3 Ways to Tell if Your Dog’s Food is Full of ‘Filler’

Feeding your dog a high quality dog food from Pure means he’s not getting unnecessary fillers or highly processed additives.

But, while you’ve probably heard of ‘filler’ in pet food before, what is it, exactly?

In a nutshell, filler is any ingredient that’s been added into a pet food formula to add bulk but contributes little nutritional value. Because fillers are cheap and are often the by-products of human food processes, they are added to increase the pet food manufacturer’s bottom line.

Fillers also help hold dry dog food together and bring the manufacturing cost of the food down. Fillers are usually carbohydrates; however, not all carbohydrates are bad for dogs – but they shouldn’t make up the bulk of his diet.

Fillers become detrimental to dogs when they are used as a substitute for meat as the primary source of protein or when they replace healthier, more biologically appropriate grain choices.

Furthermore, when a pet food is mainly filler, texture “additives” and “flavor enhancers” are added to the formula to make it more palatable for dogs. These low-quality “flavor” and “texture” enhancers are usually made from undesirable ingredients like animal digest – which can be dead, dying, or sick animals deemed unfit for human consumption.

Common Filler Ingredients

Common filler ingredients include gluten, corn, wheat, soy, seed hulls, citrus pulp, beet pulp, animal by-products, and animal digest.

Gluten fillers like wheat contain too much sugar and are biologically inappropriate for dogs. These fillers cannot be properly digested or absorbed and serve to bulk pet food up.

Ingredients like corn and soy are cheap, and they are also used to artificially inflate the protein count on the pet food label. They are difficult for dogs to digest, often trigger allergies, and can lead to diabetes and obesity.

Animal by-products are whatever is left over after an animal has been butchered for human consumption. Intestines, feet, chicken heads, and feathers are considered animal by-products.

Animal digest is produced by enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis – it often comprises unspecified parts from unspecified animals. There are few controls in place regarding contamination or quality, and the meat can be derived from sick, disabled, or dying animals.

Now that you know what filler is, here are the three steps to follow to decipher confusing pet food labels for yourself.

Step 1: Look at the First Few Ingredients

You already know that what … Read the rest

The post 3 Ways to Tell if Your Dog’s Food is Full of ‘Filler’ appeared first on Just Cooking.

from Just Cooking https://ift.tt/lKD6W0v
via Best Toaster Ovens on Weebly