What is a High Dog Food Rating Really Worth - Family - Pets

Introduction

Hello my friend. And thank you for reading this article.

If you have somehow made it to this particular page or site, my guess is that you are looking for the healthiest and most nutritious options for feeding your precious dog.

And I don't blame you! Dogs are a truly special breed (in many homes they are considered part of the family); but if you are truly concerned about your pet's health, you may want to think twice before relying on brands with a high dog food rating.

What is a high dog food rating really worth?

Recently, I ran across a site that rated the top 10 dry dog foods on the market. This site (which shall remain unnamed) had a long list of criteria by which they rated each brand. It was the usual: brands with a high named meat source, whole grains and vegetables and no harmful additives received high marks. Those with meat by-products, high (and substandard) grain content and harmful additives received low grades.

But what was truly shocking is that since their last update, this site had removed four of their top ten pet food brands from their list.

Doesn't that give you pause? Here were four brands, which previous to my hitting this site, had received the highest marks any dog food could receive. We're not talking one out of 100, or 50 or even 25. We're talking about 4 OUT OF THE TOP 10 BRANDS of dog food!

The real problem with dog food ratings

Upon closer inspection, the rating entity had really done nothing wrong in terms of their criteria, their research and their grading of a particular dog food. The real problem is that they were relying on the published ingredients contained on the manufacturer's pet food label. And therein lies the real problem with many of the raters.

Apparently, the manufacturer whose food was removed from the high rate list was under investigation by the Food And Drug Administration for "misbranding" their pet food. A food that was labeled as containing duck, had no such ingredient and one labeled lamb contained bovine material. The pet food company denied the reports, but the FDA continued with their investigation.

The other three brands were also deleted from the top 10 list because the manufacturer was bought out by another pet food maker with a not so great reputation.

The real problem is trust

Let me step back for a moment and ask you. Are you really confident that a giant conglomerate, that makes everything from soap, to motor oil, can do a better job of feeding your dog than you can? Do you know what the sources of the ingredients in your dog food are? Do you even know what those ingredients on the label mean? When did feeding our pets become so complicated that we must now rely on pet food formulas that only a chemist would love?

Are we that sold on convenience that we would turn over our pet's health to an industry that has serious credibility issues. How convenient are those vet visits you constantly make, which are likely caused by the processed food your pet is consuming daily.

The true highest rated dog food

There is one sure fire way to escape the ratings madness, and that is to make your own dog food recipes.

Once you truly take control of your dog's nutrition you will never go back to feeding them processed food day after day. And I can promise you that anything you put together yourself, made with only the freshest ingredients will always have a 10 top rating and will never be struck from the list.

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