What's The Best Dog Food For Your Dog?

Many dog owners pay scant attention to what they feed their dogs. Often, they base their decision solely on price, rather than taking the time to find out what the food actually contains. If they did they'd be shocked to find that these cheap dog food products often contain ingredients that are harmful to their dogs.

Not only that, but in many cases buying cheap is actually a false economy, as I'll explain later. For now, lets just concentrate on ways to select a healthy, good quality dog food for your dog.

Dogs are omnivores and require both meat and vegetables in their diet. The ratio between the two should be about 50/50 with no additional fillers. How do you know if a particular brand of kibble meets this requirement? You read the label.

Unfortunately, labeling can be confusing, perhaps deliberately so. But here's a quick and easy way to cut through the misinformation.

Check out the first 5 ingredients listed. If they are protein-based ingredients from meat, chances are the product will fulfill your dog's nutritional requirements, if they are grain based, chances are it won't.

It's not that grains are bad for your dog, just that they are better fed whole. Grains like rice, millet, oats and barley are actually a rich source of fiber, but the grains contained in dry dog food are primarily there as filler, and contain minimal nutritional value.

The other thing to be aware of are artificial flavorings and colors. Some of these are chemical based and may be a contributing factor towards diseases like cancer. The same goes for preservatives, rather choose a product that uses natural preservatives, for example vitamins C and E.

Checking labels can be tedious, but there's a much easier way to ensure that the dog food you buy is giving your dog the optimum nutrition he needs. Just buy a premium or super-premium, vet approved dog food brand.

Now you may look at the price tag on some of these products and think, "no way am I paying that for dog food!" If that's your initial reaction, I don't blame you. They can seem prohibitively expensive. But what if I were to tell you that they can actually save you money? Here's how.

With a cheap brand you have to feed your dog much more to deliver the same nutritional punch. And because the ingredients are sub-standard they create all kinds of problems, from obesity to skin allergies, to more serious diseases. These, of course, require veterinary treatment, which in the case of serious ailments can run to thousands of dollars.

Feeding a premium brand means you can feed smaller quantities, so that expensive brand of kibble last longer and also passes quality nutrition to your dog. Your dog will also pass less waste, so there's less for you to pick up!

Hopefully this article has illustrated why you should always feed your dog the best dog food you can afford. But quite aside from the health benefits, your dog deserves it.

Visit dogsanddogtraining.com for more advice on dog nutrition, plus dog training tips types of dogs and a whole lot more