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What Dog Food Is Best?
There are many important aspects to a healthy dog and food, or more importantly the proper food, is easily number one. A productive, happy life filled with activity and free from some of the more common health problems can be achieved through proper nutritional requirements. But what dog food is best? The answer might surprise you.
Proper nutrients for tissue repair and continuous, healthy growth areas vital to dogs as they are to humans. Any number of health issues can arise due to lack of proper nutrients, such as stunted growth, poor healing after injury, and possibly a shorter lifespan.
It is especially important that protein be a primary component of the health of your dog and food that is rich in protein will help with all of the necessary aspects of growth and development. It is also a vital component in your dog’s immune system. There is also the added benefit that proteins can be burned as calories, or can be converted to and stored as fat.
Something that you might not have considered is that while humans lookat fat in a generally negative manner, it plays a fairly important part in a dog’s diet. Fats are concentrated forms of energy, and are needed for kidney processes as well as the maintenance of a healthy coat and skin. In addition to proteins and fats, carbohydrates play an important part in your dog’s diet. Carbohydrates provide energy, for humans as well as dogs, and so they need a clean source to help provide them with the energy they need.
Now these are things you probably already know, as much of what you have read also plays a key component in your own good health. So how does this affect your determination of what dog food is best? The key to that question comes in understanding the marketing ploys of the major pet food companies. The illusion that they present as truth is that they are supplying the epitome of healthy nutrients and options in their brand of food. When you read the label on the food that you eat to see what you are taking in, so must you repeat this process for your dog. When the protein content is listed on the bag, remember that this is not the digestible amount of protein present in the food. In quality foods you can expect digestibility of somewhere between 70 and 80 percent. In food that are of lesser quality, it could be 60 percent or less. Chicken and other meat byproducts might be acceptable but are not of high quality. Added to this is the use of meat and bone meal, which are far poorer in terms of content value, and are therefore less digestible. Grains listed on the ingredients label are not good digestible sources of protein either, and are only contributing toward your dog’s carbohydrate load.
So then what dog food is best? Honestly, and it is just the same as you, but the answer lies in home-made meals. You can produce healthy and properly proportioned meals consistent with the size of the breed of dog that you own. By doing it yourself you can veer your dog away from additives, artificial flavouring, and preservatives. Many of these recipes will contain healthy foods like bananas, peanut butter, honey, vegetables, pumpkins and apples, along with the meats that your dog requires. Fresh meats such as beef, chicken, turkey, and fish are particularly good. There are some conditions that might drive people to making meals for their dogs, such as illness or a health condition, the requirement of a special diet, or for the sake of competition training. But the benefits of everyone preparing meals for their dog cannot be underestimated or repeated often enough. The most important thing to remember is that manufactured dog food is little different than fast food, initially pleasing but without the proper benefits of truly healthy food. It is designed to taste good, but the nutrients are not there. Far better to prepare food for your dog at home, and while it may seem daunting at first; the rewards are well worth the effort.
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