The dog food market has exploded. There is almost an endless variety of dry dog food options, making it more difficult to determine what the best option is for your dog. Here are some tips to help you make an educated decision.
Read the label
Make sure you recognize the ingredients in the food. The first ingredient should be a whole meat product such as “chicken” or “beef.” Not chicken by-products or chicken meals. If you aren’t sure what a by-product or a meal is, don’t feed it. Look for other whole products like “rice” or “carrots” as well. You want as many whole ingredients as possible.
Ignore the packaging
Do not be fooled by the packaging. Just because there are fruits and vegetables on the bag, doesn’t mean they’re in the food. Those fancy multicolored kibbles are colored with food dye, not natural ingredients. Pay attention to what is in the food, not what food is on the bag.
Don’t always follow directions
When determining how much to feed your dog, simply look at your dog. It makes no sense to feed a dog by volume, for example, feeding two cups, two times per day. Not all 50-pound dogs should be eating the same amount of food each day. Age, energy level, fitness level and body type are all much more important than weight.
Also, keep in mind that the faster you finish a bag of dog food, the faster you go out and buy a new bag. The dog food company has an incentive to encourage you to overfeed. If your dog is fat, feed less. If your dog is skinny, feed more. Evaluate and adjust often.
Above all: Feed what works for your dog
If your dog is healthy and fit on whatever food you are feeding him or her, there is probably no need to make a change. One way to determine if things are going well is to “evaluate the results”: check your dog’s poop. If your dog is pooping more than twice a day, or if your dog is not producing solid formed stool, you may want to re-evaluate what you are feeding.
There is no doubt that good nutrition leads to longer, healthier lives, so try and choose the best possible option for your pup.
Originally published on ArlNow.com , September 2014
