The internet is full of myths and misperceptions on what makes a healthy dog food and what you should be feeding your dog. But how do you really know what\u2019s the best food for your dog?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Dog\u2019s Club are here to put the record straight, bringing you the latest of scientific evidence to help you make the right nutrition decisions for your dog. If you\u2019d like to choose from a curated selection of top-quality dog foods, simply take a look at our range here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is raw or kibble better for dogs?<\/strong> Do dogs need meat to be healthy?<\/strong> It is important to remember, though, that meat-free foods need to provide protein through other means \u2013 and most vegetarian and vegan dog foods will do this through beans, peas, and other legumes. Whilst the science on this still isn\u2019t conclusive, there are suggestions that diets high in these ingredients may predispose dogs to a heart condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This lack of science means that we can\u2019t say for sure if your dog will be better for eating meat or not, and your decision on this will likely come down to your own personal ethics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is grain-free food good for dogs?<\/strong> However, whole grains can be a really useful part of your dog\u2019s diet, just as a sweet potato alternative can be too. So the question shouldn\u2019t really be \u201care there grains in this dog food?\u201d, but \u201cwhat kind of carbohydrate is in this dog food?\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the number 1 healthiest dog food?<\/strong> The first thing you need to remember about this is that every dog is different \u2013 your own dog will probably benefit from a totally different diet from Fido down the road. This will be down to their metabolism, how active they are, whether they have any intolerances, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bearing this in mind, let\u2019s take a look at dog food labels. The first thing you want to be checking here is the food\u2019s analytical constituents \u2013 this is a section commonly found next to or below the ingredients list, and should look something like \u201cprotein 20%, fat 15%, fibre 6%, ash 7%\u201d. If the food has more than 14% moisture, this will also be listed. You may also notice that the amounts here don\u2019t add up to 100% – this is because whatever is left can be primarily attributed to NFE (nitrogen-free extract) content, which is mainly starches and sugars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have an average, healthy dog, who gets around 1-2hrs exercise a day, an ideal composition to see here would be around 25% protein, 15% fat, 5% fibre, 6% ash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What should the main ingredients in dog food be?<\/strong> You also want your dog food to be specific about their ingredients. Vague ingredients mean that the recipe can change depending on what\u2019s more readily available, which could upset your dog\u2019s stomach. More specific ingredients are also often more traceable, meaning it\u2019s easier to check on the quality of the source. With this in mind, it\u2019s better to opt for a food that lists \u201cChicken (fresh chicken 19%, dried chicken 18%, chicken fat 4.5%), Duck, Turkey\u201d than a food that lists \u201cPoultry\u201d, just as it\u2019s better to choose a food that lists \u201cBrown rice, Oats\u201d than one that lists \u201cCereals\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m still not sure what to feed my dog: can you help me?<\/strong> Article Supplied<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The internet is full of myths and misperceptions on what makes a healthy dog food and what you should be feeding your dog. But how do you really know what\u2019s the best food for your dog? Your Dog\u2019s Club are here to put the record straight, bringing you the latest of scientific evidence to help […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[23,60,15],"class_list":["post-2880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dog-foods","tag-dog","tag-dog-food","tag-pet-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2880"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3278,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880\/revisions\/3278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegooddogguide.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Before we get into the nitty gritty of what\u2019s in your dog\u2019s food, it\u2019s a good idea to decide on what type of dog food you and your dog would prefer. Unless you\u2019re looking to cook your dog\u2019s meals from scratch, there are three main types available: dry dog food (kibble), wet dog food, and raw dog food. Each group come with their own pros and cons, but this alone does not dictate how healthy your dog\u2019s food will be for them. Just as there are poor quality kibbles available, there are poor quality wet and raw foods too \u2013 and the same can be said for the high-quality formulations of each group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another decision that you need to make on your dog\u2019s behalf is if they will eat meat or not. Vegan and vegetarian dog foods have seen a huge surge in popularity recently, and there are plenty of vegan dog foods on the market. But this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that they\u2019re the healthier option. In fact, there\u2019s not enough research done on the matter to say conclusively one way or the other, and the studies that do exist have plenty of flaws, opening their results up to questioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will likely have noticed that a lot of dog foods have embraced the \u2018grain-free\u2019 trend, where they replace the grain content of their recipes with other sources of carbohydrate \u2013 most commonly, sweet potato, white potato, and legumes. The marketing typically associated with these kinds of foods suggests that they are the healthier option, but this isn\u2019t exactly accurate. Whilst it\u2019s true that refined grains can cause blood sugar spikes, potentially leading to problem behaviours as well as other health concerns, the same can be said of white potatoes. In this scenario, the grain-free food wouldn\u2019t offer any benefits over the grained option!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that you\u2019ve decided what direction you\u2019d like to take with your dog\u2019s food (whether it\u2019s dry, wet or raw; whether it\u2019s meat-based or plant-based; whether it has grains or is grain-free), it\u2019s time to start thinking about specific foods and what the healthiest food for your dog may be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With so many possible ingredients out there, it\u2019s not possible to definitively say what the best ones are for our dogs. However, all dog foods must display their ingredients in descending order \u2013 meaning that the first listed ingredient will be the most prevalent one and the last ingredient will make up the smallest contribution. There are little tricks manufacturing companies can use to get around this, though, so keep an eye out for ingredient splitting (where one ingredient is split into different parts to push it down the list, e.g. \u201csoya protein\u2026soya oil\u201d) and ingredient grouping (where multiple ingredients are grouped together to pull them up the list, e.g. \u201cmeat and animal derivatives\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Absolutely! We love helping people give their dogs the best in life and getting their nutrition right is a massive part of this. You can read more about nutrition in our blog, or you can contact us at woof@yourdogsclub.co.uk and we\u2019ll be happy to help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n