What Is The Top Rated Hypoallergenic Dog Food?

It can be hard to figure out what is the best hypoallergenic dog food to feed your dog. There are several brands that use only the highest quality ingredients and process the food in such a way as to preserve the most nutrients that your dog so desperately needs.

And if your dog does have dog food allergies, then you want a food that not only is free of the offending ingredient, but you also want the healthiest dog food to help build up and strengthen your dog’s immune system.

If your dog has non-food allergies, a hypoallergenic dog food is still invaluable. The quality of the ingredients and the nutrition your dog will be getting from these types of food will help them immensely in their allergy fight.  A healthy body and immune system will enable your dog to fight off internal problems better as well as make them more unattractive to parasites, such as fleas and mites. Read more »

Dog Food Comparison: What Are The Best Organic Dog Foods?

I decided to do an organic dog food comparison. There is a lot of controversy over what is considered an organic dog food. Although the organic definitions and guidelines are stricter than other labeling on dog foods, there is still room for confusion. Therefore, as always, Buyer Beware – look at the ingredients in your dog food before buying to be sure of what you are getting.

Dog Food Comparison: Label Definitions

• ‘Organic’, as defined by the FDA, means 95% certified organic ingredients (no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics or growth hormones).
• ‘100% Organic’ means, obviously, that 100% of the ingredients (excluding water and salt) must be certified organic.
• ‘Made with Organic Ingredients’ means the food must use at least 70% certified organic ingredients.

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Dog Food For Allergies: Hypoallergenic Dog Food

What exactly is a dog food for allergies? Basically, it is a special dog food that uses both limited and uncommon ingredients and is commonly called a hypoallergenic dog food. These dog foods also use very high quality ingredients that are packed with nutrients your dog needs to thrive.

On the other side of the dog food spectrum, a low quality, or economy, dog food contains lots of grains and grain by-products as well meat by-products that provide very little nutrients for your dog. This tends to leave your dog’s immune system in overdrive, in a hyper sensitive state, making him have a reaction to just about anything (i.e. allergies).

Refer to What Exactly Are Premium Dog Foods for more information on how to tell what kind of dog food you are currently feeding.

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Is Raw Dog Food Dangerous?

With the massive pet food recalls in the past few years, pet owners have been taking a closer look at their dog food. And a lot of people have been turning to a healthy, homemade or raw dog food over commercial dog food. Why? Because then you know exactly what is in your dog’s food. It’s food you get from your grocery store or butcher. But is feeding raw dog food to your dog dangerous?

Will My Dog Get Sick Eating Raw Dog Food?

Most people are concerned as to whether the raw meat might give their dog salmonella poisoning. Same with raw eggs. And then there is the controversy over whether raw eggs deplete biotin. But very few dogs have ever got sick from eating a raw diet. Dogs stomach acid is much higher than humans and they are able kill more bacteria. Their intestinal track is also much shorter, about 1/3, so food doesn’t stay in them for very long. Now, we are talking fresh meat, just like you and I would eat – nothing spoiled or rotten. As for eggs, again fresh eggs only. If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t give it to your dog. The biotin controversy is really more if you are only feeding raw egg whites – if you feed the whole egg, the yolk counteracts the effects of the egg whites.

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How To Find The Best Organic Dog Food

It seems these days we are flooded with commercials and packaging telling us how great so-and-so’s dog food is. But how do we really figure out which is the best organic dog food? The good news is we are finally seeing more companies showing some concern over what we are feeding our dogs. But you are going to really have to look at the dog food to figure out which one is the best for you.

First, let’s go over some definitions:

• ‘Organic’ means the food uses 100% USDA-certified organic ingredients
• ‘Made with organic ingredients’ means the food must use at least 70% USDA-certified organic ingredients
• ‘Natural’ or ‘All Natural’ means it is coming from nature – no chemical flavoring, coloring, or preservatives – but does not really say anything about the nutritional value of any of the ingredients

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Can Cheap Dog Food Be Healthy?

I was recently asked if a cheap dog food can be healthy. The answer for the most part is ‘no’. Dog food is made cheaply by using lots of low quality and by-product ingredients.

What If Cheap Dog Food Is All I Can Afford?

So what can you do if all you can afford is cheap dog food? If it were me, I would supplement the food I could afford with multi-vitamins and/or human vegetables and meats.

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Are The Best Dog Foods All Natural?

My friends know all about my healthy obsession with healthy dog food and ask me what are the best dog foods. Should they be all natural dog foods, or maybe holistic? There is a lot of confusion just in the naming of dog foods alone. I have a fairly good grasp on it and it still makes my head spin!

For me, it’s all about getting the best dog food I can for my budget. We are still raising two kids at home so I can’t just go out and buy the best dog food – which for me, would be raw meat with freeze-dried or dehydrated, all-natural and organic kibble with a multi-vitamin supplement thrown in. And maybe when our kids are off on their own, we will be able to feed our dogs like this. But for now, I just compare dog foods and find the best dog foods I can without going over my budget.

Why Are The Best Dog Foods All Natural?

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The Truth Behind Human Grade Dog Food

In the store the other day I saw a bag of human grade dog food. Curious, and always on the lookout for good, nutritious food for my dogs, I went over and took a look. After researching dog foods for over a year now, I get very nervous and distrusting when I see something that is trying really hard to get my attention.

What IS Human Grade Dog Food?

Human grade dog food. What does that really mean? Can I buy this and give it to my kids – the human kind, that is? The truth is, that’s what the dog food companies are banking on you thinking – not that you would actually do that, though. They know our relationship with our dogs is a very serious issue these days. By putting human grade on the bag, people automatically think, ‘I’m basically giving my dog human food. What could be better?’

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Just What Are These Dog Food Ingredients?

Have you ever looked at your dog food ingredients list? If you have trouble reading it, you are not alone. Dog food companies use all sorts of little tricks to make their food ’seem’ better than it actually is.

The best dog foods, the super-premium ones, have recognizable ingredients – a lot of them things humans eat regularly.

The super-premium foods are, unarguably, the best food for your dog. Many contain human-grade, and even organic, ingredients, rather than the massive by-products most companies use. These foods also have a higher price tag. But this price is worth it for the health of your dog. By keeping them healthy, you will ultimately lower your vet costs and improve the quality of their life, as well as their lifespan.

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Just What Are These Dog Food Ingredients – Part 2

In the previous post on dog food ingredients, I talked about preservatives and meats. And don’t worry if it is too confusing at first. It took me several times of going to the store and looking at all the dog food ingredients, before I really got a feel for how to quickly judge a quality vs. crap dog food.

In this post I’ll talk about grains, fruits and vegetables, and vitamins – or the rest of the stuff in the dog food ingredients list.

Dog Food Ingredients: Grains

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Is Healthy Homemade Dog Food Best For Your Dog?

A healthy, homemade dog food is best for your dog IF you know what kind of foods to use and how much of each type of food you should be feeding your dog.

Before you try making healthy dog food at home, you need some knowledge of canine nutrition. It is more than just throwing some meat and rice in a bowl. Although making your own dog food is more time and trouble than scooping some dog food out of a bag, you will be providing a quality dog food that will provide maximum nutrition. You will know exactly what is in your dog food and the fact that you are using human grade ingredients, something that unfortunately just can’t be said for the majority of the commercial dog foods in the market.

If you look at the ingredient list on a bag of commercial dog food, you will probably notice that half of the list is added vitamins and supplements. This also should tell you something about the quality of the dog food – if they have to add a huge amount of vitamins, the quality of their ingredients must not be very good. Homemade dog food will be healthier just by the fact that the ingredients are good quality with most of their nutritional value still in tact.

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