Every pet owner desires to feed their canine the most excellent food that promotes their pet’s well-being and enhances their overall standard of living. Nonetheless, which type of dog food is ideal for your specific dog?
Determining the best dog food for your furry companion is not straightforward and will vary based on various individual circumstances. However, this guide can assist you in identifying the optimal choice.
Important Factors in Choosing the Best Dog Food
These factors must be taken into consideration in order to determine the appropriate dog food.
Your Dog’s Age
What’s the age of your dog? Is she in her puppy years, young adulthood, or a senior age? The nutritional needs of dogs vary depending on the stage of life they are in.
How Do You Pick the Best Puppy Food?
Proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals are all crucial elements in a dog’s diet. Generally speaking, puppy diets require roughly twice the amount of crude protein and fat compared to adult diets.
Puppies require more energy as they are in a phase of active muscle and tissue development, which is obtained through the breakdown of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Puppy food packaging might also display the presence of docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, which is believed to aid a young dog’s brain, heart, and eye growth. Since DHA is primarily found in oily fish like salmon, adding supplements to fish-based puppy diets may not be necessary.
To ensure healthy bone growth in large breed puppies, their diets must contain reduced levels of calcium and phosphorus, due to their comparatively slower maturation rate.
What Is the Best Dog Food for Adult Dogs?
Adult dog diets should consist of about 10% protein and up to 50% carbohydrates (with 2-4.5% fiber). All commercial dog foods indicate on their labels that they meet these standards.
What Is the Best Dog Food for Senior Dogs?
As your dog grows older, their decreased physical activity and slower metabolism will require around 20% fewer total calories than before. Consult your veterinarian to select the ideal senior dog food that provides the appropriate calorie intake for your dog.
Older pets are also more prone to cognitive changes and arthritic changes in their joints , so they may benefit from foods that promote joint health and cognitive function.
Joint Health
Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate could appear in the General Analysis part of elderly dog food packaging. Their potential to uphold cartilage and joint health is recognized; however, due to a lack of proven direct impact, the amount of these additives administered varies.
Essentially, incorporating glucosamine and chondroitin in a senior dog’s diet can be considered a situation where there is a possibility of it being helpful without any expected harm. However, the dosage your dog receives will be determined by their food intake.
Cognitive Function
The amino acid L-carnitine was shown in a 2012 study to help cognitive function in Beagles, although it was a small study (16 animals/group). The diet fed in the study also contained high levels of taurine and other health promoters that could have played a role.
Before adding any supplements to a balanced AAFCO diet, it is advisable to consult your veterinarian and inquire about the potential advantages of certain supplements or senior diets containing these supplements for your elderly dog.
Your Dog’s Breed/Size
Can you tell me the breed of your dog? It is more frequent for large and giant breeds to experience joint problems. Some breeds have a greater chance of developing skin ailments. You may want to consider specific diets designed for larger breeds or those that enhance skin well-being.
What Is the Best Dog Food for Small Dogs?
When selecting dry dog food, it is advisable to choose one specifically formulated for small dogs with smaller kibbles. Although this may appear obvious, small and toy breeds benefit more from the nutrients in smaller kibbles as they are able to chew them more efficiently.
It is advisable to consult your veterinarian in order to ensure that you cater to your dog’s unique needs, which are influenced by their health and lifestyle.
What Is the Best Dog Food for Large Dogs?
Being prone to joint issues, is a joint health diet or a diet containing glucosamine or chondroitin the best dog food option for large and giant breed dogs?
It is possible that your dog may benefit from taking these supplements separately rather than adding them to their food to ensure optimal dosage.
Health Issues
Are there any health problems that your dog may be suffering from, such as skin allergies, inflammatory bowel disease or kidney disease? Such pets may require specialized diets with certain ingredients, or without them. Additionally, your veterinarian may advise a prescription diet for certain conditions.
Pregnant or Nursing Dogs
Does your dog happen to be either pregnant or nursing puppies? If affirmative, you should consider feeding them a diet with elevated levels of protein and abundant water content, appropriately called pregnancy or puppy food.
Your Preferences
Do you hold any particular choices, such as dry kibble or canned, or raw feeding or processed, when it comes to pet food?
What Is the Best Dog Food Type?
You will need to choose between a processed or raw diet, canned or dry food (if you choose the processed diet), and between grain-free or grain-inclusive options.
Canned Dog Food or Dry Dog Food?
Canned dog food and kibble are both capable of providing sufficient nutrition.
Dogs that suffer from urinary issues or tend not to consume sufficient water can benefit from canned diets that offer a higher moisture content and more flavor. Nevertheless, an all-canned diet for a 70-pound dog demands ample storage space.
Grain-Free Diet or Dog Food With Grains?
The Food and Drug Administration is currently conducting an investigation on grain-free dog food and the verdict is yet to be determined. It is advised to consult your veterinarian for the most recent updates and suggestions regarding both grain-free and grain-inclusive diets for dogs.
Processed Dog Food or Raw Diet?
Consult with your veterinarian or a veterinary nutrition expert before considering a raw diet for your pet as it could potentially heighten their exposure to foodborne illnesses. Thoroughly research and collaborate with your veterinarian to devise a well-rounded and nutritionally sound recipe for your pet’s raw diet.
BONUS: Vet-Approved Homemade Dog Recipes
With news of recalls and information about commercial dog foods constantly shifting, more and more dog owners are opting to prepare their own dog food at home. Dogs love home-cooked food, but making homemade dog food is not the same as cooking a meal for yourself or your human family members. There are some important rules to follow in order to keep your dog healthy .
Should You Feed a Homemade Diet?
There is a rising trend towards homemade dog diets as they offer better ingredient control, eliminating concerns of recall issues. Besides, pet owners are increasingly health-conscious and thus want their dogs to have a healthy diet like them. The use of whole food ingredients in homemade diets is gaining traction among those who view them as a healthier option compared to processed dog food products.
Before deciding to switch to a homemade diet for your dog, it is important to take certain factors into consideration, as home cooking dog food may not be suitable for every pet owner.
- Be sure to find a dog food recipe that is complete and balanced. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to feed an incomplete or imbalanced diet to your dog.
- It takes time to measure ingredients and prepare the food correctly. Be sure you have a schedule that allows enough time to properly make your dog’s food on a regular basis.
- Make sure you can afford the ingredients to make your own dog food. Homemade food is typically less expensive than commercially prepared fresh or raw dog food, but it usually costs a little more than kibble.
- If you have a picky dog, you may need to source multiple recipes so you can change the diet periodically and keep your dog interested.
Proper Nutrition for Dogs
Just as humans do, dogs require proper nutrition to flourish. However, their nutritional requirements are distinct from ours, which means that sharing your dinner with your dog is not an adequate solution. Providing an inadequate or imprecise diet may result in dogs experiencing a lack of crucial vitamins and nutrients.
To meet their energy needs, dogs require an adequate amount of calories that depend on their activity level and life stage. You can consult with your vet to calculate your dog’s daily caloric requirement.
For a dog diet to be homemade, it needs to have the right proportions of protein, carbohydrates, fiber and fat. To make sure that the diet is complete and balanced, additional vitamins and minerals need to be included in the food.
- At least 10% protein , such as chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef
- Up to 50% carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta , and potatoes (also provides some fiber)
- About 2.5-4.5% fiber , which can come from vegetables like peas, green beans, and carrots
- At least 5.5% fat , usually in the form of vegetable oil
- Vitamin and mineral supplements (dog-specific; can be purchased from a reputable company like BalanceIT.com )
Before beginning to cook for your dog, it’s important to consult with your veterinarian as the first step. Your vet can recommend recipes for you to consider or refer you to a veterinary nutritionist or a specialist in canine nutrition.
How to Prepare Homemade Food for Dogs
It’s crucial to use a complete and balanced recipe when making homemade dog food. After selecting an appropriate recipe with the help of your veterinarian, it’s time to begin cooking.
- Before you begin, it’s best if you have ready a food scale, food processor, pots and pans, and containers or bags for portioning the food.
- Purchase fresh, high-quality ingredients that are not canned, seasoned, or heavily processed.
- Set yourself up in a clean area of the kitchen that is free of foods that may be harmful to your dog .
- Measure out the ingredients. Use a food scale if possible for accuracy.
- Cook ingredients as directed on the recipe
- Mix food and supplements together well (ideally, use a food processor to blend ingredients).
- Place food in containers and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
- In general, refrigerated food will stay fresh for three to four days. Frozen dog food is best within about two months. Avoid feeding homemade dog food that has been in the freezer for more than six months.
To save time and money, numerous pet owners opt for bulk cooking and storing food in pre-portioned containers. However, it is advisable to start with smaller servings to gauge your dog’s response to the diet.
Sample Dog Food Recipe
Northwest Holistic Pet Care: Cooked Meal for a 20 lb. Dog
It is crucial to seek the advice of your holistic veterinarian prior to altering your dog’s diet in order to ensure that these alterations do not conflict with your dog’s current health condition. Prior to making any modifications to your dog’s diet, make sure to weigh your dog. This will provide you with a starting point for monitoring weight changes, enabling you to adjust food quantities in the event of significant weight loss or gain. It is important to note that a dog’s food requirements will differ depending on its age, activity level, and overall health.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ground organic turkey thigh (boneless)
- 2 tbsp ground organic turkey organ meat (liver, gizzards, hearts)
- ¼ c finely grated organic veggies
- 1 tsp ground raw sunflower seeds
- ½ tsp organic coconut oil
- ½ tsp salmon oil
- 500 mg Calcium Citrate (*must include this!)
To ensure your dog is getting the appropriate amount of food, modify measurements of ingredients based on their weight and level of physical activity. Provided above are measurements for a 20 lb. dog with minimal exercise; however, a dog’s calorie intake can increase significantly with rigorous physical activity. It’s important to observe your dog’s weight and adjust meal sizes accordingly to satisfy their calorie requirements.
- 40 lb. Dog: Above amounts x 2
- 60 lb. Dog: Above amounts x 3
- 80 lb. Dog: Above amounts x 4
Directions:
After blanching the vegetables, use a medium-low temperature to cook the ground turkey thigh and organ meat, then take it off the stove when most of it is white but some is still slightly pink. Next, place the blanched vegetables into a food processor or clean coffee grinder and pulse until they have a fine, grated appearance. Finally, combine all of the ingredients and serve once the mixture has cooled sufficiently to consume.
When food is cooked, its life force or vitality decreases due to heat. To preserve more of the food’s vitality and make it easier for certain pets to digest, it’s recommended to cook it gently. Additionally, blanching and finely grating vegetables can improve their digestibility and increase nutrient absorption.
