Feeding a healthy diet is important for your pet's well being whether you feed dry dog food or a home cooked diet. Feeding a high-quality kibble can reduce veterinary visits and add year's to your pets life as well as improve his coat, teeth and energy level.
High-Quality Ingredients
Before purchasing a dry dog food, read the label. The first three ingredients should be high-quality protein sources or brown rice. Run from any food that lists meat byproducts. These are low-quality ingredients that don't provide much benefit for your dog.
Avoid foods that contain corn or wheat as they are just cheap filler that provide no nutritional value for your dog. They just turn to sugar in your dog's system, which often causes your dog to have additional energy like a child on a sugar high.
Avoid foods with excess preservatives.
Dry Food Recommendations
There are several dry dog foods available that are filled with high-quality ingredients and exclude corn, wheat and additional preservatives that are unhealthy for your pet.
Solid Gold: Solid Gold offers several types of food such as Hund-N-Flocken for moderately active dogs, a low-protein Holistique, high protein WolfKing and grain-free, high protein Howling at the Moon.
Natura: Natura offers several high-quality food such as Innova, which has many high-quality protein sources and fresh vegetables, California Natural and Evo, which is grain-free and resembles the ancestral diets of dogs.
Natural Balance: Natural Balance offers all-life stages food with a variety of protein sources. If your dog suffers from allergies, duck and sweet potato brand is an excellent choice with high-quality proteins. Natural Balance also offers a high-quality treated, formulated almost as healthy as a dog food, in the Natural Balance log, which can be cut to various sizes.
Merrick: Merrick uses human-grade ingredients in creating a well-balanced diet for dogs. The food brands include Turducken, Cowboy Cookout, Campfire Trout and other varieties that get dogs as excited about dinner as they are about treats.
Orijen: Orijen is often voted highest in consumer reviews because it is grain-free, relying instead on potatoes for carbohydrates. Orijen also adds herbs and probiotics designed to improve your pet's health.
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: As advertised, the main protein in this food is chicken with turkey, chicken meal and turkey meal as the top four ingredients. It is less expensive than some other premium brands so more affordable to the average pet owner.
Canidae: Canidae is another relatively inexpensive option, costing less than many other premium brands but producing a much higher-quality product than lower cost food. There are several varieties including chicken, lamb and fish for a lower fat option.
Though these foods cost more than Purina and other well-known brands, they contain more protein sources that your dog's body can actually use. Thus, you will feed less food and still feed your dog more nutrients. In addition, feeding your dog a high-quality diet improves his life by reducing veterinary visits and adding healthy years to his life.