How To Compare Dog Foods – What To Look For

We all love our dogs and want to give them the best life has to offer. But with so many variations of dog food in the market, it is hard to compare dog foods to identify the healthiest dog food . And the dog food packaging makes us even more nervous about buying with enticing adverts like: “rich in antioxidants,” “highly digestible,” “Omega-3 fatty acids” and “Ultra Premium Formula”. Does our dog need these?

The best thing to do is to compare dog foods that best fit our dog’s requirements and our personal budget. After all, some foods offer much greater convenience than the more natural, less processed types of food which may require freezing, thawing, cooking and preparation. Other foods that are nutritionally supreme may just be completely unrealistic for our budget.

Compare Dog Foods That Are Appropriate For Your Type of Dog

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Does My Dog Have Dog Food Allergies?

Does your dog have dog food allergies? Before you go down the long road to find the right dog food for dogs with allergies, think about your dog’s symptoms. Are they seasonal? Do they coincide with pollen or flea outbreaks? Dog itchy skin is an allergy symptom of more than just food allergies.  If your dog’s allergy symptoms include vomiting or diarrhea, then a food allergy is way up on the list.

If your dog is only dealing with itchy skin and constant scratching, and it is not flea or mange related, you may want to try adding a coat supplement to his food. Many times your dog’s  itchy skin and scratching is because the current dog food is not nutritionally sufficient for him. An added supplement for healthy skin and coat can do wonders to ease and eliminate that aggravating scratching.

The healthiest dog food in the world won’t help your dog if it has something in it that your dog is allergic to. Finding the right kind of food for dog food allergies is very difficult because finding the allergic ingredient can be a very long and tedious process. Read more »

Premium and Super-Premium Dog Foods: What’s the Difference?

What is the difference between premium and super-premium dog foods? In a nutshell, the quality of the ingredients, and to a lesser degree, how they are processed (which will be discussed in a another post).

First we showed how to tell the difference between economy and premium dog foods. You look at the label and see what kind of ingredients are listed as the top dog food ingredients. Economy dog foods use lots of grains, and meat and grain by-products. Premium dog foods use these to a lesser extent.

What Makes For Super-Premium Dog Foods?

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What Is The Healthiest Dog Food For Allergies?

What is the healthiest dog food for allergies? There is no ONE dog food that will work for all dogs. The first step is in deciding what dog food ingredient your dog is actually allergic to.

Finding The Right Dog Food for Allergies

If you don’t know what your dog is allergic to but are pretty certain it is a food allergy, then you have 2 choices:   Read more »

How To Find The Best Organic Dog Food

It seems these days we are flooded with commercials and packaging telling us how great so-and-so’s dog food is. But how do we really figure out which is the best organic dog food? The good news is we are finally seeing more companies showing some concern over what we are feeding our dogs. But you are going to really have to look at the dog food to figure out which one is the best for you.

First, let’s go over some definitions:

• ‘Organic’ means the food uses 100% USDA-certified organic ingredients
• ‘Made with organic ingredients’ means the food must use at least 70% USDA-certified organic ingredients
• ‘Natural’ or ‘All Natural’ means it is coming from nature – no chemical flavoring, coloring, or preservatives – but does not really say anything about the nutritional value of any of the ingredients

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Why Holistic Dog Foods Are Worth The Price

When I first heard about holistic dog foods, I really didn’t understand. Holistic, to me, means taking the whole being into account, not just the individual parts. It is also generally associated with having the body heal itself. So how can you have holistic dog foods? Well, I still don’t really think you can, but I do understand why it is called that now – after looking at the dog food ingredients.

Holistic treatment of our pets is becoming more commonplace, as more and more people are getting tired of trying to medicate everything and everyone. Our bodies, both human and canine, are incredible machines, that can overcome so much when they are healthy. And part of the holistic approach deals with nutrition — giving us — holistic dog foods!

Holistic dog foods are made out of top-quality ingredients and most will be made with organic fruits, vegetables, and grains, as well as free-range animal meat. Holistic foods should contain lots of animal meats and zero animal meat by-products. Selected enzymes and even probiotics are added to many of the foods, along with essential fatty acids (EFA) and beneficial herbs. All of this helps to maintain a healthy body as a whole.

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All Natural Dog Food – Hype or Hope?

It’s hard to go down the pet aisle in the stores without seeing several brands of natural and all natural dog food. But are these terms hype or hope? It certainly seems like these days, our pets have more medical problems than ever before – from allergies to food intolerance to arthritis. I just don’t remember any of my dogs as I was growing up having any of these problems. Perhaps they did and we just didn’t notice, but dogs weren’t immediate members of the family like they are now – they were pets, that’s it, just pets.

Will An All Natural Dog Food Help My Dog?

Is the low quality commercial dog food to blame for our dogs’ medical problems? Will switching to an all natural dog food help improve the quality of our pets’ lives? That’s on the fence – many people are screaming ‘YES – feed quality and your dog’s health will improve’, while others are saying ‘no way – you’re just wasting your money’. After all, some people have fed their dogs very low quality dog food for years with no problems.

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What Makes For A Premium Dog Food?

There are so many ‘categories’ of dog food out there. Premium dog food, super-premium, organic, holistic, all natural, …. So what should you feed your dog? Is a premium dog food good enough?

If money was of no issue, I myself would go for a holistic and organic dog food that is freeze-dried. I think that as far as food quality, this is the next best thing to a healthy, homemade dog food. But money is an issue for me. And with one 50lb dog and another 110lb dog (not to mention 2 cats and a bearded dragon) the amount of pet food that we go through is quite a lot.

Premium Dog Food: You Get What You Pay For

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Understanding Hypoallergenic Dog Food

What exactly is a hypoallergenic dog food? Will it automatically cure all your dog’s food allergies? Although a good, quality food will not cure anything, it will help boost the immune system and keep your dog healthier.

Dog food allergies are definitely on the rise. And the most common culprits, in no particular order, are:

• corn
• wheat
• soy
• dairy
• beef
• chicken

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Dog Food Comparisons: Organic vs All Natural

Which is better: organic dog food or all natural? Dog food comparisons can show what is different between the two types of dog food, but only you and your dog can determine which is best for them.

However, comparing organic and all natural dog foods is technically like comparing apples to oranges. When people think ‘all natural’, they automatically think ‘organic’ as well. But the terms are not interchangeable as far as dog food comparisons are concerned.

All natural dog food is the way in which the ingredients are processed. Natural means no artificial or chemical preservatives, like BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin. Natural preservatives, such as Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and Vitamin E (tocopherols) are commonly used in natural dog food. All natural dog food also contains no artificial flavorings or colorings. Chemical additives are a common source of food intolerance and allergies in dogs. Basically, nothing artificial is added.

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