September 6, 2009

Should I Feed Premium Dog Foods?

by K.C. Jones

Premium dog foods are most certainly better than an economy dog food. But it’s sometimes hard to figure out the difference between a premium dog food and the rest. Do you go by price alone? A lot of companies are betting on it. Does it say premium on the bag? What makes a premium dog food premium?

A true premium dog food has better quality ingredients. This means your dog will get more and better nutrients that he desperately needs. But don’t be fooled by all the enticing bags in the market today. Don’t be lured in by the beautiful pictures of fresh foods and advertising stating how your dog needs something in this dog food. The dog food ingredients list is what you need to find.

Look at the first 2 ingredients to see if you are purchasing a premium dog food. Economy dog foods use a lot of low quality grains and meat by-products. Premium dog foods list an animal meat as the first ingredient.

Grains: Premium dog foods will use better grains (rice, oats) than economy foods (corn, soy, wheat). Why are these better? Because your dog can digest and metabolize the nutrients from these grains better. Grains are top ingredients in the economy dog foods, not in premium ones.

Other problems with some grains is that they are a common food allergy for some dogs, such as corn, wheat and soy. These grains are usually by-products from processing of some other type of food and have very little nutritional value for your dog. They are simply cheap, useless fillers - used to “fill up” your pet’s tummy without providing much nutrients for your dog’s body.

Meat by-products are not a top 2 dog food ingredient in premium dog foods. Meat by-products are the slaughtered meat carcass parts that are left over after all the usable meat has been removed - like bones, necks, intestines, etc.

Like the grain by-products, these provide very little nutritional value to your dog, but do boost up the protein ratio in the dog food. The quality of the meat by-product is another big mystery that no one seems to be able to answer.

Most premium dog food brands will have a animal meat or meat meal as the first ingredient. This means the major ingredient in the food is an actual animal protein which will have the most usable nutrients available for your dog.

Is price an indicator of premium dog foods? You certainly won’t find any ‘cheap’ premium dog foods - quality ingredients cost more money. However, you will find some ‘expensive’ economy dog foods. These dog foods have high prices to make you think you are feeding a premium dog food, when in fact, all you are doing is increasing their profits. Always look at the ingredients list to see what you are paying for.

About the Author:

And now there are more types of dog food, like organic and all-natural. Learn more about the different choices available for your dog and how to carefully select the best premium dog foods for your beloved pet at the Healthy Dog Food blog.