Better Dog Food Means Less Dog Poop!

OK, as you all know there are only so many ways do do things, like making dog food. If it is made of good, nutritional  ingredients there is a certain minimum cost to produce. Make sense? Well then, it makes one ponder how good the 50 pound bags for under $20 can be, and how to they make it so cheap? Well, the answer is right on the label.In this first picture you will see what we consider 'bad.'

When we started looking for our first dog (after we had to put down the last 2 from old age and disease) we started looking into dogs, dog training, dog collars, leashes, and yes, dog food. One of the first things that we learned right after getting Hondo was that most of the cheaper dog foods will have a lot of fillers in them; specifically corn and corn gluten (the REALLY bad one.) Theses (and others) are used to basically make the real food go farther, and thus be less expensive when it hits the store shelves. Check out the second picture and what the ingredients list looks like. This is really good stuff I would be very happy feeding to our dogs!

There are a couple of problems with these fillers in your dogs food:

1. Many dogs, like our Hondo, have skin issues and these fillers can cause these issues to become much worse. We didn't know Hondo had skin issues until we bought crappy food one day and it really make Hondo's skin issues flair up. As soon as we changed to a better quality of food, it immediately went away. 
2. This one is the biggie (literally!) The parts of the food that your dog's system absorbs and uses are pretty much only the good stuff in the food. So with cheap food full of fillers, this means that there is a lot of 'stuff' that has to go somewhere. Where might you think that is? Exactly! However with better quality food your dog's system absorbs more of it. This means less waste and smaller stools!
3. Because your dog is actually using more of the food he is eating, you end up being able to cut back a little on the amount of food you feed them. This reduction in the amount can easily off-set the increase in the cost of the food  you are feeding them. With our two odogs we have seen that it really comes out about even in the end. 

So how do you know what good dog food is? Well, first and foremost do your homework. Find out what the 'bad stuff' is.I suggest a Google search or starting with this article. Great stuff! Next, always check the label of anything you intend on feeding your dog. The 2 biggies that for us automatically exclude a dog food is if corn meal or corn gluten meal are in the top half of the ingredient list. Now, I will tell you that while I love my dogs, they are in fact dogs. I do not feed them the people grade ready to cut food you seen in the deli case at places like PetSmart, etc. We check labels and find the best food that we can at a reasonable price.

One of the things we have always done with our dogs is to feed them a variety of things regularly. We rarely buy the same food again and again. We buy a big bag that lasts 3 - 4 weeks, then something new. During that month they get good scraps and training treats of all kinds. We feel this desensitizes them and prevents them from getting sick should they have to eat something new. Now, we are lucky in that neither of our dogs have sensitive stomachs. This might not work for you. If not, find a good quality food that your dog likes and can tolerate, and stick with it. 

OK, here is that recap we all love (especially those that skim the important detail above!) 

• DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
• Check Dog Food Labels!
• Buy Good Quality Dog Food
• Dog Happier and Eats Less
• You happier and Pick Up Less Poop!

This looks like another of those Win / Win's we all like so much!

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