THE SHORT VERSION FIRST
This phamphlet goes into great detail about the science behind the canine diet. If you want the shorter version... Wellness Core or Orijen are the best foods you can feed for every stage of your dog's life. It is especially important that your dog get good food like Wellness Core during the first 6 months.
If you need to compromise look at the ingredient list of the dog food. It should show plenty of meats near the beginning, and a variety of fruits and vegetables lower in the list. Avoid the words corn, wheat, soy, beet, and brewers. Try to get a grain free food.
THE LONG VERSION FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO KNOW WHY.
For those of you that question the reasoning behind choosing this food, and why pet store owners and veterinarian's and other owners would suggest something else, and for those that want to understand what is actually in the dog food to choose one for yourself, this phamphlet should answer your questions.
As most people are aware different mammals have different diets. You probably know that there are carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores. However, the classifications get much more complicated than that. Within each of these main classifications are sub classes. Under each of the sub classes, each species has individual vitamin and mineral needs. The individual needs of each species are measured in many ways. First, to determine the class of the species, the levels of certain enzymes in the saliva and in the stomache are measured.
The pancreas produces many different enzymes. A common known enzyme is insulin. Insulin helps to break down sugar. There are enzymes like Lipase that break down fat from both meats and vegetables. All mammals have Lipase. This enzyme and many other enzymes are unimportant in determining the animals diet. There are two enzymes used to determine the primary class of an animal. These are protase and amylase. Protase breaks down protiens primarily found in meats. Amylase breaks down starches primarily found in grains.A mammal who's pancreas does not produce any Amylase would be a carnivore. Carnivores can not digest starches, such as grains. A mammal who's pancreas does not produce any Protase would be an herbivore. Herbivores can not digest protiens, such as meats. If the mammal produces both Amylase and Protase, then it is an Omnivore like humans.
There are also certain features that each classifications have. A major one of these is the length of the small intestine. An herbivore has an intestine that is 4 times the size of a same size human. A carnivore has an intestine that is one third the size of a same size human. Therefore, if you took a dog and a cow of the exact same size, the cows small intestine would be 7 times as long as that dog's. This difference is very significant.
Grains have a long shelf life, where as meats left out would rot within one day. A carnivores intestine is shorter so that he can pass the meat out of his sytem more quickly before it begins to rot. If an herbivore is fed meats, they will rot in it's system before it could be expelled. When it rots, it then poisons the animal. Even if the herbivore did produce protase to digest the meat, it could still not be expelled quickly enough. The opposite is true for carnivores. If they eat grains, their intestine is too short to allow the grains time to digest, even if he did have Amylase. All of the vitamins and minerals are unobtainable because he can not digest it. If grains are fed to a carnivore, they simply make the animal feel full, giving them no nutrients. The grains themselves will not harm the carnivore, however if grains are a regular part of his diet, he will become vitamin deficient.
There are sub-categories to each class. Sub categories are determined by the amount of protase, amylase, and a third enzyme called cellulase. Cellulase is the enzyme that digests fruits and vegetables. On top of this, more thorough studies are done to determine the exact nutrient needs of each species. Most people assume carnivores eat only meat. This is untrue. There are no mammals that eat only meat. The most true carnivore is called an obligate carnivore. Housecats are obligate carnivores. They produce very little cellulase. An obligate carnivore has a diet of over 90% meat. However, just as a housecat will nibble on grass, or vegetables such as green beans, and have a healthy bite of catnip, so in the wild they would also taste fruits and vegetables from time to time.
Obligate carnivores can not survive on a vegetarian diet. If they are not fed meat they will die within a matter of weeks. There are many vitamins and minerals such as taurine that are only found in meat sources. Obligate carnivores can not live long without them. Even if they are fed all the grains, fruits and vegetables they like, they will still die without these nutrients. Obligate carnivores also do not need fruits and vegetables to thrive ( to be healthy). They need very little of the vitamins and minerals found in fruits and vegetables. The very small amount they do require to thrive they can get from their meat.
Canines are opportune carnivores. Their diet should consist of 70% meat, 30% fruits and vegetables, and 0% grains. Unlike obligate carnivores, they require a higher dose of vitamins and minerals found in fruits and vegetables. Unless they consume some fruits and vegetables, they will become vitamin deficient because they need more than the meat can provide. In the wild, wolves will frequently snack on fruits and vegetables between their meals of meat. Canines can also survive, but not thrive, on a vegetarian diet. This meaning they won't die within a matter of weeks. However, over time the vitamin deficiency can cause bone disease, heart problems, diabetes, digestive problems, and even blindness. The immune system will also break down making them much more susceptible to dying from common viruses they could normally fight off.
The thing that all types of carnivores have in common is that they can not digest grains. If they are fed a diet of only starches, they will starve. It does not matter how healthy the grain is, or how full of nutrients. A carnivores body can not get to those nutrients, and they will pass right out of the body. So, why do many commercial dry dog foods contain so much grain? The answer is simply money. Meat costs a lot more than grain. There are many healthy grain free dog foods on the market, normally found in small pet food stores as opposed to the bigger chains. The problem is that they cost 4-6 times as much as purina or pedigree which are full of grain. Because of the cost, they do not sell as well, so the bigger pet supply chains don't normally carry them. Because of this, the majority of the population have problems when they do want good quality grain free food because of either the cost, or the convenience.
You may wonder why then would a veterinarian recommend one of these unhealthy dog foods. The answer is simply a lack of information. Most schools of veterinary medicine do not spend more than 16 hours teaching about nutrition. This 16 hours covers basic nutrition for a very large variety of animals. Most of these schools do not even concentrate on the canine diet specifically. The schools typically tell them that the individual animals should have food that meets the dietary requirements that the AAFCO sets. So, the vet is approached by a dog food company offering to pay them to recommend their food. The vet looks at the bag and sees that it meets the AAFCO's standards, and does it. Many vets are not aware that those vitamins listed on the bag are unobtainable by your dog, and it is just as if they are not really there. By reading this simple manual, you have spent more time learning about the specific canine diet than most vets have. The dog food companies are fooling those vets.
However, there are many dog foods that are good compromises. In order to buy your dog the best food available within your budget, you should learn how to read the dog food labels. To begin with, the ingredients are listed by percent. There is more of the first item in the list than there is anything else. The last item listed is only a very small percent of the dog food. There are many tricks that dog food companies play to convince the consumer that their food is healthier than it really is.
The easiest trick they pull is to put the words "high protien" on the bag. Most people are aware that their dogs need high protien. However, in order to get that high protien level, the companies add corn gluten and soy products to the food. Corn and soy are both very high in protien content. But your dog does not get one bit of protien out of it. Remember, dogs can't digest starches. In most cases the bags should really say "high in protien, but your dog can't actually get the protien...ha ha ha". What your dog needs is dog food that is high in protien from a meat source. In other words, ignore any ad saying "high protien" and actually look at the ingredients
Another trick they use is to add vitamins to the food. So, the bag shows all of these addes vitamins, and you think your dog is getting that nutrition. It generally isn't. Most added vitamins are from sources that dogs have difficulty digesting. Many of them are actually liquid derived from plants, each vapor coated in a grain coating to make them a powder form. This makes the vitamins easier to package, transport, and administer than a liquid form would be. It also makes them difficult for carnivores to break down. A good dog food will show minimal added vitamins. Generally, if there are only a few added vitamins and there are plenty of meats and a variety of fruits and vegetables, it is a consciencious company and those few are the ones that can easily be digested. Instead of added vitamins, you should be looking for fruits and vegetables. There should be at least a few different types for the dog to get a wider range of vitamins. It is ok if the fruits and vegetables are near the end of the list, because the dog does not require a large amount of these. What is important is variety. So, look for fruits and vegetables and don't count on a mass of added vitamins.
The ingredient list should have several meats listed near the top, and several fruits and/or vegetables listed near the bottom. The less grains, the better. Avoid corn, soy, wheat and beet pulp at all costs. These are known to be linked to many allegies, and contribute to tear staining and stomache upset. If you must chose a food with grains oats, barley, and rice are preffered. These grains are easier on the stomache and have no bad side effects except that they act as a filler. Also avoid cellulous. Cellulous literally means sawdust.
Now, lets look at some more tricks of the trade.This one is a math problem. Every ingredient going into dry dog food must of course be dried. When grains or meats are dried they are refered to as "meal" such as "chicken meal" or "corn meal". When they are counting the product before drying, the label will simply say "chicken" or "poulty" or "meat". Chicken is 70% water. Corn is 60% water. So, 10 pounds of fresh chicken = 3 pounds of chicken meal. 10 pounds of fresh corn =4 pounds of corn meal.
Let's say I am making a 30 pound bag of dog food. I am putting 10 pounds of fresh chicken, 10 pounds of fresh corn, and 5 pounds of dry rice into the food. I am going to try to make it look like there is a lot more chicken than corn. So, I will list fresh chicken at 10 pounds instead of chicken meal at 3 pounds. By counting it at 10 pounds, I have now made it the first thing on the list. I could list fresh corn at 10 pounds, or corn meal at 4 pounds. I would chose to list it as corn meal, at 4 pounds so it is lower on the list. We have 5 pounds of rice.
The list now reads: Fresh chicken, rice, corn meal.
The meal actually used would read: Rice, corn meal, chicken meal.
So, just remember if an item does not have the word meal by it, it should be much lower on the list than it is.
The last trick is called splitting. Let's say I am making a 30 pound bag of dog food. To be cheap, I am using 15 pounds of corn gluten meal, and 8 pounds of chicken. I don't want corn to show up first on the list. So instead of listing it once, I list it under 2 different names. On the label, my dog food has 7.5 pounds of corn gluten meal, and 7.5 pounds of corn by-product. By-products are literally the stuff that food companies would throw away after removing all of the consumable parts for humans. For instance, a company selling corn would remove all the kernels and can them for humans. They would grind the cobs down to make grits. The middle of that cob, as well as the husks and even the stalks would be the corn by products, also known as corn gluten meal. By splitting the corn gluten meal under 2 names at 7.5 pounds each, they have now made it so that the 8 pounds of chicken comes first on the list.
There is more to making a good healthy dry dog food than simple making sure it is properly proportioned. The dog food must also have the correct amounts of vitamins and minerals as suggested by the AAFCO (the official department for animal nutritional needs). Getting the proper amounts of nutrients should be easy, but there are problems.
Another trick dog food companies use is to inform you that puppy, adult, senior and overweight dogs all need different foods. What they don't specify is that these dogs need different amounts of food and specifically calories, not necessarily different foods. Dogs crave meat. This is similar to a sweet craving a human may have. The meat cravings are the way their body is telling them they are not getting enough of the vitamins and minerals that only meat can provide.This is the "overeating" problem bad dog food companies have created. The dog food company has created food that makes them crave meat.
If a dog is fed a food full of grain, like pedigree, they will have these cravings. When they crave meat, they eat whether they are full or not. Since they can not get to a meat source, they eat more of the grain filled food instead. This adds calories, but not the needed vitamins and minerals. Hence, he gains more weight. Then, instead of eliminating this problem they created, they put a patch on it by making yet another cheap grain filled food that gives the dog even less nutrients. When overweight dogs are switched to a grain free food with 70% meat content, they start eating less and will actually lose the excess weight because they are no longer overeating. Hmmm, feed a carnivore meat, why didn't Purina think of that?.....Money. Most people don't care what they feed their dog, as long as it costs $10 per bag instead of $50 per bag. Purina want's to sell to "most people".
Senior dogs need less calories because their activity level has reduced. If they are fed grain filled food, they eat more because they are trying to get nutrients, and may gain weight. However, if a senior dog is fed a food with 70% meat and 30% fruits and vegetables, they will automatically eat less of the food because they have none of these cravings for nutrients thay are not getting. Their body will tell them they are getting enough. Another amazing concept that purina and pedigree have yet to hear of.
Puppies need a higher amount of calories, and they need to have calcium and phosphorus below certain levels. It has been proven that dogs need calcium and phosphorus. It has also been proven that too much can cause health problems. Just recently the AAFCO put not only a minimum requirement, but also a maximum allowed amount of calcium and phosphorus on the canines nutritional chart for this reason. Almost all meat contains high levels of calcium and phosphorus. It is very very easy to get these levels too high by adding 70% meat and egg products. If these levels are too high, it can cause a young pup's bones to grow too fast. Many people believe that this is caused by high protien. This is untrue. It is not the protien itself that increases the chances of bone problems, it is actually the calcium and phosphorus. Because these amounts generally go up with higher protien, people confuse the two.This is especially a problem with large breeds. The food can cause the pup to grow up and have hip dysplasia. In smaller breeds it can lead to patella luxation, a problem with the knee joints. The dog would, of course, have to already have these problems in it's genetic code. However, too much of these minerals can bring the problems on and/or make them worse if he already carries the genes.
So, what does a dog food company do to fight having the calcium and phosphorus above the maximum set by the AAFCO? Many of them dilute the dog food with grains, especially rice. If a cup of food has 2 grams of calcium, and you mix it with a cup full of rice and corn, the calcium in one cup would now be 1 gram. Remember, corn has unobtainable protien, so the bag will still show a high protien content. Young pups need this protien and the vitamins and minerals found in meats and fruits and vegetables to be healthy. Unfortunately, now the pup is robbed of nutrients necessary for his growth. The bag says high protien, and the right amount of vitamins, but he isn't getting it. It is as if you are feeding him air.
A very few dog food companies have actually taken the time to find the correct balance of meats to provide the higher protien without having calcium and phosphorus levels that are too high. One might wonder how, if this is a problem in meats, did wolves avoid high calcium and phosphorus. This is simple. To begin with wolves were not as big boned as the large breeds we created. Second, wolves were not as small as the toy breeds we created. Therefore hip dysplasia and patella luxation were not common problems. Wolves did not hunt cows and pigs and buffalo or animals larger than them. The majority of their food came from eggs, poultry, fish, rabbits, gophers, ducks, and smaller game. These smaller animals generally have much lower levels of phosphorus and calcium. Eggs,poultry, and fish are particularly low. Some very reputable dog food companies have taken the time to figure out which mixture of meats and egg can make up the 70-75% meat without going over the proper calcium and phosphorus levels.
Keep in mind that minor descrepancies such as the calcium and phosphorus problem is just one of many possible problems. If your dog has no family history of bone problems, and is not a large breed that would often get hip dysplasia, or a toy breed that is known for patella luxation, or if he is over 6 months of age, there is really no need to worry about the calcium and phosphorus levels. However, different dog foods may not have enough of some other vitamins or minerals.
If you are unsure of which dog foods are best, I suggest Orijen, or Wellness Core. Both of these foods are grain-free and completely balanced to the AAFCO's standards, made with real meat fruits and vegetables for your dog at any stage of life. There are other foods that are great, with only minor discrepancies. Innova Evo is an excellent food, with the only problem being the calcium and phosporus levels are too high for puppies with posssible bone problems. I would have no problem suggesting it for adult dogs or even puppies of medium size breeds. However, most of us don't even eat healthy meals, let alone perfectly balanced. Do not feel bad if you can't give your dog the absolute best. I would recommend buying the healthier food when they are puppies and still growing, at least until they are 6 months to one year of age. One large bag costing about $50 will normally last through puppyhood for a small breed. Even if you are struggling, the benefits of feeding him healthy when he is a pup will last a lifetime and are well worth the sacrifice.
In summary, look at the label. You should see several listings of meat products such as fish, chicken, meat, and eggs near the beginning. You should see at least a few fruits and vegetables near the bottom. You want the grains to be lower on the list, and the fewer the better. At all costs avoid anything with the words Corn, soy, wheat, brewers, beet, cellulose. Also try to avoid the words by-product. A chicken by-product means it is not the legs thighs and breasts that humans would consume, but is instead the head, feet, innards and such that the companies find difficult to sell or even impossible to sell to humans. These are not the healthiest meats, but the are not considerably bad either. They are definitely a better protien source than corn or soy. At least they can actually GET that protien. This way, even if you don't have many options when it comes to dog food, you will be able to pick out the one that is healthiest for your dog within your budget.
For information on specific dog foods go to www.dogfoodanalysis.com . They list the brand of foods, ingredients, and the pros and cons. They also rate each food one to six star, with six star being the highest. This is very handy in choosing a dry food for your dog.
And just for the heck of it, the next time you are in the store, take a walk down the dog food aisle, and look at the labels. Now, you will have a pretty good understanding about what you are reading.