Dog Food Ingredients to Avoid

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     If you are a dog owner who cares for your pet, then you know for a fact that keeping them healthy is your utmost priority. A pet is also part of the family, so it is important that we always keep into account their health and safety. And this is especially true when it comes to what we feed our dogs. For our canine companion, there is no such thing as bad dog food, and they will most likely eat anything that you provide for them. And this can be a problem if you are feeding your dog with pet foods that does not have enough nutritional content or bad ingredients because this practice can jeopardize the health of your pet. And that is why, as dog owners, it is our responsibility that our pet is eating what is best for him. Here are some bad dog foods that you should avoid feeding to your pet:

1. You need to keep in mind that not all of the food that are fit for human consumption is also applicable to your dogs. What may be non-toxic to us may be lethal for our furry friends.

2. Never ever feed your dog with chocolates and caffeine because they are absolutely lethal for your dogs. Ingestion of chocolates or caffeine can cause vomiting, diarrhea, excessive panting, irregular urination, seizures, heart problem and in the worst case scenario, it can even lead to death.

3. The negative effects of chocolate and caffeine depends on the amount that was consumed. Dark chocolate is especially dangerous.

4. Avoid dog food brands that have fillers in the ingredients. Fillers are usually used in low quality dog foods and they lack in taste and are sometimes not ideal for canine consumption. Examples of fillers are cottonseed hulls, crushed peanut shells, corn ingredients, weeds and so on.

5. Fillers are only designed to make a dog feel full without the benefits of nutrition. This is simply a way for pet food manufacturers to cut down on the production cost.

6. Avoid dog food brands that do not have specific meat ingredient source. Examples of good meat ingredients are those that are specifically identified like chicken meal, lamb meal and so on. Non-specific meat ingredient is not ideal because the source of the meat can't be trusted, it worst cases they could come from rotten sources. Non-specific meat ingredients are mostly used in low quality dog food brands.

7. Avoid commercial dog foods that have meat by-products. In reality, meat by-products do not really contain any sort of meat. These ingredients are usually taken from leftover meat that has been removed from a bone. This usually goes with the unpleasant mixture of heads, feet, hoofs, internal organs and so on. It is the manufacturer's very cheap way of boosting the protein content of the dog food.

Remember that we are the one who's aware of what our dogs eat, so it is our responsibility to provide them with safe and healthy food in order to promote their good health.