If you have ever looked at the ingredients in the typical commercial dog food, you have likely wondered how it can possibly be healthy for your pet. The sad truth is that much like with human foods, dog foods have become over processed products that contain many unnatural ingredients that are not good for your dog. If you want your dig to eat as healthily as possible, make sure to follow these tips to select healthy dog food.
Avoid Grain
The way that many pet food companies attempt to save money on the manufacturing of their dog foods is to fill them with grains. Grains are not a part of a healthy diet for dogs. Most people are aware that human beings can have gluten intolerances that make it difficult for them to digest grains with gluten. This is even more common in canines, which are descended from wolves that eat meat exclusively in the wild.
Check the Meat Content
Because the natural diet of dogs is meat, you need to look for dog food that contains a large percentage of meat inside of it. The best dog foods will contain at least 50 percent meat. A good ratio for dog food is half meat and half vegetables. Because dogs have become used to living with humans over thousands of years, their bodies can process vegetables quite well.
Look out for Fat
Just like human beings, dogs need to limit the amount of fat they consume to stay healthy. When you are looking at the ingredients that are listed on the dog food label, you should look for dog food that has lean protein sources listed as the first ingredients. If you want to find the best dog foods for your pet, then you should only select dog foods that have quality sources of protein listed as three of the top five ingredients.
Don’t Go Vegetarian
If you want to go vegetarian, it can be a healthy diet for you as a human. However, just because you want to be a vegetarian or vegan, that doesn’t mean your dog needs to be meat-free as well. Even if you think killing animals is wrong, feeding your dog animal protein is part of being a responsible pet owner. You need to always keep in mind that dogs are descended from wolves. They cannot live a totally healthy life if they are not able to consume sources of animal portion as the bulk of their diets.
Look for Natural Preservatives
Although dog food does need to have preservatives added to keep it safe for consumption, you need to make sure that the dog food you buy contains the right preservatives. Avoid dog foods that have chemical preservatives like BHT, BHA and ethoxyquin. Instead, look for dog foods that are manufactured with healthy, natural preservatives like Vitamin A and Vitamin E.
If you follow these tips, you will ensure that you get healthy dog food for your beloved companion. When you get your pet healthy dog food, it will keep him healthy and happy. This will save money on vet bills and ensure that your pet is full of life.