When I brought home my first puppy 20 years ago, I wanted what was best for him. After researching different dry dog foods, I settled on a name brand food that seemed to be the best for puppies and continued with that brand though the adult and seniors years. Little did I know then how much my idea of the right food would change.

I now have 4 large dogs and recently switched from a nationally trusted brand to a store brand. It started a few months ago when one of my dogs started to itch and her fur was falling out in patches. When I took her to the veterinarian, I was told my dog might be having an allergic reaction to the dog food I was serving her. I learned that many dogs are allergic to corn, which is the main ingredient in most dry dog foods. My goal now would be to find the best dry dog food that did not include any corn. Thus, my search for a new dry dog food began.

The way to find out the ingredients in dog food, or any food item, is the same. The manufactures list all of the ingredients in their product, starting with which is largest percentage item. Therefore, if the first ingredient listed is corn, there is more corn in the product than another one ingredient. It does not mean that there is more than 50% corn in the product. First of all, I visited a pet supply store. The employee was very helpful in furthering my education on dry dog food. He reaffirmed that cord was a common cause of allergic reactions. He also explained that the term 'chicken by-products' often meant whatever parts of the chicken that were not used for other purposes. These by-products are not as healthy as I had imagined. The employee and I went from one brand to another checking out the ingredients list.

It was amazing to me how many of these recommended brands had corn and/or chicken by-products as the first 2 on the ingredients list. We did find one that listed rice and lamb as the main ingredients. The prices on the rice and lamb dry dog food seemed rather expensive to me, so I decided to check other stores, hoping to find the food at a less expensive price. My next visit was to my usual grocery store.

After spending some time turning bags over and checking the ingredients list, I was able to find only one with no corn nor chicken by-products. It was a store brand that contained lamb and rice. And it was on sale! Even at the regular price, it is less expensive than the name brand I had been using for years. The switch to the lamb and rice has eliminated the allergic reaction my dog was having. My research had benefited my dogs and my pocketbook.