A Guide to Dog Food By Rolf Joho At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Dog food is the animal or plant material that is used for consumption by dogs or canines. Dog treats are the special type of foods that are given as a reward to the pet, and not as a regular diet. Many people buy the readymade dog food, but few prefer to make their own dog food as per the pet’s individual requirement, and using best quality ingredients. Best diet for dogs has always been a controversial topic. Some people argue that dogs have been thriving on scraps and leftovers from their masters for several years, others feel that commercial dog food is the best choice, and few believe that commercial foods contain additives, poor-quality meats and many other ingredients that pets should not ingest, and hence they must be fed the most natural diet.

Commercial Dog Food

Most of the pet foods available in the market are either in a dry form, known as kibble, or in the wet form. Dry dog food is more convenient for the owners, is much cheaper, and can be left out for several days. Canned food becomes unappetizing after few hours, but it has a longer shelf life, and it also contains more fat and protein as compared to dry dog food.

These days, many types of dog foods are available in the market, and some of the common alternative dog foods include frozen, dehydrated, fresh and homemade foods. Freeze-dried or frozen food comes in cooked or raw form. It skips the processing stage, hence preserving the nutritional integrity.

You can see that there's practical value in learning more about dog food. Can you think of ways to apply what's been covered so far?

Refrigerated or fresh dog food is produced through the pasteurization of fresh ingredients. After slightly cooking, the products are quickly sealed in the vacuum package, and refrigerated till served. Homemade dog food usually comes in the bucket type package, and is preferred by many dog owners for their pets. These diets contain raw or cooked meat, pureed vegetables, ground bone, multivitamin supplements and taurine supplements. Some of these dog foods use the vitamins specifically engineered for dogs, and other use the human vitamin supplements.

Most of the commercial dog foods contain the materials that are considered undesirable or unusable by some authorities and dog owners. Some of these ingredients include grain by-products, meat-and-bone meals, horse meat and so on. Cheaper canine foods usually have less meat, and more grain fillers and animal by-products.

There are also special dog foods that are formulated for the dogs allergic to common ingredients such as wheat, corn or chicken. These foods have substitute uncommon starches and novel proteins.

Many people believe that animals living in the wild eat the natural diet, and such diet is most ideally suited for them. These pet owners are usually opposed to the commercial pet foods, and try to mimic the natural diet for their canines.

There's no doubt that the topic of dog food can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about dog food, you may find what you're looking for in the next article.

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