Picking the right food for your dog can be a challenge. There are a lot of things to consider: nutritional content, convenience, price, your dog’s tastes, age and health. Nutrition should be your foremost concern, as your dog’s health and behavior will be greatly affected by this factor. Once you make your decision, you should also keep in mind that the perfect food for your dog today may not be the perfect food tomorrow. So continue to learn and revisit your dog food decisions regularly. My goal is to give you a brief overview of your choices and some guidance to get you started in the right direction. You should also discuss your decisions with a trusted veterinarian.
Homemade or Store Bought?
First, you have to decide whether you would like to make your dog food or buy it pre-prepared. If you decide to make your dog food, you also need to choose whether you are going to feed a raw or cooked diet. Although there is serious debate over whether a raw or cooked diet is best for domestic dogs, it is plain that fresh food is more nutritious than food that has been processed, packaged, shipped and stored. If you have enough time, energy and organizational skills, making your dog’s food may be the right choice for you. Be sure to spend some time researching in order to make a correctly balanced food. Some books that can give you a good start are: Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, K9 Kitchen Your Dogs’ Diet: The Truth Behind the Hype, by Monica Segal, and Dr. Becker’s Real Food for Healthy Dogs and Cats: Simple Homemade Food.
Dry Food or Wet Food?
This question used to refer only to the difference between kibble and canned food. However, there is now a great variety of ways to prepare and store dog foods. Some options for pre- prepared dog foods include: hard kibble, semi-moist kibble, canned food, dehydrated diets, frozen raw diets, frozen cooked diets, and food ‘rolls’ (sausage-like shelf stable diets). Frozen, dehydrated, baked and canned foods will contain the best nutritional quality. Steer away from semi-moist and shelf stable foods, as they likely contain large amounts of sugar. Deciding between the other forms is mostly a matter of convenience, although be aware that you are also paying more for canned and frozen diets simply because there is so much more water in them.
The Nitty-Gritty: Ingredients!!
Once you have decided on the general form of dog food you would prefer, now is the time to take a look at the ingredients and choose a brand! The ingredient list can be daunting at first, but it shouldn’t be. With these few tips and guidelines, you can skim any bag or can of dog food and have a good general idea of the quality of that food within a few minutes.
● Skim the entire list of ingredients quickly. Ask yourself, “Is this a short list of real ingredients that I am familiar with?” (‘soy protein concentrate’ and ‘animal digest’ are not real foods)
● The first three ingredients will tell you a lot about the food. Since ingredients are listed in order according to weight, the first three ingredients make up the bulk of the food. I like to see a good source of real animal protein as at least the first two out of three itemslisted. (e.g. Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Salmon, etc.)
● If the first ingredient is a fresh whole meat, you should also see a protein meal (e.g.Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, etc.) in the next few ingredients. Fresh meat contains too much water to be the only source of protein in a dry food and needs to be augmented with a concentrated protein.
● The rest of the list of ingredients should include whole vegetables, fruits and grains. Don’t be alarmed by a few fragments (rice bran, pea fiber, etc.), but they shouldn’t be prevalent or too high on the list.
● Some things to avoid: wheat, corn and soy in large amounts (these can be allergens, and are poor quality sources of nutrition for dogs), generic by-products like ‘meat’ or ‘poultry’ (these ingredients are little more than poor quality slops), artificial preservatives (like disease-promoting BHT, BHA and ethoxyquin), artificial flavors, artificial colors and sugar.
Recommendations
There are a lot of great foods out there! Here is a short list of dog foods that I can personally recommend. Of course, there is no ‘one size fits all’ dog food, but this list can give you a good idea of where to start looking for a good food to fit your dog’s needs:
Wellness
California Naturals
Natural Balance
Innova
Canidae
Fromm
Merrick
Nature’s Variety
Solid Gold
Flint River Ranch
Final Notes
I like to support small local pet stores as much as possible. Not only do they usually have the best selection of quality foods, they also have a quick turnover that ensures fresh stock (check expiration dates when you purchase any foods!). They will be able to help you find the right brand and variety for your dog, and you will be able to help out a small business in your area.
Don’t feel like you have to commit to a certain brand or type of dog food for the life of your dog. Experiment with what works best and rotate proteins every once and a while, even if you don’t rotate brands. Also, you may find a nice balance by choosing a good quality pre-prepared food and adding some fresh ingredients of your own. One of the biggest misconceptions around pet food is that there is a difference between ‘dog food’ and ‘human food’. I like to say that, “Food is Food.”. If you are having steamed broccoli and broiled chicken for dinner, there is no reason why your dog cannot enjoy a portion of that meal too!
I hope you now feel empowered to choose the best food for your dog. Bon apetit!
