The best dog food is the healthiest. Did you know that you can play a significant part in determining how long your dog lives? Of course, no one can predict how long their dog will live; however, you can take steps to ensure your dog is healthy. The healthier your dog, the longer he could live.
Before you give your dog another bite, learn what to look for in the best dry dog food and learn what you should stay away from. Do not be fooled by commercial advertisements. Take the time to gain the knowledge you need to choose the best dog food brand for your furry friend.
What to look for in dog food
The best thing you can do for your dog is to read the ingredients and learn which ingredients are healthy and which ones are not. In fact, there are some ingredients in dog food that are actually harmful to your pet.
A healthy diet for your dog is 40% meat, 50% vegetables, and 10% grain or carbohydrates. Make sure that the meat meal protein sources are listed high on the ingredient list. Meal is pre-cooked meat. This ensures that it won’t reduce down anymore during the cooking process. Three of the first five ingredients should be some form of protein meal, such as: chicken meal, lamb meal, or venison meal.
The one thing you do not want to see is the word “by-products.” By products are the unhealthy parts of an animal, such as the chicken’s beaks, feet, bones, etc. These are highly indigestible material and should not be fed to your dog. Stay away from foods that have corn.
Grains can be good and bad. The best dog food will be in its whole form to ensure that it supplies fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The best grains to look for are:
- Rolled oats
- Barley
- Quinoa
- Millet
- Brown rice
You do need to be cautious of grains, as many dog food manufacturers will use grains that are not whole as cheap fillers.
What to Avoid
Aside from by-products and cheap grains, you should stay away from artificial preservatives. In fact, preservatives can actually cause serious diseases. Many preservatives are made from artificial chemicals that can contain cancer-causing agents. Stay away from dog foods that use chemical preservatives, such as: BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin.
Preservatives may be necessary to keep the food edible; therefore, look for dog foods that use Vitamin E and Vitamin C as preservatives. These are obviously much healthier for your dog than chemicals.
Watch out for Tricks
Many times, dog food manufacturers will try to trick you into thinking theirs is the best dog food brand when, in fact, they are not. How do they do this? They will list a meat ingredient first. They know that people are taking a better look as to what they are feeding their dogs.
This is not to say they are lying; however, they have this as their main ingredient and then have nothing but by-products and fillers for the remaining ingredients. What is the result? Because there are more fillers the benefits of the meat is basically lost within the unhealthy ingredients. Look at all the ingredients and not just the first one when comparing lists.
Best Dog Food Brand
The best dog food brand will be one that contains meat and meat meal as its first three ingredients. It should not contain any by-products, and the grains should be in whole form. All natural is the route to go when selecting the best dog food. There are many different kinds of dry dog foods available. Here are just a few that have high ratings:
- Innova Evo
- Orijen
- Blue Buffalo Wilderness
- Taste of the Wild High Prairie
- Wellness Core
- Solid Gold Barking at the Moon
- Natural Balance Ultra Premium
- Life’s Abundance
These are just a few of the many brands of dog food. The best dog food brand will contain all natural ingredients, meat/meat meal, whole grains, vegetables, and no artificial preservatives. Your dog deserves the best dog food you can find so he can live a healthy and long life.
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