Nutrition is a weighty matter when it comes to dogs. While all dog food bags picture a healthy dog on the package and boast to be satisfying to your pet, this is unfortunately not always so. As with any industry, there are brands that cut corners when it comes to nutrition all in the name of money. There are many reasons to choose a high quality food for your dog and I will outline a few of the more important ones here.
Keep your dog satisfied
A good quality food contains the proper balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals for your dog. Many low quality foods contain ingredients that are not filling for your dog, but fill up the dog food bag. The result is a dog who may eat with a ferocious appetite, but not seem to get full, or a dog who will eat, and then be hungry in a couple of hours. A good quality, balanced dog food contains proper amounts of nutritious whole grains such as brown rice, oats, or potato, as well as whole proteins, and a variety of fruits and vegetables to satisfy your dog between meals.
Maintain your dog’s optimal weight
Weight maintenance is directly linked to keeping your dog satisfied, but it’s enough of a concern these days to be in a category all its own. Look for nutrient and fibre rich grains, fruits, and vegetables, such as carrots, apples, brown rice, oats, and sweet potatoes. High-quality food also contains good, whole protein sources such as chicken and eggs, fresh or meal. Healthy fats such as fish, olive, flax, corn, and soybean oils add flavour as well as essential fatty acids, and keep your dog satisfied for longer with concentrated energy.
Boost your dog’s immunity
High quality foods contain more necessary vitamins and minerals in the form of a diverse selection of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. While even most low quality dog foods include added vitamins and minerals, the body absorbs these better when they are ingested naturally through the ingredients themselves. In general, the higher quality the food, the more natural vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, and prebiotics that can be found in it. While the complete nutritive role of vitamins and minerals is too formidable to tackle here, some benefits include boosting immune functioning, aiding digestion, fighting cancer-causing agents, improving skin and coat, developing and maintaining healthy bones and teeth, and preventing disease.
Help your dog look and feel great
Proper nutrition that comes from a high quality dog food can help your dog look and feel her best. Ingredients such as omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (found in fish and flax, for example) help restore natural oils to your dog’s coat, which give a shiny lustre to the fur and reduce shedding caused by dryness, among other benefits. Ingredients such as glucosamine, chondroitin, and shark cartilage all prevent arthritis and help soothe joint pain. To put spring back into an old dog’s step, try switching to a higher quality food.
Save you money
This last point surprises most people. Throw out the old belief that you have to sacrifice your budget for a good quality dog food. Consider that on a high quality food, your dog will be eating more satisfying ingredients, so she will not be hungry as often. Most high quality foods are more concentrated in calories than their economy counterparts, so your dog needs less food to feel full. A high quality food pays off in the money you save from not buying extra vitamins and medications for your pet. Boosting immunity means less visits to the expensive vet and a good chance of avoiding major health problems later in life, which can set you back thousands. Even if bag to bag you are spending more on food, the tradeoffs for your dog’s health certainly make going high quality a smart choice.
Save more with Homes Alive’s ® Frequent Feeder Club, where every bag of select brands of high quality food you buy can add up to get you one free. Part of Club Viva ™ member benefits.
For an objective comparison of your dog’s current food quality to others on the market, follow this link:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
Try something healthier today for your pet. Take advantage of our Free Pet Food Swap from now until April 30, 2012.