Good Dog Food - Is Home Made the Best?

How many dogs are dying a slow death from malnutrition and poisoning? And at the hands of loving, caring owners? Is your dog one of them? If you are feeding your dog commercial dog food, that may very well be the case. Just because a particular brand of food is expensive and labels itself "premium" or "gourmet" doesn't mean it's good dog food. Here's why.

Read the list of ingredients in the can of food you are feeding your dog. Do you know what each one of those ingredients are? The maker of high end organic pet foods includes organic soybean meal in some of its dog foods. Can't be bad, right? Soybean meal is, "the product obtained by grinding the flakes which remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans by a solvent or mechanical extraction process." It's a low quality protein filler.

The fifth ingredient in another brand's beef flavored kibbles is, "Animal Fat (preserved with BHA/BHT)". Got a double here! Animal fat is defined as, "Obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids." The animal source is not specified and can be from any source, including animals euthanized at shelters, and "downer" animals, animals disabled, diseased, or dying prior to slaughter.

BHA and BHT have been banned from human use in many countries but still permitted in the US. They are possible human carcinogens, and have been shown to be carcinogenic in animal experiments. Feed your dog food with these in it and you increase your pet's chances of getting cancer.

If you want to ensure your dog is getting the cleanest, most nutritious, safest food, then you should make it yourself. The ingredients you will be using are essentially the same ones you use for your own food, and if you are unsure of what to make or how to make it, sources of dog food recipes abound. Truly good dog food is food you make yourself. Your dog will be healthier and happier for it.