Here are some tips on what to look for when choosing a commercial food for your pet:

* Check labels for USDA approval. Pet foods may not claim such approval unless they are fit for human consumption.

∑ Meat should be the most prevalent ingredient for dogs and cats. Vegetables and whole grains also provide valuable nutrition, but they should be present in smaller amounts. Corn and wheat, however, are best avoided, as they may cause allergies. In addition, you should aim to buy single source protein and single source carbohydrates, for example, beef with potato, rather than have beef, chicken and lamb all in the one food.

The magazine Whole Dog Journal does an annual round up of the best foods in the dry and canned categories. It is a must for the pet owner who would like the convenience of a commerical dog food, but are looking for a high-quality, hypoallergenic diet.

* Preservatives should be natural just like the rest of the ingredients. Vitamin E is a commonly used natural preservative.

* Avoid foods that use meat from animals that have received hormone or antibiotic treatment. They can cause hormonal problems and antibiotic resistance in our pets.

* Steer clear of artificial colors and sweeteners. Beneful, for example, has two sources of sweetener. Remember that artificial sweeteners can kill dogs.

* Avoid pet foods that contain soy. Although soy is safe for human consumption, it has been linked to thyroid problems in dogs. It can also decrease absorption of important vitamins and minerals.

Pets have been eating natural foods for centuries. It wasn’t until commercial pet food was invented that they began to have drastically different diets from humans.

Feeding our pets natural packaged foods allows us a certain amount of convenience while giving them the nutrition they need, and avoiding the chemicals they do not.

If you are still concerned, then by all means cook for your dog. There are great recipes and suggestions, and provided you supplement the single source protein, carb and veggie meal (for example, chicken and rice with carrots) with a good quality dog vitamin such as the inexpensive age-specific ones from Dr. Fosters and Smith, (like the senior vitamins) your dog will be getting a healthy diet without it costing the earth and without you ever having to worry about tainted food ever again.

In years past, there was no such thing as commercial pet food. Pets ate many of the same foods as their owners. Some owners made special treats for their pets, but most dined on leftover meat and other table scraps.

In the mid-1800s, James Spratt got the idea to make and sell dog food made of wheat meal, vegetables and meat. His company did well, but it wasn’t until the beginning of the next century that buying pet food became common.

After World War II, companies began to make canned dog food out of the meat of dead horses. Canned cat food and dry dog food quickly followed. By the time the war was over, pet food had become a multi-million dollar industry, and it has been growing by leaps and bounds ever since.

Unfortunately, many of these foods do not meet our pets’ nutritional needs. They are not held to the strict standards that apply to human food. They may contain beaks, hair, hooves and other substances that would never be allowed in our food. They can be loaded with fillers and chemicals.

In many cases, dry pet food is stripped of nutrients during production to the point that they must be sprayed with synthetic nutrients to have adequate nutritional value. These highly unnatural foods have been found to cause allergies, digestive problems and other ailments.

Pet food didn’t change much until the late 1900s. Some manufacturers recognized the need for pet foods made of all-natural ingredients using processes that would be acceptable for human food. Today’s pet owner has much healthier choices in commercial pet food.

Even with this  more holistic approach to pet nutrition, however, commercial dog food has been tainted in recent years, leading to the deaths of thousands of innocent companion animals who died the most horrific deaths due to greedy people selling tainted soy meal and other additives.

Due to the lack of regulation of pet food, pet owners must learn what to look for. In the following section, we will offer some tips on what to look for when choosing a commercial food for your pet.