Wanting what’s best for your pooch is something that all dog parents want. But when it comes to choosing the right food, many are unaware of what exactly their four-legged friend is consuming. A health hazard lurks in the pet food aisle, with some pet food brands doing more harm to your dog’s health than others.
When choosing the right food for your dog, there’s five crucial steps that you must follow to ensure the brand you buy fulfils your dog’s health needs.
- Ensure Your Dog’s Diet is More Meat-Based than Plant-Based.
While plant-based ingredients are beneficial to a dog’s long-term health, it’s important that a dog is consuming a whole-meat source as it prevents dietary imbalances that occur when your pet isn’t get the right nutrients.
The ingredients listed on any pet food label are in order of their weight. You can tell if you’re buying a mostly meat-based product if the percentage of meat in the product is higher than the rest of the ingredients.
High Meat-Content Diets Include:
- K9 Natural
- Instinctive Bite
- Open Farm
- Orijen.
2. Ensure that Your Dog’s Diet is Nutritionally-Balanced.
Nutrients consist of proteins and vitamins. They’re essential to maintaining a dog’s weight, energy levels, muscle strength and can improve their coat quality.
Many premium pet food brands are required to conduct regular testing to ensure their products are nutritionally-balanced and consistent across each batch.
High Nutrient Diets Include:
- Hills Science Diet
- Royal Canin
- Advance
- Pro Plan
3. Choose Products with Consistent Recipes.
Brands that use the same recipe are vital to dogs with food sensitivities. Pet foods with by-products in their ingredients don’t have consistent recipes, resulting in the presence of ingredients that aren’t suitable for dogs with allergies.
4. Avoid Nasty Artificial Colours, Flavours, Sweeteners and Preservatives.
Staying away from artificial foods is something we do as humans, so why not do it for our four-legged friend? A lot of pet food brands add these unwanted nasties to add appeal to their product, with no extra benefit.
Natural Ingredient Products Include:
- Black Hawk
- Canidae
- Open Farm
- Holistic Select
5. Source your Food from Local Brands.
Choose local brands to ensure that the ingredients used are locally sourced and made according to Australian guidelines. You can check if a brand is locally-made here.
While there isn’t the holy grail of dog food, finding the perfect meal for your pet can be simple. If you take into account each step, plus your dog’s dietary needs, the decision over which brand suits your dog is a process of elimination. If in doubt, you can always reach out to your vet to decide what brands are suitable for your canine friend.