Dog Food Brands
25 May 2009
There are a great many types and brands of dried dog food on the market and it can be hard choosing the most suitable one. First of all let’s talk about what dried dog food is and how it compares to other types of dog food.
Dried dog food has been cooked or baked into hard small biscuit pieces. It provides a great source of nutrition and can help keep teeth and gums in good condition as the crunching and chewing of the dried food acts like an abrasive against the teeth, removing plaque and stimulating the gums. Complete dried dog food is easy to serve because you simply pour the required measurement into the dog’s bowl and it tends not to smell like the wet, canned dog foods.
Most leading dog food manufacturers such as Eukanuba Dog Food develop differnet ranges depending on whether the dog is a puppy, adult, senior, certain breed or has sensitive digestion. But which is really the best for your dog?
If you have a puppy up to the age of around 18 months look at the brands of puppy food. These are usually non-breed specific because puppy food contains different levels of ingredients. Puppies need different quantities of certain vitamins and nutrients, just like human babies. Puppy food also tends to be split by the breed size such as small (Shih Tzu), medium (Border Collie) or large (Bull Mastiff). So by now you should at least be able to narrow the choice down by the age and size of the breed of your puppy.
Choosing dog food for adult dogs may be easier because most of the dog food brands have ranges split by specific breed and size. If you decide to simply go off the size of your dogs breed, all that is left is narrowing down the manufacturer and maybe the flavour of dog food such as chicken, beef or rabbit (which does tend to be the dogs preference which is where samples come in handy!). Or opt for ranges specifically developed for breeds such as labrador food.
The other factors that can be considered in your choice include personal preference. Brands such as Skinners are animal friendly i.e. animals were not used during the development of the product in what some animal rights organisations consider to be cruel conditions. Price is also an important factor. Your dog could get an upset stomach or even go on ‘hunger strike’ if you were to switch brands due to cost. So consider what the costs will be on an ongoing basis and make sure you will be able to afford the regular outgoing.
Handy tip: If there is more than one dog living with you it might help to get them all eating the same brand of dog food.
