Dog Training Home      |      Dog Training Articles      |      In the News      |      Visit our Resources      |      Contact Us     

Puppy Whining and
Howling Problems

Hypoallergenic Dog Food

Being your dogs leader is
key to training

Dog Allergy Symptoms

Dog toilet training

Off Leash Training

Dog Shedding Solutions

Ear Medicine for Dogs

Dog Training Products

Dog Food Comparisons  
© 2008 by Kelly Miller

Whether you are bringing a new dog into your home or making nutritional changes to your aging dog’s diet, you need to be doing ongoing dog food comparisons. Manufacturers are interested in getting you to buy their products, and by doing your own dog food analysis, you will be able to make the best decisions for your dog’s health. Let’s look at some things you need to consider in comparing different dog foods.

The first decision you should make is between homemade food and processed food.

Homemade foods have a lot of benefits for your dog. They also have huge implications for you. One of the benefits is that you know exactly what is going in to your dog’s food. You do not have to stand in the grocery store pet food aisle and wonder what all these ingredients actually mean. You purchase and prepare all the ingredients, and you know exactly what is going into your dog’s food.

Another benefit of homemade food is that you get the most nutritional value. Processed foods, by necessity, have lost some of the nutritional value of the freshly prepared homemade foods.

One downside of homemade foods is that it takes time and commitment from you. You do not want to bounce back and forth between processed food and homemade food. That is not the best choice for your dog’s digestive system. You must keep up with how much food you make and how long it will last. You can’t pop into the store and pick up your next homemade meal if you run out. Additionally, you don’t want to feed your dog right off your plate. Some of the things we add to our food for flavor are not good for dogs.

Another downside of homemade foods is that they do have to be prepared often. While a homemade meal can last in the fridge or freezer for a few days, much longer than that can allow bacteria to grow which causes greater health risks for the dog. It is much simpler to buy a bag of dog food that will last for the next month.

Once you have decided to use either a homemade or processed food, you will have to compare the best ingredients.

For a homemade diet, choosing ingredients is often much easier than sifting through the dozens of options of processed dog foods on the market. The best rule of thumb for homemade choices is to use the freshest ingredients possible. Use the meats with lower fat contents. Use the freshest vegetables. There is a great controversy about whether to feed a natural diet of raw or cooked foods. You need to educate yourself on that debate and make a decision that best fits your needs and the needs of your dog.

If you choose a processed dog food, there are dog food comparisons you need to make as well. 

Believe it or not, a very clear indicator of the ingredients in the processed foods on your grocery shelves is price. The best quality ingredients cost more. Usually the higher priced processed foods have higher quality ingredients, fewer additives and preservatives, fewer fillers, and the most effective nutrients for your dog’s best health.

Chemical preservatives and additives for flavor are things we have added to dog food to make it more appealing to us as humans. Dogs do just fine in the wild without flavor additives. While the preservatives are necessary to prevent bacterial growth and degradation of the product, the fewer that a food includes, the better the overall nutrition the food will provide.

Fillers include things like plant and animal byproducts. These things have very little nutritional value, but they are cheaper than the healthier plant and animal products. Other fillers include unnecessary carbohydrates and fats, which are also cheaper, but provide less nutritional value.

The healthier and more natural the ingredients are, the better your dog’s body will be able to process the nutritional value of the food. It is well worth the difference in cost to provide your dog with the highest nutrition possible. Meeting the dog’s nutritional needs will avoid the costly visit to the vet because of an illness that could have been prevented with better nutrition. 

When you are shopping next time compare the dog foods in the grocery aisle. And remember you can get better options at pet stores. Better yet, you can get high quality, nutritional foods that your vet recommends. Most vets will carry some choices in their offices. If they don’t they can tell you where to get the food they recommend, and they can usually order it for you.

Do some research about what your dog’s nutritional needs are for his breed, his age, and other health concerns you may have. Create a dog food comparisons chart that you can use the next time you shop for food. When you go into the store read the labels and compare the ingredients, this will be your best option for making sure that the dog food you choose is the best for your dog.