Your dog could be eating pure crap--maybe literal crap.

How fats iz I?

Unlike people,  dogs and cats tend to eat the same meal day after day.  And, they're fine with that.  Their stomachs have evolved in such a way that a deviation from this standard diet is likely to cause problems in their lifetime.  I know we feed our animals table scraps from time to time, but try to make this a rare occasion.  They may seem excited at the time, but you'll be paying for it or cleaning up after it later.  Because our dogs and cats are eating the same meal every day, I think it's extremely important to examine what is in the kibble we are feeding them.

Carrots are okay, though.

First, there are a few foods that you should never give to your dog.  Seriously, it can kill them.   


Now, I will just give you the basics on what ingredients NOT to feed your pets.  With even this small bit of knowledge, I guarantee you will be more likely to look at the back of the bag just to peek at what kind of garbage you might have been feeding your dog without even knowing.

Science Diet is a food that I wouldn't be caught dead feeding my pets, so it makes a great example.  Here are the first four ingredients (note that all ingredients in all food are ordered by the amount used in them):

1.  Corn Meal  -  Just like people, animals cannot properly digest corn.  This acts as a "filler" which wouldn't be so reprehensible if it wasn't the FIRST FREAKING INGREDIENT.  Fillers have no nutritional value whatsoever and make your dog or cat go to the bathroom about double the amount they normally would since they simply run straight through their system (because of that whole "unable to digest" factor).
    
2. Chicken By-product Meal (a Source Of Natural Chondroitin Sulfate And Glucosamine) - By-product is a nice way of saying "the parts of animals that wouldn't be considered meat by any smart consumer" -- Yeah... Heads, feathers, entrails, lungs and the like.  Yum.
    
3. Animal Fat (preserved With Mixed Tocopherols And Citric Acid) - This would be great for disease prevention if it weren't so obviously processed from the above ingredient - refined fats of any kind negate their health value.
    
4. Soybean Mill Run - This is also known as "floor sweepings" in the pet industry -- it makes the food palpable (form into the kibbles we see), but God knows what's in it,

The additional ingredients aren't so bad, but why add ingredients that are "a source" (note: not a good source) of glucosamine and chondroitin  when you could just actually add glucosamine and chondroitin.  I mean, that may be a better choice..

If you want a good food, look for ingredients (the wording is important) like these:

• Chicken/lamb/duck/turkey/beef meal (no by-product)
• Flax oil (not just flaxseed)
• Rice/oats/barley/potatoes (not corn, gluten or soy) 

I feed Frankie and Ollie Nutro dog food because it has straight-up meat, no fillers and a lot of oils for their skin and coat.

I know this information can be a bit tedious, but with this small bit of education, you are a little more equipped (or at least conscious) of what you are pouring into that bowl every day.  If you follow this advice, your pets will seem happier, healthier and will be able to love you for a much longer time.