I work with both one-on-one clients and group classes. Frequently I will get the question, "What is the best dog food to feed my dog?" It's such a common question because, once again, there are so many opinions and not as much REAL research as there is great marketing. It's so confusing and I'm glad that I have spent a lot of time looking into this myself for my dogs.
There are so many great dog foods. Probably more than we need but here are some ways to be a smart dog food consumer.
Dog food is a very misunderstood, but a very important part of your dog’s life. Your choice of foods can make a difference his mental and physical health!
I am not a nutritionist. I want to make that clear. However, as the owner of a dog training center for 25+ years with the title of Nationally Certified Behavior Consultant and as the owner of several dogs that are athletes in dog agility, I have done a lot of research into dog foods.
Many years ago, I used to feed my dogs raw food. That was before it was as easy as it is to do now. Now you can go and buy, off the shelves (or the freezers), ready-made, nutritionally safe raw dog foods. Back when I started feeding raw, it was a fairly new concept and you had to go and buy the meat yourself, bag it up, freeze it, and add your vitamins.
I did that for years but then acquired a beautiful dog that didn’t do well on raw food. Raw food was hard on his system and I had to re-think how I fed.
At this time dog food-buying consumers were getting much more sophisticated and understood more about the quality of dry dog food.
For example, twenty years ago I had to teach people about why certain, lower value, less expensive dog foods were not necessarily a good choice. I encouraged people to spend more and get more for their money.
Now I find myself on the other end of the spectrum where dog foods can be so high quality that their protein percentages are beyond what our domestic dogs can even handle.
When you see dog foods with protein percentages up to 33 to 35%, it may be just fine for your dog. But if you are experiencing behavior problems or your dog is experiencing very loose stools, you may want to reconsider your options. Sometimes that is too much protein for dogs to digest properly. Loose stools over time can cause other problems like blood in the stool, impacted anal sacs, excessive gas, and even unexpected behavior problems.
The simple way to check out the quality of your dog food is to read your ingredient list. The first three ingredients of good quality food will read something like this: Chicken meal, de-boned chicken, and barley. Or the protein might be lamb, lamb meal, brown rice, etc. In any food, you want to see meat or meat meal as the first ingredient.
There are ingredients to avoid: If you see these ingredients, I suggest you look for a different dog food. Those ingredients are
- ground yellow corn or corn gluten
- wheat or wheat gluten
- sorghum
- any ingredient with the word "syrup" attached to it.
Those are all just fillers and nothing more. There is nothing nutritious about those ingredients. The other problem with fillers made of these grains is they all change to sugar once they are in your dog’s bloodstream. (This does not happen with rice, barley, or oats as those grains do not turn into sugar in your bloodstream.)
Now, question whether your puppy’s hyperactivity may be fueled by sugar.
You also want to avoid
- any kind of by-product (animal or not)
- the ingredient "animal fat" (should read "chicken fat" for example, not just animal)
- any unrecognizable food ingredient
Animal fat will be used in most if not all kibbles BUT look for a specific protein like Chicken fat, Turkey fat, etc. Otherwise, you have no idea what animal that fat is coming from. Fat is sprayed on kibble after processing to enhance flavor.
Unfortunately, dog food sales are driven more by marketing than they are by research, science or even quality. You have to become a knowledgeable consumer to ensure you are giving your dog the best nutrition.
Feeding raw or home-cooked food is great, but you have to commit yourself to it and make sure your dog is getting all of the nutrients he needs. There are lots of books on how to create your own dog food. Honestly, it’s the best way to feed. But, you have to have the time.
Fortunately, there are many really good dog foods out there. My favorite dog food is called Holistic Select. It is available almost anywhere dog foods are sold.
However, I add things to my dogs’ food. I call these items toppers.
For one meal, I may use some whole milk yogurt. Then for one meal, I may use a product from a company called Stella and Chewies. They make freeze-dried raw patties that you can crumble up over your dogs’ food. Using freeze-dried raw gives your dog the benefits of feeding raw without the mess and worry. I may add some bone broth (purchase right in your grocery store, I get the unsalted version).
I also very regularly cook up ground chicken for my dogs Sushi and Batman and I cook up ground beef for my Doberman, Captain.
I always add some warm water especially when using the freeze-dried products. If you don’t add water to your dog’s food, your dog’s body must produce the moisture to process and digest their food. When you add water to your dog's food, you will see him go to his water dish less.
Just like people, dogs are what they eat. Please be sure you are getting the best you can for them. You just have to try and do your best and educate yourself about what all of those labels say. Hopefully, this article will help you figure that out.