I can’t tell you how many times in my life I stopped at the dog food isle of a big box store and looked at the marketing and some of the bags of dog food. I must admit that I was impressed. These companies spend a lot of money to make a bag look really good, unfortunately that is not always a good indicator of the contents inside.

Once you get beyond all the bright and pretty colors and the pictures of the healthy looking dogs, the most important writing to know on that bag is in the small print on the back or side. This list of ingredients should always contain a type of meat in the first or second ingredient. When you look at the first five ingredients as a whole, you should see two or three meats on the list. In case you find a type of meat listed first and the next four ingredients are grains and vegetables, it is probable that the meat will be a minority.

It’s always a good idea when you change your dog’s food to keep an eye out for dog food allergies. These allergy symptoms may include excessive scratching, licking, and chewing. If you notice these types of symptoms, is a good idea to get your dog into a vet as soon as possible. At that time you will want to inform them that you’ve recently changed your dog’s food it is usually a good idea if you can show them the ingredients list on the back.

Unfortunately dog food allergies do not only occur when a dog has switched to a new food. It is possible that after several years of eating the same food, a dog will develop an intolerance to it. If this is the case, it becomes more difficult for that to diagnose.

If your vet believes your dog has a dog food allergy, it will sometimes try a novel food trial. This is a three month trial where they have your dog eat a new type of food that contains a new protein and carbohydrate that your dog has never eaten before. It is very important during this time that your dog eat nothing else but their new food. If your dog successfully eats the new food for three months and no longer has allergy symptoms, it is a good bet that the food was the problem.