Worst dog food brands
October 8, 2008
Filed under Dog Food Tips
Interested in the worst dog food brands? Ingredients separate the worst dog food brands from the best dog food brands. Lets take a look at what make a dog food brand the worst dog food brand:
- By-Products
- Non specefic animal source
- Contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin
- No meats in the first five ingredients
- Contains artificial colorants
- Contains ground corn or whole grain corn
These are just a couple of the things that will make a brand of dog food the worst. Now lets take a look at some of the first dog food brands on the market (These are just my opinion based on the ingredients).
Top 10 Worst Dog Food Brands.
- Beneful Dog Food
- Eukanuba Dog Food
- Hills Science Diet Dog Food
- Iams Dog Food
- Kibbles and Bits
- Opitmum
- Pedigree Dog Food
- Pro Plan Dog Food
- Purina One and Chow Dog Food
- Royal Canin Dog Food
BEST DOG ON THE BLOCK Dog Tips
Dog Food – Friend or Foe?
by Mark Siebel – Owner – DOGGIE STEPS Dog Training
I find it funny how some dog owners have NO idea what they’re feeding their dogs; “This is what I’ve always fed FIDO, and he seems to like it.” Upon years of observing dog behavior and health trends, I have noted how the longevity and quality of a dog’s health is directly related to the food eaten.
I have recently adopted the attitude that I will NOT feed my dogs anything that I wouldn’t eat. Holding true to this philosophy, below are a few simple tips to ensuring your dog will be treated to a well balanced meal and not leftovers from who knows where:
1. Dog food nutritional standards. According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), all of a pet’s dietary needs (ie..proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals) must be present in every meal. The AAFCO approval label is found on 95% of all dog food, including those that have inferior nutritional value. So, how do we know that the food is actually nutritionally sound for our dogs? Do your homework!!
2. Read the ingredients label on your dog food bag. Most inexpensive dry dog foods contain “fillers” such as corn, millet, wheat, and rice, ALL of which are not natural in a dog’s diet. Be aware that the first 5 ingredients on the ingredients label will comprise over 85% of the food’s content. If any of the following ingredients are currently listed on your dry food, BEWARE!! *4-D: comprised of meat from dead animals, including the possibility of tainted and/or diseased meat. *Propylene Glycol: a preservative thought to have the similar molecular structures to that of antifreeze. *BHA & BHT: a suspected carcinogen. *Ethoxyquin: a major preservative used in rubber tires, and sometimes in dog food as a synthetic antioxidant to keep fats from turning rotten.
3. Find a Veterinarian who practices “Holistic” Medicine. Today, most traditional vets don’t even own a dog!! They recommend a dog food that “coincides” with your dog’s current ailment, and will most often recommend a steroid injection (cortisone) to mask the symptoms of the dog’s illness while not treating the actual disease. It’s nice to have a vet who will assess your dog’s history of illness and prescribe the appropriate foods and recovery program to establish a healthy nutritional balance.
4. Finally – What to feed your dog. A raw, homemade diet is often chosen by dog owners who want to provide the freshest organic meats, vegetables, and proteins to their dogs. This often requires a lot of work, time, and money. To satisfy your dog’s appetite, the following dry dog foods have been tested/qualified to be the top dry brands for both overall nutritional balance, and immune strength: Innova, Eagle Pack, Canidae, Wellness, Fromm’s, Solid Gold, Canine Caviar, California Natural, Natural Planet Organics, and Prairie. ALL OF THESE FOODS ARE MADE IN THE U.S.A. These same brands have wet food to accompany the dry. I recommend a tablespoon of wet food daily for added protein and flavor.
If we eat at McDonald’s every day, we get overweight and a triple bypass at the age of 62. Eating with natural/organic food in mind, we can achieve better future health and the comfort of knowing that our immune system is more resilient against disease. So, the next time you’re thinking about saving a few bucks by buying the cheapest dog food at your local supermarket, think twice.
Mark Siebel has trained over 500 Arizona Valley dogs, has dog training tips published monthly in various AZ magazines, appears on NBC Channel 12 Arizona Midday, ABC Channel 15 Sonoran Living, speaks regularly with local schools youth groups about the importance of dog safety and ownership, and donates time to kids who want to learn more about dogs. He is a member of APPSA (Arizona Professional Pet Sitters Association) and ASC of Arizona (Australian Shepherd Club of Arizona). Mark owns (2) Australian Shepherds named Leinie and Kugel. For more information or general dog questions, go to: http://www.doggiestepsdogtraining.com/index.html or call Mark @602.318.0122.
You forgot the all-time worst food ….. Old Roy sold at Walmart!
I cringe when I see Ole Roy at Walmart-how could they sell such an alful food? But look at the dumb looking people that buy this garbage. Spend more money on a fancy cell phone and say that cant afford a good food or say “the dog loves it” how about a shovel to go with the food so you have a lot of clean up.
I spend all my money on the best food and treats. The back yard can prove it, less shedding-poop- and they eat less (because it real)
Dog and service dogs should not be eating dog food that has corn and sugar in it. It will not help them grow big and strong. All this does for them is make them full, Eating this make them have bad breath, and bad teeth. Also they will die 2 1\2 years earlier, do you what your best friend (dog)to not live health. If you do feed them this type of dog food then you should not have a dog or a service dog. You should read the back of the bag, to see what they put in the dog food be for you buy it. dry, can and moist dog food. If you can feed them right don’t get a pet or service dog. It’s not fair to the animal.
Who cares about those mutts. All they need is table scraps. LOL
IS EUKSNUBA REALLY BAD I HAVE A YORKIE I AM SO WORRIED HELP
Crystal,
you should use Chicken Soup For Pet Lover’s Soul Adult Dog Formula or Puppy Formula.
This food is really satisfying for your dog.
It will love it!
My dog is picky and he liked it!
Plus this food prevents plaque and tartar and bad breath.
It is made with all natural ingridients, none of that frozen food. Everything is pure.
Enjoy
Btw, “I” the one who wrote…
“Who cares about those mutts. All they need is table scraps. LOL”
that was not funny.
i hate it when you go to the grocery store and dispite the petfood recall people are still feeding there dogs what was recalled just because they belive what the tv tells them.and i would just like to say that my dog is 8 years old and he can run really fast because of solid gold petfoods its one of the best it doesnt have by-products,corn,wheat,dairy,soy also known as lection),no animal fat added and no sugar or salt and no sunfolwer oil which is a very cheap oil and it increases the risk of cancer by up to 69%
If I had a pet I really did love, I would feed them the best. I don’t.
Most of the Wal-mart buyers buying “Old Roy” usually are rednecks who own some mixed barnyard mutt wandering around their trailer park so they don’t give a horses patoot what’s in the ingredients.
I have to say that my 2 year old Golden was on Pedigree up untill a few months ago…after doing a little research online and talkin to my friends I switched her to Solid gold…she does likes it a lot. It is the first dry food she will eat with nothing else added to it…
For all of you who REALLY care about your four legged friends, please read the article that changed my mind about dog food (click the link below).
WHAT DO U GUYS THINK OF PRO PERFORMANCE for small size puppies?
Thank u:)
Our dog is a large breed, and a rescue from a backyard breeder that was shut down due to deplorable conditions (so he didn’t get the best start in life). He has a host of inherited health issues as well, so it’s not like we have a naturally healthy dog. But he is now ten, and is as rambunctious and fun-loving as ever. When we moved into our new house a year ago, our dog was nine, and I mistakenly thought our neighbor’s dog was much, much older. He walked slowly, and just seemed like a very, very old dog. Nope. He was seven. Just fed crap his entire life–Pedigree.
For people who think buying higher quality dog food is a waste of money, let me explain why it’s not. Our dog’s food may be twice as expensive as a grocery store brand, but he eats half as much food on a daily basis because it’s a higher quality food without fillers and garbage in it. So in the long run, we are paying out the same amount. And we have a much happier dog, too.
I CANNOT beleive I am feeding my dog Beneful! I am in tears! My baby means so much to me…it’s all in my lack of better judgment. Please tell me what you think of blue buffalo, but I think I’m going to search for Solid Gold. I’m so glad I found this site…I Love You People!
I love the idea of posting bad dog foods – excellent thought with much sense behind it and I commend you to the limit, however, I can tell you you’re very wrong on Royal Canin. I have a Czech GSD – I would humbly say one of the top 10-15 male working GSDs in the world. I researched every link I could find, outside of published laboratory studies breaking down each component by component. THE best website for info on dog foods is pedigreedatabase.com. Regardless of the breed (don’t worry – no vets weighing in with opinions there), the OVERWHELMING consensus is that Royal is among the top 3-4 foods available. Your list is right on with the rest, but NOT Royal. I have no bias in any direction – I’m just informing you that the world’s top website for breeders, working dogs and show dogs with members chiming in constantly on this subject, is pedigreedatabase, and what is said by consensus there carries the weight of the world behind it. Working dog people are the absolute best, most intellectual, most knowledgeable and well versed. These are high level competitors and professionals (many WUSV contenders). They “get it”, trust me: They say Eagle Pack, Royal, Innova (which is typically too rich causing loose stools but of high quality), Blue Buffalo and a few others. More than a dozen other sites I have checked follow this consensus, and throw Solid Gold and Canidae (but for dry skin issues caused by Canidae) in as well. They do corroborate the balance of your list, btw;-)