You will equip yourself better by knowing what goes in your dog food. Dogs can't read ingredients but we can


Always always read ingredients listed on your dog food, as much as a lot of people are concerned about protein content " the higher the better does not mean it's good protein, the 30% you see might not be what you are getting in most case if you can't read food labels.

Most dog food with good quality of protein will cost more than food with by-product protein.

What to avoid or what to look for when purchasing dog food, is not just about you but your loved ones as well.

1 Protein- it must always be a named animal sourced protein e.g chicken meal, lamb meal, beef meal etc if there is fish it must also be named not generic ( fish meal) it must state e.g salmon meal, white fish meal , herring meal etc

Avoid by- products e.g Chicken by-products as they include head, feet, entrails, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver, stomach, bones, blood, intestines, and any other parts of the carcass not fit for human consumption,”

Meat by-products or meat meal. Both are euphemisms for the parts of animals that wouldn’t be considered meat by any smart consumer. The well-known phrase “meat byproducts” is a misnomer since these byproducts contain little, if any meat at all.

Meat meal can contain the boiled down flesh of animals we would find unacceptable for consumption. This can include zoo animals, road kill, and 4-D (dead, diseased, disabled, dying) livestock. Most shockingly, this can also include dogs and cats

Chicken meal, beef meal, lamb meal vs chicken, beef or lamb ( please note no by-products)

Chicken meal,lamb meal, etc according to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), is the dry rendered product from a combination of clean chicken flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of chicken, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails. A meal in general is "an ingredient which has been ground or otherwise reduced in particle size.
Chicken meal is ground up chicken meat that has been carefully dried to a moisture level of 10%. The protein content is 65% and the fat level is 12%.
Regular chicken, lamb, beef contains about 70% water with 18% protein and 5% fat. So bear in mind that food labels are listed in order of weight so if your 1st ingredient list is e.g chicken, ground yellow corn,corn gluten meal,soy meal, wheat, rice gluten, rice, animal fat etc etc etc everything from 1st ingredient to fat source is what makes up the bulk of your dog food, bear in mind what will be left after the chicken is cooked & the water is removed?
Also note your plant ingredients Soy is a plant protein used by pet food companies to boost protein content and add bulk. Because plant proteins are less expensive than meat proteins, pet food manufacturers use them to increase profit margins. Common plant-based protein sources used in your pet's food include corn-gluten meal and soybean meal. So if we calculate all this before processing are you really getting your hard earned paid 30% protein?

2. Know your FAT source

Just as protein is a crucial component to a dog’s diet, so too is fat, which provides many health benefits. The building blocks of fats are fatty acids, some of which dogs require in their diet because their body cannot make them. These are called essential fatty acids and are divided into two groups, the omega-3 and the omega-6 fatty acids.
The Good

Like protein, the fat component of commercial dog food should come from named sources. Below is a list of higher quality fat sources in dog food. You will notice that you can recognize the exact source of each of these.
THE GOOD.

chicken fat
herring oil
canola oil
sunflower oil
safflower oil
flax oil
beef fat
lamb fat

THE BAD

animal fat
poultry fat
vegetable oil
mineral oil
beef tallow
lard

That list looks scary. Let’s take a look at animal fat. According to AAFCO, here is the definition of animal fat:

Animal fat is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering.

The issue with animal fat is that we really don’t know where it comes from. It could be from by-products, slaughterhouse waste, dead or diseased farm animals, and worse (you don’t want to know). Not very appetizing is it?

Extract from dog food advisor

3. Synthetic Dog Food Preservatives Could Be Toxic to Your Pet


When fed daily for a lifetime, synthetic dog food preservatives could be toxic to your pet.

Here’s why…

Since animal fats are a crucial part of every dog food, they’re also subject to spoilage — becoming rancid shortly after manufacture.
To extend the shelf life of any pet food, suppliers must add a preservative to many fat or oil ingredients.
However, food preservatives aren’t all the same. They can be classified as either natural — or artificial.

Natural preservatives are usually made from anti-oxidants — like vitamins C or E. You’ll see them printed on a dog food ingredients list using some form of the word “tocopherol” or “ascorbate”.

These items typically look like this…
“…chicken fat preserved with alpha-tocopherol”
Natural preservatives are typically considered safe.
Banned from Cat Food
but OK for Dogs?

However, artificial preservatives are another story. Used long term, they can add a notable risk of toxicity to any dog food.
For example, take the moisture preservative, propylene glycol. You may recognize propylene glycol by its more infamous use in certain types of non-automotive anti-freeze.

Now, to be fair, this chemical is considered far less toxic than its more dangerous cousin, ethylene glycol.

However, due to its proven risk of blood toxicity, propylene glycol has been banned by the FDA for use in cat food.
Yet it’s still used to preservative dog food.
Dog Food Preservative
or Toxic Pesticide?

Ethoxyquin is another artificial preservative to watch for on a label. ( normally found in a lot of fish meal formula)
That’s because ethoxyquin is not only used as a preservative but also as a pesticide — and as a hardening agent for making synthetic rubber.
Ethoxyquin has been under investigation by the FDA as a possible cause for certain liver and blood problems.
Yet to this day, it’s still commonly found in many popular brands of dog food.

Two More Dubious Preservatives
Here are two more chemical bad guys to watch out for…
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
The World Health Organization openly names both BHT and BHA as suspicious cancer-causing compounds. Plus the State of California has now identified BHA as a possible carcinogen, too.
Considering these troubling issues, you’d think these two dubious preservatives would be intentionally shunned by the pet food industry.
Unfortunately, both BHA and BHT can still be found in a number of commercial dog foods.
The Bottom Line

Dogs are a captive audience. They have no choice but to eat what we put in front of them. The same food — consumed day after day. Week after week. Year after year.
It’s that cumulative exposure that keeps us up at mights. That additive effect of using any artificial preservative relentlessly — especially when it’s suspected of causing cancer.

So, avoid dog foods made with artificial preservatives.
Here’s a list of some of the more common chemical additives…

Propylene glycol
Ethoxyquin
BHA
BHT
TBHQ
Propyl gallate
contains EU approved antioxidant' or 'contains EEC permitted preservatives'.
Who knows? Avoiding these dangerous dog food preservatives may just add years of good health to your pet’s life.

4. Colorants

Coloring agents are often added to pet foods to modify the appearance of highly processed foods, providing an artificial "rich and meaty" look in an attempt to make the food appear more appealing to pet owners. Even pet brands that market themselves as healthy and holistic are guilty of using artificial colors.

Many of the artificial coloring agents used in dog foods have been associated with potential problems. FD&C Red No. 40 is a possible carcinogen but is still widely used to keep meat looking fresh. Blue No. 2 is thought to increase dogs' sensitivity to viruses. Another color that is commonly used but that has not been fully tested is Yellow No. 5.

Both Red No. 2 and Violet No. 1 were banned by the FDA in the mid-seventies as possible carcinogens but prior to that were widely used in pet foods.

It's important to remember that artificial food colors or dyes used in pet foods are not for the benefit of dogs or cats — they're simply added to satisfy the pet owner's ideals of how a pet food "should" look.

Flint River Ranch premium pet foods and treats for cats and dogs contain absolutely no artificial colors or dyes.

Ingredients sourced in the USA are safer than ingredients sourced from China, so know your brand check their websites
One thing to note: While some dog foods proudly fly American flags on their packaging or tout that they are “made in America”, that doesn’t mean the ingredients are all sourced in the U.S. It means they are assembled in the U.S.
Most manufacturers will state all ingredients sourced from their country as we all know about 2012 dog food recall that rocked the USA, killed pets, infected humans & vet bills that were so high

Food that were recalled.

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul
Country Value
Diamond
Diamond Naturals
Premium Edge
Professional
4Health
Taste of the Wild
Wellness
Canidae
Natural Balance
Kirkland (Costco store brand)
What did they all have in common? They were produced by DIAMOND in their plant & protein sourced from China containing melamine which caused Salmonella check link below about a child who was infected by Her family pet

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/07/20/5055932/union-county-toddler-fights-salmonella.html#.U-EXyYNdaK0

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/diamond-pet-foods-recalls-more-dry-dog-food/#.U_JB_GIaySM

Keep yourself informed by knowing which brands are not safe or going off the shelves, for your pet & loved ones as we can all get sick especially from Salmonella

www.fda.gov.

All information extracted from the web so feel free to add what you know so we can all save our pets & learn.

Good dog food labels,

As you can see below protein has been named, grains & carbohydrate named, fat named, oil named



INGREDIENTS
Chicken meal, steel-cut oats, deboned chicken, whole potato, peas, whole egg, deboned flounder, chicken fat, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver, herring oil, pea fiber, whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, lavender.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude protein (min.) 32%
Crude fat (min.) 15%
Crude fiber (max.) 4%
Moisture (max.) 10%
Calcium (min.) 1.6 %
Phosphorus (min.) 1.1%
Calcium: Phosphorus Ratio 1.4:1
Omega-6 (min.) 2.5%
LA (min.) 2.3%
Omega 3 (min.) 0.9%
EPA (min.) 0.4%
DHA (min.) 0.4%
Omega 6:Omega 3 ratio 2.8:1
Glucosamine (min.) 1400 mg/kg
Chondroitin sulfate (min.) 900 mg/kg

Dog food labels should look like this so we know what we are buying & feeding our dogs.

Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Whitefish Meal, Dried Egg Product, Tomato Pomace, Peas, Blueberry Fiber, Cranberry Fiber, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Spinach, Cranberries, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Taurine, Beta-Carotene, L-Carnitine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Salt, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Yucca Schidgera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product.

Crude Protein, not less than 38.00%
Crude Fat, not less than 20.00%
Crude Fiber, not more than 2.50%
Moisture, not more than 10.00%
Calcium, not less than 1.50%
Phosphorus, not less than 1.00%
Vitamin E, not less than 250 IU/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), not less than 100 mg/kg*
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), not less than 0.05%*
Omega-6 Fatty Acids, not less than 3.30%*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids, not less than 0.40%*
L-Carnitine, not less than 15 mg/kg*
Beta-Carotene, not less than 5 mg/kg*
Taurine, not less than 0.05%*


Chicken meal, steel-cut oats, deboned chicken, whole potato, peas, whole egg, deboned flounder, chicken fat, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver, herring oil, pea fiber, whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, lavender.

Crude protein (min.) 32%
Crude fat (min.) 15%
Crude fiber (max.) 4%
Moisture (max.) 10%
Calcium (min.) 1.6 %
Phosphorus (min.) 1.1%
Calcium: Phosphorus Ratio 1.4:1
Omega-6 (min.) 2.5%
LA (min.) 2.3%
Omega 3 (min.) 0.9%
EPA (min.) 0.4%
DHA (min.) 0.4%
Omega 6:Omega 3 ratio 2.8:1
Glucosamine (min.) 1400 mg/kg
Chondroitin sulfate (min.)