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Choosing The Best Food For Your Dog
It may surprise you to find out that there is no ‘one’ diet that is best for dogs. Just like humans, each dog is an individual and often have individual needs as well as preferences. So understanding what to look for in a good quality dog food is important when making the right choice for your pet.
Dogs are Omnivorous Carnivores
Dog are omnivorous carnivores, which means that the best diet for their design is a mixture of meat and plant sources. They can eat a wide variety of foods and ingredients but the correct balance must be just right between protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre and vitamins/minerals. For example, dogs require a quality source of protein in their diet – this should be the biggest ingredient on your food labelling (on labels the ingredients are listed in size order, just like with your own foods).
What to Look For
When choosing the best food for your dog quality of the ingredients is of the utmost importance. The better quality the ingredient, the better quality the digestibility and nutrition from that ingredient will be. Look for a named meat source as the first ingredient: whole carcass, fresh meat, meat meal, or dried (usually named, eg. chicken, lamb or fish). This is real quality meat that will allow your dog to use and digest the meat just as nature intended.
A named carbohydrate is equally important when looking at the food listings: barley, rice, oats and potatoes are excellent carbohydrate sources. When these ingredients are named you will find a much higher quality and consistency of ingredient than if they simply listed ‘cereals’ – if it just says ‘cereals’, it can include husks and other low grade plant matter which many dogs then find difficult to digest. Corn, wheat and soy have also been identified as ingredients that may provoke allergic reactions in dogs such as itchy, flaky skin so it’s best to stay away from these.
At Pets Corner we stock a wide range of super premium and premium pet foods that have been chosen for their quality and digestibility. Our staff are trained in nutrition and would be more than happy to help you choose the best food for your pet.