All dog foods are not created equal! At For Other Living Things, we select the foods we sell very carefully. Here are some of our food selection guidelines to help you decide what to feed your dog.

• Choose foods where the first ingredient is a named meat such as chicken or lamb, and 2 or 3 of the first 5 ingredients are meat. Meals are generally fine (e.g.: chicken meal or beef meal).


• Avoid foods using non-specific terms like "meat" or "poultry". If the ingredients contain any sort of by-products, don't buy it.


• Choose pet foods that use food grade or human grade ingredients.


• Avoid foods made from feed grade ingredients. (Call the company if you're not sure, the label often won't tell you).


• Opt for foods with moderate amounts of whole grains like brown rice, or even no grains at all.


• Avoid foods containing grain mill runs, grain fractions or large amount of grain (e.g.: those listing grain as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th ingredients).


• When a food uses ingredients beyond the basics, opt for nutritionally beneficial items like whole fruits & vegetables, sunflower oil, vitamins, and minerals.


• Avoid foods that contain artificial colors & flavorings, or use nutritionally void fillers like beet pulp or peanut hulls.


• Opt for natural preservatives such as mixed tocopherals (vitamin E) and rosemary.


• Avoid chemical preservatives such as BHA, BHT and Propylene Glycol.