Top 6 Tips for Finding the Healthiest Food for Your Dog.

There are several reasons to feed your dog a diet of all-natural dog food including higher energy, a softer and healthier coat, less poop with little or no smell, healthier joints and a longer life. Here are six tips on what to look for when you purchase your next bag of dog food.

1. Look for a dog food without chemicals and other unhealthy additives. You’ll have a healthier, happier dog. Think about how you feel when you eat fast food every day in comparison to getting home cooked meals. Several of the big chain stores sell dog food with added chemicals, food color and many other ingredients, which can be harmful to your dog. Avoid any dog food with BHT (a known carcinogen.) The average dog eating dog food bought at one of the big chain stores will eat his/her weight in chemicals every three years.

2. Buy a food that does not contain any corn, wheat, or soy. These ingredients have been known to cause allergic reactions in dogs. Food allergies account for around 20% of itching and scratching in dogs.

3. When shopping for dog food you want to examine the first five ingredients. Make sure two out of these five ingredients are sources of protein. High-quality proteins strengthen your dog’s immune system and enhance the skin and condition of your pet’s coat. Make sure the food contains a named meat meal such as chicken meal or white fish meal. High-quality food should not contain ingredients listed as meat-by-products or just meat or bone meal By-product meal consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass that are considered unfit for human consumption. By-product chicken meal consists of slaughtered chicken parts such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines. Yuck!

4. Your dog food should have complex carbohydrates and contain healthy fats. Quality carbohydrates provide energy and aid in the proper functioning of the central nervous system. Whole, unprocessed grains (also listed as “ground” or in “meal” form) retain all the nutrients. Carbohydrates known as grain fragments and flours are incomplete and have already lost much of their nutritional value during processing and storage. Words that identify fragments are middling or mids or more commonly flour (e.g. rice flour).

5. Make sure the dog food contains quality fats and fibers. For example, chicken fat has the highest of all natural sources of Linoleic (Omega 6) acid an important element for skin and coat health. Beet pulp fiber aids in the management of diabetes, colitis, and constipation.

6. High quality all natural dog food should contain vitamin and mineral rich grains, herbs and legumes, which promote the healthy functioning of vital organs and improve circulation. For example, kelp aids in digestion helps maintain a healthy stomach, reduces the risk of poisoning from environmental pollution, promotes healthy skin & coat and helps cleanse the kidneys, bladder & uterus.

I fed Sadie and Rusty Honest Kitchen they both love the taste of the food and have healthy coats, high energy levels and aren’t overweight.