Finding the right kibble for your dog (if you choose to feed your dog kibble) can be a difficult thing to do, with all the brands and commercial advertising out there picking the right one for your dog can be more than overwhelming. There are; however, some great guidelines for picking a good quality kibble for your dog, of course these guidelines will change for dogs with allergies. The problem with many of the kibbles on the market today was emphasized by the pet food scare that is, believe it or not, still going on today! The issue rears it’s head when pet food companies are more intent on making money than they are in making quality food for our beloved pets…seriously, would you allow a company that makes candy make your dog’s food? How much can these people really know about adequate nutrition for your pet when they specialize in making candy?!! This is just one example of mega corporations who believe they need their hand in every cookie jar, and in my personal opinion it is far better to spend an extra $5-10 to get a higher quality kibble for your dog from a company that specializes in producing quality food for dogs. After researching various foods for Jet, I decided on Fromm Family kibble. The thing I love about Fromm kibble is that it is made in a family owned business that specializes in producing high quality food for DOGS. The kibble is made with multiple FRESH protein sources and none of the Fromm products contain corn or wheat so the kibble has less fillers than other store bought foods. The main point I found on my search for a good quality dog food was that finding a good quality food that would benefit Jet nutritionally was impossible at a grocery store or mega-retail store, they just don’t carry good quality kibble. In order to find a really good quality food for your dog you need to look in pet specialty stores. Stores like Petsmart and Petco are going to carry your medium range and occasionally high range kibble, specialty boutique type pet stores usually carry the high quality and really high quality kibble (the stuff that is going to cost you about twice as much as a bag of grocery store brand) and finally you can order all the medium-very high range foods from online retailers. I purchase Jet’s food via mail order, simply because there is not a local retailer that carries Fromm Family kibble close to us; however, ordering from PetFoodDirect.com with coupons from RetailmeNot.com and email flyers from Pet Food Direct, I am able to get shipping costs cut to nothing!

So how do you begin looking for a good kibble when there are so many different varieties and brands out there? Your primary goal in searching for a quality kibble for your dog is to pinpoint exactly what you are looking for for your pet. While guidelines exist for picking a good food every dog has individual needs that must be met. A great example of this is Jet’s need for a lower calorie kibble, while he is not an old dog (he is 6 1/2 yrs old) he has hip dysplasia which limits his physical activity compared to other dogs in his age range so we compensate for this with a lower calorie kibble. I also wanted to find a corn and wheat free kibble for Jet, not because of allergies but because he was eliminating his bowels up to four times a day on wheat and corn filled kibble. By switching Jet to a corn and wheat free kibble he is now eliminating his bowels twice a day with “normal” sized bowel movements as opposed to the excessive bowel movements he was having on corn and wheat filled kibble. By pinpointing these special needs I was able to narrow down the types of kibble I was looking for – low calorie, wheat and corn free.

Once your dog’s special needs are pinpointed you have now narrowed your choices for dog kibble considerably and you can begin looking at the other recommended guidelines for picking your dog’s food.

Avoiding artificial coloring and flavoring is a great start…you know those colorful green, red, brown and orange kibbles? Those are designed to please you as a pet owner, your dog really doesn’t care what color his kibble is and would be much better off without all those added colors and flavors in his diet. 

Chemical preservatives are also a big no-no, chemical preservatives are proving harmful for us as human’s in recent research studies and with much smaller bodies our dog’s are also suffering the consequences of the use of harmful chemical preservatives in their foods. Harmful chemicals you should keep an eye out for include BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin – these are added to extend the shelf life of your dog’s food; however, they have recently proven to promote liver disease as well as various forms of cancer.

Protein sources should be named in the first few ingredients of your dog’s kibble are a good indicator that you’ve found a good kibble. Protein sources should be listed as “duck, lamb, fish” or “duck, lamb, chicken meal.

If a kibble lists any ingredients such as “animal fat” where the exact source of the product is unidentified you want to avoid that food, you wouldn’t eat something from an unidentified source so why should your dog? Not only that but there are very few regulations on what can not be included in a dog food so it’s up to you to make those regulations for yourself. Remember “meat” and “by-products” aren’t ingredients, they’re unnamed sources, look for “lamb” “beef” “chicken” instead.

Watch out for repeated ingredients such as “potatoes” and “dehydrated potatoes” this does not make for a great kibble choice.

Just as in baking for your pup avoid sugars and artificial sweeteners. Sugar is not a necessity for dogs, it is terrible for their teeth, intestinal health, ears (yeast) and not to mention the risk of diabetes. Artificial sweeteners like sorbitol are used in some kibble and are also used in laxatives…i’ll leave you to figure out the results of combining that in your dog’s kibble ingredients.

The final thing to keep an eye out for in your kibble is whole food sources things such as “corn” versus “corn gluten meal” and rice instead of “brewers rice”.

When you find a kibble that you feel would suit your dog you don’t want to switch over to that food immediately. Dog’s stomach’s are very sensitive and an immediate switch serves as somewhat of a shock to your dog’s system, instead you want to begin the transition by making a slow mix of kibble. A great way to do this is over a period of seven days slowly mix the two kibbles together beginning with a mix of 3/4 old kibble and 1/4 new kibble on day one and ending with all new kibble by day seven. This type of slow transition will result in less gastric distress.

Some higher quality kibble for your dog include the following (with prices listed from PetFoodDirect.com without coupon discounts):
California Natural : average of $43.59 for a 36lb bag
Wellness : average of $48.49 for a 26lb bag
Fromm : average of $37.99 for a 33lb bag
Eagle Pack: average of $48.99 for a 33lb bag
Canidae: average of $32.99 for a 35lb bag

You will notice that the higher quality dog kibble is going to cost you a little more; however, there are some great quality kibbles that will not cost you an arm and a leg and keep in mind that you’re getting what you pay for!

Also please remember that feeding table scraps may seem like you’re doing your dog a favor but dog’s have such sensitive digestive systems that come potty time your dog will not be thanking you. There are appropriate foods for dogs and appropriate combinations of foods; however, without knowing what these things are you should eliminate “people food” from your dog’s diet.

Another great resource for researching switching to a new kibble for your dog can be found here
Another great resource for researching kibble brands and their standards can be found here