Think that you've got a good food for your dog? Here's a few simple ingredients that I hope don't appear in your dog's food:
Animal Digest- It's feces. If it lists a specific animal, it's that specific animal's feces. Sometimes this is part of an uncleaned intestinal tract. Some companies just put animal feces into their food to add to the palatibility.
Animal Fat- Just the generalized term though. If it lists a specific animal, don't worry about it. The generalized term however refers to any number of different animal's fat. This may include someone else's euthanized pets, roadkill, and other disgusting animal's fat. Part of this problem is that if they are in fact using euthanized animal fat, it can still retain some of the phenobarbital that killed the animal. This can lead to seizures and even death.
Meat meal- You just don't know what kind of "meat" they're talking about. That's never good.
Animal by-products- Generally speaking, this is a bad thing. By-Products can be anything that comes from an animal. This includes fur, feathers, beaks, bones, organs, and eyes. The unfortunate thing is, is that crushed bone and organ meat is actually good for the animal. They're good sources of calcium, protein, and other vitamins. But unfortunately some companies that list by-products, are using this term. My recommendation is to stay away from by-products.
Corn, wheat, soy- These are the top three allergies in dogs. Through insecticides, growth hormones, and other new ways of growing these items, they have developed into the top three ingredients that cause skin irritations. Dog itches? See if any one of these ingredients are in your food. It may not be the issue, but it'll cross it off your list of possible irritants. They also pose another issue. These ingredients are merely used for filler. It's true that every dry dog food requires a carbohydrate to hold the kibble together, but why settle for a less nutritionally sound one? Look for something with rice flour, peas, tapioca, potatoes, or sweet potatoes.
