How to determine what is Best Dog Food Ingredients, what SHOULD be on the Label,

The best start is to check out the website of your preferred dog food first and foremost.

Most manufacturers making a high quality, premium dog food will have easily accessible ingredient lists on their websites.

I found some web sites almost impossible to find an ingredient or nutritional analysis on, and I would suggest this as a warning that they have something perhaps to hide.

Look for locally grown food in their manufacturing process, and a list of what they don’t use is a nice easy way to determine if the food is healthy.

(EXAMPLE: produced without the use of herbicides, pesticides or artificial fertilizers, no irradiation used, does not contain chemical additives or preservatives, colors or dyes, hormone and antibiotic free)

This is an indication of a manufacturer that is responsible and really does put your pet’s health and nutrition first.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF INGREDIENTS YOU WANT IN YOUR COMMERCIAL DOG FOOD :

SPECIFIED MEAT or FISH SOURCES:

Chicken as opposed to poultry by-products. Any named meat or fish is desirable such as chicken, turkey, venison, lamb, beef, herring etc.

Chicken meal as opposed to meat meal. Meal is the dry rendered (cooked down) product which will be more concentrated with the good qualities of the meat. This applies to any protein source such as chicken meal, turkey meal, venison meal, buffalo meal, herring meal, salmon meal, etc.

Having two different meat sources is the best product to look for. An example of an excellent protein based food has deboned turkey, turkey meal and chicken meal as the first 3 ingredients
(SEE My Wellness Core Review Here.).

The meat will be human grade which means it is clean and free of bones, blood, feathers, heads, feet, hooves, entrails etc., and also fresh and edible as opposed to rotten or spoiled.

CARBOHYDRATES:

Grains such as brown rice, barley, oatmeal, or if the product is grain free, then potatoes, or sweet potatoes would be choices of excellent carbohydrates.

Whole grains as opposed to the highly over processed mill run and flours.

Avoid corn and wheat and any of their derivatives in any dog foods. They are not nutritious, cause allergies and illnesses and are usually used as cheap fillers.

FRUITS/VEGETABLES:

Whole fruits and vegetables as opposed to none in some dog foods.

Look for any of the fresh fruits and veggies that we eat such as carrots, peas, spinach, greens, apples, berries etc.

FAT SOURCES:

Named fats from quality sources such as chicken fat, sunflower oil, canola oil, salmon oil, or lamb fat, etc.

NATURAL PRESERVATIVES:

Mixed Tocopherols (a natural source of Vitamin E), is the most common natural preservative. A dry dog food with natural preservation will have an expiry date, which is what you want to look for.

A kibble that will last indefinitely is over processed and way to synthetically preserved with harmful chemicals.

HEALTHY VITAMINS/MINERALS/SUPPLEMENTS:

Premium Vitamins such as Mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E), choline chloride, vitamin A, vitamin D3, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin B12, folic acid, biotin, Vitamin B6,

Chelated Minerals such as Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, And Copper Amino Acid Chelate.

Probiotic Microorganisms such as Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product for digestive health.

Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids sourced naturally from ingredients such as flax seed, a specified fish oil and canola oil. – Supports healthy skin and coat.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin to help support long term bone and joint health.

Salt is also a necessary mineral and should be iodized or sea salt.