Choosing the Right Food For Your Pet
Every pet owner wants the best for their dog, especially when it comes to food and no one wants to feed their dog something that will damage their health. With all of the dog food brands out there claiming to offer the best in balanced nutrition, it can be hard to tell who's really telling the truth. Does the food need to have a "natural" or "organic" label? Does it need to include special ingredients or will regular commercial dog food fit the bill? Let's take a look at the methods you need to use to choose the right food for your pet.
Don't Skimp On Quality
It can be pretty tempting to choose the cheapest dog food on the market. After all, to the human eye, all that kibble looks pretty much the same. And we know that dogs don't really care about color or shape. So, why shouldn't you pick the cheap food? It's not really a savings in the long run. Inexpensive dog food manufacturers tend to use a higher percentage of fillers - grains and animal by products instead of meat. This means that your dogs aren't really getting as much nutrition per volume. They'll eat more, and are more likely to become fat, since fillers offer calories, but not the same nutritive content. Plus, a poor quality diet can lead to health problems down the line - and we all know how costly it can be to take yourdog to the vet.
Identifying Quality Food
So, we know that you need to look for a high quality dog food that offers the nutrition your pet needs without a lot of problematic fillers. But how do you find out which foods are really the best? There's more to it than just buying the most expensive food, or picking a package that claims to be recommended by vets. There are few certifications or rating boards out there for pet food. That means you need to look past the marketing and decide for yourself based on ingredients and production methods.
What To Avoid
Fortunately, there are a few easy rules of thumb you can use to determine the quality of a food. For instance, all ingredients listed as "by-products" decrease the quality of a food. So do ingredients that don't have a specific source. "Meat" or "poultry" meals are lower quality pet food ingredients than named sources like turkey, chicken, beef or lamb. Generic stocks and broths are also indicators that the ingredients might be low in quality in this food. Preservatives can decrease the quality of a food, as well, and can cause allergic reactions in some dogs. BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin are the most common ones used in dog foods. Artificial colors can have similar problems, and should usually be avoided.
By M H
Every pet owner wants the best for their dog, especially when it comes to food and no one wants to feed their dog something that will damage their health. With all of the dog food brands out there claiming to offer the best in balanced nutrition, it can be hard to tell who's really telling the truth. Does the food need to have a "natural" or "organic" label? Does it need to include special ingredients or will regular commercial dog food fit the bill? Let's take a look at the methods you need to use to choose the right food for your pet.Don't Skimp On Quality
It can be pretty tempting to choose the cheapest dog food on the market. After all, to the human eye, all that kibble looks pretty much the same. And we know that dogs don't really care about color or shape. So, why shouldn't you pick the cheap food? It's not really a savings in the long run. Inexpensive dog food manufacturers tend to use a higher percentage of fillers - grains and animal by products instead of meat. This means that your dogs aren't really getting as much nutrition per volume. They'll eat more, and are more likely to become fat, since fillers offer calories, but not the same nutritive content. Plus, a poor quality diet can lead to health problems down the line - and we all know how costly it can be to take yourdog to the vet.
Identifying Quality Food
So, we know that you need to look for a high quality dog food that offers the nutrition your pet needs without a lot of problematic fillers. But how do you find out which foods are really the best? There's more to it than just buying the most expensive food, or picking a package that claims to be recommended by vets. There are few certifications or rating boards out there for pet food. That means you need to look past the marketing and decide for yourself based on ingredients and production methods.
What To Avoid
Fortunately, there are a few easy rules of thumb you can use to determine the quality of a food. For instance, all ingredients listed as "by-products" decrease the quality of a food. So do ingredients that don't have a specific source. "Meat" or "poultry" meals are lower quality pet food ingredients than named sources like turkey, chicken, beef or lamb. Generic stocks and broths are also indicators that the ingredients might be low in quality in this food. Preservatives can decrease the quality of a food, as well, and can cause allergic reactions in some dogs. BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin are the most common ones used in dog foods. Artificial colors can have similar problems, and should usually be avoided.
By M H
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