Have you ever wondered what the difference between a high-end dog food
and a middle of the road dog food is? If you look at the ingredient list on the
back of a bag of dog food, often the ingredients and the order in which they
are listed are about the same. The only difference to the average person is
the price tag. Troy Groeneveld from the dog food company, Canine Health
Forward, knows the difference. “Not all dog food is created equal just like a
fast food burger is not the same as a hand crafted burger from a fine
restaurant,” Groeneveld explained.
One thing to understand about dog food is that not all protein sources
are the same. The most popular form of protein to use in dog food is
chicken meal but there are a lot of different grades of chicken meal.
“There are over 20 grades of chicken meal available to dog food
companies to use in their food. Many of the companies use the lowest
grade of chicken meal possible. “Dog food companies are not required
to list the grade of protein they are using in their food on the label. As
a result, low grade chicken meal that contains chicken beaks and
other animal parts is often used in lower grade dog foods and pet
owners don’t even know it. Higher-end dog food is made with chicken
breasts, necks and backs, and contains a larger amount of animal
sourced protein in the end product.”
When choosing a dog food, buy one that uses premium meat. “Our
dog food uses the top two grades of meat available and is produced in
USDA-inspected facilities,” said Groeneveld.
Another important thing to know about dog food is that most dog food
is cooked at an extremely high temperature. Cooking at a high
temperature allows the facility to make dog food faster. The down side
of cooking dog food at an extremely high temperature is it degrades a
lot of the nutrients in the food. A dog food that is cooked at a lower
temperature for a longer period of time contains far more useable
nutrients than a food cooked at high temperatures.
It is important to note that high-quality dog food is made with animal
based protein and fat sources. Plant-based protein and fat sources can disrupt the natural process of digestion in
dogs, challenging multiple biosystems within the dog.
Reading all of this can be overwhelming for a pet owner. Dog owners
who want to provide the best dog food they can afford for their dogs
need to do lots of online research, call dog food companies, ask hard
questions and forget the hype. “Some of the most popular dog foods
on the market are not very good for a dog. Some of the biggest brands
focus very little on dog nutrition. Instead they focus on pretty dog food
bags and extensive marketing,” Groeneveld said.