Signs of a Healthy Dog Diet: What To Look For

I just saw a story on the news where a vet said you can’t tell much about a dog food from the ingredients label. Sure, it shows you the ingredients, but that doesn’t say anything about the quality of the ingredients (that, however, is true of human food as well.)

So while it is true you can’t tell about the quality of the ingredients, I think he was doing a great disservice to many concerned pet owners by saying not to read the label. His advise was to look at your dog’s coat to tell whether the food you are feeding is any good – which is VERY true – I completely agree with that. So let’s say my dog’s coat isn’t looking too healthy. I should probably switch dog foods, but to what? If you don’t look at the ingredients, what exactly do you look at? Too many times pet owners are taken in by the packaging.

What wasn’t stressed is that there is actually very little regulation about dog food and dog food packaging. Manufacturers try to trick you by showing beautiful, luscious cooked chicken and fresh fruits and vegetables, but the reality is, if you check most of their ingredient labels, you will see chicken by-product and lots of grains and grain by-products. But if you don’t look at the ingredients label, you will never know. Also, look at the manufacturing company – are they a conglomerate? If so, then chances are high that they are using a lot of by-products from their human food processing plants, which translates into less naturally nutritious food for your dog.

So please, look at the dog food ingredients label. Look for companies that use ingredients that are as little processed as possible. AND look at your dog. If they are eating a good, healthy, premium dog food, then they should have a nice, shiny, healthy looking coat, as well as increased energy.