Everything About Feeding Your Pet

It can be overwhelming trying to decide what type of food is the best dog food for your pet. When you walk into the store there is such a huge selection and there is almost no way to tell which is better. The question of what is the best dog food is probably one of the most asked questions that owners ask when they take their dog to the vet. The simple answer is that there is no “best” dog food. It depends on a variety of factors, such as the breed, the needs and the life style of your animal. There are, however; a basic set of guidelines that you can use to help determine which premium dog food is the best for you and your dog.The Easy Answer

Choosing the proper food for you and your pet is not really that difficult at all once you know some of the basic facts about dog foods. Basically, there are two types of foods that are available commercially on the market. They are either meat or grain based. The proper and best choice to maintain your dogs long term health is a meat based product. This assumes that your dog does not have a heart or kidney condition.

The reason that meat based foods are superior to grain based foods is that they inherently offer better nutrients than grain based food sources. It is a well established fact that a main staple for a dog’s diet needs to be protein. This protein requirement is much easier met with meat based dog foods. When you go to the store you will see a plethora of meats that are used. These types of dog food will typically be based on lamb, turkey, beef, venison, chicken or fish among others. The general consensus among most experts is that the best choice for your dog’s diet is chicken.

Guidelines to Choosing the Best Dog Food

As stated earlier, there is no way that you could declare one dog food the best for all dogs. Here we will discuss some of the guidelines you can use to select the best dog food for you particular pet, one that will allow them to get the proper amount of nutrition from their meals. Similar to the food that we as humans eat, dog food packaging is plastered with nutrition labels that provide data on the nutrients within the dog food. You need to pay attention to these labels when choosing a food for you dog just like you would if you were grocery shopping for yourself.

When you are reading the labels on the dog food packaging, make sure that you pay attention to the amount of protein that is contained. You need to make sure that the food provides for at least 30 percent of the daily allowance per serving. Also take a look at the percentage of fat that is present. The food should contain a minimum of 18 percent fat. There are a few others that you should look for like the presence of Vitamins C and E as well as Omega 3 fatty acids.

Food for Health and Happiness

Determining what food is the best dog food for you your dog comes down to which best will keep your animal healthy. It is vital that you provide the proper amount of nutrients in your dog’s diet. If you have any specific questions it is always best to take your questions to you veterinarian.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 8th, 2007 at 6:51 am and is filed under Dogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.