Tips on buying dod food

Tips On Buying Dog Food

There is a dizzying array of dog foods out there on the market; in supermarkets, pet stores, even food that can be bought online or in pet food ‘bakeries’-the list of places to get pet food goes on, let alone the huge number of dog food types. How can a responsible pet owner sort through it all, knowing that it is his or her job to provide food that is nutritious?

Well, the first thing to do is put your dog into the same mentality as you put your family when you want to buy healthy for them and what is the first thing you do when buying healthy? You check your labels. Don’t simply glance through the label-actually read it and compare brands. So, know your labels.

The label will list the ingredients in the food from the greatest weight to the least which allows you to easily see what ingredients are in the food and in what amounts. There are some things to watch though:

The first ingredient may say ‘whole meat’, but this is the measurement of meat taken before it was rendered for the dog food, not after. This means that there is less meat in the food than it appears.

However, if the first ingredient is not whole meat, but rather chicken or beef meal, rejoice! Chicken or beef meal as the first ingredient means that there is more meat protein in the food. Chicken and beef meal are meats that have been baked in order to remove bacteria and other toxins as opposed to chicken/beef with is pure. Meal is preferable over whole because there is more chicken in meal than in pure (as contrary as that sounds). This is because whole chicken is mostly made up of water, so while a label may say 60% chicken, for example, that doesn’t tell you how much chicken was left after baking. (It’s 60% chicken before baking to remove impurities). 60% chicken meal has more chicken in it because that is 60% after baking, not before.

Animal by products are a cheaper, lower quality alternative to whole meat. Premium dog foods do not have any animal by products.

If the moisture level is over eleven, then the dry matter base is low quality. Premium dog food almost always has 10% or less moisture.

As with human food, all natural dog food is generally healthier than commercially made dog food. Natural dog food has more ingredients like meat, vegetables and whole wheat in them-like humans, these are good foods for your dog. You can find natural dog food at any grocery store, online, or at pet bakeries. Alternatively, you can make it yourself with a bit of research for recipes and a bit of time and care.

Dog food comes in all different shapes and sizes, so the ingredient label is the only thing that you will be able to compare definitively. If your choice of food does not have the ingredients your dog needs, it will become unhealthy and may be sick which means that it will lethargic, not very playful, and may have poor behavior (much like an ill child!) A healthy dog has a thick shiny coat and is cheerful and playful.

Buying healthy food may require you to spend more money-you get what you pay for. Cheaper food/bargain food has cheaper ingredients so while you may save money in the short term, you’ll lose it and then some in the long run when your dog’s health deteriorates as a result of poor nutrition. Besides, your pet deserves to have a happy, healthy, and full life-and choosing the right dog food will go a long way towards that end.

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