The Different Kinds of Dog Food
Dog Food
Whether you have a puppy or a full grown dog, you will see there are many different kinds of dog food on the market. The first thing you should do is take your puppy for a wellness exam. Many vets will give you a starter kit that contains a helpful booklet, a folder in which to keep your pet’s medical records, and puppy food. Sometimes this puppy food will be a more expensive brand like Science Diet, Iams or Eukanuba, other times it will be Purina, it depends on what your vet has. You should know that the most expensive pet foods are not always the best ones.
All pet food sold in stores is AAFCO certified, which means it is safe to feed to your pet. So, you could go to any supermarket or store and pick up a bag of dog food. Of course if you have a puppy, it is important for you to buy food especially for puppies. Puppy food has more calories for a puppy’s growing body than dog food. Dog food may not give puppies the calories they need to thrive, and puppy food is too fattening for adult dogs.
You will notice a different variety of food types as well. There is dry food, moist food and canned wet food. Most experts recommend dry food for puppies so they can exercise their teeth. Adult dogs also thrive well on dry food. For a treat you can mix in moist or canned food with the dry if you want. And, you may want to choose a food that caters to your pet’s special needs. For example there are foods for heart health, joint health, senior dogs and more.
Some dog owners advocate feeding whole foods. They actually make their own dog food, and there are recipe books out there that teach you how to make dog food and dog treats. This is ideal for the owner who wants to know exactly what their dog is eating and likes to cook. A few titles on this subject include: The Healthy Dog Cookbook: 50 Nutritious & Delicious Recipes Your Dog Will Love by Jonna Anne, Mary Straus and Shawn Messonnier and Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals by Lew Olson. These are good books to get started with if you want to make your own dog food.