After you understand what your dog’s nutritional needs are, then we look to compare different dog foods to find a food that fits your dog’s needs. OR we look to create a homemade balanced diet that fits those needs.
Once we’ve narrowed down our choices to foods that are appropriate for our dogs we contact the manufacturers and ask them a series of questions about their manufacturing practices, formulation and quality control.
Some things to Consider:
- Composition
- Ingredients
- How Much to Feed
- Quality Control
- Formulation Expertise
- Feeding Trials
- Choosing the Type of Dog Food
- Cost
Start Here: Learn about Dog Nutrition
There are some basics that every pet parent needs to know in order to both compare different dog foods, and understand their dog’s basic nutritional needs.
Evaluating Dog Food:
Guaranteed Analysis, Ingredients, AAFCO Statements
In this section we start to look and compare dog foods: looking at the bag to find information about general composition, the ingredients, the AAFCO statement, the caloric density – all while ignoring all the marking marketing statements on the bag, and website.
Evaluating the Company:
Quality Control, Formulation, Feeding Trials
After you have found several foods that are appropriate for your dog’s needs, now it is time to “interview” the companies and brands to see which one is the best choice for your pet. Basically what this involves is asking the company a series of questions about their products, then evaluating their answers and comparing them against each other.
Comparing Different Types of Dog Food:
About the Author: Nikki is a Registered Veterinary Technician (Veterinary Nurse) of over a decade with a passion for Canine and Feline Nutrition (BS Biology, Dip. Companion Animal Nutrition, MSc Candidate Animal Nutrition).
Nikki shares information on a range of pet nutrition topics: from how to create a homemade complete and balanced dog and cat food recipes, to how to choose a pet food. Nikki strives to give dog and cat parents the information they need in order to make the best nutrition decisions for their pet!
CONTACT ME:
nikki@nikkipetnutriton.com