How to Choose the Best Dog Food

Looking for the dog food that is healthy, affordable, and appealing to your pet is often frustrating. We gathered expert advice to help you narrow down your options in finding your pet’s a healthy diet.

PET CARE CENTER

RicheViews

2/8/20245 min read

How to Choose the Best Dog Food

RicheViews, February 8, 2024, 5 Minutes Read

Five Essential Dog Food Ingredients

1. Proteins

This should be the first ingredient to look for in dog food. Proteins is composed of amino acids, the main building blocks of all living cells and have a great impact to your dog’s growth, maintenance, reproduction, and repair of damaged tissues.

Though dogs can produce some of amino acids themselves, there are ten amino acids they can't produce and must get through diet, such as Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan and Valine.

Dog food proteins came from two different sources. Animal-based Proteins and Plant-based Proteins. Animal-based proteins are mostly considered to be the best sources of protein for dogs due to a complete amino acid profile and are easily digestible for dogs. Animal based protein includes meat, meat meal or chicken meal or beef meal or fish meal, by products that include organ meat like liver and kidneys, and eggs. Plant-based Proteins are not as easily digestible and does not provide a complete amino acid profile. Plant-based proteins often need to be combined to provide all the essential amino acids a dog needs. Plant-based proteins can include Corn, Rice, Wheat, Oats, Peas, Lentils and Soy.

2. Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provides essential nutrients and it is the primary source of energy for your dog. It also promotes healthy weight and helps in your dog digestion. Carbohydrates ingredients in dog food can be found in Grains, whole grains or refined, brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and barley. Vegetables also offers a great source of carb such as sweet potatoes, peas and carrots.

The best ingredients to look for dog foods are those that put a high-quality protein source, carbohydrates, fiber, healthy fats and essential vitamins and minerals. Dog food should include a specific list.

Dog owners are presented with a lot of overwhelming options in buying dog foods, all claims to be the best dog food on the market. Looking for the dog food that is healthy, affordable, and appealing to your pet is often frustrating. We gathered expert advice to help you narrow down your options in finding your pet’s a healthy diet.

We might not like processed dog foods for our pooch, but they contain all of the nutrient’s a dogs need to stay healthy. There are quality dog foods in the market that are highly regulated and have undergone rigorous testing by veterinary specialists.

Types of Dog Food

Dry Dog Food or kibble is less messy and can be good for dogs’ teeth.

Wet Dog Food are usually a canned wet food is best choice for dogs who have trouble chewing or those who don’t drink enough water

BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) Diet refers to a raw food materials, it may consists of uncooked meat, bones, organs, vegetables and fruits. Raw meals provide a lot of advantages but needs to be balance to receive all the required nutrients and be cautious in handling to prevent bacterial infection.

A quality dog food are the ones that shows first ingredients are meat, meat meal, or byproduct meal of an animal-based. Dog food ingredients may consist of meats, animal organs, grains, fruits, and vegetables that are appropriate for your dog’s digestive tract. The best dog food for your dog should meet his nutritional needs. Most of commercial dog food brands are formulated with at least a minimum requirement for dogs. Not all dogs have the same nutritional needs, some dogs require a wide range of nutrients in different quantities throughout their lives. Puppy nutritional needs are different from adult dog, that’s why there’s dog food that is specially formulated for puppies.

Do your own research in finding the right dog food, always check to see if the information is supported by a credible source or scientific study. There’s a lot of claims about dog nutrition’s that are not true, so be careful, always check your sources or consult with your veterinarian for advice.

3. Fats and Oils

Fats and oils are the most concentrated source of energy for dogs, it plays an important role in providing balance diet and more than twice the energy of proteins and carbohydrates. Omega-6 fatty acids are commonly found in animal fats and vegetable oils. While Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish oil and certain plant and nut oils.

4. Fiber

Dietary Fibers play a vital role in maintaining good health. Fibers are carbohydrates that are not digested by dogs but have an important function such as regulating the digestive system. It can also be found in Pumpkins, sweet potatoes and whole grains. There are two types of fiber; Soluble fiber dissolves in water and with help of good bacteria in the gut, it produces gas and other byproducts. While Insoluble fiber, passes through the gut intact and added to the stool

5. Vitamins and Minerals

Your dog also needs a variety of vitamins and minerals to maintain their ideal health. These essential nutrients play an important role in bodily functions such as bone growth, digestion, nerve function, and healing process, many more. These following vitamins and mineral that can be found on dog food are Vitamin A, B Vitamins, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, and Iron. These essential nutrients need to be in the right balance, Too much and too little of certain nutrients can also be harmful to your pet.

Note: This information is for informational purposes only and is not meant as a substitute for the professional advice or by your veterinarian. It is however been reviewed and gathered from a different reliable source.