Years ago, with my first pup, I knew next to nothing about selecting a truly high quality dog food. But as many devoted dog owners, I learned quickly. With a sensitive belly and prone to allergies, I immersed myself into finding the very best nutrition for my beloved dog. One thing I discovered was the importance of reading labels. A good rule of thumb is the first three ingredients on the label should be an animal protein and the first five ingredients will give you a good sense of the overall quality of the food. Poor quality dog foods will usually list a meat ingredient first, but followed by several by-products and fillers. Because every ingredient matters, be sure to read all the way through the ingredient panel, as artificial preservatives or colors are usually at the end. Avoid pet foods that use chemical preservatives BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin. Vitamin E and Vitamin C are great preservatives that are much better for your dog. Choose Premium Brand dog foods instead of "Economy Brands". The cheapest ingredients are rarely the healthiest ones. Choose Premium Brand dog foods instead of Economy Brand dog foods. For more great information, check out this great site: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com. It is a great tool as they have reviewed over 3000 dog foods. As with food, it is important to feed your pup healthy treats too. One of my favorites is to buy beef liver at the grocery, bake it, and cut it up in small cube sized pieces. There is nothing that my dogs are crazier about than liver! I separate only what I will use in a week, and put the rest in the freezer. If you are not into cooking your treats, buy ones that just have one ingredient. These will be freeze dried or frozen options; anything else may contain unhealthy fillers. Lastly, don’t forget a good treat pouch to stash your pup’s yummy treats in!
