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What is chicken by-product meal?

This week, we're talking food.

Well, kind of.

We're talking dog food.

There are seriously HUNDREDS of options out there, so how do you know what is best for your pup? Should you get the puppy food or the adult food? Beef or chicken? Canned or dry? Which ingredients are important to pay attention to?

It can be easy to get lost in the world of dog food. You're walking through the pet store and all of the sudden your stuck between chicken by-product meal and animal digest and you have no idea how you got there or where to go next.

In this post, I'm going to highlight just a few of my favorite food choices and breakdown a few of my not-so-favorite choices. As always, before you do anything different with your pet or their diet, it is a good idea to research on your own and consult with your veterinarian to make sure you make the right decision for your individual animal. It's a long post, but hang in there - I promise it's worth it!

So lets get started! Below are a couple of foods that I recommend trying to stay away from. These are my three least favorite foods for pups, and I explain why they didn't make my love-it list. Check them out:

Check out the first five ingredients: Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols.

Doesn't sound too yummy to me. You might be wondering, "what even is chicken by-product meal?" Good question. It's all the yucky leftover parts of the chicken that aren't suitable for human consumption. That means it's just a giant mix of bones, internal organs, and leftover eggs all blended together. The other thing about this food that makes me sad is that it is so full of grains! Three out of the first five ingredients are grain! Dogs never used to eat grain on their own in the wild, so it's best to stay away from grains when we feed them now!

Again, let's take a look at the first five ingredients: Corn, Soybean Meal, Beef & Bone Meal, Ground Wheat, Animal Fat (BHA Used As Preservative). To me, this sounds nutritionally similar to eating Cheetos for every meal of my life. This food is full of grain and missing so much meat!

Here's the other part that I think is so important to notice: look at all the dyes at the end of the ingredient list: Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Yellow 5 Lake. Yuck! I don't want to eat all of those chemicals, and I don't want to feed it to my pups, either! Dogs are kind of color blind anways, so they won't know if their food is purple or brown - it all looks the same to them! :)

Especially for weightloss, many vets prescribe Hill's Science Diet. They've got formulas specifically made for different life stages, weights, and issues that may come up with a dog. However, check out the first five ingredients: Chicken Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Whole Grain Corn, Soybean Mill Run , Corn Gluten Meal.

You've got it, more grain! As you can tell, I'm not the biggest fan of grain-filled dog foods. All this grain isn't natural to dogs and can cause all kinds of digestive issues and inflammation in your dog's entire body.

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Okay, so you've learned about the foods I'm not a fan of, but what about the ones that have Boomer (and me) drooling? Below are a couple of my favorite dog food brands and products. One thing that I look for in good dog foods is great, real ingredients. ALWAYS turn the bag over and check out what's inside. The first few ingredients should be real meat from specific animals! And, as always, try to stay away from grain.

Check out those ingredients! Beef, peas, rabbit... sounds delicious. Don't be scared away by the long list of vitamins and minerals that trail the end of the ingredient list! These are important and specially formulated for the specific needs of our canine friends. What's missing from this list that is important to note is all those funky dyes. Staying away from those is key!

Evanger's Meat Lover's Medley dry is a great choice for dogs and is one of my favorites. I also love that this is formulated to meet the needs of pets in ANY stage of life - puppy, pregnant, adult, senior, etc. Don't always be fooled by those brands that are specially geared towards small breeds, seniors, puppies, etc. When you find a food that is great quality with real ingredients, it can be applied to any life stage!

This stuff rocks when your pup has a funny tummy. It's gentle on the stomach and contains natural fiber from the sweet potatoes, which helps improve digestion. But this doesn't mean it can only be used when your pet is sick! It can definitely be used all the time. Again, these ingredients are awesome, and the list is clearly missing not-so-good stuff like dyes and by-products. Often wet foods can be a great choice because they are easier to digest and can taste more appealing to your pup. You could even try mixing half wet and half dry, which is what I do with my dogs! It gives them good benefits from both types of food.

Y'ALL. This food is no joke. It's the bomb.com and if there happened to be zombie apocalypse and human food was no longer available, I would for sure eat this stuff. Also, I may or may not have tried it while working at a vet hopsital one time...

Anyways, freeze dried food is SO good because it has all of the great, real ingredients, like pork, blueberries, and carrots. These are all freeze-dried and packaged as little flakes that you simply re-hydrate with water. Freeze dried is the closest thing you can get to the fresh stuff without actually getting the fresh stuff. It can also be great for weight loss, since it only contains fresh, real ingredients, instead of any perservatives that other types of foods might contain. Check out the whole Grandma Lucy's line!

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So, we've just brushed the surface of dog foods and there is still a world of options out there. But hopefully I've been able to provide you a little bit of advice to get you started! Work with your veterinarian and decide what options might be best for you and your pup. The number one complaint I hear about high-quality dog food is the price. It's a fair argument, as the healthy stuff is usually more expensive. My best advice for this is: the money that you spend on good quality food to keep your pet day-to-day healthy will help save you money from expensive, unhealthy pet vet visits in the future.


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