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There are a lot of factors to keep in mind when considering dog nutrition and especially achieving optimal dog nutrition for your furry friend. Just like raising a baby, there are a variety of factors that come into play that will help determine the strength and longevity of your dog’s life. Choosing wholesome and healthy dog foods is just one step to this equation.
At Dog Food Insider, our team treasures the lives of our canine companions. With that being said, we’ve come up with some things that we feel are important in order for your puppy to grow!
Dr. Karen Becker Discusses The Best To Worst Foods For Pets
Diet
With the phrase “Dog food,” in our name, it should come to no surprise that the first thing on our list deals with dog food and dieting. As mentioned in other pages on our site, there are plenty of cheap dog food brands out there that are looking to make a quick buck rather than provide a wholesome meal for your pets. They will use cheap dog food ingredients, such as corn, as fillers instead of using high-quality or acceptable ingredients. Corn is probably the worst thing for your dog. It provides no nutritional value and is extremely hard for dogs to digest.
Instead, you need to look for a dog food brand that has named meats within the first five ingredients on the packaging. When it comes to reading ingredient lists, the first items mentioned are the most abundant within the recipe. Therefore, if corn was listed first on a bag of dog food, that means that the meal is primarily corn and nothing else. As we mentioned before, these are the types of dog food you are trying to avoid. We want to look for recipes that have chicken, chicken meal, beef, lamb, or some other recognizable meat. Mystery meat is not acceptable either! Who knows what that meat actually is!
Consider Feeding A Raw Based Diet To Your Dog!
No People Food!
Sometimes, when you’re eating dinner with the family, you’ll look down and see your dog politely waiting for some food scrapings. While it can be extremely hard to resist those beggar eyes and adorable face, you have to stay strong and avoid feeding dogs the food that you eat. When it comes to optimal dog nutrition, people food contains ingredients that are not compatible with a dog’s digestive system.
There have been cases involving dog obesity and even extremely harmful diseases such as pancreatitis when people food comes into play. While it may give your dog temporary joy to have the leftovers on the table, stop and consider their long-term health when you’re about to do so.
Outdoor Activities
Lastly, a key to optimal dog nutrition is exercise. Just like humans, dogs need to stretch those legs and run around a bit in order to keep their muscles strong and head in the right place. If you’re hanging out on a weekend with your canine friend, why not take a walk to the park and explore. If you have a frisbee or other dog toys, bring them along! Surely, your dog will thank you for the fresh air and outdoor exercise. If you’re more of the exercising type, grab a leash, and have your dog run by your side as you run your outdoor route.
Some Final Thoughts About Optimal Dog Nutrition
We believe that these three factors are crucial in maintaining dog nutrition. A simple way to look at optimal dog nutrition is to imagine your dog as your own child. You want to provide your child with the best food you can and allow them to exercise properly. This will help them to grow into strong adults. Take this same approach with your canine friend!
While we provided you with an idea of what constitutes high-quality dog food, we have thorough and in-depth reviews of all major dog brands and recipes at Dog Food Insider!
Check out our website today and see what dog food brands we believe are the best in order to active optimal dog nutrition!
