How to Choose A High-Quality Dog Food

A high-quality food helps you dog live longer.

Your dog is part of your family, so feeding it well is as important as feeding yourself well. Most commercial-grade dog foods are corn- or wheat-based and not meat-based. However, in the wild, dogs don't readily eat corn and wheat; they are carnivores that need a diet of quality protein in which to thrive. When selecting a high-quality food for your dog, the ingredients in the food and the percentage of each ingredient are important to consider.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Read the ingredients of any dog food you encounter. Dismiss any food that lists corn, wheat, barley or another carbohydrate as a main ingredient. If the ingredient is listed within the first five or six ingredients, it's a main ingredient.

2. Select a dog food that has meat listed as the main ingredient, usually chicken, turkey or lamb. Chicken by-products and lamb by-products are also acceptable for high-quality dog food.

3. Look at the nutrition label on the dog food. Dogs don't need more than about 18 to 22 percent protein. If the dog food has more protein than that, dismiss it. Feeding your dog more protein than it needs isn't good for its health.

4. Examine the Association of American Feed Control Officials' recommendations for dogs. Choose a dog food that comes closest to the recommendations.

References

• The Pet Center: Contrasting Grain-based and Meat-based Diets Fed To Dogs and Cats
• Best Friends; Practical Canine Nutrition; Margaret Muns DVM

Resources

• FDA: Selecting Nutritious Pet Foods