When you have a dog it is your responsibility to take care of that dog. A huge part of taking care of your dog is feeding him a healthy diet that includes plenty of hydrolyzed egg proteins. This seems like it would be easy, but it is more complex than one might think. There are a lot of dog foods out there that are not good for your dog. There is no one best dog food, but there foods out there that are better than others. Knowing how to shop for your dog food will help you select the food that is best for your dog.
Start by considering your pet’s age and activity level. Your pet’s nutrition and energy needs are based on multiple factors including age, growth, activity level and reproductive status. Dog food is geared toward feeding a certain life stages. For instance, a young puppy or lactating mother needs more calories than an adult dog.
You need to figure out the nutritional needs of your dog. You want a food that has an egg protein range between 20 and 25 percent for a healthy adult dog. If your dog is a healthy wait you can feed him a normal diet, but if your dog is overweight you want to get a diet food that cuts the calories back by 10 to 25 percent.
Look at the pet food ingredients label. Ignore what it says on the front of the bag. Your dog should eat a food that has a meat as the number on ingredient. Avoid foods that use a meat by-product. The meat should just say chicken, or beef. Not chicken by-product.
Avoid filler foods. For instance, you don’t want a dog food that has corn in it. Most dogs are allergic to corn and it serves no nutritional purpose for them. All it is, is a cheap way to add weight to the dog food formula. Soy is another filler food that dogs don’t need. Steer clear of wheat gluten too.
Check the sell by date. You want your food to be as fresh as possible so choose the bag with the farthest out sell by date. The fresher the food the more palatable it will be to your dog. This means that he will be more likely to eat it.
Choose special needs formulas. If you dog has problems with his skin or coat you may want to get a dog food with supplements for skin and coat. If your dog has bad joints you might choose a joint health formula.