What Are Dog Food Pouches
As any owner will know, dog food most often comes in bags and cans. However, more and more brands are using pouches because they are easy to use and easier to portion for convenience, as well as being easy to open, re-seal, and recycle after use. Theyre also super convenient for storage and travel, and can safely preserve both wet and dry food.
What Are Some Benefits Of Switching A Healthy Pet To A Raw Diet
Feeding your pup kibble that is made from only raw ingredients can have certain health benefits that you may not see using other kibble.
- Keeps Your Pup Slim And Trim
The high protein content keeps muscle mass up and extra weight down. It also improves strength!
- Improves Your Dogs Digestion
One of the reasons raw diets came to be is because of the low quality of many dog foods on the market today. There are some things that shouldnt be ingested that find their way into kibble or canned food for the purpose of making it last longer.
Raw food is the purest of ingredients, and is all-natural. Considering dogs bodies havent changed all that much over the centuries, natural is still by far the better choice to feed them. The ingredients are easier to digest, less likely to cause allergies, and make absorbing nutrients easier.
- Lowers The Risk of Cancer
This is another by-product of having great quality natural ingredients in your product. Firstly, the less artificial stuff that finds its way into your dogs meal, the better for their health. Secondly, raw green vegetables make up a good bit of the carb content in raw foods, and these contain antioxidants that your pup might not be getting in regular dry pellets.
If you take a raw diet a step further and allow your pup to chew on bones, their teeth and gums will be healthier and cleaner, and the extra activity associated with tearing and crushing bones will improve your pups muscle tone and strength.
Daily Antioxidants For Dogs
Antioxidants promote a healthy immune system, support optimal eye health in senior pets, and contribute to a regular inflammatory system. These can be added to your dogs food to help neutralize potentially harmful free radicals. But heres what you need to know:
- All antioxidants work somewhat differently
- A dog food diet that is varied and contains many antioxidants is beneficial to all life stages.
- Its never too early to supplement your dogs food to manage oxidative stress in healthy dogs.
- Senior dogs accumulate oxidized proteins and lipids, which can affect their health in many ways.
- Active and working dogs also experience significant oxidative stress. This is because aerobic exercise can result in free radical accumulation. The muscles produce energy using mitochondria .
The more active your dog is, the more power is consumed, and the more free radicals are made. This damages healthy muscle tissue, affecting endurance, performance, and recovery.
Its necessary to use antioxidants to manage oxidative stress in dogs of all life stages. A high-quality dog soft dry dog food diet should be used in conjunction with supplements like green-lipped muscles, glucosamine, probiotics, prebiotics, multivitamins, allergy chews, and hip & joint chews.
Its worth spending a reasonable amount on the best dog food you can afford and reputable supplements throughout your dogs lifetime.
You May Like: Purina Small Breed Dog Food
Meet Stella And Chewys Dog Foods
Stella and Chewys is a premium pet food brand thats owned by pet food and accessories online retailer, Chewy.com. In direct contrast to other dog food brands, Stella & Chewys concentrates on providing dogs with a diet thats as close as possible to natural.
The philosophy of Stella and Chewys is to provide pet parents with a raw food diet that relies heavily on meat and protein as the main ingredient. The brand believes in closely mimicking what dogs would eat in the wild and catering to those animal instincts.
The company provides a wide variety of dog foods that cater to pups of every kind with every type of unique need. It also offers meal toppers and mixers that you can use alongside a traditional diet of kibble to supplement their diet.
All of the foods are rich in protein with the concentration being between 30 and 50 percent, which is considered incredibly high.
In this Stella and Chewys dog food review, were giving you the whole scoop to help you decide if switching to this dog food brand is the right choice for you and your pup.
Here at DogFood.Guide we have a dedicated mission to provide dog owners like you with well-researched information so they can provide the nutrition and health care towards their dogs.
Our readers rely upon our dog food articles, reviews and recall alerts that we took the time to research. We also routinely update and review our own reviews ensuring that any changes by manufacturers are brought to your attention.
Stella & Chewys Helps Pets In Need
For every bag of Stella & Chewys food you purchase, theyll donate a meal to an adult rescue pet in need. As of the time of writing this, theyve donated 261,630 meals. The founder of Stella & Chewys is passionate about adult pet adoption and both her dogs were adopted as adults. The company partners with organizations like the Frosted Faces Foundation and NYCs Second Chance Rescue to feed these pups until they find their forever homes.
Also Check: Best Small Breed Puppy Dog Food
Stella And Chewys Information
Stella And Chewys is a premium pet food brand that was founded in 2003. Stella And Chewys is best known for its range of freeze-dried, raw, and frozen products. These niches of pet food are rarely sold by other brands but offer enticing nutrition and flavor.
The brand is based in Wisconsin, USA, and all of its products are produced in a facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
However, their ingredients are sourced from reliable sources from around the world, including North America, Australia, Europe, and Japan.
Stella And Chewys is widely available for purchase from hundreds of pet food retail stores across the United States. You can use Stella and Chewys website tool here to find a store near you.
The brand is also sold by several of the large pet food websites like Chewy, Amazon, and Petflow. However, these online distributors often do not stock Stella and Chewys full product range.
Soft Dry Dog Food For Seniors
Senior dogs require special diets, as their nutritional requirements differ from other stages in a dogs life. Soft dry dog food for senior dogs must contain high-quality protein because senior dogs tend to have less efficient digestive systems.
As delicate as a dogs digestive system is, the best soft dry dog food should include supplements that help ease digestion. For example, digestive enzymes or probiotics can be found in various brands. These can be especially beneficial for older dogs with gastritis or other issues related to the digestive system.
You May Like: What Dog Food Is Best For Kidney Disease
Talk To Your Vet Before Choosing The Best Dog Food For Yeast Infections
While some dogs can never be completely yeast-free, a suitable diet will help immensely in helping your dog live a comfortable life.
When choosing a diet for your dog, dont forget to take into account their activity level, breed size, and life stage.
Let us know in the comments if you have anything to add or a question we can help answer!
A Sneak Peek At The Winner: Open Farm
Open Farm offers a wide variety of recipe choices, different types of dog food, and an affordable subscription dog food service for its customers. If you are looking for transparency regarding ingredients and sourcing, Open Farm is an open book. They offer exceptional customer service and unique choices for your dogs diet.
Here are our two favorite Open Farm recipes:
| Rating |
|---|
- Only available through a subscription service
- Not very many single-protein recipes
- The minimal choice for puppies and senior dogs
Also Check: Reviews For Royal Canin Dog Food
However Selection Can Cause Stomach Upset In Pets Rightnot Really
. In the short run, possibly that holds true. Nutritionally-deprived pets have unwell digestive tracts. Digestive tract distress when switching foods is an indicator your canine needs extra selection. When great nutrition has recovered a pets intestine, your pet can eat various foods every meal equally as people do. Just switch over foods gradually over numerous weeks while your dogs digestive tract heals.
How Often Should I Feed My Dog
This also depends on your breed and age. Free-feeding is a popular way to get an accurate read of your dogs nutritional requirements. This means leaving food out all day and refilling as necessary. However, if this is not working for your pup, you can switch to feeding three times a day and taking the food away after twenty minutes.
You May Like: Should You Feed Grain Free Dog Food
The Price Of Bad Nutrition
If youre like us, youll want to feed a high-quality dog food throughout your dogs life. Its necessary to keep in mind that not all dog food is the same and that without good nutrition, your pup may suffer from numerous health problems, which may include the following:
Dogs with food allergies often have skin problems like rashes, hives, hot spots, and chronic itching. Your dog may at some stage develop allergies to protein and carbohydrate sources even if theyve consumed them for years, and by simply changing the protein sources, you may be able to stop the allergic reaction.
Dogs fed a low-quality diet tend to become overweight or malnourished because their diet often lacks essential nutrients. Malnutrition can occur when a diet is not complete and balanced or is minimal.
Clean Your Canines Food And Water Bowl On A Regular Basis
People conveniently forget the sanitation of their pets bowl and how it can affect their family pets health. Most of us would never ever consider using the exact same soup or salad bowl for a week directly without washing it however lots of allow their pets dish rest on the flooring without hesitating. This enables germs to expand and also can create ailment from polluted dishes from a mild upset stomach to vomiting and looseness of the bowels. See to it to wash your pet dogs bowl daily with meal soap and rinse completely!
The majority of pet dog foods are categorized as Feed and although the pet food market is presently a $25B company, we discovered that some kibble is legitimately made from 4D meat: meat from dead, dying, unhealthy and also handicapped animals. Human-grade makes certain not only that the high quality of active ingredients that enter into the food are edible by people yet likewise makes sure food safety and security standards of the center it is prepared in.
Read Also: What Is The Most Popular Dog Food
What Is An Anti
Since yeast feeds on sugar, eliminating starch and glucose from your pet food can significantly starve the infection.
A diet high in antioxidants and vitamins can also strengthen your dogs immune system, which can help fight off future infections.
Many anti-yeast diets are low in starch and fortified with digestive enzymes. You can also look for omega oils and other supplements that will help strengthen your dogs skin and coat.
How Can I Improve My Dogs Digestion
There are a number of ways you can help your dogs digestion from home. Although you should also go to see a vet if you think something is wrong, there are some easy everyday methods to keep your dogs digestion and health on track.
The first way is to keep them on an exercise routine. Just like with humans, the more your dog exercise, the more energy they will use and the faster their digestive cycle will turn their food into caloric energy. Having a routine for your dog will make it easier for their body to know when to expect to use up the stored energy. Creating a timeline like this should stop the discomfort of long food storage.
Another way to keep things on track is to eat high protein foods and low fat foods. This is to do with promoting the right kind of bacteria in your dogs gut which can help break down any lingering foods. Another food type that can help break down starchy food is raw meat.
Don’t Miss: How Expensive Is Farmer’s Dog Food
The 14 Best Soft Dry Dog Foods In 2022
July 17, 2022 by Claudia Bensimoun
When it comes to dog food and pet food in general, there are a lot of nuances that pet owners dont think about. Not only is there an abundance of different types and brands of food, but many different dog breeds have unique dietary needs. Simply picking up the cheapest bag of dog food at the grocery store wont do you or your pup any favors. There is something for everyone, whether you have a large dog breed like a Great Dane or even a tiny dog breed like the Chihuahua. Many factors go into figuring out what the best soft dry dog food is for your furbaby. You want something you and your dog can both enjoy and benefit from.
Do not stress! Our team at We Love Doodles has compiled a list of the 14 best soft dry dog food options for you without all the hassle of sorting through thousands of brands.
In a rush? Here are the top picks!
How Did We Choose The Best Soft Dry Dog Food
Because dog breeds have varying sizes, the feeding requirements will be different. That said, when you feed high-quality dog food from a reputable brand, youre on the right track.
Heres what we looked for when creating this ranked list of high-quality soft dry dog food. The ingredient list is packed with whole meats, organic fruits, or vegetables in their top 5 list of ingredients. Those that also add in antioxidants like blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates, and pumpkin are popular. Additionally, organic, natural, and preservative-free with no artificial ingredients are vital to a well-balanced and high-quality dog food.
Read Also: Royal Canin Canned Puppy Food
Is Peanut Butter Okay For Dogs With Sensitive Stomachs
Most of the time peanut butter will not harm your dog. Weve all watched the videos of dogs licking windows in desperation because they just love that peanut butter so much, and peanut butter is a very popular treat to give dogs! But, like humans, peanuts are a common allergy for our furry friends.
If you notice any irritated skin, hair loss, or ear infections, then this could be a sign that your dog is allergic to peanuts. Take your dog to your veterinarian so they can rule out any other issues, and help your dog recover.
How Can I Get My Dog To Eat Her Food
There are some easy ways you can potentially get your dog to eat their food without switching to an entirely new dog food. You can try adding warm water to dry food, which dehydrates it and makes it softer. You can also try adding salmon or fish oil, warming the food in the microwave, and adding a tasty dog food topper like cheese, shredded carrots, or sunflower seeds.
Do you have a picky pooch at home? What kinds of things have helped you encourage her to eat? Did you find a food she loves that we didnt mention above? Let us know in the comments below.
Like it? Share it!
Also Check: Best Dog Food For Doodles
Stella & Chewy’s Raw Blend Dog Food Review
They call this Raw Blend because it is a blend of Stella & Chewy’s freeze dried raw pieces and baked kibble that is coated in their freeze dried raw food. It is made of a whopping 65-70% meat ingredients and the other 30-35% is made of fruits, vegetables other wholesome ingredients.
Stella & Chewy’s also makes their pet food in the USA, which is something that is important to me. They are minimally processed, which means your pup can digest it much easier. They don’t use ingredients from China, and the list of things that aren’t included in this recipe is extensive.
In Stella & Chewy’s Raw Blend dog food there is NO:
- poultry-by products
I’m really impressed with the quality of the ingredients in this dog food. In every recipe, real meat is the first ingredient. They use grass-fed red meat, cage-free chicken and wild-caught fish. The company also uses organic fruits and vegetables.
As you can see, Stella & Chewy’s Raw Blend dog food has added probiotics, which are also beneficial for digestion. It is also rich in omega fatty acids for skin and coat health.
Now, let’s talk about the specifics of the nutritional content. The guaranteed analysis on the packaging of this food states that it contains a minimum of 36% protein and 14.5% fat.
It’s a high calorie and low carb diet, which isn’t suitable for all dogs. Be sure to check with your vet to see if your dog will benefit from this type of diet.
So, what’s the downside?
My Dog Has A Specific Health Problem Can You Recommend A Dog Food That Could Help His Condition
We like the idea of meeting the dogs nutritional requirements first. This is because different food formulas can help manage certain health conditionsfor example, a diet with less fat or dog food for sensitive stomachs. If your heart is set on one particular formula, speak with the vet to find the best option for your dog.
Don’t Miss: What Does Grain Free Dog Food Mean