There are many brands to choose from when buying your dog dry food or kibble, but not all of them have the same ingredients, and not all of them provide the necessary nutrients for the dog to flourish. Many brands considered popular by the public are not the best choice when you want to feed your dog healthy food. Dog food that is of poor quality can cause numerous health problems to your dog later in life such as allergies, liver disease, kidney disease, cancer, etc.
Many of them use fillers (e.g. corn, wheat, soy, beat pulp, etc.) and by-products (intestines, chicken heads, lungs, livers, kidneys, duckbills, chicken and turkey feet, feathers and bone, etc.) that just add to the volume of the food and lower the cost of manufacturing the food, but in no way benefit your dog. If the first ingredient on the label of the food is not meat, stay away from that food. Dogs need meat as the primary ingredient in their diet to develop properly and live a happy and healthy life. Dogs that are fed
low-quality dry food will also excrete more waste and do it more
frequently since foods that are of lower quality contain more
ingredients that are not completely digestible (fillers and by-products) or absorbable by your
dog's digestion system.
Even if the first ingredient is meat, it still does not mean that it is a quality dry food because it can contain all fillers and by-products for the remainder of the ingredients. Also, when they put meat as the first ingredient, you would think that the food consists of mostly meat then everything else. This is not always true. They measure the meat in its raw form while it still contains water, but when they dry it, the meat content in weight is much lower than what it was before they dried it. As a result, the amount of actual meat content is usually lower than what companies state on the label and meat will usually drop below the first position on the ingredients list if we consider how much meat there is in its dried and final form.
Here is a list of some quality dog food brands that I have found after doing some research on the Web:
- EVO (www.evopet.com) - EVO dog food is completely grain-free. EVO has the highest protein content of any meat-based dry pet food on the market and uses whole, fresh meat sources such as turkey, chicken and herring meal.
- Orijen (www.orijen.ca) - diet mirrors the foods and nutrients that dogs would find hunting in the wild, keeping in mind that today’s lifestyle of regular meals and less exercise means that our companion pets require fewer calories.
- Eagle Pack Holistic Select (www.eaglepack.com) - human food sourced meat meal based
formulas, whole grains, quality of life ingredients and custom
supplements for unprecedented health.
- Natural Balance (www.naturalbalanceinc.com) - all-natural, complete, and balanced nutrition.
- Wellness (www.wellnesspetfood.com) - deboned meats, free of added hormones and steroids, wholesome grains and fresh fruits and vegetables to provide the perfect balance of protein, energy, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in the healthiest way possible.
- Diamond Naturals (www.diamondpet.com) - each formula is corn–free, soy–free and wheat–free with all–natural ingredients.
- Taste of the Wild (www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com) - a grain-free formula for all life stages.
The above dry dog food brands are better and usually cost more than the other brands mainly because they use all-natural ingredients, have higher meat content, and use less or no fillers at all. Before switching your dog's food, make sure you do it gradually and if your dog has a sensitive stomach or is prone to allergies, then make sure that you get the food that is specifically formulated for your dog's needs.
If you want to feed the best quality food to your dog, then reduce the amount of kibble you feed your dog or stop feeding kibble altogether and start feeding your dog raw food. Dogs that are on raw diets that include raw meat, fruits and vegetables are usually a lot more active and look healthier than dogs eating dry food only. If you have the time and dedication to do research on what you need to feed your dog to provide a full and balanced diet, then a raw food diet is the way to go.
If you want more information on choosing dog food brands and dry food in general, visit this website: http://www.dogfoodproject.com