Nutrition is something that no one can know completely. In order to keep a healthy diet, it is necessary to constantly research and learn. I do not claim to be an expert, but I do think by sharing my knowledge I maybe can help others.
Having that said, I'll first give some background information on the dog. The only way an organism survives is to eat. The nutrients taken from food are used to build body tissue…this means that the quality of the food equals the quality of the body. Healthy food will produce a healthy dog, and poor quality food will produce an unhealthy dog…makes sense, huh?
For the past 50 years or so, prepackaged, manufactured dog food has become the standard of the domesticated dog's diet. It's easy to feed, inexpensive, and dogs tolerate it enough to eat it day after day. And considering the nationally-recognized testing and regulations for dog food are unbelievably lenient, not a lot of education and research is put into producing and selling packaged dog food. This has lead to a very wide variety of dog foods one can choose to feed their dog. However, in this triumph of marketing, the dog food industry has convinced virtually every dog owner that feeding your dog anything but dog food will certainly deprive the dog of the essential nutrients of life, dooming the dog to an unhealthy existence. Sadly, for the dogs, the opposite is the truth.
To understand what the domestic dog should eat, one needs to look no further than the wolf…although taxonomically classified as two species, they are one, as wolves and dogs are able to interbreed and produce fertile young, meaning their genetic makeup is nearly identical. Since the very beginning of their evolution, wolves and dogs ate raw meat, bones and organs that they killed, ate the digested vegetation in their prey's intestines, scavenged for rotting carrion, and lived very successfully. Today's domestic dog is still programmed to digest raw foods, both meat and vegetation…those dreaded "table scraps" that have gotten such a bad rap from dog food companies! All recent studies will conclude that the healthiest diet for a dog is one which most closely matches that of the wolf: raw meat, bones, partially-digested vegetables.
So a lot of people have resorted to preparing natural diets that mimic the wolf's, and the health of their dogs has skyrocketed. The most popular name of this is BARF, or bones and raw food. This is what I feed my dogs. Their diet consists primarily of raw meaty bones, such as turkey necks and backs, chicken necks, wings, etc, and crushed vegetables, plus various supplements to provide extra nutrients and variety.
Great as this is, not everyone has the knowledge or time to properly plan out and make these diets for their dogs, and "going natural" without research can be just as bad as feeding Happy Puppy Chunks. This has lead to a new sector of the pet food industry: the natural prepackaged dog foods. These healthy dog foods are made of human-grade meats and vegetables, and are preserved with natural preservatives instead of chemicals. This has given the dog owner the option of still feeding a healthy diet but without all the work.
In my opinion, it is the best bet to try to feed your dog the most natural diet you can afford. I have seen the positive effects of changing a dog's diet to one that is more natural. Some people may say that their dog ate Chewy Bow Wow Chunks all their life and lived to be 15 years old, but I compare it to smoking cigarettes: one person may smoke all their lives and still die from old age, but a grand majority are going to have negative side effects or even die from the consequences of smoking. Feeding a natural diet may cost more than a $20 bag of dog food, but the results will save you hundreds of dollars at the vet's office. Does your dog have regular skin infections, parasites, ear infections, or even more advanced diseases such as allergies, thyroid problems, or diabetes? Feeding a natural diet can help, cure or prevent all these.
However, you have to remember that some research on your part should be done when deciding what food is best for your dog. Each dog is an individual who requires different things. Some dogs need more protein, others may need more fat, etc. You'll have to experiment some to find out what is best for your dog. I suggest doing some reading before deciding on what to feed your dog. Here are some suggested books, most of which give recipes for home made diets or BARF diets:
Natural Health Care for Dogs & Cats by Pitcairn & Pitcairn
Give Your Dog a Bone by Ian Billinghurst
Grow Your Pups With Bones by Ian Billinghurst
The Holistic Guide to a Healthy Dog by Volhard & Brown
The Ultimate Diet by Kymythy Schultze
Earl Mindell's Nutrition & Health for Dogs by Earl Mindell
The Nature of Animal Healing by Dr. Martin Goldstein
The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat by Juliette de Bairacli Levy

Kibble

Most people find it easiest to feed a mainly kibble diet to their dogs. Look for a brand made with human-grade meats & vegetables and naturally preserved. A meat source should be the first ingredient. It should not be preserved with BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin (ethoxyquin, by the way, is labeled as a toxic substance by the beef industry). Avoid any food with corn, soy or beet pulp in the ingredient list. It is important to find the right protein to fat ratio in your dog's food. Active dogs need more protein. A good fat content will yield a good coat. Protein should be from 20-25%, fat from 8-15%. Too much of either will result in an overweight dog if he is not exercised appropriately, too little is not providing your dog with the proper nutrients.
Some brands I suggest are:
Nature's Recipe
Precise
Sensible Choice
Solid Gold
Innova
Wysong
California Natural
Nutro Max/Nutro Natural
Flint River Ranch
Best In Show
Balance Diet

Some brands I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole:
Hill's Science Diet
Iam's/Eukanuba
Purina Dog Chow/Puppy Chow/Hi-Pro/Senior
Kibbles N Bits/Gravy Train/Gaines Burgers/Alpo/Ol' Roy/etc

Raw Foods & Bones
Even if you elect to feed your dogs kibble, you should consider offering your dog raw foods along with it. For overweight dogs, adding vegetables is a great way to let your dog eat more without the added fat. Raw vegetables are best, and any vegetable your dog likes will do…my dogs will eat anything! However, be aware that onions are toxic to dogs, so don't feed them onions. Try to vary the vegetable selection and include green leafy vegetables (spinach, mixed greens, collareds, etc), carrots, yellow squash, red berries, apples, legumes, broccoli, and anything else your dogs likes. Before feeding your dog vegetables, realize that dogs, unlike cows and horses, cannot digest cellulose, which covers every plant cell. So feeding whole vegetables does not provide your dog with much nutritional value, because his body can't access the vitamins and minerals inside the cells. Before feeding vegetables, you should chop them up very finely in the blender, to the consistency of apple sauce, to break up the cellulose. This mimics the chewing and partial digestion of food by the dog's natural prey.
Raw protein is also a great supplement to feed. They provide the dog's system the proper amino acids and enzymes necessary for life…those same enzymes and A.A's are destroyed in the heating process of making dog food. Yogurt, eggs, cottage cheese, canned fish, chicken, beef, and lamb are all welcome in your dog's bowl. Organ meats are also good, especially liver, heart and tripe. Avoid ground meats.
Raw bones are a controversial subject. Many people adhere to the old notion that bones will splinter in the dog's stomach if eaten. This is true for COOKED bones. RAW bones retain their natural elasticity and strength…not only will the dog not swallow large pieces, they won't splinter, but rather will be digested. Not only do they provide lots of nutrients, but they are second to none on cleaning a dog's teeth, they will keep even the most active dog concentrated for hours…and the dogs LOVE them!
Many people are nervous to feed raw meat and bones because of they fear bacteria contamination. You have to remember that dogs have only been eating cooked food for the past 50 or so years. That is nothing in compared to the millions of years they have evolved to eat raw meat. Their digestive systems are designed perfectly to handle bacteria…the stomach acid is stronger than that of a human's and the intestinal tract is relatively short so the food passes through quickly, giving a small time frame for bacteria to set up a home.
Remember that any raw food contains natural enzymes and nutrients that a dog on a cooked diet will not be used to. This may lead to initial bouts of diarrhea. By starting with small amounts, there should be no problems.

Vitamins & Supplements

I feel that vitamins and supplements are a vital part of any dog's diet. Dry dog food cannot possibly supply all the vitamins & minerals that an individual dog needs. Many dogs have physical or mental problems because they are deficient in a particular vitamin or mineral.
There are many products on the market made as general vitamin supplements for dogs, such as PetTabs, Missing Link, Edge, In, Nupro, etc. While I think these have their place, I feel more comfortable feeding some vitamins & supplements individually.
There are hundreds of dietary supplements and vitamins that you can choose from. Your best bet is to read the benefits of each supplement, and weigh whether it would serve your dog well.
I do suggest that every dog get Vitamin C. Vitamin C has been proven to benefit the body in countless ways…from preventing allergies, combating viruses, reducing swelling and stress, even killing cancer cells. Some vets have linked Vitamin C supplementation to prevention of hip dysplasia. I have witnessed Vitamin C's healing and pain-reducing ability with my own dogs. It especially should with puppies and be used before and after surgery. Vitamin C is also water soluble, meaning that if the body takes in more than it can digest, it is passed out of the body through urine within hours. So you can't overdose on Vitamin C.
I give my dogs, who weigh between 75-90 pounds, 2000 mg of Vitamin C a day. Because it is water soluble, you should give two doses a day. Dogs given too much Vitamin C will have loose stools, so adjust the doses accordingly.
Often by balancing the diet you can pack in more vitamins & minerals. Again, research on your part is a must. Spinach has iron, cod liver oil is rich in Vitamin A & D, brewer's yeast is a wonderful source of Vitamin B.

Treats

Every dog loves treats, as you probably know! And they can be healthy too. There are plenty of companies that make natural dog biscuits, and there are also many recipes that you can make on your own. Three Dog Bakery is a great company…they sell their all-natural products at PetSmart and also have a cookbook out. Fruits and vegetables make good treats, especially carrots and apples. For hot days, you can make "Frosty Paws" by combining 1 quart of vanilla yogurt, a banana, and 2 cups of water in the blender and freezing it in small plastic cups. Dogs really like these.

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