Dogs, just like people, need vitamins and minerals in their diet to help provide them with the best overall health. Good nutrition for your pets is just as important as it is for humans. As well, your dog is an individual, just as you are, and no one singular dog food answer is going to be the same for every dog. Each has different needs, but there are some basic assumptions you can rely on.
Pet food labels are required by law to list the ingredients of the food by weight. The first ingredient listed should be responsible for making up the primary source of the product. A meat ingredient should be listed first, with possibly a meat or fish meal listed as a secondary source. Meat, fish, and eggs offer a high percentage of digestible protein and essential amino acids. Some of the percentages can be misleading, though, as they may not take into account the moisture factor. All types of pet foods have different moisture levels, from canned foods that can range up to 80 percent to dry foods that can have as low as 6 percent moisture. The amount of moisture contained can interfere with the actual percentage of food ingredient that your pet will receive.
Many think a good option to offer the right amount of nutrition for dogs is food that is dehydrated in its raw stages and then re-constituted with water upon meal preparation. Dehydration is a method of food preservation that has been around for centuries, and it actually keeps the nutrients in foods in better condition for consumption. In fact, the nutrients can even become more concentrated and richer when dehydrated in their natural state. This method is also advantageous for storage, and it is easy to prepare fresh for each of your dogs meals. Meats using the dehydration method are dried at high enough temperatures to ensure that any bacteria that might be present are killed off during the process.
Dog nutritional information suggests that vegetables, fruits, and herbs are important to include in your pets daily diet. Many people include home-cooked healthy foods in their dogs meal plans. Herbs and veggies to include as nutrition for dogs comprise yams, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, kale, dandelion, parsley, and rosemary. Vegetables that are known as root veggies should always be steamed lightly or pulped in a fashion to aid in your pets digestion process. Fresh fruits, such as blueberries, peaches, and melons, and dried cranberries can also be helpful to essential nutritional needs.
