The types of dog food and whether or not they are recommended may vary depending on who briefs you on this complex topic.
If you have questions about feed, wet food or homemade diets, you have come to the right place, although you should bear in mind that your dog's needs will be different depending on its size or the physical activity it performs.
Keep reading this article on our site to learn more about the different types of dog food.
What does my dog need
We must emphasize that the dog is a carnivorous animal. In the wild, a dog would feed exclusively on meat, and as a consequence of hunting, it would also include half-digested fruits or vegetables from the intestine of its prey in its diet.
We must look carefully at the percentages of both the feed and the wet food to understand whether it is a suitable food or not and we also come to the conclusion that there is no single perfect diet.
That is why many professionals agree that variety is the key to proper nutrition.
The dry feed
If we are looking for a quality dry food for a he althy adult dog, we should look at the percentages shown on the back. Here are some tips:
- Dry feed must have at least a 30% or 40% protein. Although it usually comes from only one type of meat, the variety between meats and even fish is beneficial for your he alth.
- A 20% of fruits and vegetables is totally acceptable.
- Fats and oils must constitute 10% or 20% of the total feed.
- The cereal content of the feed should be low and preferably rice. If you notice that the corn content is high, you cause a slow and costly digestion in your dog. Carbohydrates are not necessary for your diet. If you see a percentage of 60%, it is an indicator of very poor quality feed.
- Fibers must not exceed 1% or 3%.
Omega 3 and Omega 6 must be present, as well as vitamins E, calcium and phosphorus
Other tips:
- If the word flour is mentioned, it is an indicator that both meat and vegetables include all kinds of extras: intestines, bones, branches, leaves…
- It is correct that the feed offers between 200 and 300 Kcal per 100 grams.
- Flee from by-products and meats that offer collagen.
- Choose a baked feed before an extruded one.
- The feed favors the disappearance of tartar from the dog's teeth.
Wet food
Wet food is made up of 3/4 parts of water and is very accepted by our pet as it is easy to chew and appetizing. Even so, we should not give it to him daily but rather offer it to him from time to time. What should it contain?
As with feed, wet food should have a high meat and fat content as well as a lower proportion of vegetables and fruits.
It is important that we know that wet food contains half the calories of traditionalfeed. But it also helps your dog take in fluids, which reduces the risk of urinary tract infections.
Homemade diets
There is a whole variety of diets for your pet that you can make yourself at home without much difficulty. To prepare homemade diets we need prior and detailed information on all the dog's needs, as well as high-quality products. Some diets such as BARF advise feeding the dog as it would in nature offering meat, bones or eggs, all raw, although other owners prefer to cook these foods steamed or pan-fried (remember always without oil or s alt).
The composition of homemade diets usually contains 60% bone with meat and muscle, 25% meat only and finally 15% fruit, vegetables, eggs or organ meats.
The problem with homemade diets is that if we are not informed correctly we can cause deficiencies in the dog's diet and problems can even arise if our pet is not used to it and can choke on a bone.
Finally we recommend all those owners who want to offer their dog a he althy diet not to hesitate to use the three types of food in a variety of waysalways paying special attention to the quality of the food as well as to the needs of the animal.
