Petlife logo

Dog

Dog Food: Understanding Ingredients

By Biswajit DeyPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
Like
Dog
Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

A good dog food for your dog meets with a specific, high quality ingredient base that provides a high level of optimum nutrition for your pet. Dog food ingredients are selected based on their quality, and are human grade, meaning that they are also used for human consumption. Usually a greater price tag goes along with the purchase of premium dog food as the cost to find, evaluate and test a high quality ingredient can be more expensive, and because of this, some dog food manufacturers substitute quality for quantity and opt for the cheap alternative.

They do this because they know that the uneducated public will, often times, opt to buy the cheaper alternative when given the choice. Also, it is more convenient to purchase your dog’s food as your buying your own groceries, so purchasing your dog’s food at the grocery store just makes sense right?

Wrong!

For those of you that are unaware, Alpo is a pet food manufacturer that manufactures pet food that is sold in grocery stores the world over. Being a reputable company, one would think that Alpo would actually care about the pets that eat the food that they produce, however for the trained eye this just is not the case.

Alpo Lamb Meal, Rice & Barley Formula

This dog food to the trained eye is as appealing as a day old glass of milk left out in the sun. The ingredients are of a low quality, making it a terrible choice of food for your dog.

First of all, the protein source is cheap and of a very low quality. Usually on a dog food label, the ingredients are listed from greatest to least. In this case, we have corn as the first listed ingredient, with chicken by-product, poultry by-product, animal fat, and finally lamb meal.

A good quality dog food will have the protein source listed first as this is the highest nutritional component to any dog food; however, we see here that “lamb meal” which is the only high quality ingredient on the above list is fifth on the list. The fact that there are multiple animal by products on the list at all tells us that Alpo is using the cheapest protein source that they can find.

The fact that these by-products are listed within the top five ingredients, is even worse, as these ingredient positions carry a lot of weight in the overall make up of the food. This food is not fit for a dog to eat! The fact that Alpo makes millions of dollars in profit yearly by creating and selling cheap products tells me as it should tell anybody, that this company is just in the game for the gain, and you should never stoop to their level and purchase their food for your beloved dog.

By Undine Tackmann on Unsplash

Dog Food: Food Requirements

Understand the proper food requirements of your pet! The better dog foods are called Premium for they contain the best of everything nutritious and healthy. You can find these types of dog foods at your Vet or specialty stores. Some grocery stores will carry some of these brands, too, but read those labels. Cheaper brands of dog food are called Commercial and are found commonly in your corner store and grocery food store where you shop for the family food.

If you feel you must buy cheaply, keep in mind that you will purchase cheap ingredients. This includes cheap sources of protein, which you really should not be skimping on. They will include cheap by-products and fillers, which provide little to no nutrition for your dog.

Take your dog’s health into consideration. When you feed him cheaper dog food he will not be able to maintain his good health so be careful when you select your brand of dog food.

Feeding your puppy takes special consideration. Your dog will grow significantly during the first 15 months so feeding him the optimal diet that they need is very important.

Protein is concern number one. Your puppy will require larger amounts of protein during this time. The balance of foods must be met too. Balanced ingredients are very important to a healthy puppy!

Different breeds of dogs have different requirements. Consult with your Veterinarian to find out which choice is best for your puppy according to breed.

Find out the suggested feeding guidelines, as well. Feeding your puppy right will mean a happy and healthy puppy and you will enjoy your time with him as he grows and matures.

You and your dog will have many life’s challenges along the way, as well as many triumphs and joys. Send your dog on his way to enjoy his life with you by buying and feeding the best of nutrition for your pet.

adoptionartbirdbook reviewsbreedscatcelebritiesdiydogexotic petsfact or fictionfeatureferretfishfroggroomingguinea pighamsterhealthhedgehoghorsehow tohumanityinterviewlistliteraturelizardmovie reviewpet foodphotographypop cultureproduct reviewquotesrabbitreviewsatiresciencesnakesocial mediatherapytoystrainingtraveltv reviewvintagewild animalsvet
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.