What should I feed my dog?
One of the questions I often get asked is “What should I feed my dog?’
What a great question! There are certainly many options out there and it can get confusing.
The best thing you can do is learn what are the ingredients you want and don’t want to see in your dog’s food.
Here is what you DON’T want to see in your dog’s food (ever – whether it be a puppy or an adult):
1) By-products. This is what remains after the food is processed and the human-grade meat is sent to the grocery stores. What is in a “by-product” anyway? Nothing I want to give my dogs, that’s for sure.
2) Corn whether they call it “ground yellow corn,” “corn meal,” or “corn gluten meal.” Corn’s main purpose is not to add any nutrition to the dog food, but to make your dog feel full. It’s a filler, nothing more. The more fillers you have in a dog food, generally the more food you need to give your dog so that it gets the proper nutrition. The better quality dog foods may cost a little more, but you have to feed less to your dog.
3) Non specific ingredients like “animal fat,” “animal digest,” and “meat meal” . You want to know WHICH animal we’re talking about here. Chicken meal is straightforward (=good). Meat meal is mysterious (= bad) …
4) Chemical preservatives ( “ethoxyquin,” “BHA,” “BHT,” “propylene glycol”) Did you know that propylene glycol can be found in antifreeze, body lotions, hair gels, perfumes, bubble bath, shampoo, smoke machines, and paint? Lovely.
5) Brewer’s Rice. It’s another filler. You will often see white rice or brown rice in the ingredient list. Both are okay, but brewer’s rice is not.
6) Soy is another filler, like corn, and some dogs are also pretty allergic to it.
7) Sorghum is another filler.
8 Wheat – It won’t hurt him unless he’s allergic to it. If your dog is allergic to it, he will be more prone to develop skin problems.
9) Salt. It is an unnecessary ingredient.
10) Brewer’s yeast. It can cause skin problems and/or ear infections if your dog is sensitive to this ingredient.
11) Flax. Dogs generally do not tolerate it well.
So where does that leave you with choices?
I feed my dogs and my cat raw. Puppies can eat raw too. Yes, that means that Ivan (the cat), Everest and Hemingway eat raw meat. Hemi prefers it already ground up, which is how we buy it, in frozen blocks. Everest enjoys the crunch of a chicken neck once in a while. The food is not processed, it is fresh and the dogs thrive on it. It’s great for their teeth, their coat, their energy, I could go on and on about raw feeding, but I will restrain myself! If raw is something that interests you I can give you more information. It doesn’t have to be more expensive. In fact, we get our food for less than 1$/ lb. With a Great Dane, that adds up to significant savings!
They also get kibble once in a while, when raw is not an option (ie: camping trip!)
When looking at kibble, the first ingredients are very important. In the FIRST 3 ingredients, you should find meat (ie: Chicken Meal). Chicken Meal is
better than Chicken, because Meal is the protein already ground up.
better than Chicken, because Meal is the protein already ground up.
For kibble, I really like the Orijen. THis is what Hemi and Everest get when they are not eating raw. It is grain free. I get it at Bark & Fitz or the Natural Pet food store.
Everest did very well on the Solid Gold (Wolf King) when we first got him, before we started feeding raw. We got that at Pet Valu.
Eagle pack Holistic is also another good choice.
Wellness is another good option. You still want to check labels on this one, because they have some formulas that are better than others. It can also be a little rich for puppies.
We also occasionally get the Mother Hubbard canned food. However, with two big dogs, it is just not practical to feed only canned food, so we get it as a special treat to mix in their kibble.
They regularly get tripe. We mix it in with their raw food, or kibble.
The better quality food you give your dog, the less waste you will be picking up. I certainly appreciate that aspect of things when picking up after my Great Dane. His poop is compact and really easy to pick up.
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