Wednesday, November 4, 2009

All About Dog Food Comparison



Today, dog owners have many options of food and treatments for their dog. The availability of various brands of pet food in the market makes it really overwhelming for the people to select the desirable food for their dogs. The dog food comparison should be purely based on the nutritional value of the dog rather than on price and popularity of dog food brand. In order to understand the baseic nutritional requirements of your dog you have to read the following details.

Protein is one of the major constituents of dog's food. It is very necessary for the muscles, coat, nail and skin of the dog. There is not a standard protein amount which should be given to the dog and the protein requirements of dogs may vary based on their age and level of activity. High level of protein is recommended to the dogs including sick dogs, sled dogs, puppies and pregnant or lactating dogs. If your dog has high level of activity then you should give it at least 25% to 35% protein daily. It has found that 18 percent of protein in daily diet is recommended to the average adult dog. The dogs with kidney problems should not be given protein diet.

Dogs require a very little amount of carbohydrates in their daily diet but most of the prepared dry dog food contains amount of carbohydrate ranges from 30% to 70%. The starch helps to form and mold the kibble that is why most of the kibble brands have high percentages of carbohydrates. So, try to choose that dog food that exactly fulfils the carbohydrates requirements of your dog.

The major source of energy in dog food is the fats present in the food. The amount of fats in food depends on the age and level of activity of the dog. A pregnant dog usually requires at least 17 percent fats in daily diet. Active dogs or high performance and the average adult dogs should require fats 15% and 20% respectively.

The sled dogs need at least 50 percent fats in their food daily. For providing high nutritional diet to your dog, you have to consider the dog food comparisons very seriously and you should also remember that if your dog needs fats then what are the various sources of fats. Linoleic Acid is one of the essential fatty acid that must be received and consumed by the pets daily. Apart from that, for the healthy immune system of your pet fats are very important. Fibre is not an essential constituent of dog's food but it is helpful for dog's bowels and colon health. Moreover, pumpkin and Metamucil are the best source of fibre.



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