Popular Science: What Makes Good Dog Food? How to Choose Good Dog Food?
Choosing dog food is a difficult problem. Many people don't know how to choose dog food. Here, I will give you a popular science of what is good dog food? Then teach you how to choose a good dog food?
So how to choose a good dog food?
1. Look at the ingredient list
① Meat
The top three ingredients in the ingredient list are the main sources of nutrition. The top three must be meat. It is best to indicate what kind of meat it is and how much it accounts for. When buying dog food, if you see that the meat is written vaguely, just pass it, because there must be something fishy if it is hidden.
The worst thing is to use animal by-products. By-products are, for example, some intestines, offal, fur and other scraps. These things are the worst sources of meat.
It is best to have fresh meat> frozen meat> meat powder> other animal by-products.
② Additives, preservatives
If you find things like corn syrup and fructose in the formula, it is a sweetener. Dogs actually like to eat sweets very much, but too much sugar is not good for them. The less sweeteners, the better.
Regarding preservatives, common artificial preservatives in dog food include BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHL (butylated hydroxytoluene), both of which have been proven to be carcinogenic ingredients. Generally, poor dog food contains them, so be sure to check carefully when buying.
③ Oils and fats
Oils and fats are the same as meats. There should not be too much hidden information or some unclear words. For example, bad oils will be written as animal fats, and good ones will be written as butter, chicken fat, linseed oil, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.
④ Grains
The higher the grain content, the lower the cost of this dog food, but it does not mean that it is good without grains, and it is not good with grains. In order to avoid dog allergies, it is best to choose dog food that does not contain grains such as brown rice, rice, and wheat.
If various grains rank in the top three, it proves that plant protein is higher than animal protein, which is not enough nutrition for dogs.
2. Look at the brand and processing plant
When buying dog food, you must trace the source, look at the brand, and look at the processing plant. High-quality brands with good reputations are all from large pet food manufacturers.
3. Look at the nutritional value
Crude protein: The national standard requires adult dogs ≥18%, and puppies ≥22%. Generally speaking, the protein in dog food is between 22% and 35%, which is a relatively suitable value. If it is lower than this value, it is recommended to pass it directly!
Crude fat: The national standard requires adult dogs ≥5%, and puppies ≥8%. It is recommended to choose a crude fat content between 13% and 18%. Appropriate fat can beautify the hair, but too high fat is prone to obesity and soft stool.
Water-soluble chloride (salt content): adult dog food ≥0.09%, puppy food ≥0.45%, and the maximum cannot exceed 1%. If it is greater than 2%, it is really too high. If the salt content is too high, the burden on the dog's internal organs will increase, and it will also aggravate the tear marks and hair loss.
Crude ash: refers to the inorganic residue left over from the processing of dog food. Generally speaking, it is qualified if it is less than 10%.
Crude fiber: Crude fiber can promote intestinal peristalsis in dogs. The national standard requires that adult dogs and puppies are ≤9%. It is recommended to choose about 5%. If it is too high, it will be difficult for dogs to digest.
Calcium-phosphorus ratio: Calcium and phosphorus play an important role in the growth, metabolism and bone development of dogs. Too high or too low will affect the health of dogs. The recommended ratio is 1:1~2:1, 1.2:1.
Lysine: The higher the better, reflecting the amount of meat, it needs to be ≥1.5%. There is no lysine in grains, which cannot be synthesized in the dog's body and must be supplemented from food.
4. Read the test report
If you want to choose a high-quality dog food with guaranteed quality, you can read the brand test report.
5. By looking, touching, smelling, tasting, and feeding
You can judge the quality of dog food by looking, smelling, tasting, and feeding.
Look
Dog food with a rough surface may contain more meat, and dog food with a too smooth surface has a high grain content. Moreover, good dog food has a darker color and a high meat content, and a light color may be because of a low meat content.
Touch
A good dog food will not be too greasy. If you don't feel a lot of oil on your hand when you grab a handful, it means that the oil content is moderate.
Smell
If the dog food smells very good, it may have some additives or a strong industrial smell, which means it is not a good dog food. Good dog food has a light meaty aroma.
Taste
If you are brave enough, you can taste a bite of dog food. A good dog food will taste more like compressed biscuits. If the dog food tastes crispy (like potato chips) or is too hard, it means that the puffing process of the dog food is not up to standard.
Feed
Whether a dog food is good or not actually depends on whether it is suitable for dogs.
If you find that the dog's tear marks become heavier, the eye mucus becomes more, and a lot of hair is lost, it proves that this dog food may not be suitable for your dog.
If the dog does not have tear marks and does not lose a lot of hair after eating, it means that this dog food is suitable for your dog.
In fact, there is no best dog food, only the most suitable, and the most expensive dog food may not be suitable for your dog.
If your dog is very fat now, you should choose a low-fat one. If your dog is very thin, you should choose a food with higher protein. If your dog doesn't like to eat fishy food, don't buy fish food. If your dog has tear marks, don't choose a light food that reduces internal heat. If your dog wants beautiful fur, choose food containing fish oil. If your dog has a bad stomach, choose low-allergy food without grains.
When buying dog food, it is best to start from the needs of the dog.