Choosing the right dry dog food for your pets
Does your chosen dry dog food make you his best friend?
Dry dog food is a major issue in our house. We have two large male Golden Retrievers and a male Spinone mongrel as they are called elsewhere. The Spinone would be a fussy eater if it was allowed to but, as goes with the breed, retrievers are more or less omnivorous and our spinone is not one to be left out. When we go shopping for pet food, we buy at least two massive sacks of dry dog food at a time - we need to make sure we get it right.
The theory that dogs don't have preferences in their choice of pet food is nonsense. It is very clear when our three dogs consider they have had a 'good feed'. When they eat, their behavior makes it abundantly obvious whether they have just had a meal or whether they have had a really good meal. Equally it is clear that they prefer to eat tinned food (being moister) to dry dog food but unfortunately the former is not so good for their teeth which, as they get older, is rapidly becoming more of an issue.
One of the problems with buying dry dog food is the sheer range of qualities available. Unlike with tinned food for which it is relatively easy to ascertain the quality (the cheaper tinned brands of dog food are clearly largely all cereal or plain slop). It is not so simple to visually assess the quality of dry dog food however a simple glance at the side of the packet where the composition elements are stated. Just as you would for humans, beware of high levels of fat as this can be just as unhealthy for your dogs as it would be for you.
Other things which can be bad news in dry dog food are seasonings and artificial flavorings and these can actually be harmful. Look for natural ingredients such as rice, corn, real meat, fish, sunflower oil etc.
Dogs are like humans - they have different nutritional needs at different times in their lives. A puppy's requirements bear little resemblance to those of an active adult and those, in turn, are at variance with the needs of a mature dog. Likewise the serving size one of our retrievers will expect is considerably more than a toy dog would eat at a sitting (or even several sittings). As a result, a quality dry dog food will have a wide range of associated products to cover all stages of your dogs' lives and the full range of weights and sizes of the different breeds.
The theory is that dogs do not get bored having the same dry dog food every day but our observations clearly indicate that ringing the changes is not a bad thing as long as we stay within a brand. Fortunately the one we use now has flavors which include fish, duck, beef and horse. We also top it off with a sprinkling of canine recipe cod liver oil which helps with their joints.
So, in summary, make sure your chosen dry dog food has specialist mixes for all ages and breeds and sizes of dogs, contains only natural ingredients and is going to be available for the foreseeable future locally as you don't want to get your pets used to something and then have to change it. If in doubt, take the ingredients section of your current pet food and discuss it with your vet.
We hope your pets enjoy their dry dog food!
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