Your Questions About Organic Dog Food

Ruth asks…

Need a good name for my Dog food company and its treat range?

We are an organic dog food company, looking for a catchy brand/company name and a name for our range of dog treats.

admin answers:

Naturally Doglicious

Michael asks…

What kind of dog food is best for my dog?

I have a Lab/German Shepherd who is just over 2 years old and I was wondering what kind/brand of food is best for her. She is very active and not over-weight at all. I always heard that you should look for a food that has meat as one of the first ingredients, but what other rules should you follow when looking for food? Also, I know there is organic dog food out there, is this recommended for a dog or is normal food ok? And, is dry food or canned/refrigerated food best for dogs? Thanks!

admin answers:

1. The meat first rule is good, but too general. There are legal meanings to the wording on pet food packaging so they can have meat listed first, but not actually have much meat in the food. To start, 90% of the ingredients are listed from the first to the fat source. The number of ingredients will very. To find a meat based food, you want to have meat first, but also have more meat ingredients than carbohydrates. Here are some made up examples:
Bad label:”Lamb, rice, brown rice, oatmeal, barley, chicken fat”. If you added all 4 carb ingredients and weighed them as a group against the meat, you have a ‘meat first’ food that actually has more grains than meat. Tricky.
Good label: “lamb, lamb meal, rice, sunflower oil”. Meat sources should be greater than or equal to the carb sources.

2. There is no legal definition of the word ‘organic’ in pet food. I could name a dog food ‘the most organic food ever’ and not have one organic ingredient in it. Unless the food has the green or black USDA stamp on it, it’s not worth the extra money and is not entirely organic. USDA organic pet food is very rare.

3. In my experience, the less processed the better. I love AAFCO raw diets, like Natures Variety and Northwest Naturals as well as dehydrated foods, like Honest Kitchen and Sojos. The more natural and less processed the better (for people too!). These diets can be expensive, but it is worth it to check cost and use fresh food if you can. If fresh food is out of the question, a top quality dry is ok.

4. Along with ingredients, check to see where the food is made. The company should openly disclose the specific factories used, if they co-pack, and what countries they buy raw ingredients from. Avoid companies that are vague about these questions. Also, avoid any brand you see on TV.

Here are my current favorite brands:
Honest Kitchen
Primal
Lotus
Natures Logic
Orijen
Acana

Susan asks…

What is the best organic dog food brand that doesn’t contain preservatives?

I don’t want to be feeding my 2 month old Papillon with dog food that has preservatives in it. I’ve read and heard that more and more people are switching to organic foods without preservatives in them, and that the preservatives are being replaced by Vitamine E.

Where can I get some of this dog food, and what brands are the best? Are there specific sites online that you can order the dog food from?

admin answers:

Innova is a great brand.

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