There's a lot of information out there these days about what makes a good dog food versus a bad dog food. Google phrases like "good dog food" or "what should I feed by dog" and you'll come up with an overwhelming list of links, with opinions, analysis and information about all kinds of options from "raw food diets" to low end commercial dog foods and everything in between. It seems like everyone, from trainers, to vets, to random people you meet in pet stores, will have an opinion about what you should feed your pet. And some of those opinions are conflicting - one vet may swear by dry food as being the way to go while another opines that you should only use wet food. Those "random people" in the pet store often turn out to be reps from some pet food company. They'll give you tons of information about ingredients and how this food is so healthy and digestible, but ultimately they are trying to sell a product.
So how does the average dog owner comb through all of this information and decide on the food that right for her pup? It can be a difficult decision, and speaking as an owner of a dog with pretty significant digestive issues, it is a vital decision.
There are plenty of other websites out there with lengthy and informative articles about what you should look for, and even websites that have done the analysis for you. Some examples can be found at the bottom of this article. Keep in mind, just like opinions of professionals and your friends, the information contained in various websites can be contradictory!
In addition to reading up and doing your research, here are some practical tips for deciding what dog food to use:
(1) Be realistic about what is important to you. Your dog's health and well-being is likely the most important thing, or you wouldn't be doing all of this research. But let's face it, cost is a factor. While we all want what is best for our pets, most of us can't afford to simply feed our dogs the most expensive food on the market. Sit down and calculate how much you feed your dog and what it costs per day (based on the cost of one bag). You can find tools on the web to help you figure this out, based on your current dog food, and use this as a guide. There's even an iPhone app.
(2) After you've researched online about ingredients, etc, take a good look at the food you're already using and consider its overall quality.
(3) Ask your vet. Presumably you trust your vet about all kinds of things related to your pet's health, and what your pet eats is an integral part of his overall health and well-being. Don't just ask "what food do you recommend?" Your vet may be selling a specific brand directly from his/her office, and will "recommend" only that. Instead, ask for your vet's opinion about specific food choices - what you're feeding your dog now and what you are considering. If there is a specific food that your vet recommends as "the best," ask what it is about that food that makes it so. The information you take away from this can help you make an informed decision that is individually right for you and your dog.
(4) Ask other dog professionals. Do you have a trainer working with your dog, a dog walker, or a groomer that you trust? They are sure to have an opinion, not just based on what they feed their own dogs, but on the information they have from other dog owners they've worked with. This can be a good source of info about a variety of options.
(5) Rather than asking for the opinion of sales reps who hang out in large retailers of pet products on the weekends promoting their own food, go to a smaller, local pet food store and ask the opinion of the staff there. Some of these people are very knowledgeable about all of the different foods they sell, and can tell you why some are better than others in terms of quality. (Two places where I've found such useful people are Got Pet Food in Santa Monica and Collar and Leash in Pacific Palisades.)
(6) Ask your friends what they feed their dog and why. Note that not everyone is knowledgeable about dog food options, and you may have some friends still using the "grocery store brands." But if you trust your friends' opinions regarding this kind of thing, they can give you a realistic, helpful point of view based on what actually works well for their dog instead of just on research, etc.
This last tip gets straight to the point of what this series of blog posts will be about. While you can find a plethora of websites out there with an overwhelming amount of facts about ingredients, health benefits, etc, sometimes its more helpful to hear from real people with real dogs about what they choose and why. In my circle of "dog friends," none of us feed our dogs exactly the same thing, and I think this exemplifies the reality of this decision - everyone may have a strong opinion and good reasons for what they choose, but at the end of the day, there are many, many good options out there. Therefore, I've invited some of my dog owner friends to guest blog for this series. We will each discuss what we have chosen to feed our pups, why we made the choice we made, and what benefits we see of the particular food we are using. I hope you find this useful! And please feel free to also post comments!
As promised, here are some examples of informational cites:
Drs. Foster and Smith's "FAQ" about what and how much to feed your dog
Dogster's article "How to Choose a Healthy Dog Food"
PetEducation.com's article "Choosing a Dog Food"
Even WikiHow has an artile: How to Choose Healthy Dog Food
And here are some that rate / analyze specific brands of dog food:
Dog Food Scoop
Dog Food Analysis
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