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We all know the old saying “You get what you pay for”, and this is also true concerning dog food. The advantages of spending more for a top notch dog food more than cover the added expense because you are going to have a healthier dog that requires fewer visits to the vet. And with vet costs soaring this alone should be incentive enough for purchasing the best dog food available for your best friend. Let’s look at a few of the facts concerning dog food.
Your dog is basically at your mercy as to what you feed him every day. We get to vary our diets but old MAX is forced to eat what is tossed in his bowl every day and if this is a low grade, cheap dog food, you can be certain all his nutritional requirements are not being met. Some people realize this fact and add a daily vitamin supplement to their dog’s diet but these only go so far in meeting his dietary needs.
Various studies have revealed many facts concerning dog food and the tremendous differences in cheap store brands/commercial brands when compared to the premium dog foods made by specialty dog food producers. They have concluded that the premium foods are actually cheaper to purchase because the superior ingredients used in their manufacture are much easier for you dog to digest and more nutrient concentrated. This means the dog does not have to eat as much of the premium food to feel full while 100 percent of their mineral and vitamin requirements are being met.
You can easily tell if your dog is healthy on a diet of premium dog food by the vigor and higher activity level they will exhibit. Their coats will be full and shiny, their eyes will be bright, his weight will be where it should be for his sex and breed, and his skin will not be itchy or dry.
A premium dog food will have either chicken, pork, or beef as the main ingredient with the remaining ingredients being organic all-natural vegetables and whole grains. Look for a minimum of 23 percent for the meat and protein, 5 percent for the fats, and the remaining make up is carbohydrates. There is debate about canned or dry being superior but we feel dry is best because it helps to keep the teeth free of tartar build-up.
These facts concerning dog food should help dog owners make the best choice for their pooch and his or her well-being.
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Gail
Jun 10, 2013 at 5:24 pm
Re: Clean Teeth Need Hard kibble. not true…. if dogs are given bones several times a month (mine get at least one bone a week) there is very little if any tartar building up even with 100% soft food (I make my own and its all soft).
Laurie
Jun 10, 2013 at 5:05 pm
Question….. I feed my border collie/golden 2 year old * First Choice *…..he eats nothing else but this….he is not a garbage picker or a begger but he will be fine for 2 months then boom major diaharea for 1 or 2 days……could it be the food…..this is not cheap food !! Any ideas…….Vet’s comment …he just has a sensitive stomach ~!
D. Fines
Jun 10, 2013 at 1:28 pm
First of all let me say how sorry I am to Bonnie and JRBW. Having a sick pet is just heartbreaking and knowing you can’t fix it is horrible. JRBW. I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m sure you think about your dog a lot. My feeling …and it’s just my personal opinion. I think some dogs are predisposed to certain things. I sold my sole for my other German Shepherd, her great food, she had every preventative shot known to man, was a frequent flier at the vets and I still couldn’t save her. I don’t think we’ll ever really know why some dogs get cancer and others don’t. That being said, dog food has nothing to do with it. I’ve known people who give the best food and treatment but the dog still became it from one thing or another and passed away. Then there are those who give regular grocery store food and the dog lives a long time. I know there’s better values in the higher quality food but it’s not a certain death or health sentence if you can’t give it to them. All depends on the dogs basic health to begin with. My dog get’s high quality food but I have been fortunate enough to do so but if someone can’t it doesn’t mean they don’t care or love their dog. I am so against guilting people into thinking they’re not doing what’s right or that they’re a bad dog owner if they can’t afford top of the line dog food. When my human children were little, we had some very lean times and we ate a lot of hotdogs. It didn’t make me a bad mother and didn’t mean I loved them any less. They both turned out healthy happy adults.Just my take on it and not written in stone. Thanks for this page. I love reading it.
Sheila Jaquish
Jun 10, 2013 at 12:59 pm
I would love your opinion on the best foods. I use Earthborn adult for my 2 border collies and Canin from my vet for my cairn terrier because he has digestive disease. They are all doing very well but we always can improve. I do believe that you are what you eat. Dogs too. One border is very active but is 12 and I wonder if he should get senior food. My other border is 3. The cairn is 10 and in wonderful shape. Any advice?
JRBW
Jun 10, 2013 at 12:03 pm
Cancer can be caused by many things, usually it’s environmental. Did you ever have your yard sprayed for weeds, (a serious cancer causing risk), or spray him with flea spray, etc. My dobie died of adenocarcinoma (liver cancer) and we used to have our yard sprayed all the time for weeds. Then I found out how bad it is for them and it’s approved by the EPA of being safe.
Bonnie
Jun 10, 2013 at 7:34 am
THIS IS BULL !!!!!!!! I have only fed my dobie good quality food, gets daily vitamins, has his annuals and now he’s got cancer!!!!!!!!!!!
shawn wilson
Jun 10, 2013 at 11:55 am
I’m so sorry about your baby.
Melissa
Jun 10, 2013 at 1:09 pm
So sorry to hear about your dog – I wouldn’t say this article is bull tho- there are so many factors to consider when you have a cancer diagnosis. A lot of times it is breed specific, or often environmental factors affect them. Sorry again for your bad news.