*Disclaimer*
There is an ongoing study by the FDA, suggesting that grain-free foods are responsible for the spike in Dilated Cardiomyopathy. The study does not solidly determine if it is a problem or not (small study group, of breeds that are prone to cardiac issues), but is significant enough to consider. It is not exactly "grain-free" that is the issue, but the fillers that commonly replace grains, like peas, sweet potatoes, and lentils. Until more conclusive results are provided, it is recommended to stay away from those ingredients:
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/news-events/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/news-events/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
How to Choose the Right Kibble for Your Puppy
Does anyone here pay attention to what is in your dog’s kibble? Probably not, you just trust that it wouldn’t be on the shelves if it were bad. You look at the labels that promise healthy nutrition, a shinier coat, and a happier dog. Did you know that the majority of commercial brands do not contain proper nutrition for your friend? This includes Beneful, Science Diet*, Kibbles & Bits, Pedigree, and most of what you would find in grocery stores.
*Prescription Science Diet is good if medically necessary, non-prescription is not.
Did you know that low-quality kibble is the main reason for shortened lifespans in your dog? The effects of the kibble can lead to cancer, obesity, diseased teeth, bad breath, allergies, shorter lifespans, excessive shedding, dull coats, impacted anal glands, UTIs, kidney infections, and faster growth in large breeds that leads to joint issues.
Before I explain the issues of kibble, let me briefly explain how the dog's digestive system works. Dog's digestive systems are the exact same as wolves'. Contrary to popular belief, they are not omnivores, they are considered "opportunistic carnivores". This means they get every single nutrient from whole prey (meat/bones/organ), but can tolerate extras (like grains, veggies, and legumes). Their bodies cannot process grains efficiently, and get very little out of vegetables (but can tolerate most of them without harm). They get their energy from protein and do not need carbohydrates in their diet at all.
Kibble is made by mashing ingredients together, steaming them at high temperatures, and adding dyes and flavors. The issue with steaming the ingredients is it cooks them. By cooking meat, it gets rid of a significant amount of nutrients. This is why they add vitamins.
Synthetic vitamins do not attach to proteins that the dog's body can always recognize. The dog's system then sees it as a drug, causing the liver to become metabolically active. This can cause toxicity in the body. In simpler terms, when any creature obtains its vitamins from synthetic sources, it taxes out the liver. When vitamins are received from natural sources, it is much easier on the body.
Grains, like corn, serve to fill the bag of dog food at minimal cost. They are simply carb-packed fillers. By adding grains, they can fill the dog's belly for less money, and just add vitamins to cover what the kibble lacks. This is comparable to you eating nothing but Ramen Noodles with vitamin supplements. Will it work? For most healthy individuals yes, for those with compromised health, likely not.
Dogs, like wolves, are intended by nature to eat meat. Meat has a high moisture content (60% or more, compared to the 10% or less in kibble). Dogs are supposed to get a certain amount of hydration from their food, so even with plenty of water access, they can still be chronically dehydrated. When dogs eat kibble, they are likely to have urinary tract infections and kidney problems.
Dogs have a short digestive tract, compared to the long digestive tract found in omnivores and herbivores. Vegetables are considered a filler because they are difficult to process and take more time to do so. In a dog's short digestive system, the vegetables generally just pass through while the body absorbs little to nothing. On the other hand, they do not hurt the body (excluding ones that your dog should not eat, such as onions and raw potatoes).
Your best alternatives to cheap kibble are higher quality kibble, a balanced home-cooked diet, or a raw diet. Higher quality gets rid of about half of the issues of cheap kibble, but not all. The best option which gets rid of all of the issues of cheap kibble is a raw diet (read the links below for more information on raw), though it may not be the ideal option for all owners.
*Prescription Science Diet is good if medically necessary, non-prescription is not.
Did you know that low-quality kibble is the main reason for shortened lifespans in your dog? The effects of the kibble can lead to cancer, obesity, diseased teeth, bad breath, allergies, shorter lifespans, excessive shedding, dull coats, impacted anal glands, UTIs, kidney infections, and faster growth in large breeds that leads to joint issues.
Before I explain the issues of kibble, let me briefly explain how the dog's digestive system works. Dog's digestive systems are the exact same as wolves'. Contrary to popular belief, they are not omnivores, they are considered "opportunistic carnivores". This means they get every single nutrient from whole prey (meat/bones/organ), but can tolerate extras (like grains, veggies, and legumes). Their bodies cannot process grains efficiently, and get very little out of vegetables (but can tolerate most of them without harm). They get their energy from protein and do not need carbohydrates in their diet at all.
Kibble is made by mashing ingredients together, steaming them at high temperatures, and adding dyes and flavors. The issue with steaming the ingredients is it cooks them. By cooking meat, it gets rid of a significant amount of nutrients. This is why they add vitamins.
Synthetic vitamins do not attach to proteins that the dog's body can always recognize. The dog's system then sees it as a drug, causing the liver to become metabolically active. This can cause toxicity in the body. In simpler terms, when any creature obtains its vitamins from synthetic sources, it taxes out the liver. When vitamins are received from natural sources, it is much easier on the body.
Grains, like corn, serve to fill the bag of dog food at minimal cost. They are simply carb-packed fillers. By adding grains, they can fill the dog's belly for less money, and just add vitamins to cover what the kibble lacks. This is comparable to you eating nothing but Ramen Noodles with vitamin supplements. Will it work? For most healthy individuals yes, for those with compromised health, likely not.
Dogs, like wolves, are intended by nature to eat meat. Meat has a high moisture content (60% or more, compared to the 10% or less in kibble). Dogs are supposed to get a certain amount of hydration from their food, so even with plenty of water access, they can still be chronically dehydrated. When dogs eat kibble, they are likely to have urinary tract infections and kidney problems.
Dogs have a short digestive tract, compared to the long digestive tract found in omnivores and herbivores. Vegetables are considered a filler because they are difficult to process and take more time to do so. In a dog's short digestive system, the vegetables generally just pass through while the body absorbs little to nothing. On the other hand, they do not hurt the body (excluding ones that your dog should not eat, such as onions and raw potatoes).
Your best alternatives to cheap kibble are higher quality kibble, a balanced home-cooked diet, or a raw diet. Higher quality gets rid of about half of the issues of cheap kibble, but not all. The best option which gets rid of all of the issues of cheap kibble is a raw diet (read the links below for more information on raw), though it may not be the ideal option for all owners.
How to Read the Ingredients on Your Dog's Food
There are many ways you can improve your dog's diet. Some ways include a higher quality kibble, a homemade diet, dehydrated raw, or a raw diet (Prey-Model or BARF). Since kibble is the most convenient way to feed your pets, I will give you some tips on how to choose better kibble. See my page "Food Selection" for information on your other options. Higher quality kibble can usually get rid of a lot of the issues of cheap kibble, including obesity, impacted anal glands, and allergies. Many dogs get reduced shedding and shinier coats as well. If a quality wet food is supplemented, the risk of bladder infections and kidney disease drops.
To determine if the food is high quality kibble, the first ingredient should always be a specific meat such as "chicken", "chicken meal", "beef", "lamb" etc. When saying "meat meal", you don't know what animal it came from. If your dog shows an allergy to the kibble, you wouldn't know where to begin with an elimination diet. There should be no "meat meal", "animal digest", or "bone meal" anywhere on the bag.
A "meal" is not as bad as some people seem to think. In the case of poultry, it is actually preferred. The ingredients are listed from the highest concentration to the lowest before the kibble is cooked. Chicken is mostly water, so by the time it is cooked, it may not contain as much chicken as it seems, being the first ingredient. A "meal" is when the ingredient is mashed (similar to ground beef), which removes excess water. So when they add the ingredients to the bag, there is more accuracy in calling "chicken meal" or "turkey meal" the first ingredient.
By-products should always be avoided. By-products can be as harmless as mashed together meats (like hot dogs), or they could be as harmful as diseased animals, roadkill, spoiled supermarket meat, etc. Most higher end foods are aware of this concern in educated buyers and will label their by-products specifically, like "beef liver", which is perfectly acceptable. There have been instances where euthanized animals were even used in kibble. With that big of a difference, is it worth taking the chance?
Premium kibble will generally be grain-free, which gives it a higher nutritional content. Grain isn't the worst thing for your dog, and can be beneficial in hard keepers (dogs that need to eat significantly more than other dogs their size to maintain their weight). The most common grains, corn, wheat, and soy, contain mycotoxins that tend to cause allergies in dogs, and are best to be avoided. Allergies can be as mild as yeast infections (usually noticed by smelly ears and excessive paw licking), or as severe as emergency vet trips for bad reactions. Grain-free generally means a dog needs to eat less to get the same nutrients, so the seemingly more expensive brands tend to last longer. This drastically lowers the risk of obesity. It also reduces backyard duty because less things are just passing through, but are actually getting used by the body. Note that there will always be fillers in kibble, as they are needed to keep their form, just do your research on which fillers you are comfortable with.
High quality kibble will usually only be one solid color (though it isn't a rule). This is because the makers are taking the possibility of cancer causing agents in dyes seriously. More colors do not mean more flavors, just something that looks pretty to the buyer. As far as flavors go, you want to see real meat, not "flavor" anyways.
Ingredient splitting is an increasingly common technique for lowering the quality of a seemingly good food. That is when they break down ingredients into smaller categories to split them up. For example, say you have 10lbs of chicken, and 15lbs of corn. That chicken could still be first on the list, even though inaccurate, because of split ingredients. They can label parts of the corn like "corn meal" and "corn flour". While collectively being 15lbs, it is separated to 7.5lbs and 7.5lbs. Those weigh less than the chicken individually, and therefore can be legally listed lower on the list.
To determine if the food is high quality kibble, the first ingredient should always be a specific meat such as "chicken", "chicken meal", "beef", "lamb" etc. When saying "meat meal", you don't know what animal it came from. If your dog shows an allergy to the kibble, you wouldn't know where to begin with an elimination diet. There should be no "meat meal", "animal digest", or "bone meal" anywhere on the bag.
A "meal" is not as bad as some people seem to think. In the case of poultry, it is actually preferred. The ingredients are listed from the highest concentration to the lowest before the kibble is cooked. Chicken is mostly water, so by the time it is cooked, it may not contain as much chicken as it seems, being the first ingredient. A "meal" is when the ingredient is mashed (similar to ground beef), which removes excess water. So when they add the ingredients to the bag, there is more accuracy in calling "chicken meal" or "turkey meal" the first ingredient.
By-products should always be avoided. By-products can be as harmless as mashed together meats (like hot dogs), or they could be as harmful as diseased animals, roadkill, spoiled supermarket meat, etc. Most higher end foods are aware of this concern in educated buyers and will label their by-products specifically, like "beef liver", which is perfectly acceptable. There have been instances where euthanized animals were even used in kibble. With that big of a difference, is it worth taking the chance?
Premium kibble will generally be grain-free, which gives it a higher nutritional content. Grain isn't the worst thing for your dog, and can be beneficial in hard keepers (dogs that need to eat significantly more than other dogs their size to maintain their weight). The most common grains, corn, wheat, and soy, contain mycotoxins that tend to cause allergies in dogs, and are best to be avoided. Allergies can be as mild as yeast infections (usually noticed by smelly ears and excessive paw licking), or as severe as emergency vet trips for bad reactions. Grain-free generally means a dog needs to eat less to get the same nutrients, so the seemingly more expensive brands tend to last longer. This drastically lowers the risk of obesity. It also reduces backyard duty because less things are just passing through, but are actually getting used by the body. Note that there will always be fillers in kibble, as they are needed to keep their form, just do your research on which fillers you are comfortable with.
High quality kibble will usually only be one solid color (though it isn't a rule). This is because the makers are taking the possibility of cancer causing agents in dyes seriously. More colors do not mean more flavors, just something that looks pretty to the buyer. As far as flavors go, you want to see real meat, not "flavor" anyways.
Ingredient splitting is an increasingly common technique for lowering the quality of a seemingly good food. That is when they break down ingredients into smaller categories to split them up. For example, say you have 10lbs of chicken, and 15lbs of corn. That chicken could still be first on the list, even though inaccurate, because of split ingredients. They can label parts of the corn like "corn meal" and "corn flour". While collectively being 15lbs, it is separated to 7.5lbs and 7.5lbs. Those weigh less than the chicken individually, and therefore can be legally listed lower on the list.
Grain-Includive Medical Diets
For various medical issues (usually bladder or liver issues), a vet will prescribe a prescription diet (like Royal Canin, Iams Veterinary, Hill's Science diet, etc.). If this is the case, listen to your vet and feed the food, despite the high amounts of corn and lack of meat. There are two main reasons why this is an entirely different situation. For one, your vet has determined the benefits of the food outweigh the risk of the lower quality ingredients. Its like when any doctor puts you on a medication - there may be 100 side effects, but the chances of you suffering from those are much smaller than suffering from the condition that required the medication. Two, since grain moves through the body at a slower rate, the medication in the food stays in the body longer, leaving more time for it to be absorbed. This is generally why prescription kidney diets are more effective than a normal diet with the addition of kidney medication.
Helpful Links & References
Is your kibble good or bad?
www.dogfoodadvisor.com
Kibble Articles
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/why-kibble-harming-dogs/
https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.253.11.1390
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/dog-food-ingredient-splitting/
www.dogfoodadvisor.com
Kibble Articles
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/why-kibble-harming-dogs/
https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.253.11.1390
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/dog-food-ingredient-splitting/
