What Is the Best Dog Food

By Jane Dinunzio

There are virtually hundreds of pet food choices available today, along with many opinions on which is the best dog food on the market.

If you are looking to upgrade and improve your dog's nutritional intake, then look at independent reviewers who are not working for any one company. These reviews will tend to be more honest and fact based.

The more facts the better, giving all the pros and cons. This then gives us a chance to make our own choice based on facts, rather than some advertisers promotions.

After you have found your preferred review, whether it be from an independent reviewers' opinion that you trust, a professional such as your vet, or through a book such as the excellent Food Pets Die For, by Ann Martin, you can then do you own reviews. Do your own side by side comparison with the pros and cons of each food you are considering.

There are basically 3 groups or types of food to look at: Homemade, Commercial, and Raw.

Of course each of these types are then further divided into their own specific sub categories.

ABOUT HOMEMADE:

Do you have the time and patience to make your dog's dinner. This would include following a properly balanced diet, making sure you provide all the essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fruits and veggies every day. It becomes easy over time to get into a routine, and once started this is the healthiest choice. You also have 2 methods for the Homemade Food Diet: Cooked or Raw.

ABOUT RAW:

The Raw food category is also an excellent choice, and can be considered homemade dog food made easy. It comes ready to feed. You will be giving an unprocessed, fresh diet which will improve you dog's health, and ultimately give him a longer life. If you choose this category then you can choose raw frozen, raw freeze dried and raw dehydrated.

You can also find pre-mixes (which contain everything but the protein source, you just need to add your own meat), which in effect is the best alternative to homemade.

ABOUT COMMERCIAL:

Finally, the Commercial dog food category is the most difficult to navigate. There are hundreds of companies from small family owned to large corporations producing pet food in a range of quality from the highest human grade to the lowest corn based food using undesirable ingredients bound together with chemicals. In this category, if this is what you have chosen to feed your dog, you will have to do the most investigating to find a good food. Your choices are basically dry and/or canned dog food.

Here is a typical dog food comparison chart that shows best vs. worst. It is amazing at how easy it is to see the vast differences.

Look for dog food comparison sites that show exact ingredients. Here is a List of the 7 Worst Dog Food Brands to illustrate what you do not want to buy.

As with anything we all must become our own advocates for ourselves, family and especially for our pets.

Your dogs life will be extended by many years by learning how to read and interpret dog food labels, or alternately learning the perfect combination of ingredients needed to make your own homemade dog food.
I have written and investigated the best and worst dog food brands for many years after losing a beagle to contaminated dog food in 2005.
My main website @ Recipes 4 Gourmet Dogs has many vet approved homemade recipes, lists showing best vs. worst foods and relevant articles. Remember our dogs are carnivores and need a meat based diet.

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