Nutrition Information

“The choices you make in selecting a dog food is probably more important then any other in terms of your influence on your dogs health, no question about it! Yet trying to get some straight information about how one can identify and select a high-quality, healthful dog food is quite difficult.” (From The Whole Dog Journal) Pamela, Founder of K9-Lifeline Rescue has done extensive research on which dry dog foods are healthy for dogs, which ingredients are not good for ANY dog and which ingredients are exceptional! As there is so much to talk about with this subject, we will hit on the most important factors. Use this as a guide to identify superior foods. We hope this information will encourage you to feed the best dry dog food possible!

• Meat By-Products- These “second class” products are not handled as carefully as whole meat. A few examples of what Meat By-Products are: carcass of slaughtered chickens, such as necks, beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines.
  Also beware of food containing “animal by-products” this can be just about anything.
• “Generic” fats or proteins – “Animal Fat” or “Poultry Fat” for example, can come from just about anywhere: recycled great from restaurants, or unwholesome mystery mix of various fats. The preferable ingredient would be “Chicken Fat.” An example of generic protein is “mean meal” (as opposed to better quality “lamb meal.”)
  The generic term indicated that the ingredient is actually a mixed bag of ingredients, coming from a number of sources.
• CORN, WHEAT and Soy – Many dogs are allergic to these ingredients in any form. Corn has NO nutritional value what so ever. It is used only as a cheap filler.
• Artificial Preservatives – These include BHA and BHT which are chemical preservatives that have been banned for human consumption in many countries, however it is yet to be banned in dog food in the US.
  Ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative not approved for human use, therefore should not be used in the food we feed our dogs.
• Sweeteners – Including corn syrup, sucrose and ammoniated glycyrrhizin, added to attract dogs to what without it would be an unappealing food.
  Dietary Sugar can aggravate health problems in dogs, including diabetes.
• Specific Supplements – Such as salt, ascorbic acid; very acidic and could cause stomach problems, brewers yeast;
  potential allergen, dried kelp; high in sodium, lecithin; comes from soybeans and corn.

Many foods, such as Science Diet, Iams, and Purina and so many others found at the grocery store and pet stores DO contain some or all of the above ingredients. These foods and many other low quality foods contain very poor ingredients. It is up to you, the pet owner to do your homework to ensure you are feeding your pet the best food possible. Label reading is very important when choosing a dog food. It iS a competitive market; take the pictures and label claims lightly, but scrutinize the actual ingredient list.

• Superior sources of protein – This means either whole, fresh meats or single-source meat meal.
  (For Example, chicken meal rather then poultry meal.)
• A whole-meat source listed as one of the first two ingredients – Meat is the most important and natural source of protein for canines.
• Whole, unprocessed, grains, OR GRAIN FREE and vegetables – An unprocessed food has a great chance of having its nutrients and enzymes intact.

For a list of Quality Dog Foods please click on the links below.

• http://www.reviews.com/dog-food/
• www.DogFoodAdvisor.com
• Top 12 Worst Dog Food Brands
• B Naturals Great selection of holistic and natural care products for companion animals at affordable prices
• Amber Technology Herbal supplements to help pets overcome hard to cure health problems, such as kennel cough, heartworm, Parvo, ear pain, urinary tract relief, and an herbal antibiotic! Great products at affordable prices!