# Colouring in dog food



## Oluwatobi Odunuga (Apr 7, 2010)

I've never used kibble for my dogs but may have to because of my new school schedule. Is it ok to use feeds that have colouring in them? The dogfood brand (Smartheart) that i plan to use has colouring and i am afraid it may cause health problems.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

Oluwatobi Odunuga (do you go by Tobi?), what did you feed your dogs in the past? I'm not real sure about the coloring for food you are looking at but when I feed kibble, I offer 30-90% of their diet as something else. Tonight it was a bit of cheese, green beans, and salmon. Perhaps you could settle upon a compromise?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Oluwatobi Odunuga said:


> I've never used kibble for my dogs but may have to because of my new school schedule. Is it ok to use feeds that have colouring in them? The dogfood brand (Smartheart) that i plan to use has colouring and i am afraid it may cause health problems.


Well, it doesn't indicate "quality" to me.

Never heard of it, but the better ones do not have added "flavorings," sugar, or coloring.


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## eric squires (Oct 16, 2008)

Some of the feeds with dye/coloring in them make for very strange looking stool. This can be a problem in terms of figuring out if a dog is sick or is it just the feed. I will not use it for this reason


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## Oluwatobi Odunuga (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks guys,
Wanted to switch to kibble for convienience, used to feed pasta with fish before.


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## Marta Wajngarten (Jul 30, 2006)

Don't know the food you are talking about, but I do know there is at least one food colouring agent that has been proven to be carcinogenic and banned in human food but it is still used in pet foods. 

The way I see it, there is absolutely no reason to use colouring in dog food other then marketing to gullible uneducated dog owners. It is most often the low quality brands that do this. Any dog food that uses food colouring gets an automatic failed grade in my books.


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## Ashley Campbell (Jun 21, 2009)

The only kibbles I have seen that have artificial coloring tend to be things like Beneful, Ol Roy, Kibbles and Bits, and other cheap crap. Purina Puppy chow used to be multi-colored as well but is no longer. I'd probably avoid it, I mean there is absolutely no benefit to coloring dog food other than aesthetics for the human.


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## Oluwatobi Odunuga (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks Ashley,
this is a link to the ingredients, what's your opinion?

http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/103814047/CP_Smartheart_Dog_Food_Adult.html


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## Zakia Days (Mar 13, 2009)

Oluwatobi Odunuga said:


> Thanks Ashley,
> this is a link to the ingredients, what's your opinion?
> 
> http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/103814047/CP_Smartheart_Dog_Food_Adult.html


The list begins w/ "whole grain cereal." Not a good start. You're in Thailand, right? Try and locate a food that at least starts the ingredient list off with some kind of animal based protein source. There have been several threads regarding this in the past. Do a quick search and you'll see which kibble brands many here in North America consider "better" based on the ingredient list, what they observed in their dogs after feeding it, and if they still use it and why or why not. There are also several ingredient lists you can perhaps use to tailor your decision. Good luck.


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## Oluwatobi Odunuga (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks Zakia,
I'll do just that. I would have just continued with home-made but school work is hectic.


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## Pamella Renaldi (Mar 6, 2010)

Sorry if this is a bit late. I read from the other post in this thread that you're in Thailand. You can try Eureka dog food that has no coloring in it. It's from Thailand but I never try it. I'm not from Thailand but has heard this product from my country. If you want to try other things, make sure that dog food has at least a website or use a well known product such as Pro Plan or Pedigree.


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## Oluwatobi Odunuga (Apr 7, 2010)

Thanks Pamela. I'll look for it.


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