Choosing Healthy Foods for Your Dog
Today’s pet food market is larger and more diverse than ever before. While this offers a large number of choices in various types of pet food, it also presents a dilemma in choosing the healthiest food for your dog. Are generic or store brands suitable for a dog? What about familiar name brands like Purina and Alpo? Are the pricier brands that advertise specially formulated ingredients (Science Diet, Eukanuba) really living up to their claims and worth the extra money? All of these are valid questions that loving dog owners deserve to have answered.
Dog
Food Considerations
There are several
factors to consider when choosing the right food
for your dog Different dogs have different nutritional
needs at different stages in their lives. Some
things to consider when selecting the food you’ll give your dog
follow.
The Dog's Age
Puppies have different
nutritional
requirements than adult dogs just as human children have different
needs than adult people.
Senior
dogs also have different requirements than younger adult dogs.
Make sure that you select a food that is appropriate for
your dog’s stage in life.
The Dog's Health
The Does your dog have a
specific
medical condition?
If so, the food
you choose may need to be partially dictated by that condition.
Diabetic dogs need low-glucose foods and dogs with
specific allergies (yes dogs can be allergic to all sorts of things,
just like people) may require certain foods as well.
Your veterinarian can help you choose foods that are
appropriate for a dog with a specific medical condition.
The Dog's Size of Body Type
Some dogs are overweight.
Some dogs are underweight. Some
have a natural tendency to get lots of exercise while others tend to
prefer to lie around a lot. There
are, of course, small, medium, and large dogs as well as the ultra-tiny
“toy” dogs All of these different
types of dogs will have different requirements for the type of food
they need as well as how much of it.
Your Budget
Dog food can be expensive,
there’s
no doubt about it. And where dog
food is concerned, the rule really is “you get what you pay
for.”
Low cost generics and store
brands will lighten the burden on your wallet, but may not be the
healthiest choice for your dog as they are made with cheap ingredients
and lots of fillers. You should buy
the best dog food you can on your budget to help ensure your dog’s
nutrition.
Dog Bowls & Feeders
Serve your canine companion his favorite meal in a dog bowl that suits
his appetite! Petco.com offers many different types of bowls for food
and
water. Find Everything You Need For Your Pet at PETCO.com!
