Picking a Dog Food

So you just added a puppy or dog to the family.  What the heck do you feed them?! 

Typically people choose based on whether a vet recommended it, a friend recommended it, or what they've always fed.  The problem is, when did you last turn over the bag and look at the ingredients?  They change constantly and dog food regulations don't hold up when it comes to quality food.  So ask yourself the following when you finally do flip that bag over:

• What are the first 3-4 ingredients? 
• Are they quality sources of protein?
• What is the protein content (%)? 
• Is the source of protein a meal, by-product, fat, or ...?  
• Does this food have a corn, soy, wheat, brewers rice, beet pulp filler?

Good foods have 3 sources of protein in the first three ingredients, a high percentage of protein, and no corn soy, wheat or other fillers.  Fillers are deceptive because you'd think whole grains would be beneficial for dogs.  Trouble is, they're predators and fillers in food turn to sugar then fat.  Give a toddler cotton candy and vitamins for a month, then try to manage them....how would that go?

I like to read dog food reviews at this website.  It is non-partial and they tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly of your food choice. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

The Truth About Pet Food also keeps a great log of current regulations, recalls, and facts about pet food production: http://truthaboutpetfood.com/

The best food currently available at the Helena, MT area health food stores:

• Petcurean - Go!
• Honest Kitchen
• Nature's Logic
• Northwest Naturals
• Stella and Chewy's
• Open Farm

If you are feeling adventurous you can also start feeding raw, or supplementing your dogs food!  We'll talk about this in the future, so stay tuned!