Ins and Outs of Dog Food

There are so many different types of dog food out in the world. However there are some dog foods that are a lot better than others. The lists below are the main things to watch for in good and bad dog foods.

Things to Avoid in Dog Food

• By-products- This can be any protein including beef, chicken, fish, lamb etc. The by-products include are the beaks, feet, eyes, nails and other scraps. Often enough this "meat" contains tumours, diseased tissue and organs.  
  

• Corn- corn holds no nutritional  value for your pet and is used as a filler in dog food
• Organ Meat- Organ meat is not bad for dogs in general but it is very bad for Dalmatians and needs to be avoided
• Red Meat- Red meat is very rich for Dalmatians and should be avoided

   Good for Dog Nutrition 
       What to look for in a good dog food

• ​​​2 or more meat sources (chicken, fish etc) or proteins sources( eggs, peas etc)  in the first couple of ingredients​
• Fruits and veggies: blueberries, spinach, carrots, peas, tomatoes etc
• ​vitamins and minerals : vitamin A (spinach, sweet potato, fish oil etc), vitamin D (egg yolks, dairy products etc), Calcium (yogurt, sardines etc) and magnesium (greens, seafood etc) just to name a few
• Supplements(optional): Fish oil, coconut oil,  glucosamine, Probiotics etc​
• Grains in dog food is very important for digestion and good overall health of any dog!

Raw Dog Food
Raw dog food is another great option for your dogs food. Raw feeding can be whole with bones (chicken back & necks, turkey backs & necks, pork feet etc) or grounded up; many people ask me about the bones. Bones in RAW  food are fine for dogs because bones are naturally flexible and not brittle. It`s when the bone is cooked that it loses its flexibility. The lack of water and flexibility makes the bone more brittle. This can cause the bone to splinter and maybe even puncture major organs. Feeding raw bones also cleans the dogs teeth while they chew and will give your dog a nice shiny, healthy looking coat. However the most appealing thing about raw food is the lack of poop you have to pick up! Why?  Everything is being used and there are no fillers in the food. Your dogs poop will be about half the size of a normal poop (on kibble) and after about a week the dogs waste will turn white and then go to dust. You can also add (and is advised) veggies and fruit to the raw food to add fibre etc. If you are going to feed raw make sure there is no organ meat in your food.
Make sure you treat your dogs raw food, as if it was your own. Make sure to always wash you hands, use clean bowls and don't leave the food sitting out for long amounts of time.

Whole                                                                         Ground