Did you know that dogs used to live much longer than they do now? As recently at the 1970s, Golden Retrievers used to have a life expectancy of 16 to 17 years old and now their life expectancy is closer to 9 years.
Over half of all dogs over 10 will get cancer, and there seems to be more dogs experiencing allergies and joint discomfort than ever before.
The number 1 most important thing for keeping your dog healthy is their nutrition, and when we are feeding our dogs dry dog food, not only are they missing many nutrients that they need, but we are also feeding them harmful ingredients because how the food is processed.
Let me explain to you why you should stop feeding your dog dry dog food, how you can help your dog’s health if dry dog food is your only option, and my recommendation for what you should feed your dog and why.
Table of Contents
What Dry Dog Food Doesn’t Provide
A large portion of the problem with dry dog food, is that the nutritional requirements are really the bare necessities to make sure they aren’t getting a vitamin deficiency or scurvy. Dry dog food is only meeting the minimum requirements of your dog’s needs. The controls and the requirements are set very low, and none of these requirements include certain nutrients that are required for good health.
Dog food has zero requirements for omega-3s, and it is one of the most important aspects of good dog health. A dog’s body can not make their own omega 3 fatty acids, and that why it is so important that your dog is provided with some type of omega 3 supplements.
Omega 3 can help with skin conditions, allergies, kidney function, lymphoma, heart disease, cognitive function, arthritis and more, so you can see why it is so important to be part of your dog’s diet.
Dry dog food also doesn’t have any requirements for digestive enzymes, probiotics, antioxidants or poysaccharides (for immune support). All of these can help contribute to your dog’s overall health, keeping them healthy with fewer visits to the vet and less catch up to get them better when your dog isn’t healthy.
Why Dry Dog Food Is Harmful
You see these pictures on the bags of your dog food, and it looks like it is made with these beautiful healthy ingredients, but what you see inside, looks nothing like what the pictures look like. What happened?
When dry dog food is made, they take healthy ingredients and pressure-cook them at a super high temperature and it comes out as brown mush. Much of the good ingredients has been destroyed from the high temperatures the dog food is cooked at. This is done so the food can last 2 to 3 years on the shelf. I know none of the food that I eat has such a long shelf life, why does our dog’s need that kind of shelf life?
When they cook the food at these high temperatures, some bad stuff has happened to the food. The worst is Advanced Glycation End Products. This isn’t something that you are going to see on the label, since it isn’t an ingredient. It is something that forms while pressure-cooking the food at high temperatures.
It causes inflammation, which causes most of the bad stuff in your dog. They could include allergies, flatulence, problems with their poop, itching, pain in their joints and trouble moving around as they get older. Studies show it can even lead to cancer.
Maillard reaction products or MRP’s also are formed by the high temperature cooking process. This is what turns the dog food that lovely brown color we are all familiar with. An average dry dog food diet has 122 times higher MRP’s than what is in an average human diet on a daily basis.
You might be surprised what ingredients are included in dry dog food. Most are body parts that we would never consider eating ourselves. Read how dry dog food is made and with what parts for more information.
What Your Dog’s Food Needs To Be Healthy
According to Dr. Gary Richter, MS, DVM, who is a renowned holistic veterinarian along with Western Medicine veterinarian and best-selling author of “The Ultimate Pet Health Guide” states that nutrition is the most important key to your dog’s health, and so many of the things that our dogs need in their diet are missing with dry dog food or canned dog food.
Dr. Richter states that the following are warning signs of your dog in bad health that can lead to something more serious.
- Low energy
- Coat or fur in poor condition
- Ears red and itchy
- Joints ache
- Breathe and poop smells really bad
When your dog is getting the proper nutrition that they need, they are less likely to have major issues later in life and will have less veterinarian visits.
If you are interested about Dr. Richter’s recommendations in his “Ultimate Pet Health Guide” you can purchase it here.
The requirements for dogs are not so different from what we need to stay healthy.
- Having a good protein is important for your dog’s overall health and well-being. Your dog can’t survive without it. The most important function of protein is in cell production, maintenance, and repair. Protein is needed for the most basic of bodily functions. A high quality meat source is generally muscle meats, which are highly digestible and the best source of protein for your dog.
- Fruits and vegetables – are a key source of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A promotes healthy vision, immune and cell function. Vitamin C works as an antioxidant, keeping your dog healthy and sharp. Vitamin D is important for bone and muscle health. Vitamin E protects against oxidative damage. The B Vitamins help the nervous system development, energy and metabolism.
- Minerals – your dog needs over 18 minerals to maintain a healthy lifestyle. All minerals contribute to cell function, but they also help to balance acid and fluid in your dog’s body.
- Healthy fats are a critical part of your dog’s growth and development. They are an important source of energy and carry twice the amount of energy as carbohydrates and proteins. Healthy fats help your dog process certain vitamins and keep your dog’s coat shiny and soft. Your dog needs a proper balance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids for a healthy coat and everything underneath.
If you feel that your only option is to continue your dog with dry dog food or canned dog food, I recommend at least getting your dog some type of supplement to help them get the nutritional needs that are cooked out of their food by how it is processed.
I recommend adding NaturVet all in one support. It provides vitamins supporting digestion, skin, coat, joints and vitamin and mineral health. This will help your dog be healthier than just feeding them a dry dog food diet.
A Better Option To Dry Dog Food
If you are looking for a better option than feeding your dog dry dog food or canned dog food, my recommendation would be providing your dog with a fresh diet. A fresh diet is not the same as a raw diet. Take a look at raw vs fresh cooked diet to see how they differ from each other.
A fresh diet is prepared with fresh human grade food that is slightly cooked, making it safe for your dog and safe for you to handle. It is prepared with high quality proteins that we would eat, fruits and vegetables and includes vitamins, minerals and the much need Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
Nomnomnow is the fresh diet that I would recommend and you can read a full review of Nomnomnow for all of their benefits that their program offers.
Some of the key points to Nomnomnow
- Customized meal for your dog based on breed, age, activity level and weight.
- Delivered directly to your home.
- Prepared in an FDA rated kitchen.
- Individually packaged in vacuumed sealed serving sized packages.
- Made with fresh protein of your choice, fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Made with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
- Recipes developed by Dr. Shmalberg who is a licensed veterinarian and professor of veterinary.
- No byproducts.
- No preservatives or additives or anything artificial.
Take a look at Nomnomnow’s website to see what they all offer. There are many articles related to pet health and feeding. If you follow the link below, you will receive 50% off of your first order from Nomnomnow. It might be the best decision you make today for your dog’s overall health.
One of the owner’s was recently featured on the cover of Pet Food Industry Magazine.
Summary
I have lost too many dogs at an age before their time over the years. That has lead me to do extensive research as to why my dogs were having so many medical issues. I lost 1 Golden Retriever at 8 years, another Golden Retriever to bone cancer, and in a very short time, my next Golden Retriever will be leaving me having many medical issues, including cancer.
From all the research that I have done, I feel the biggest contributing factor has been their diet. They have all eaten dry dog food, and one that I had always believed was of a high quality. I was completely wrong. The way that dry dog food is processed so it can have a 2 to 3 year shelf life is dangerous to our dogs. This is why I believe you should stop feeding your dog dry dog food.
The requirements for our dogs nutritional needs are at the very minimum of what they need, and after the food is pressure cooked at such high temperatures, most of the nutrition is gone and other dangerous factors are introduced.
Take care of your dog, I don’t know of anything that loves you as unconditionally as a dog does. We owe them the best we can do for them.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I will get back with you. You can also share your experiences you have had with your dog’s food below. Please follow justforyourdog.com on Pinterest, FaceBook or Twitter for all the latest dog updates, and use the social share icons to share this article with your friends and family.
Thanks for reading.
~Marla
Some of the links within this post are affiliate links of which I might receive a small compensation from sales of certain items.
Love You for this. I could not agree more. My Lab died at 10 many years ago-Cancer. Just got a GS pup, he’s 5 months, and going on to a fresh and or raw diet, maybe combo, I’m still researching. TY again for this post
I am glad it is helpful information for you. After losing 2 dogs too young, and my current Golden Retriever struggling, I really felt I needed to do much needed research as to why this is happening. Our dogs are too important to us to lose them before their time, and it seems that there are more health issues than ever before. I wish you much luck, love and happiness with that new pup of yours, and I hope you find a diet that works well for you. My next pup will only be eating a fresh diet. I am hoping that will help keep them healthier longer.
That was enlightening… I have been feeding my dog dry food for as long as I remember and he has no problem… He is still young though.
Actually, my vet recommended dry food instead of normal food. What are your sources for this information you provide? Or is it just based on your own experience and opinion? I would like to know before making a decision to switch to any kind of other food different than what my vet recommended.
Thank you in advance for your reply!
You are going to notice a younger dog having as many problems as an older dog. Research has shown that the life expectancy has greatly decreased on many breeds of dogs. There has recently been many dog foods that have been pulled from the shelves due to excessive vitamin D causing death and the standards and requirements for dog food are not monitored that closely.
Since I have had 2 dogs that have passed away due to cancer, I started doing lots of research into what goes into a dog’s diet of dry dog food. Most people would never feed their dog dry dog food if they knew the ingredients that go into dry dog food.
You can take a look at Dr. Gary Richter’s book, The Ultimate Pet Health Guide, and you will see that many of the ingredients that dogs need are not included or required in dry dog food.
You are right when you say that dogs live much longer if they eat a healthier diet. It is very sad to lose your best friend when he or she is only ten years old.
I must say that I have never heard of Nomnomnow, but the concept is an excellent idea. They do this sort of thing for humans, so why not for pets too.
I loved their website, but I couldn’t tell whether this is a worldwide service for delivery or only in certain countries?
At this point, the Nomnomnow would be serving the United States. I am glad that you took a look at their website. There is so much great information that you can find in regard to dog health, even if you decide that this meal plan is right for your dog.
The information and articles they provide are free for anyone to take a look at and Nomnomnow provides some great information in what requirements your dog needs for good health.
I think our dogs know instinctively when their food is making them sick. I’ve had several big dogs who started refusing to eat their dry dog food as they got older. It’s like they’d rather starve than eat food that hurts them. With large dogs, though, it gets very, very expensive quickly to feed them really high quality foods. I’ll give the dog supplements a try that you recommended in this article. Thank you!
The dog supplement that I listed above is a great option for someone who can’t or doesn’t want to change their dog from dry dog food. It will at least provide your dog with several things that their dry dog food doesn’t provide and help keep them healthier.