"I began looking at various foods to get my little Shih Tzu/Chihuahua Mix tiny puppy off of Pedigree a few months ago. I did a lot of research, and it really scared me that most dog foods said "Not for human consumption". After reading up on various foods, I found out what 'animal by-products' really were -- they include things like euthanized animals, bone, heads, feathers, intestines or undeveloped eggs. Most other dog foods include high amounts of wheat, corn or other grains -- which are simple fillers and have absolutely no nutritional value. In fact, most dogs are allergic to just these fillers.
Remember when you're looking into a new dog food, the order of ingredients listed shows what is the highest amount. The first one normally makes up most of the food, and so on. Other ingredients such as flax seed are not a type of filler -- instead flax seed is very good for the animal's coat/skin and overall health -- just as it is for humans.
Overall, the 2 best pet foods that I've found were Wellness and Halo. I brought home a bunch of dog food samples from a small pet store in my area , and my dog preferred Halo over Wellness -- but I'm a huge supporter of both.
I've had absolutely no problems with my dog so far (knock on wood), and his coat is beautiful. He still loves his Halo dog food -- which I feed him a mix of dry Halo and wet Halo twice a day. This is by far the best food that I've found and I've recommended it to many friends. Granted, the food is a bit pricey if you have a large dog, but it is well worth it if you're worried about your animal's health."