All About Dog Food
Narrated from: Dog NutritionThere are many myths about dog food that people believe because of the ads in the media. The rumor mill just keeps on grinding out inaccurate information to you as pet owners every day. All we want to do is help you to make the most educated decisions about your dog and his health so we will explore the truths and myths concerning dog food so you can make your best decisions about dog food. There is a lot to be considered so get comfortable and we will take the long journey together.
Many people believe that all food for dogs is basically the same. This is absolutely a myth! Take a few minutes to read and compare labels on different brands of dog food. Be sure to compare dry foods to dry foods or canned foods to canned foods to make it even across the board. For the vast majority of dogs feeding needs your veterinarian will most likely recommend dry food. There are some dogs with digestive issues and will need to have canned food but most are perfectly happy with dry dog food. As you examine labels you will quickly begin to see a huge difference between store brands and premium label brands. Look for whole meats and not meat by-products. Check for whole grains instead of the cheaper corn gluten meal. In the premium foods you are not likely to find synthetic ingredients or artificial preservatives.
There is a general belief among the population of pet parents that premium foods are no better than cheap store brands, they just cost more. This too is absolutely a myth! The manufacturers of cheap food put cheap ingredients in their food. The makers of premium foods use premium ingredients. Take the time to read the label and you will see meat listed as the first ingredient on premium foods, and you will not find artificial colors or preservatives in premium foods. Cheap foods list fillers such as corn gluten or meat by-products as their first ingredient! You can even do an experiment by using one bag of cheap food and keep track of the time it takes to use it up but pay attention to how much your dog defecates and how often. Then buy a bag of premium food and do the same thing. By the end of that bag you will notice that the premium food lasted longer because you feed less of it and that your dog’s body uses up the premium food ingredients instead of pooping them out! You will probably notice that your dog’s skin and coat look better and he will have more energy!
Our next myth to be debunked is that a dog’s primary source of food should come from dry food. It was once believed that dry food was much better for their teeth but if you really watch your dog eat, you are more likely to find that he barely chews his food. Most dogs swallow chunks of food whole and never really break it up. If the dog’s teeth don’t go through the food, it is not helping to scrape their teeth to keep them clean. Proper dental care is the best possible choice for cleaning their teeth. Many toys and treats are made to help clean the teeth and rope toys act as doggie dental floss. It is also true that dogs need moisture in their food because they don’t drink much water on average. It may sound like your dog is drinking a gallon of water at a time but in actuality they cannot hold much on their tongue and that is all they get.
Give plenty of thought to what you have learned in this article. Now you can make a much more educated decision about what you feed your dog at his next meal time!
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