From regular walks to annual trips to the vet it is no easy thing to be a good dog owner, and you do want to be a good dog owner so that you have a loving relationship with your best four-legged friend. One thing that people often spend very little time considering is exactly what food to give to their dog, which is strange considering just how much a diet can affect the lifestyle of an animal. Here are some tips and tricks on how to pick out the best dry dog food you can for your pooch.
Why Dry Over Canned Dog Food?
The biggest question when it comes to your dog's regular diet is often whether you want to pick dry or canned dog food. The simple truth is that they are very close to each other in terms of nutritional intake and other values, however, the thing that makes dry dog food more attractive is the fact that canned dog food is generally more expensive than its dry counterpart.
How to Pick The Best Dry Dog Food
If you want to truly keep your dog healthy and happy you will have to experiment a little bit with their diet to find out the right choice for them, but there are ways to narrow this search. First of all, you want your dog to have a significant amount of protein in their diet and you generally want this to be as much natural meat as possible. When looking at labels always go for the dog food that directly labels its meat as the animal the meat comes from and avoid ambiguous terms like "meat product". Also, you don't want the first ingredient listed to be a wheat or filler product, as this indicates that the dog food contains less beneficial nutrients for your dog. Also, try and find a dry dog food that has a healthy mix of fibre as well as carbohydrates and protein.
Refining Your Dogs Diet
When you find dry dog food, you should always pick the packet that is furthest from its expiry date and store it in a cool, dry place. When you start feeding it to your dog you will notice straight away if they take to it from whether they don't finish their meal. Dogs are not picky eaters so if they don't touch your new dog food that is a major red flag. However, this is very unlikely to be a problem. Once your dog starts eating, you just need to regularly check if your dog is as energetic as it should be (younger dogs should be very active while older dogs should not be as hyper). You should also check if their coat and poo look normal (a gross but unfortunately necessary part of monitoring your dog's health) and if they gain or lose any weight. If any of these things are abnormal or below what they used to be, then you should try a new dry dog food or change up their amounts. If you have any concerns, remember you can always talk to your vet and get a professional opinion.
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