What are you feeding your dog?
Many dogs will develop an allergy to one of their foods during their lifetime. Many mass-produced foods on the market today have an abundance of grains in their ingredients. Those two statements are less coincidentally linked than most people care to think. Common ingredients that have been found to be troublesome for dogs are wheat, gluten, brewers yeast, corn and soy. Many dogs can handle these ingredients in moderation, but not as a main component of their diet. Add to that the comparatively larger amount of preservatives that mainstream foods use in their production, and you can see that there is less "real" dog food in every kibble. And then there's the meat ingredients. Did you know it's legal for dog food manufacturers to use roadkill meat in the production of their food? It's true...how scary is that?
Those are all contributing factors to why we do not carry mass-produced food in our store. But don't take our word for it - the best thing you can do is educate yourself. There are many sources out there, but whatever your methods, the most important thing you can do is get the education. You may very well end up saving your dog's life.
If you like books, check out "Foods Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food," by Ann N. Martin. If you prefer to do your reading online, start with Dog Food Scoop, which has many great articles and links.
Want to know how good your dog's food is? This quiz gives a numerical grade to foods based on their ingredients. This quiz is not perfect, but it will help you get a general idea of where your dog food falls out. Take the test here. Using this method, the following are scores of some common foods:
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 D
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Benful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
VeRUS Life Advantage / Score 99 A
Eagle Pack / Score 111 A+
Taste of the Wild / Score 113 A+
Merrick canned food / Score 109 A+
Foods We Carry:
