By Will Scot
The best thing you can do for your dog is to feed them high-quality dog food to keep their health up in the long term. But when you head to the local shops or look online, the options seem endless, so how do you even get started?
Well, reading this article is a great start, as we’ve outlined the steps to take right here.
Read The Ingredients
The first thing you should do is read the ingredients, and when reading pet food labels, often the ingredients are listed in descending order of volume, with the most abundant items at the top of the list. So when reading, look for natural, high-quality ingredients like meat, whole grains, and vegetables at the top of any dog food’s ingredient list. The first ingredient in high-quality dog foods will be a healthy protein source like chicken or fish, whereas the first ingredient in low-quality dog foods will be animal by-products or grains.
Another thing to be aware of is meals. It looks like these ingredients are harmful at first glance. In point of fact, meals made from high-quality meat can actually contain significantly more protein than whole protein sources like chicken and lamb. Meat is cooked to make a meat meal, which concentrates the protein and removes much of the moisture. While low-quality dog foods may contain meat by-product meals (such as chicken by-product meal or poultry meal) or meat meals from unnamed sources (such as animal meal or meat meal), high-quality dog foods may contain meat meals from named sources (such as chicken, beef, and lamb).
Check For Bad Ingredients
Now that you know the first ingredients are high quality, you should now check for harmful ingredients. Pets can be harmed by artificial preservatives such as BHT, BHA, and sodium nitrite, which have been linked to an increased risk of cancer and other health issues. On top of this, keep an eye on artificial flavours like corn syrup and artificial colours or dyes because neither of these components contains any nutrients.
Avoid Common Allergens
Dogs can have a lot of food allergies. Chicken, lamb, beef, corn, soy, wheat, egg, and dairy are the most common food allergens found in pet foods. Dry, itchy skin is the most common symptom of food allergies in dogs. Other symptoms are diarrhoea or nausea; excessive or regular licking; and gnashing of their paws. Dog foods containing corn, soy, wheat, or dairy products should be avoided in order to prevent food allergies.
If your dog continues to exhibit symptoms of an allergic reaction or food intolerance, you should eliminate the other allergens one at a time until you determine which one is causing the issue. The best option for eliminating dog food is grain-free options, and if you want to know where to get grain-free dog food in the UK, read on!
Look for Fillers
In the ingredients list, you may see some artificial fillers. Fillers are fibrous ingredients that are added to food to give it more bulk without adding much nutritional value. Commercial food manufacturers use fillers to cut production costs. Rice bran, corn bran, hulls, and wheat mill are all examples of fillers that can be found in low-quality dog foods. It is essential to keep in mind that dogs require some form of dietary fibre in their diet, but this fibre should come from vegetables and not fillers.
Who Offers the Best Dog Food?
In the UK, finding healthy food for your beloved pet can be a chore, but whether you want dry dog food or natural wet cat food, Simply Jaspers is a healthy option for your pet.
