one that is free-range or pasture-raised. Chickens, for example, that are raised free-range systems have to have a space that is not sodden, damaged, or dirty. They have to have vegetative cover that sustains their food and diet habits and there have to be adequate exits (at least four) in their building so that they aren’t all trapped in there together.

Pigs and cows, another common animal whose meat is used in dog food, have to have enough space in their stalls for them to exist comfortably. They have to be able to go outside and waddle around to their heart’s content without being cruelly treated. They have to be able to turn around in their stalls comfortably and stretch out without feeling cramped.

Ethical farming is the responsible way to produce dog food. It is also sustainable, as one of the other conditions of ethical farm practices requires farmers to be environmentally conscious and only engage in methods that don’t strip the land or make it impossible to reuse. Treating the land well prevents toxins from seeping into the dirt and making large swaths of land barren.

Fish, especially salmon, are used in dog food because they provide an excellent source of Omega fatty acids. Fishing ethics dictates that the fishermen don’t over-fish and drain the aquatic environment of the resources needed for a balanced ecosystem.

These ethical practices are relevant to this dog food guide because, according to the Humane Farm Animal Care Organization, 68% of consumers want to know where their products are being made and how. With recent expositions on the cruel practices that go on at certain farms, people are beginning to take notice and we as pet owners should as well because farm animals, though they’re not high on the food chain, should still be treated as ethically as we do our pets.

Many of the ingredients that are in dog food are found on farms that are located all across America, with especially heavy concentrations in the Midwest. While it’s a relief to know that much of our dog food is made here in America, it’s less of a relief to consider that not all of the ingredients in dog food are sourced ethically.

Once the ingredients come off the farm, dog food, whether wet or dry, is subject to the standards demanded by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), which require that pet food be nutritionally balanced and that it provide a complete diet. Were these marketing requirements not in place, people could advertise their products as anything they wanted. The AAFCO prevents that from occurring. The ingredients, after being approved, are ground together to make a consistency that can be made into dough.

For those who didn’t know, this may be an interesting fact: dry dog food has been commercially produced since the 1800s, and the method has stayed essentially the same. The dough is baked and forced through an extruder while under high pressure. That kibble dough is extruded through specially-shaped holes and then cut off by a knife, all while still in a doughy, half-baked consistency.

Dog food’s dough then is put through a dryer to have the rest of the moisture sucked out of it. The dried dough is sprayed with vitamins, minerals, and other fatty oils and nutrients to provide the nutritional value. The dough of dry dog food (kibble) is a carrier for the nutrients and allows for the type of shape we want to see the most.

Wet dog food follows a little bit of a different process and usually contains gravy to keep it from getting dried out. The ingredients are combined in a mixer and then they are sealed to preserve freshness and wetness. Then, the sealed off ingredients are cooked to lengthen their shelf life.

Wet dog foods (canned dog food) are normally cooked in cans, which are cooled, and then sold as-is (with an extra label or two to mark them). By cooking wet dog food in the cans, it doesn’t lose its nutrients or flavoring. A Whole-Dog-Journal.com actually had a great article on how wet dog foods are made if you’re interested in the process.

Understanding how dog food is made, including the ethics of farming and sourcing, is actually a vital part of selecting the best food for dogs. That process, though we’ve laid it bare-bones onto here, is adjusted and improved upon by companies. Their adjustments to the basic dog food manufacturing process have implications, either positive, negative, or both, for their general quality level.

What a company does during the making of the food is an important, but often overlooked, part of selecting healthy dog foods. The shelf-life of the pet food and its stability and resistance to spoilage is determinant upon how the company upholds the manufacturing and processing of its product.

In the next section, we’ll discuss the types of dog foods that companies produce, including their benefits, advantages, disadvantages, and characteristics. These types of dog foods are well-known and are words that you will hear frequently throughout the course of selecting the best dog food. In order to pick the most optimal product for your Fido, you need to have a thorough understanding of the meanings of each and what they can (and cannot) do for your pet.

Types of Dog Foods

1.3 Types of Dog Foods

All dog food companies understand that their doggy clientele is vast and not all dogs have the same tastes. Much like human foods, dog food varies based on consistency, type, and general attributes. In this section, we’ll discuss the seven major types of dog food: wet food, dry food, raw food, grain-free food, vegan, puppy-specific dog food, and food that is considered “LID,” or “Limited Ingredients Diets.”

Wet dog food

Canned dog food, also known to many as wet dog food, includes pet foods that are sealed in some sort of cans, pouches, or other containers that preserve the moisture within them. Wet dog food has a consistency that is saturated and, while not completely liquid, does contain a lot of moisture (hence the name).

The reason this type of dog food is usually canned is because, as we stated before, this dog food is cooked while in the can and the cans are cooled down after that process is completed. Wet dog foods can serve as a source of hydration for your dog, since they contain water in them. Canned dog food and wet dog food are terms that are interchangeable, as you’re unlikely to find a canned dog food that isn’t wet.

Wet dog food is often a good choice for older dogs because it is more flavorful and tasteful than other dog foods. That is because of the sealed properties of it. Wet dog food still contains the same meats and protein content as dry dog foods, but canned dog food often have it in larger quantities while also containing less carbohydrates.

Meat is normally the primary ingredient in canned dog foods, and this type comes in flavors like “turkey and gravy” or “chicken and gravy.” Dogs love gravy! Those canines that are picky eaters or who have faltering olfactory senses prefer wet food because the smell is stronger and the flavor is more intense.

Canned dog foods are distributed by weight and are generally bought in smaller amounts. Wet dog food also tends to be more expensive and have a more rapid expiration date once opened. It loses its shelf life once it is opened and, if you do decide to open it and your dog doesn’t want to eat it, it needs to be refrigerated and covered immediately.

It’s a simple fact that canned dog food is more expensive for the owner, but it is a good nutritional choice for puppies, as it retains more of its vitamins and minerals during the processing stage than kibble does (though a balance of wet and dry food is recommended by veterinarians).

Dry dog food

Kibble, also known as dry dog food, comes in bags and is distributed at a higher weight than wet dog food. Dry dog food is made by the process we discussed in the first section: it is made using dough that is kept under high pressure and extruded through multi-shaped holes for sizing.

The dough that used to make kibble is dried out and sprayed with a solution containing the nutrients and fatty acids the company wants it to have. Dry dog food is not as rich in aroma or flavor as wet dog food, but pets still find it delicious. This dry dog food has little water to it and you should always make sure that you have a bowl of water out for your pet if you are feeding him or her kibble.

Dry dog food and wet dog food combined make a healthy diet. Many pet owners prefer dry dog food because it is convenient: you can leave a bowl out for your Fido while you are gone during the day and you won’t have to worry about it spoiling because the shelf life is much longer than wet dog food’s expiration dates once it is opened.

There is a constant back and forth about what is better, wet or dry dog food. In reality, just like with any food, it is all circumstantial and depends on what you consider “best.” Dry dog food has been around for a very long.

A quick history lesson: dry kibble actually came from a crumbled up biscuit that an electrical engineer from Ohio named James Spratt dropped on the ground and then looked at and decided would make a great type of dog food. The story goes that James baked crumbled up biscuits, added some flavoring, and that was how dry dog food was born.

Kibble is beneficial for dogs’ teeth and gum health because it is so chewable. Kibble, if a large-enough size, helps scrape tartar and plaque formations off of your dog’s teeth, preventing buildup. Kibble has dental benefits that make it an excellent accompaniment to wet food.

Raw diet dog food

Raw dog food operates from the principle that dogs are meant to eat in their natural state, the way they did ancestrally back in the caveman days. This “primal pet food” consists of the same foods that, theoretically, your dog would have eaten 50,000 years ago before domestication.

The raw dog food diet includes raw meats, vegetables, fruits, and other organic substances. It’s often referred to as an “evolutionary diet,” the BARF diet or even Paleo diet for dogs. It was started in the early 1990s by an Australian veterinarian named Ian Billinghurst, who found that non-raw diets consisted of too many grains and were not biologically appropriate for our dogs.

This diet, most commonly referred to as raw diet, has caused a lot of controversy and people are split on it the same way they are on the human Paleo diet. Some people think that feeding dogs BARF diet is brilliant and healthy, while others think it is not at all healthy to dogs, is unnecessary hassle and may even be harmful. In particular, the skeptics society are looking down upon the BARF diet.

The jury’s still out- while raw dog food does have its benefits that shouldn’t go unacknowledged, there are obvious negatives that come from feeding dogs raw, uncooked meat. The raw dog food diet has gone commercial and freeze-dried, dehydrated raw meat is sold as part of this ancestral dietary regime.

While raw animal protein boosts energy levels, strength, and is beneficial in the same way that any increase in protein is, there is also a risk factor (or factors) associated with raw meats. Bacterial infections and food poisoning threaten your dog’s health. Food poisoning, salmonella, E. coli, and other scary raw-meat boogeymen are out there and can wreak some havoc on your dog’s gastrointestinal system. This has been observed in several scientific studies.

Finally, one may argue that the raw dog food diet is unbalanced, as it focuses greatly on protein and not much else, so giving your dog an unbalanced diet has its potential for health damage. However, the reason being for this approach is because raw dog food diet proponents believe that canines do not require anything else outside of meat content and added vitamins and minerals. It’s up to you who you side with.

Grain free dog food

Grain free dog food Grain-free dog food means there are no grains in that food, including corn, rice, wheat, soy, and barley. Grains are not toxic for a dog, but they aren’t as rich a protein source as animal meats are. Dogs are meat-eaters primarily and are best off when they continue that diet.

Many argue that dogs haven’t evolved internally enough to be able to digest and process cellulose and other plant materials and they cannot efficiently transmit cellulose into glucose the way our bodies can. Dogs in general are not adept at synthesizing and using plant material in their diets to improve their own health. Canines’ bodies aren’t wired that way- they haven’t evolved since domestication in terms of plant digestibility.

Grain free dog food manufacturers acknowledge that and keep out any unneeded plant materials that your dog couldn’t digest or process. However, there is some usefulness for grains in your dog’s diet, though that usefulness is limited in scope and shouldn’t be maximized or ingested at high levels.

Contrary to popular belief, grains can be a source of protein for dogs. They’re just not the best source of protein, or the largest. Dogs’ internal digestive tracts are short and simply configured- they aren’t meant for a complicated digestion process and their tracts are woefully unable to compensate for that inability.

Herbivores, by contrast, are able to synthesize the grains and amino acids in plant compounds. They easily digest and use the material, which is why they’re able to be healthy while your dog, if he or she went on a herbivorous diet for a non-medical reason, would probably suffer.

To put it simply, grain-free dog food eliminates the unnecessary, “weaker” protein source from the canine diet and focuses on produce and meats. Grain-free dog food also helps dogs with more sensitive stomachs to digest the food easily, as grains can make your dog miserable if he or she is unable to internalize the food.

Vegan dog food

Vegan dog food is consistent with the properties of veganism, which state that animal products or by-products cannot be ingested. From an evolutionary perspective, dogs are not meant to eat a vegan diet- however, your dog may have a health issue that requires him or her to take a walk on the meat-free side. This does happen occasionally, and there are vegan dog foods out there that can help your dog consume protein while catering to his or her needs.

You shouldn’t feed your dog vegan dog food without a medical reason. According to most veterinarians, it’s not advisable to do so because dogs, as we’ve stated before, are not meant to eat meat-free lifestyles.

Vegan dog food sources its proteins from plant bases such as beans, soy, and other non-meat, non-animal-produced sources. This type of diet is useful to dogs with allergies to meat as well, and some of the most common allergies in dogs are those pertaining to meat such as lamb, beef, chicken, and other meats.

Dogs can also be allergic to eggs, milk, and other animal by-products that a vegan diet addresses. So while there isn’t anything wrong with vegan dog food per se, don’t feed it to your dog if he or she doesn’t have a medical reason for ingesting vegan dog foods for a prolonged period of it. Obviously, if your pooch does have a reason, then there’s vegan dog food out there that he or she will enjoy.

Puppy food

Some dog foods are specific to puppies. Growing puppies often require extra nutrition and special attention, as they are still developing. Puppy food manufacturers also refrain from including any ingredients in their puppy specific dog foods that could harm their sensitive stomachs, as they are still growing and are touchy about harsher substances.

Dog food for puppies is often extra-rich in calcium and antioxidants, both of which are vital in maintaining and promoting healthy growth. Puppy food is formulated for growth and that is the key difference to remember when thinking of puppy and adult dog food. Adult dog food is best for maintenance—you want to keep them at their young, strong condition. Puppy food has more fats, carbs, and calories and, while some fats are good, the levels that a growing dog needs versus a dog that is already at its appropriate weight are different.

Every dog reaches adulthood at a different time. There are some dogs for whom one year is considered adulthood, whereas others take a little longer. And indeed, there are brands of dog food that work for dogs at all stages of life.

Ask your vet if you should feed your puppy food specific to his or her age group, especially if he or she is still in the weaning stage. There are some puppy foods that are great for transitory, post-weaning phases and some that are for puppies transitioning into adulthood. It all depends on your pup’s specific needs.

Limited Ingredient Diet dog food

Dogs can suffer from food allergies much in the same way humans can. They can also struggle with sensitive gastrointestinal or digestive issues that can make food selection pretty difficult for them (and you).

Limited ingredient diets are those that are restrictive of the major allergy-inducers in dogs, including certain meats, soy, milk, eggs, and other ingredients that can cause an allergic reaction. The idea behind LID specific dog food is that it allows dogs to get the same nutrients that they need while also preventing an allergic reaction because of them.

You can tell if your dog needs LID dog food if he or she begins to show symptoms of allergies or discomfort when eating a certain ingredient. While not all allergic reactions are fatal, you need to get him or her checked out and tested for any signs of allergies, as you wouldn’t want your pet to suffer through an allergic reaction if it was preventable.

In the following section, we’ll talk more about dog food allergies and hypoallergenic dog food, including what the term means and how you can tell if your dog needs that type of pet food. Dog food allergies are more common among pets than owners think, and being vigilant about possible allergy issues will keep your pet from enduring any discomfort that they don’t need to. Keep reading to learn more about allergens and preventative measures you can take to keep your dog allergen-free.

Hypoallergenic Dog Foods

1.4 Hypoallergenic Dog Food

Hypoallergenic dog food is becomingvery popular among owners today. The term “hypoallergenic” was coined in the 1950s and essentially means that a product is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction in dogs, or an illness related to the ingredients. “Hypo” is a Greek prefix meaning, “Under” or “Below.” So, hypoallergenic products are below the average risk level for most other items when it comes to causing allergic reactions.

In dog food, that translates to ingredients’ hypoallergenic properties. Hypoallergenic dog foods are usually used in relation to diets that are LID (Limited Ingredient Diets, as we stated in the previous section), prescription diets that are dictated by a veterinarian, and/or “novel” ingredient diets, which refer to diets that are constructed in unusual ways and that contain proteins or other ingredients that are not commonly mainstream.

Novel canine diets provide sources of proteins and nutrients that your dog hasn’t been exposed to before and therefore probably is not allergic to. If he or she can’t eat chicken, maybe they can eat bison meat, for example. Hypoallergenic diets are necessary for dogs that are unable to consume commercial dog food, though some commercial brands are able to meet the need for careful consumerism and dietary balance.

According to scientific research, some of the most common allergens for dogs include soy, beef, chicken, dairy, fish, lamb, wheat, yeast, and corn. When you think about it, these ingredients are actually quite commonplace and are probably eaten by many dogs with no problem. Therefore, allergies that include these foods would likely wipe out a dog’s entire range of food choices.

And that’s where hypoallergenic dog foods come in: their ingredients are sourced and chosen in a way to minimize the risk that a dog allergic to beef protein will have an allergic reaction to animal protein from a more novel animal (such as bison, turkey, or buffalo meat). But that’s just one example- there are plenty others that revolve around making sure that your dog is fed appropriately and nutritionally without sparking a problematic reaction.

These ingredients that dogs are most frequently allergic to are the ones to which they are exposed equally as often. This is most interesting because dog food itself actually doesn’t cause allergies majority of the time. Studies show that only around one-tenth of allergies in dogs are food related.

Food allergies and food intolerances are two different things, and food intolerances are also serviced and prevented using hypoallergenic dog foods. Food intolerances are not an allergic reaction to food. They are a digestive or intestinal issue that is caused by your dog’s system being unable to absorb or digest a certain substance or ingredient.

This food sensitivity in dogs is often mistaken as allergies, when in reality it is just something different. Hypoallergenic dog foods seek to work their way around these intolerances or food allergies and provide sources of nutrition from things that owners’ dogs have not been exposed to as frequently and are not able to build up intolerance towards.

You’ll know if your dog needs hypoallergenic dog food by whether or not they have an allergic reaction or an intolerance to dog food they ingest. For practical purposes, your dog’s food allergies or food intolerance can both be serviced by hypoallergenic dog foods that will minimize their discomfort and avoid triggering either reaction. We’ll discuss the symptoms of both in the next few paragraphs.

Symptoms of food allergies and allergic reactions in dogs

There are several symptoms of an allergic reactions in dogs that you should be on the lookout for if your canine is showing resistance to a certain dog food type. Because dogs are like babies and they can’t talk to us and tell us what’s wrong, we have to keep a sharp eye out for signs that there is a problem.

A dog having an allergic reaction may show it topically. They may develop itchy, reddened, scabbed, or scaly skin. They also might start sneezing, scratching, have itchy ears (if they start rubbing their ears against hard surfaces, that’s a sign of itching or infection), chronic ear infections, watering eyes, reddened eyes, or swollen paws.

Dogs having an allergic reaction can lose hair or develop scabs on their skin. They also may start snoring, which is a sign of throat inflammation. A dog having an allergic reaction can also have more severe symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness.

On the other hand, a dog suffering from food intolerance will express gastrointestinal distress. They may vomit or have diarrhea, as they would with the allergic reaction. They also might have soft stools, bloody stools, bad gas, or irregular bowel movements. A dog experiencing abdominal pain will whimper and be visibly distressed. They also might become lethargic and immobile, as being sick will make them not want to move a whole lot.

In order to find out what your dog is allergic to, your vet may decide to use a process of elimination diet that results in your dog being put on hypoallergenic dog food diet. The vet may subtract an ingredient of your dog’s diet (swap out the beef ingredient for chicken, for example) and see what happens.

After the elimination diet, if the problem is solved, it’s an easy solution. If there’s still some mystery as to what exactly is causing these allergic problems, your vet will probably choose to have your dog placed on a hypoallergenic canine diet that will eliminate those medical problems from his or her diet.

A pet on hypoallergenic dog food doesn’t have to no longer eat what he or she wants. Hypoallergenic dog foods don’t mean the end of all fun or mealtime enjoyment. It just requires more conscientiousness on the part of owners to make sure that their dogs are getting the best nutrients for them without any problematic extra results.

Dogs that are on LID dog foods or other restrictive dog food measurements still need the same amount of nutrients and healthful substances that any other dog does. They just need to source these nutrients in a more creative way. In the next section, we’ll discuss dog nutrition guidelines—who implemented them, why, and how you can use them to select the best dog food for your pet.

Dog Food Nutrition Guidelines

1.5 Dog Food Nutrition Guidelines

The American Association of Feed Control Officials is a nonprofit organization dedicated to setting dog food nutrition guidelines and lobbying the FDA to enforce companies’ adherence to them. The AAFCO doesn’t have any regulatory authority and its membership is voluntary, but it has been instrumental in working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and their subsidiary to get nutrition guidelines enforced and adhered to by companies.

Dog food is not immune to its share of charlatans. There are dog food companies out there that attempt to advertise their pet food as something that it’s not, and these Balloon Boy hoax companies manufacturing dog foods are kept at bay by regulatory governmental departments such as the FDA, which works with advisory from the AAFCO.

The AAFCO wants to ensure consumer safety and the safety of pets, and also to open the commercial dog food industry to smaller companies that need a fair shot in order to make it in the competitive atmosphere that is the pet food industry.

The AAFCO is joined by another organization, the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), which assists in organizing the nutritional guidelines of dogs and cats. Both organizations aim to improve food safety and nutrition for pets.

In order to meet the nutritional standards, dog foods must use ingredients that meet the nutrient profiles and quantities necessary to call themselves “Protein Rich” or for “Growth Development.” You need to feed your dog a balanced diet, and these organizations provide the know-how and regulatory advising necessary to make sure you have food that can do that in the first place.

The AAFCO’s guidelines included recommended amounts and percentages of each dog’s food intake for growth, reproduction, and maintenance. Below, we’ve listed these AAFCO requirements for you to observe and remember when searching for best food for dogs.

Puppy food guidelines

Puppy food guidelines When it comes to puppy foods, owners often try to be particularly careful, and rightfully so. For a puppy’s growth and a pregnant dog’s reproductive health, you need to up the nutritional levels in comparison to what you would give a grown adult dog to maintain their health.

For a puppy that is growing and developing or a pregnant dog, the AAFCO suggests that their food should contain:

22% Crude Protein
8% Crude Fat
1% Linoleic Acid
1% Calcium
8% Phosphorus
6% Potassium
3% Sodium
3mg Copper
120mg Zinc
5,000 IU Vitamin A
500 IU Vitamin D
50 IU Vitamin E
0mg Thiamine

In order for dog food to label itself “for growth and development,” it needs to adhere to these nutritional guidelines. Otherwise, it doesn’t adequately fill out the nutrient profile and it is not allowed to label it as such. The vitamins A, D, and E are all extremely important, and when scouring the back of the dog food label, you should make sure that those units are what you look for first.

Phosphorus, sodium, potassium, calcium, and other minerals are all vital for bone and teeth development and strengthening. These aforementioned percentages and mg/IU listings are all necessary for the growth and development of puppies, as well as the continued nutrition or pregnant or nursing dogs.

Both of these groups are vulnerable and are in need of extra nutrition and healthful vitamins- it would be unethical for companies to label their dog foods as for “Growth and Development” if they didn’t contain these necessary levels. The AAFCO ensures that no unethical labeling occurs, and they use the help of FDA and the government to ensure everything is legal among dog food companies.

Adult dog food guidelines

Adult dog food guidelines The case for adult dog foods is a little different. For adult dogs, maintenance is the key. You want to maintain their strength, activity and general health levels. The AAFCO has set out a different guideline for these adult dogs’ foods, and this guideline is enforced in the same way that the “For Growth and Development” labeling is.

In order for a product to label itself for adult dogs, it must adhere to the following nutritional levels:

18% Crude Protein
5% Crude fat
0% Linoleic acid
6% Calcium
5% Phosphorus
6% Potassium
06% Sodium
3mg Copper
120 mg Zinc
5,000 IU Vitamin A
500 IU Vitamin D
50 IU Vitamin E
0mg Thiamine

These levels are minimal, making them the base levels at which companies must adhere to in order for them to bill themselves for maintaining adult dog health. Some of the levels are lower, especially the sodium level. Too much sodium in a dog’s diet can lead to issues with blood pressure or cholesterol, though sodium is a mineral that helps grow healthy bones and teeth.

It’s all about balance. There are maximum levels for this sort of chart—levels at which the company’s food cannot exceed in order for it to claim that it maintains adult health. These levels are ceilings that companies should not go above.

The maximum levels for nutrients aren’t listed for all of the aforementioned ingredients above, but they are specified for a few certain ones, such as:

250mg Copper
5% Calcium
6% Phosphorus
1,000mg Zinc
250,000 IU Vitamin A
5,000 IU Vitamin D
1,000 IU Vitamin E

Dog food that wants to be used for adult dogs cannot contain levels above those numbers for copper, zinc, calcium, phosphorus and Vitamins A, D, and E. Overloading on these nutrients in pet food can have some very unwanted side effects. Too much copper, for example, can lead to kidney damage (but not that this is in ridiculously excessive quantities).

Studies have shown long time ago that overloading on zinc, copper, and the other vitamins can have some harmful side effects for dogs, but the chance of an “overdose” on them is very rare—I hesitate to use the word “overdose” because that implies that it is something that can be easily done, the way an OD happens with drugs or other harmful substances.

These nutritional guidelines are used to make sure that dog food is adhering to the appropriate amounts. It is preventative of false labeling and false advertising. You wouldn’t want to buy dog food for your puppy only to find out that it contained nothing but non-nutritional ingredients and was completely unhealthy.

The AAFCO and its associated organizations make sure that the levels of nutrients in each substance are kept to a high standard and necessary levels, something that we as consumers and dog owners can be very grateful for.

In the next section, we’ll talk about common dog food terminology that might be confusing to first-time purchasers who aren’t sure what exactly the different phrasings and vocabulary surrounding the dog food industry might entail. I’ll help you get acquainted with these terms and names- that way, you’ll be “in the know” when selecting your best dog food—no guesswork entailed.

Dog Food Terminology Explained

1.6 Dog Food Terminology Explained

There are terms and vocabulary used in dog food production that might be a little alien to those of us not familiar with these terms and phrases. Rather than keep you in the dark, in this section, we’ll go over a quick review of what exactly these words mean and what you should know about them when you see them.

The words pertaining to dog food ingredients that we’ll define for you are: animal by-product, meat and bone meal, meat by-product, meat, poultry by-product, poultry meal, and flavored. I’ll also try to put you into the loop about what it means to be “organic” and “human-grade.”

Animal by-product

Usually used in reference to meat, this term animal by-product means that there are ingredients in the dog food that are not necessarily solely from the meat part of the animal. Once the edible parts have been removed, there are still parts left that are not necessarily intended for human consumption.

These parts include stomachs, kidneys, undeveloped eggs, intestines, facial products, feet, backs, bones, livers, fetuses, brains, and essentially everything that isn’t supposed to be consumed by people. These animal by-products are very controversial, with some people considering them to be disgusting and unhealthy, whereas others don’t see the harm.

Animal by-products are often present in dog food unless the company specifically states that they are not using any animal by-products. While these BP’s are not fit for human consumption, they are often considered fine for animals to eat. Many condemned parts that are prohibited from human food are allowed in some dog foods, especially in canned or by-product meals.

The debate over the nutritional quality of meat by-products usage in pet foods is widely-contested, though many owners find the thought of such an array of weird body parts to be repulsive. Mostly, this comes from the idea that “if I wouldn’t eat it, then my dog shouldn’t eat it as well.” However, we have to recognize a large amount of emotional reasoning in this rationale, something that dogs do not have.

In fact, studies have also shown that by-products are actually non-harmful to dogs and may even be better sometimes than normal meats due to higher concentration of protein. The same research also mentions that meat by-products are very important for the pet food market’s sustainability and if we want to keep our dogs and cats happy and healthy through proper nutrition without paying insane amounts of money for that food.

Meat-and-bone meal

Meat and bone meal included in dog foods consists of the dried out products of animal tissues and bones that have been rendered and packaged. It does not, thankfully, contain horn, hair, hide, nail trimmings, manure, stomach content, excess blood, or anything that isn’t meat or bone. Meat and bone meal can serve as a protein-filled food- it’s almost like “meat concentrate.”

Meat by-product

Meat by-product is of the same definition as animal by-products- this is just more specific to meat, as opposed to eggs or other non-carnivorous food sources. A meat by-product, once again, is restricted from human consumption but many manufacturers still include it in their pet foods because they consider dogs’ stomachs more able to digest meat by-products and other unsavory foods than humans, though there isn’t necessarily any evidence to back that up. Again, the topic is controversial.

Meat

Though this may seem like something that does not need to be defined, when it comes to dog food, it somewhat does because definitions of meat tend to be pared down to make the dog food companies’ more able to call their product something that sounds like meat, but actually isn’t.

Meat is defined in dog food as the edible part of an animal. It is edible in the human sense as well—this does not include the parts of the animal that were listed as being part of the animal “by products” section. It only includes what is sold commercially and is packaged commercially for human consumption.

Poultry by-product

Poultry by-product is specific to chicken, turkey, and the eggs that they produce. Poultry by-products can include beaks, talons, undeveloped eggs, gizzards, giblets, and other bird-specific parts. This by product is also often used in dog food as filler content, unless the company making the pet food states otherwise.

If they don’t put by-products in their food, they often are very quick to share that and will immediately label it as such. Companies know that the use of only meat with no by products is an attractive selling point for many consumers.

Poultry meal

Poultry meal is made from rendering parts of the poultry and grinding it. It can contain parts of the poultry such as offal (the internal edible organs), bones, and undeveloped eggs, but the rendered parts are clean. There are no feathers, thankfully, in poultry meal.

The nutritional content is often debated, especially in the case of undeveloped eggs, and there have been studies that have shown that poultry meal contains more protein than regular poultry, but many pet owners still find themselves squeamish about feeding their dogs butchers’ scraps.

“Flavored”

This is another term that like “meat” may seem to be very basically understood, but in the context of dog food, “flavored” can be either artificial or natural. Make sure to pay attention to whether the food claims it is naturally flavored or artificial. Artificial flavorings contain chemicals and additives that can be harmful to your dog’s health.

Also, a product that claims it is “flavored” by something doesn’t necessarily mean that it contains that product. For example, a “chicken flavored” treat doesn’t have chicken in it. It’s an easy labeling trick to get fooled by- take a little extra time when you’re reading the label to ascertain whether the distinction between flavoring and actual ingredient containment is made.

Organic

Many things out there claim to be organic, but actually aren’t. In order for something to be organic and have natural products, it has to be over 95% naturally derived with no artificial preservatives, additives, flavorings, or ingredients.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) often certifies companies who claim to be organic, though they do that more frequently with human companies than they do dog ones. Still, look at the ingredient list on the back of your dog’s food. If there are ingredients you don’t recognize, that could mean that the food is only labeling itself as organic and, in reality, doesn’t have the credit to back itself up.

Human-grade

Human-grade ingredients in dog food are those that we would eat. Dogs are often given food that is less than human-quality (not to be confused with table food). Human-grade ingredients simply mean that if we were to eat the food, we wouldn’t die from poisoning or synthetic substances. No one expects you to eat dog food, of course, but it’s a comforting hypothetical to know that your dog isn’t eating something low-quality.

Speaking of quality, in the next section, we’ll talk about dog food recalls and what to do about them. There are current recalls that you may recognize from the news. Food recalls are always a little unnerving, so we’ll discuss the appropriate steps to take in the event that your dog food gets recalled.

2.1 Dog Food Recalls and What to Do About Them

Sadly, dog food recalls are not uncommon. A recall, according to the Food and Drug Administration, is an “action taken by a firm to remove a product from the market.” The request for product removal can be initiated by the company getting recalled, or it can be prompted by an FDA request or an “FDA order under statutory authority,” which refers to a court ordering a company to withdraw its products from the market.

Recalls generally make the news in a major way because they affect many people. Recalls are published by the FDA, who keeps a log of recent events and recalls on their website so that you can see the updates on past incidents and new incidents.

An example of a recall that occurred to, say, Nature’s Variety, a company that specializes in organic dog food. Nature’s Variety issued a voluntary recall of their Instinct Raw Chicken Formula because there were concerns about it being contaminated with salmonella (which, as we stated in our Raw Food section, is a concern with the raw diet).

Salmonella is a bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. It’s not only a concern for your dog- it’s a concern for you as well, because handling raw meat runs the risk of tactile contact with the salmonella, which can then be spread to everything else you touch.

Symptoms of salmonella in pets include vomiting, fever, bloody (or non-bloody) diarrhea, abdominal pain, and lethargy. Even if your pet is healthy and doesn’t symptomize the illness, he or she can still be a carrier that can infect everyone else in the house.

Nature’s Variety voluntarily recalled all their Instinct Raw Chicken Formula with an expiration date of April 27, 2016. The recall includes the products with this date as well as any others that expire before then and are in the bites and patties formation (any pound bag).

So, let’s say that you’re an owner feeding your dog the raw chicken diet—this right here is why you shouldn’t feed your dog raw meat—and this recall pops up. What do you do?

It can be tempting to ignore it, but you really don’t want to do that. The Nature’s Variety recall has not produced any known cases of illnesses yet, but you don’t want your dog to be the lucky number one. In order to dispose of a product that has been recalled, you need to follow the handling instructions. Throw it into the garbage bin using gloves and then take the garbage out.

The disposal method doesn’t just end there. If your product has been recalled, you need to clean the house. Salmonella, which is a common reason products get recalled, is an insidious disease that can get essentially everywhere.

Clean all the surfaces in your home with antibacterial disinfectant. If you don’t want to throw out the product because you want a refund, check your store’s return policies (all they’ll do is throw it out for you and give you your money back).

It’s important to clean your house thoroughly after this incident because you could be risking contamination otherwise. The food recalls are issued after customers complain of the illness or after an FDA routine-inspection of the facility finds that there are trace amounts (or more than trace) of a bacterial contaminant or sterility issue in the facility. The latter is what happened in the Nature’s Variety case.

It’s important to be very bacteria-conscious for the next few days (salmonella bacteria can survive for 1-4 hours on outside surfaces). Monitor your pet’s health closely. You may want to call your veterinarian just in case. Let him or her know what has happened with your pet’s food.

This way, they’ll be able to advise you as to what to look for and what steps you should take if you believe your pet is ill. Also, he or she will be aware of the recall so that they can inform other owners what has happened.

If your pet begins showing signs of food-borne illnesses, you need to take him or her to the vet immediately. Although salmonella does leave the system after a little while, you don’t want to take any chances. It is a nasty bug. Keep your dog hydrated and make sure that they have the water supply necessary to handle an infection. Dehydration is a common side effect of food poisoning, and it’s the reason that there are several cases of the illness that do turn deadly (even though it is not, by nature, a deadly disease).

To recap, if your dog’s food is recalled, dispose of it immediately, clean your house and all the areas that the virus may have touched with disinfectant, and closely monitor your pet’s health for the next week in order to make sure that they haven’t contracted the virus as a carrier or as a victim.

Continuing along this same vein of doggy food problems, we’ll discuss additives and artificial substances in dog foods and what to do to avoid those next.

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