Gentle Giants Canine Nutrition Chicken
Gentle Giants have produced a chicken-based dry budget dog food that is packed with vitamins and minerals. It uses twelve whole fruits and vegetables including beets, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, spinach, celery, and apples.
This means that your dog will not only be enjoying a flavor sensation, they will also be absorbing Vitamin A, Vitamin B 12, and Vitamin C from natural sources. These aim to foster good immune health in your dog. We are a little disappointed in this formula’s protein and fat content.
Containing only 22% protein, this food falls below the average amount in this price bracket. Still, this will adequately meet the nutritional needs of your dog and support their muscles and bones.
This formula has been designed for dog’s with sensitive stomachs, so it might be a good idea to try this if your pet is having digestive trouble with standard canine food.
Whilst, it isn’t really competitive with premium foods, Gentle Giants will be more than adequate for pet parents on a tight budget.
Our Dry Dog Food Buying Guide
Dogs are like members of our families, so of course, we want to keep them as healthy and happy as possible. The foundation for that is proper nutrition. A consistent, high-quality diet is the key to keeping your dog looking and feeling great. Feeding your dog the best dog food will keep them functioning at their best and can ward off chronic diseases, leading to a longer life. Dry dog food is very common and convenient, as it does not require refrigeration.
Theres a ton of different types of dry dog food out there, so the choices can be overwhelming. You should look for dog food that is labeled as complete and balanced, which means the food contains the minimum amount of all the nutrients necessary for dogs. This standard is regulated by the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Keep in mind that buzzwords like premium and immune supporting are not regulated and should not carry much weight in your choice.
Just as with human food, you want to make sure your dog is eating a diet with real, whole foods and one that is free from artificial preservatives and additives. Make sure your dogs food contains a high-quality animal protein source, like lamb, chicken or turkey. Leading brands contain multiple protein sources, including chicken, turkey, flounder and egg.
Nature’s Variety Instinct Original
Dog Food Advisor gives Instinct Original with Real Chicken Dry Dog Food five stars for its high quality ingredients and “above average” percentages for protein and fat. It’s one of their Editor’s Choice winners as well. The food is grain free and made with cage-free chicken and no artificial colors or preservatives. Reviewers on Petco.com give this food 4.8 out of 5 stars for its exceptional quality and nutrition.
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Do It Correctly Discuss These Recipes With A Vet
Before changing a dogs diet, particularly if your pet has serious health conditions, always discuss this change with your vet. Show them this list of recipes, let them know what you plan to feed your dog and ask for their input on healthy variations.
There’s no healthy homemade dog food recipe that’s a perfect fit for every dog.
While these recipes can sometimes be a better choice than commercial diets, feeding this way can also be detrimental to your pet’s health if you’re not paying attention to the nutritional content of these meals and comparing them with nutritional requirements.
Well-balanced meals are key. For example, if your homemade dog food meal contains too many vitamins, it could cause vitamin toxicity. On the other hand, if it doesn’t provide the dog with enough nutrients, it will cause nutrient deficiency or malnutrition.
You must also know how much to feed your dog and what portions of these healthy homemade dog food recipes are appropriate, as well as what supplements you’ll need to include to make up for the lack of nutrients that your pet requires.
How To Choose The Best Dry Dog Food
When it comes to dry dog food, the ingredients are the most important thing to consider because they determine the quality of the product.
If the list of ingredients is a mile long and contains numerous by-products, unnamed ingredients, chemicals, and artificial additives, then it is a safe bet that it isnt a high-quality product for your dog.
Protein is the most important nutrient for dogs, so thats where you should start your search.
Look for a recipe that lists a quality animal protein like meat, poultry, or fish as the main ingredient.
Plant-based proteins can be used to boost the total nutrient content, but they are less biologically valuable for your dog and thus should only be used supplementally.
The next most important nutrient is fat, a highly concentrated source of calories for your dog. Again, these should come from animal sources like chicken fat and salmon oil for optimal absorption.
In addition to calories, fats provide essential fatty acids for your dogs healthy skin and coat. Healthy fats also play a role in brain development for puppies.
Dogs dont have specific needs for carbohydrates, but any recipe you choose should contain digestible options like whole grains, starchy vegetables, and legumes.
These foods provide energy, dietary fiber, and essential nutrients. Look for a recipe that contains no more than 5% crude fiber because anything higher could upset your dogs digestive system.
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What Are The Basic Nutritional Needs Of Dogs
All dogs require a blend of protein, fat, and other nutrients in their diet these nutrients must come from their dog food.
Adult dogs need a minimum of 18% crude protein and 5% fat with no more than 5% fiber in their diet.
For the most part, dog foods that provide more than 18% protein are ideal. Puppies in particular need as much protein as they can get, as do active and working breeds.
It is also important to remember that dogs are primarily carnivores, so most of their nutrition should come from animal-based sources.
Animal proteins like meat and poultry are considered complete proteins which simply means that they contain all of the essential amino acids your dog needs.
Plant proteins are typically not complete and they are not as easy for your dogs body to absorb.
Plant-based fats can help ensure a balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, though things like chicken fat and salmon oil are typically preferable to things like canola oil.
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Here are some things to look for in a good dry dog food:
Taking all of these things into consideration, youre now prepared to learn how to choose the best dry dog food. Heres what you need to know:
Original Line Of Diamond Dog Food
The Diamond Pet Food Company is owned and produced by Schell & Kampeter, and comprises three product lines.
The original Diamond line of dog food lacks the desired nutritional content you should be looking for in your dogs food.
A review of several Diamond dog food products reveals the use of corn, soy and wheat ingredients.
Many of the meat-based ingredients come from unnamed sources like fish meal or meat by-products of questionable quality.
They dont use many artificial flavors and colors like other bad dog food brands on this list, so thats a plus.
Still, it would be good to avoid any brand that makes heavy use of wheat, soy and corn.
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Is Instinct Considered A Healthy Dog Food
All Instinct recipes meet dog food nutrient profiles established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials . These standards are based on the Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats published by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science in Washington, D.C. Each Instinct recipe is complete and balanced for the canine life stage printed on the package.
Q: Can Dry Dog Food Go Bad In Heat
A: It is a known fact that exposing your dry dog food to air and humidity can hasten the speed at which they undergo degradation. Not only that, but such environmental conditions also increase the risk of dry dog food contamination especially by the bacteria Salmonella. The same is true with an increase in environmental temperatures because doing so can also potentially increase the level of humidity in the air. So, can dry food go bad in heat? The answer is yes. How fast? That depends.
As we have already noted above, properly stored dry dog food should be able to maintain its freshness for up to 6 weeks post-bag opening. However, if the manner of storage was done haphazardly this 6-week period can be substantially shortened to just 2 weeks or maybe even less.
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Look For Information About Any Feeding Trials
Reputable manufacturers of doggie foodstuff always include some paragraph about the feeding trials that they or a third-party organization has conducted in relation to the generation of a conclusion that led to the formulation of the nutritional adequacy statement. That being said, if the product states that it has a well-balanced formula for dogs that are suffering from joint problems, then it should also contain a paragraph about what tests or feeding trials were done to justify this claim. More importantly, however, is the validity of their tests. If they conducted the feeding trials on healthy pooches without joint problems, do you think its right to say that their product is good for dogs with arthritis and other problems of the joints?
Size Of The Food Package
When buying dog food, it is always important to keep in mind the fact that these foods can go bad. Wet dog food are always air-tight to remain fresh inside the can, but once opened, most of them should be consumed within 2 to 3 days. This is because of oxidation and moisture which can make it ferment or go bad making it unhealthy for the dog to east. It is therefore important to get a package that your dog will eat fast before it goes bad.
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Whats In A Good Food For A Golden Retriever
To achieve a balanced diet, your pets food should include a well-balanced blend of protein, fat, complex carbohydrates and fiber. In the best food for golden retrievers, these four components will work together to provide your pup with a nutritious and balanced diet.
High Protein Just like humans, the centerpiece of your goldens meals should be protein. As we discussed, your golden will need a minimum of 18-22% protein in their diet. For a particularly large or active golden, that number should be even higher.
As a rule of thumb, when your shopping for dog food, take a look at the first three ingredients on the list. All three of those ingredients should be a protein, and if they arent, its best to move on to another food. Remember, not all proteins are created equally.
If possible, look for food that uses whole meats, such as beef, poultry or fish. Foods that contain meat digests or meat by-products are low quality and should be avoided. For whatever reasons, goldens seem to really love salmon. Try and incorporate salmon into your Goldens diet wherever possible.
Fats While your dogs food should have far less fat than protein, fat does make up a key component of your dogs diet. Not only does fat help to give food its taste and texture, but fat is a necessary macro-nutrient that helps your dog thrive.
Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix
This brand of dry dog food has ingredients that have been considered dangerous for dogs to eat, including BHA, xantham gum, BHT, corn gluten, and food coloring.
Wegmans Bruiser Kibble Variety Mix demonstrates the motto that you typically get what you pay for.
It is affordable dog food, but if youre looking to give your dog stable nourishment, you should look for an alternative option.
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What Is The Best Inexpensive Grain Free Dog Food
Read on to learn about some of the most affordable grain-free dog foods on the market.
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Potato And Duck Recipe
Natural Balance is grain-free and made from a short list of premium ingredients with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Best of all, it comes in many different formulas to meet your dogs specific protein needs. The price is a bit higher than some on this list, but the top-notch, limited ingredient formula is likely to be great for dogs with food allergies or sensitivities.
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Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Ultamino Dry Dog Food
Chewy.com
The Veterinary Diet Ultamino Dry Dog Food by Royal Canin is formulated for pups with severe food sensitivities. Made with highly-digestible proteins that dont trigger immune reactions, this dog food can be used as a long-term solution or for a short-term elimination diet while you and your vet work together to figure out what may be triggering a reaction in your pup. In addition to specialized proteins, it also includes fibers that support healthy digestion and added nutrients that improve skin sensitivity in dogs with food-related irritation.
Purina Pro Plan Focus Dog Food
Rating:
Pro Plan Large Breed Adult is one of 18 kibbles featured in our review of the Purina Pro Plan Focus product line.
- First 5 ingredients: Chicken, brewers rice, whole grain wheat, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn
- Type: Grain-inclusive
- Other recipes: Puppy, small breed, sensitive skin and stomach, senior, weight management and more
- Price: $
Focus Large Breed Adult derives the majority of its animal protein from fresh chicken. Our dry matter label analysis reveals the recipe contains 30% protein, 14% fat and 49% estimated carbs creating a fat-to-protein ratio of about 46%.
Pro Plan is one of the dog food brands most frequently mentioned by breeders and veterinary professionals.
Each recipe has been expertly formulated by a team of board certified veterinary nutritionists.
In addition, the entire Pro Plan product line is designed and manufactured according to rigorous guidelines recommended by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.
Purina Pro Plan is one of the very best brands youll find on this or any list. And its easy on the budget, too. Highly recommended.
Actual buyer reviewMy black lab loves this food. Her coat is beautiful, her energy is high, and she digests it easily. My vet recommended this food and I couldnt be happier. I saw a noticeable difference within days of feeding this to her. My dog eats the dry food with a little bit of the PPP wet focus for large breeds. Do not hesitate to feed this to your pups.. its a game-changer!
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Generic Protein And Fat Source
Be very careful about labels such as whole proteins or even healthy fats as these do not really identify the source of the protein. You may think that it is whole protein but this macronutrient can actually come from anywhere. As such, if the labeling is vague, skip it and get the next product on the shelf.
What Is The Best Dog Food
It seems like a simple question until you actually get into the meat and bones of it which is exactly what we plan to do. Choosing the best dog food to buy for a dog is a more complex process than many dog owners realize especially if you really want to give your dog the best of the best.
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You could read all of the top dog food reviews out there and still not be able to answer this question because every dogs needs are slightly different. A better question to ask is, What are the healthiest dog foods because that will point you toward the products that are made with high-quality ingredients and formulated to meet your dogs unique nutritional needs.
This article is designed to provide you with an in-depth guide to understanding the different types of kibble and their benefits, so you can make the right choice for your dog. Because well be covering a lot of topics, and because you may simply be looking for recommendations, wed like to start you off with our top 5 picks for the best dog food dogs like.
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How To Choose The Right Dry Dog Food
Even though weve done our best to cater to multiple needs, there are a huge variety of factors to consider for both owner and pet before deciding on the right dog food.
First and foremost, its always best to know your dogs needs inside and out. Different breeds, sizes and ages have different nutritional needs and as a result, many options may not be suitable for your dog.
Intolerances, sensitive stomachs, injuries and other maladies also play a huge part in deciding on the right dry feed.
While it may seem a daunting task, the first step should be to book a vet consultation, where your dogs overall health can be evaluated. The vet may be able to recommend appropriate options.
If you feel like you know what youre looking for and are simply looking to try more options, our list may be the perfect starting point.
In general, the golden rule is to find a formula that is affordable for your budget in the long term, high in quality animal protein and with minimal additives and most importantly, one that your dog enjoys!