How to Read a Dog Food Label

If a bag of dog food lists beef as the first ingredient, it should be a pretty good choice, right?

Wrong. While the food might actually contain beef, when the rest of the ingredients are combined they far outweigh the beef. Your dog ends up consuming a diet of mostly grain fillers!

Not only do commercial dog foods consist of such high quantity fillers, but the ingredients labeled as meat might not be what a pet owner expects to find in their dog’s food, either.

All dog food manufacturers are required to display their list of ingredients on the label of the pet food. Ingredients must be listed in descending order based on weight.

EVO Vension Canned Dog Food

For example, EVO’s 95% Venison, canned, contains the following ingredients:
Venison, venison broth, natural flavors, carrageenan, potassium chloride, minerals, guar gum, vitamins, choline, chloride, herring oil, salt, sodium ascorbate, taurine, sunflower oil, sodium phosphate, and beta carotene.

According to the label, EVO’s product contains more venison and venison broth by weight than any other ingredient.

But how do you determine just what the ingredients listed actually are?

The pet food industry—an offshoot of the Food and Agricultural industries—often uses parts of animals that are left over from the processing of foods intended for human consumption.

Another trick that is of the pet food industry is the separating of ingredients into differently named products, especially empty fillers. Corn, for example, may be listed as three separate ingredients, such as corn gluten, corn meal, and corn hulls. This gives the impression that these three types of corn contribute less to the total weight of the pet food than they actually do. When these three same ingredients are combined, they make up the majority of the pet food—far outweighing the earlier listed ingredients!

When reading a pet food label, there are certain things to keep in mind:

• By-product refers to parts of an animal that we definitely wouldn’t eat, such as heads, viscera (organs and intestines), and feet.
• Hulls refer to the empty casings of such products as peanuts, wheat, and corn. They provide absolutely no nutritional value and are only present to act as a filler.
• Salts while some salt is necessary, a high quantity is often added to lower quality dog foods to help entice a dog to eat something he normally wouldn’t touch.
• Sugars Sugars are often found in dog foods to sweeten the taste, making the dog more likely to overeat. Some dog foods contain up to 15% sugars and sweeteners!
• ‘Grain’ glutens, meals, husks, are nothing more than fillers and often result in skin allergies and other conditions.

With such a list of what to avoid, what should a conscientious pet owner look for?

Keep an eye out for ingredient lists with words such as ‘chicken meal’ (or any other recognizable meat meal) near the beginning of the list. “Meal” refers to rendered (processed for preparation, often by the removal of water content) meats, resulting in a heavy, nutrient-filled powder. Look for ingredients after the ‘meal’ that you recognize.

Innova Adult Dog Food

Innova’s Adult dog food contains ingredients that you’d find in your own cabinets—turkey, chicken, potatoes, rice, apples, carrots, cottage cheese, and eggs.

When reading a pet food label, there is one quick and easy guideline—If you don’t recognize what’s in it, you shouldn’t buy it!

Today we are inundated with so many difficult choices, what to feed our best furry friends should be one of them! Read carefully and know what exactly is going into your dog. Its all right there on the label.

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Benefits of Home-Delivered Dog Foods

There is one fact that every dog owner wanting to feed their dog the best quality food is certainly aware of—the best dog food is often times not available in their area.

Thankfully, the Internet provides a quick solution to this dilemma. The Web makes it much easier to ensure your dog gets the nutrition it needs for a happy, healthy, and long life.

Ordering your canine companion’s food online offers several important advantages. Not only do you benefit from saving time and the convenience of shopping from home, but ordering from an online source often increases the number of available brands and flavors (especially important for those finicky little pooches) you can choose from. This helps ensure you’ll find what your dog needs, without having to settle for the ‘next best’ option on your supermarket shelves.

Canned and dry dog foods available at most supermarkets and groceries are generally located on one aisle or less. This limits the total number of brands, varieties, and flavors available. An online source is a different story. All options are easily available for viewing—as is the vital information such as ingredients and feeding guidelines—and customers can chose as many flavors and brands as they want!

It’s more economical, too. By purchasing the larger quantity packages, consumers get a better price per pound compared to the lower quantity packages found in local markets. Brands such as EVO and Canidae offer larger-sized packages ranging in weight from 20 pounds to 40—with a wide variety of flavors, too.

Dog foods ordered online are shipped directly to your home, which is perfect for older dog owners who cannot physically deal with often bulky packages shelved on upper shelves at supercenters. The food is delivered to the home and customers don’t have to wrestle with loading and unloading the packages.

With online ordering dog owners are guaranteed access to the highest quality dog foods, whether dry, canned or Raw.

Enough can’t be said about the varieties of foods available through an online, home-delivery supplier, and for multiple dog households, traditional dog food suppliers might not be enough. Some dogs are prone to food allergies and may require slightly out-of-the-ordinary foods. One way to ensure that this dog’s needs are met without overshadowing those of the other dogs in the family is by doing all the dog food shopping at once—with the few clicks of a button that an online service provides. Online ordering does save money, provide more acceptable choices, and benefit both dog owners and their best friends..

Time is a precious commodity, and we unintentionally short-change certain aspects of our lives to make room for more important aspects. But what we feed our dogs shouldn’t be set-aside, over-looked, or minimized to make room for other choices. Supermarkets and grocery stores are designed to meet our needs and our dog’s needs are seen as an afterthought—or a way to make more money for the grocers. An online, home-delivery dog food supplier gives our dogs the recognition they deserve!

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These Doggles Are So Cool!

Wow…I was mountain biking over the weekend and saw this guy with his golden lab wearing these ridiculously cool looking goggles for dogs (Doggles!). I searched and found them on the internet. Check them out below. Oki is gonna look so cute with a pair of his own.

We just got them in and you can get your own pair at Fido Pet Food! Thank you for visiting our blog and as a token of our appreciation, use coupon code: CVOOIS for 5% off your entire order!

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Don’t Get Ripped Off on Your Dog Food!

So, I got the idea of home delivery of premium dog food because of my recent shopping experience for my 4 month old male Boxer named, “Oki.”I hated those last minute rushes to the pet store to get Oki his food. I felt like a horrible parent!

Anyway, I tried purchasing from one of those “other” internet retailers that sell premium dog food. When it cost me $30 just for shipping and then it took 2.5 weeks for me to receive the dog food I was quite upset! If I’m going to spend my hard earned money and pay $30 for shipping, that stuff better arrive at my doorstep on time.

Out of frustration, I started thinking how nice it would be if there was a service in Orange County where you can have your premium dog food delivered to your door. Hassle Free! Customers who don’t live in our delivery area can still take advantage of our low internet prices without having to deal with unsatisfactory customer service and long delivery times.

Fido Pet Food offers high quality dog products to discerning customers who value their time, money and above all, their pets. Whether you live in California or on the other side of the country, Fido Pet Food offers convenience and friendly service that’s practically impossible to find these days.

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