Dog Food for Thought

Our canine friends love to eat, but trying to pick a new dog food can be difficult for owners. You could spend hours reviewing the labels and ingredient lists, not to mention wincing at the price of some of the more popular brands.

So how does one choose a well-balanced dog food that’s also easy on the pocketbook? Ideally, proper nutrition and benefits to health and dental wellness are the leading concerns when it comes to picking the right dog food. Let’s take a moment to discuss some other strategies and concerns related to finding the best food for your four-legged friend.

Packaging

Packaging is mostly about marketing, and marketing is about promotion. The old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” can certainly be applied here.

The marketing for any product will try to convince you of its intrinsic value. As a precaution, we recommend checking ingredient labels, as the marketing involved in the packaging may be less than true.

The Cost of “Good” Dog Food

The price of dog food is often the result of production and distribution costs and marketing bias. As a consumer, be aware that price can be less about quality and more indicative of great advertising. Certainly, some expensive dog foods are also high-quality, and the price may be worth your peace of mind. However, in many cases, your money is just supporting savvy marketing campaigns.

Instead, take the time to review what truly qualifies as “good” dog food. The cost of ingredients, cute advertisements, or products in trendy pet shop boutiques should not guide your selection. While these factors do influence cost, they don’t necessarily support the wellbeing of your pet.

If your dog’s health is your main concern, your time and money is better spent on high-quality ingredients.

Dog Food Ingredients

The list of ingredients specifies what goes into producing your dog’s food. The items on this list are important because it helps us determine the nutritional benefits that are being supplied directly to your pet. Consider the following when reviewing dog food ingredient lists:

• Protein – This can be sourced from meats but also many other foods, including grains such as corn. Typical sources of protein are animal parts and byproducts (in most cases, byproducts are just parts that humans don’t eat).
• Grains – Rice, corn, wheat, and other grains give dogs the energy they need to around the back yard all day. Keep in mind, too much grain can lead to obesity or pet diabetes, so monitor your dog’s intake.
• Vegetables – Veggies such as sweet potatoes or carrots support healthy immune systems and provide important vitamins and nutrients to vital organs and internal systems.

A Balanced Dog food

A balanced diet means providing a healthy average of all nutritional additives. Your dog deserves the best, and even some people foods can be good for him or her. Sweet potatoes or boiled, skinless turkey and rice blended into a mash can be a healthy replacement for dog food.

With the holidays coming up, keep in mind what represents a balanced diet and which dog food is the best for your pet. If you have any questions about what to feed your canine companion, please feel free to contact us.