Tag Archives: dog food

Nutrients Your Pets Need

It isn’t easy to decipher the list of ingredients on your pet food labels. Knowing what nutrients your pets need can help you understand what you’re feeding your dog or cat. Proteins are the building blocks for cells, tissues, and organs. Proteins are made up of two types of amino acids: essential amino acids (which cannot be synthesized by your pet’s body) and non-essential amino acids. Animal-based proteins like chicken, lamb, beef, fish, and egg provide essential amino acids for your pets. Vegetables, cereals, and soy can provide some amino acids, but not all of the essential amino acids your … Continue reading →

Celebrities Dining On Dog Food?

Did you know that tomorrow is “Dine With Your Dog Day?” I didn’t, until I heard on the radio that a celebrity event promoting the day got “Desperate Housewives’” actress Nicollette Sheridan a lot of media attention. Apparently, Sheridan was supposed to eat dog food during the event designed to celebrate the bond between man and dog by encouraging pet owners to share a meal with their dog. “This is not ‘Fear Factor,’” Sheridan said Thursday, balking at the idea of downing dog food. But she wasn’t the only Hollywood hottie who declined to munch on doggie morsels. “Exorcist” head-turner … Continue reading →

Dog Food Grade: Purina One Healthy Weight Formula

My Moose monster is currently on a diet of Purina One: Healthy Weight Formula in hopes of controlling his ever-expanding girth. I’m curious to see how his food falls on the dog food grading scale. Start with a score of 100. Easy enough. Here are the ingredients: Turkey, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, corn bran, whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, oat meal, non-fat yogurt, animal fat, animal digest, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, salt, potassium chloride, l-lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, … Continue reading →

Grade Your Dog Food

It’s hard to know what the best food for your pup is. There are a lot of factors involved — ingredients, your dog’s age, your dog’s general health and weight, and what you can afford! Below is a method to grade your dog food that was posted on one of the online dog communities I belong to. It seems like a lot of effort, but it yields some interesting results. Start with a grade of 100: For every listing of “by-product”, subtract 10 points for being sketchy! For every non-specific animal source (“meat” or “poultry”, meat, meal or fat) reference, … Continue reading →