The food you are feeding your dog can have a major influence on his or her alertness, agility, energy level, and overall vitality and longevity.
However, finding nutritional information you can trust is not easy.
Veterinarians, for the most part, are not required to take nutrition classes in school, except for the most elementary ones on animal nutrition.
Also, many popular commercial manufacturers provide veterinary schools with their food, along with their own nutritional studies so vets become partial to them.
And, unfortunately, these are not always the best or healthiest foods for your dog.
INGREDIENTS Listed below are several ingredients you must avoid describing what affect they can have on your dog.
CORN - is difficult to digest and a great many dogs are allergic to it.
There are certain commercial dog food manufacturers that have been defending their use of corn, claiming it's a good source of carbohydrates for dogs.
But, what they have failed to acknowledge is that corn metabolizes in dogs like sugar metabolizes in humans.
If you feed your dog a diet based in corn, it can be compared to feeding your child a diet that's made up primarily of corn syrup.
Your child will likely go through spurts of energy first and then deep crashes, spells of hyperactivity, distraction and lack of attention, and generally will not be very healthy.
This too applies to dogs that are on a corn-based diet.
Additionally, corn may block your dog's natural ability to get serotonin into his or her brain.
Serotonin is an important chemical that reduces stress and anxiety.
There have been recent studies suggesting that low serotonin levels can lead to impulsiveness, aggression and other serious behavioral problems.
Corn can also act as an artificial stool hardener.
One of the quickest ways to tell that your dog is sick is the consistency of his or her stools.
If the ingredients in your dog's food are falsely making the stools firm, you may delay seeking important medical treatment for your dog.
If you're not sure whether you're feeding your dog a corn-based food, read the ingredients label and look for corn, corn gluten, corn meal and corn syrup.
If any of these ingredients are there, then they are most likely some of the first ingredients listed.
Beware! You can really be fooled if you think you are feeding your dog a healthy "Lamb & Rice" or a wholesome "Chicken & Rice" diet...
it could still have corn as one of its primary ingredients.
So be sure to check your label! Some dog food manufacturers also produce prescription diets for various health issues.
If your veterinarian has recommended your dog be on a prescription diet, you need to discuss any concerns you may have regarding the ingredients.
What you must ABSOLUTELY AVOID in Your Dog Food: There are 3 ingredients you "MUST AVOID in your dog's food, as well as your own food! They are listed on the package's label.
Some very toxic chemical preservatives are quite common in our breakfast cereal and in most "Premium Dog Food".
Make certain you do not ever feed them to your dog or eat them yourself! Here are the top three preservatives that you MUST avoid in your dog food: 1.
Ethoxyquin - a preservative that has been linked to kidney and bladder cancer, and an increased incidence of stomach tumors.
The Department of Agriculture has itlisted as a pesticide.
It has been observed to cause auto-immune response in some pets, and promoted kidney, stomach, bladder, and colon cancer.
2&3.
BHA/BHT - BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are preservatives that are used to preserve fats in commercial dog food.
However, a considerable number of studies have linked them to several varieties of cancer...
including stomach, bladder and thyroid cancer.
And, they are also suspected of causing liver and kidney dysfunction.
2.
BHA - Causes squamous-cell carcinomas in rats and hamsters, as well as enhanced stomach and urinary bladder carcinogenesis.
3.
BHT - Promotes urinary bladder cancer, and suspected to increase thyroid cancer.
If You Decide To Make Changes To Your Dog's Diet: After you've read your ingredient label and have decided to make a change, keep in mind that any diet change "MUST" be gradual!!! Your dog's digestive system will require some to time to adjust to the new food.
If you change your dog's diet too quickly you may see various differences such as; vomiting, loose stools, diarrhea, refusal to eat or other digestive problems.
Basically, you should start feeding your dog one quarter of the new food with three quarters of the old food.
Do this for a few days, or until your dog's stool is firm.
Then increase the ratio to a fifty, fifty mixture of both foods.
And then after a few more days,t increase the ratio to three quarters new and one quarter old, and then finally switch to a full one hundred per cent new food.
However, finding nutritional information you can trust is not easy.
Veterinarians, for the most part, are not required to take nutrition classes in school, except for the most elementary ones on animal nutrition.
Also, many popular commercial manufacturers provide veterinary schools with their food, along with their own nutritional studies so vets become partial to them.
And, unfortunately, these are not always the best or healthiest foods for your dog.
INGREDIENTS Listed below are several ingredients you must avoid describing what affect they can have on your dog.
CORN - is difficult to digest and a great many dogs are allergic to it.
There are certain commercial dog food manufacturers that have been defending their use of corn, claiming it's a good source of carbohydrates for dogs.
But, what they have failed to acknowledge is that corn metabolizes in dogs like sugar metabolizes in humans.
If you feed your dog a diet based in corn, it can be compared to feeding your child a diet that's made up primarily of corn syrup.
Your child will likely go through spurts of energy first and then deep crashes, spells of hyperactivity, distraction and lack of attention, and generally will not be very healthy.
This too applies to dogs that are on a corn-based diet.
Additionally, corn may block your dog's natural ability to get serotonin into his or her brain.
Serotonin is an important chemical that reduces stress and anxiety.
There have been recent studies suggesting that low serotonin levels can lead to impulsiveness, aggression and other serious behavioral problems.
Corn can also act as an artificial stool hardener.
One of the quickest ways to tell that your dog is sick is the consistency of his or her stools.
If the ingredients in your dog's food are falsely making the stools firm, you may delay seeking important medical treatment for your dog.
If you're not sure whether you're feeding your dog a corn-based food, read the ingredients label and look for corn, corn gluten, corn meal and corn syrup.
If any of these ingredients are there, then they are most likely some of the first ingredients listed.
Beware! You can really be fooled if you think you are feeding your dog a healthy "Lamb & Rice" or a wholesome "Chicken & Rice" diet...
it could still have corn as one of its primary ingredients.
So be sure to check your label! Some dog food manufacturers also produce prescription diets for various health issues.
If your veterinarian has recommended your dog be on a prescription diet, you need to discuss any concerns you may have regarding the ingredients.
What you must ABSOLUTELY AVOID in Your Dog Food: There are 3 ingredients you "MUST AVOID in your dog's food, as well as your own food! They are listed on the package's label.
Some very toxic chemical preservatives are quite common in our breakfast cereal and in most "Premium Dog Food".
Make certain you do not ever feed them to your dog or eat them yourself! Here are the top three preservatives that you MUST avoid in your dog food: 1.
Ethoxyquin - a preservative that has been linked to kidney and bladder cancer, and an increased incidence of stomach tumors.
The Department of Agriculture has itlisted as a pesticide.
It has been observed to cause auto-immune response in some pets, and promoted kidney, stomach, bladder, and colon cancer.
2&3.
BHA/BHT - BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are preservatives that are used to preserve fats in commercial dog food.
However, a considerable number of studies have linked them to several varieties of cancer...
including stomach, bladder and thyroid cancer.
And, they are also suspected of causing liver and kidney dysfunction.
2.
BHA - Causes squamous-cell carcinomas in rats and hamsters, as well as enhanced stomach and urinary bladder carcinogenesis.
3.
BHT - Promotes urinary bladder cancer, and suspected to increase thyroid cancer.
If You Decide To Make Changes To Your Dog's Diet: After you've read your ingredient label and have decided to make a change, keep in mind that any diet change "MUST" be gradual!!! Your dog's digestive system will require some to time to adjust to the new food.
If you change your dog's diet too quickly you may see various differences such as; vomiting, loose stools, diarrhea, refusal to eat or other digestive problems.
Basically, you should start feeding your dog one quarter of the new food with three quarters of the old food.
Do this for a few days, or until your dog's stool is firm.
Then increase the ratio to a fifty, fifty mixture of both foods.
And then after a few more days,t increase the ratio to three quarters new and one quarter old, and then finally switch to a full one hundred per cent new food.
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