piraticoctopus:

You can call your dog food “scientifically formulated” and “vet recommended” all you want but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s got wheat gluten and whole grain corn in the first five ingredients and literally contains no actual meat protein. Like saying “well at least they specified what kind of animal their by-product is from” shouldn’t be something to be proud of.

Doesn’t matter if it’s full of shit your dog can’t digest right or straight-up causes health problems for a lot of dogs; if you’ve got that brand recognition and the SCIENCE!1!! people will buy it anyways even when it’s priced at like $24.99 for a 5 pound bag.

Dogs deserve better.

Okay, so since there’s a few people asking for more info, I’ll elaborate. This is gonna be kinda lengthy cause I don’t know how to summarize.

I’ve worked at a dog/cat supplies store for a little over a year now, so I’m by no means an expert on dog nutrition. But in addition to basic nutrition training, I’ve done a bit of my own research on the topic as well as talking with regular customers about their dogs, food choices, and what works/doesn’t work for their situations. A lot of these ideas can apply to cat food, too.

First off, here’s a great website to help you sort through the numerous brands of food out there. It’s got their own ratings of dog foods but also a breakdown of why the author rated them as they did, and what the ingredients contribute to the food’s overall nutritional value.

I’m not saying to disregard what vets tell you. But if your vet recommends a certain food for your dog, I don’t see the harm in asking them why that food will help your dog. What about it makes it special and addresses the issue, etc. 

Good guidelines for picking a dog food:

1. Meat as the first

   (and preferably also second, even third) ingredient. Alternatively, look for meat meals. The word “meal” isn’t a bad, scary thing here: a meat meal is dehydrated meat that’s basically a concentrated, dried protein. Some people prefer fresh meat first, because it’s less processed. 

2. Wheat-free and corn-free are good things to consider. 

   A lot of dog foods lately are starting to move toward grain-free options. Grains include corn, wheat, barley, oats, rye, and rice. For a lot of dogs these don’t cause an issue, per se, but corn in particular is difficult for dogs to digest well. It basically has no nutritional value to a dog, just goes in one end and out the other. That being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with grains as a whole, in moderation. Rice is pretty easy for dogs to digest. In fact, I’ve seen it recommended for upset stomachs. However, many breeds are prone to grain “allergies” (they’re usually more of an intolerance, not a full-blown allergy), so some people prefer to avoid grains altogether just in case. From what I’ve seen many small breeds (ex. Yorkies, Shih Tzus) and bully breeds (”Pit bulls”, bulldogs, etc.) have issues with grains or chicken. Grain alternatives include potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas,

   chickpeas, and lentils.

3. You don’t want a by-product meal as the primary/only source of animal protein. By-products are basically what’s left after the prime cuts are removed, so things like bones and intestines. But why are these “bad”? After all, wild canids eat pretty much the whole animal, right? And don’t dogs eat bones? Well, yeah, but by-product meals are a lower quality ingredient and shouldn’t be the only “meat” in your dog’s food. Sometimes they don’t even specify what kind of animal and instead just say “animal by-product” or “poultry by-product”. I don’t know about you, but that feels sketchy as hell if they can’t even be specific on what’s in their food. Same goes for (usually wet foods) when they simply list “fish” or “liver”. Whose liver? Are we talking salt water or fresh water fish? Do you know what kind of fish? Y’all didn’t specify.

So let’s look at some example ingredients lists.

Why do I not like Hill’s Science Diet? Mostly because it’s wildly popular, commonly recommended, and apart from their prescription diets (which I don’t know much about) I don’t understand why. Here’s their “Adult Advanced Fitness Original Dog Food”.  First seven ingredients: Chicken, whole grain wheat, cracked pearled barley, whole grain sorghum, whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken meal. So basically, chicken, grain, grain, grain, grain, grain, chicken meal. Which, in my opinion, shouldn’t be considered the “optimum” diet for dogs. To their credit, they DO apparently have a grain-free option now, which while it still doesn’t have as much meat as I’d prefer, looks better than their other food.

And now my *favorite*, Royal Canin. Yes, that was sarcasm. They’ve got their “breed specific nutrition” line, and while I understand different dogs need differences in their foods, they’re going about it the wrong way. Plus it doesn’t help that they describe their food using big, fancy, “sciency” words to make it sound better. This is their “Yorkshire Terrier Adult Dry Dog Food”, one of the ones that inspired my initial rant.  First several ingredients: Brewers rice (which is a product of processing rice, btw! It’s not whole rice!), brown rice, chicken by-product meal, chicken fat, wheat gluten, corn gluten meal, corn. How in the actual hell is anyone going to defend that as the “optimal” nutrition for a Yorkie? Especially with the fact that, again, Yorkies are one of those breeds where grain and chicken allergies aren’t uncommon. “Scientific and nutritional expertise” my ass. And a big bag of Royal Canin will run you over $60. $60.

Everyone’s seen commercials for Blue Wilderness. Here’s their Adult Chicken recipe. Deboned chicken, chicken meal, peas, pea protein, tapioca starch, menhaden fish meal. Not all dogs need a protein level as high as Blue Wilderness, but hopefully you can see the difference between this and the first two ingredients lists.

Merrick is a U.S.-produced brand. If you look at their “Grain Free Real Chicken + Sweet Potato Recipe”, the first five ingredients are deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. A pretty solid first five. 

And feeding better quality food doesn’t have to break the bank. Merrick also makes Whole Earth Farms, which doesn’t have quite as high a protein content as Merrick (which is pretty high), but is a great food for the price. You can get a 25 pound bag of grain-free food for about $40. And Petco makes a grain-free brand called WholeHearted that runs about the same price. So there are options out there.

Dogs are, to an extent, omnivorous, but you gotta keep in mind that there’s “only” like 13,000 years separating them and today’s gray wolves (which on an evolutionary scale is almost nothing). Dogs do have improved ability to digest some plant matter compared to wolves, but their bodies are still largely intended to eat meat, so plants shouldn’t be the majority of their diet. Keep in mind that a high protein content in a food doesn’t always mean a high meat content. Plants contain proteins, which can boost the protein percentage on the side of the bag.

Feeding your dog a higher-quality diet reduces the amount of food your dog needs (since they’re getting more nutrition!), makes them poop less (again, they’re absorbing more), and can improve coat quality and reduce excessive shedding. So there’s also that. 

Another important note: is your dog itchy? Do they lick their paws almost constantly, have dirty ears, or have skin problems? They may be intolerant or ”allergic” to something in their food. As mentioned before, grains can be a culprit, but another common one is actually chicken. So if switching your dog to a grain-free food doesn’t relieve their symptoms, try something without chicken. That is, of course, if switching your dog’s food properly doesn’t cause them additional issues. 

As always, there are exceptions to everything. That’s why there are so many dog foods with so many different ingredients, and even those considered the “best of the best” aren’t identical in their components. Dogs are individuals, and with the number of breeds and mixes out there it’s no surprise there will be some that need a diet more tailored to them. There are even, from what I’ve heard, extreme cases where vegetarian diets are all a dog can eat without problems. But in the absence of special conditions, these are pretty good guidelines to follow. 

If anybody has additional information they want to add, or if you have a correction to make, please feel free to contribute. I think the general public should have better awareness of pet nutrition, especially because of the health impacts it can have on their animals. If something as simple as changing a dog’s food can eliminate certain health problems and reduce medical bills, then I think it’s worth sharing.