As one of my dogs began to get sick I started to research dog health topics. TV has become boring for me, and so I try to spend most of my free time researching how to improve the length of my dogs lives.

Those of you that know me also know that I believe the number one cause of health issues with dogs is commercial dog food. That is why I have been on a mission to spread the word about the best dog food, and I am a big believer in homemade dog food.

In actuality, the majority of people will need to provide supplemental commercial food in addition to the homemade diet. This is the reason I take a lot of time with the best dog food topic.

One area of controversy that I encountered was the usage of meat by products in dog food. You’ll recognize this because a meat, such as lamb or chicken, will be shown with the word by-product attached.

What exactly is it and will your dog benefit from it? If you investigate on the topic you will discover two groups, one group supports by products as positive, but the other group say it is dangerous for your pet.

It may depend, lets look at what defines a poultry by-product.

The by-products taken from animals such as chicken and turkeys, consists of ground up, processed, and cleaned left over parts of the carcasses. These parts include the beaks, necks, feet, intestines, and other parts with exception of the feathers, though trace amounts may be present. The problem with “by-product” ingredients is that you don’t know what you’re actually getting and in what amount. Currently, no standard exists that specifies how many feet, quantity of intestines or makeup of nutritional content. Honestly, none of this is really fit for human consumption.

Some will argue that a dog in the wild will eat everything listed in a by-product ingredient and that is what makes it okay to feed it to your dog. That might be true enough, but that is like saying a homeless person eats out of dumpsters and garbage cans, does that make it the best things for you and I to eat?

Since I plan on feeding my dogs the best food possible, by-products will remain in the trash and won’t be found in any of the food I provide.

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