what ingredients should i be looking for?

[snakesNxD]

Hello all

I have read TONS of messages about which food to feed, although I don't know why some are better then others. What ingredients do I want the food to contain? There's Beef & Rice, Lamb & Rice, Chicken & Rice, Turkey & Barley...just to name a few.
Which ingredients should I steer clear of when chosing a food? And, WHY??

Is there a website that will tell me what are the best ingredients and WHY?

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks again,
Liz

[Kiminski]

Hi Liz,
Here ya go! http://home.att.net/~wdcusick/02.html http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/P...50/PETFOOD.htm http://www.aloha.com/%7Ewolfepack/food.html http://www.iei.net/~ebreeden/kibble.html http://home.earthlink.net/~pawsreflect/nutrition.html http://members.aol.com/abywood/www/gd_bone.htm http://www.zeta.org.au/~lonsdale/Default.html http://www.peg.apc.org/~nexus/Petfood.html

[CarolineS]

Liz,

As you will see after reading all of the websites above , it is not that chicken is better than turkey, or that turkey is better than lamb, etc. All will be a good source of protein, it is the form it is in, in the food, that makes the difference. Same goes for the carbohydrate source.

My dog has some food sensitivies and IBD (probably caused by the allergies), so I like to stick to a food with only a few ingredients, no fillers and not a lot of additives. That way, if a food disagrees with her, I can hopefully figure out what ingredient it was.

If you read the above websites and search the past topics in this forum, you'll find discussions and brand names of those foods most of the members have found to be good.

[German Vanegas]

I am with Caroline. I prefer that the main ingredient (listed as # 1) be ONE high quality protein source, such as lamb or chicken. NO BY-PRODUCTS. I then look for the carbohydrate source as one or two, such as ground brown rice, rice bran, etc. I also want the food to be preserved naturally with antioxidant vitamins E & C , and not chemical preservatives (ethoxyquin, BTH, etc). I personally like a dog food that is densely concentrated in a few sources rather than a cornucopia of them.

And remember: premium quality cost more than "supermarket" or generic brands... but it's well-worth it!

[ElaineandMike]

Also, beware of feeding lamb and rice. Many dogs develop alergies later in life. Lamb was developed in dog food to be fed to dogs with food allergies. If you feed it before an allergy develops, they will get used to it and you will not have an alternative source to feed your dog. Then again, many other dogs don't develop allergies. Talk to your veterinarian about that.