Is Commercial Dog Food Bad for Your Dog?

Commercial dog food may be bad for your dog, depending on whether the dog has allergies to some of the ingredients in it. While commercial dog food is engineered to give your dog optimum nutrients, there are some ingredients in most dog foods that a carnivore does not eat in a normal diet. While many dogs have lived long lives on commercial dog food, some do not do well on it.

Most commercial dog foods have starches and other fillers, especially the cheaper brands. Always check the ingredients on a bag of dog food, especially if your dog shows signs of allergies (itchiness and runny nose are the most common).

When reading the ingredient list of commercial dog foods, the first five ingredients should not be additives, fillers or starches, sweeteners, binders, certain fat and fiber sources, digests and certain meals, fruits and vegetables, and certain protein sources. Ideally, the best thing to feed a dog is an all-meat diet.

Homemade Ground Chicken Dog FoodIngredients that should definitely be avoided include: Glyceryl Monostearate: This is used as a thickening agent and contains any number of glycerol compounds. Often, it is not known what chemicals go into glyceryl monostearate, including unhealthy fatty acids. Propylene Glycol: This ingredient helps keep certain brands of dog food moist. It is also used in the manufacture of anti-freeze. It can be toxic if consumed in large quantities or if consumed over a long period of time. Corn and Wheat Glutens: These serve as binders and, while they are not harmful to most dogs, they have no nutritional value. Some dogs are allergic to corn and wheat products. Carbohydrate Sources: These include brewers rice, cereal-type foods, oats, grains and potatoes. These are starchy products and only serve to add as a bulkening agent. If your dog is overweight, you should definitely avoid a food that is high in carbohydrates. Furthermore, a dog's digestive system is not made to easily digest carbohydrate sources. Food dyes: While mostly harmless, some dyes, such as yellow #6 may cause allergic reactions in both humans and dogs. Certain fats: Animal fat, lard, beef tallow and others are used to make a dry commercial dog food more palatable to dogs. Many of these are very low in linoleic acid and are used in low-quality dog foods. These are simply empty calories. Certain fiber sources such as corn hulls, peanut hulls and rice hulls are also used in dog food. These items contain no nutritional value---they are used as cheap fillers. Unidentified digests and meals: These are labeled as "animal digest" or "meat meal." They are made from dried meat. The meat source can be a combination of any animal--- such as horses, chickens, emus, beef or pork. Because the ingredients in unidentified meals are not disclosed, these should be avoided. Meals listed as a specific meat (i.e. chicken meal) are fine. If your dog has an allergy to pork, you would not know if a dog food with an unidentified meal or digest would contain pork. Apple pommace, grape pommace and citrus pulps: These are basically fillers. Stems and leaves of the plant may also be included. This allows the risk of having the finished product being contaminated with pest sprays and insecticides. Also, grapes (and raisins) are toxic to dogs.

Raw Fed German Shepherd DogKnowing what is in the food you feed your dog will help you choose the appropriate diet. Some dogs, such as dogs with Cushings need a cooked diet. Most dogs will do better on a raw diet. There are many ways to feed raw, including BARF (bones and raw food) and prey model. Each type of diet has its benefits, including commercial food diets, if a high-end kibble is used.

Many veterinarians do not condone a raw diet, but would rather push a kibble diet, especially if they sell a certain kibble in their offices. If a vet is selling a certain brand of dog food, chances are, that veterinarian gets a percentage of each sale. When choosing a diet for your dog, always talk to your veterinarian, but at the same time, do your own research on the different diets. Dogs with certain afflictions may require a special diet. If you know your dog should not be on a commercial dog food diet, but your veterinarian insists, always get a second and third opinion.

Something else to take into consideration is the difference a raw diet can make in a dog's odor. That "doggie" odor is not as strong, if it is there at all. Feces smells less obnoxious, plus is smaller, as the dog's body uses much more of the food. Another benefit is that most dogs will need fewer or no dentals at the vet. Two things that people tend to notice first, when converting to a raw diet, and sometimes to a cooked diet, is that the dog's hair is much softer and the teeth are much whiter.