Loving owners always wonder how to choose dog food - dry or natural. After all, your pet wants to please something tasty, but at the same time give him the maximum amount of vitamins and other nutrients. The article will help to understand how to feed a pet and how to do it correctly.
The benefits of natural food
Before you figure out how to organize a dog's food, feed it with natural or dry food and whether it is worth transferring a pet from one food to another, you need to know about the advantages of each option. The first should consider natural food.
All breeders know for sure that dogs cannot be fed from the table, and many of them are categorically against it. Quite often, the owners indulge their pets with various goodies when they sit down at the table. Of course, food for people is different from dog food, since these are completely different rations. Such feeding will be extremely unreasonable and is unlikely to lead to something good. In addition, after some time, the pet will no longer be accustomed to proper nutrition, even by mixing products.
Feeding rules
In drawing up the diet and choosing between dry or natural dog food, one important rule should be observed: an individual approach to each pet. The fact is that each breed has its own characteristics: body structure, eating habits, lifestyle and so on. Therefore, to feed one meal of a small chihuahua and a large German shepherd will not succeed.
Some pets need to maintain muscle mass, while others need to pay more attention to strengthening their bones. Certain foods may be contraindicated in general for some animals because they are not absorbed by the body. Based on this, in the preparation of the diet of your pet you should definitely consult with a specialist who will weigh the pros and cons.
Permitted and forbidden food
When thinking about what to choose - dry food or natural for dogs, you need to pay attention to the fact that the pet's diet must contain meat. Dogs need the latter for the reason that they are predators, and therefore their digestive tract must digest protein fibers. Sour milk products are in second place after meat products. It should not be too fat. The ideal is cottage cheese, the fat content of which does not go beyond 5-9%.
Dogs drink kefir with great pleasure, as well as yogurt. All that needs to be done in this case from the owners is to ensure that the shelf life of this product is not more than a week. By the way, mixing kefir and milk is strictly prohibited, as the pet will suffer from diarrhea.
Choosing a dry or natural dog food, do not forget that animals may be allergic to vegetables and fruits. These products are certainly useful, but it is necessary to give their pet in moderation. Most dogs need cereal several times a week. If the pet is not too good to them, then they can easily be replaced with cucumbers or even bananas.
Acquire first-class products for feeding your pet is not necessary. The dog's body perfectly absorbs offal, but they must be fresh. Offal, trimmings and other remnants of meat products may well be present in their diet. In the meat should not be too much fat, it is best to cut it altogether before giving the dog.
Pork is recommended to exclude from the diet of a pet, as it is very fatty in itself. The ideal option is poultry meat. It is characterized by low fat content, ease of digestion, as well as a high content of beneficial trace elements. There are other advantages in this: for example, chicken does not have to be ground into mince, as the pet can consume it in the form of medium-sized pieces.
In addition to meat in the diet must be present and fish. It should be boneless. It should be understood that the fish may contain a large number of parasites, so it is best to buy it frozen, so that they all die from low temperatures.
Can I give bones
When people do not know whether to choose dry or natural dog food, they simply give the pet bones. For most pets, bones are a regular toy. Dogs simply gnaw on them, improving gum condition and strengthening teeth, but they don’t consider them as food.
That is why experts have nothing against bones being given to pets regularly. But it is strictly forbidden to use fragile and tubular bones, because the animal will be able to quickly bite them, and the fragments will injure the stomach.
How to feed your pet a natural meal
When there is a question about what kind of dog food you should choose - dry or natural, you need to focus not only on their age, but also on preferences. Small puppies need to be fed about three to four times a day, because a growing body needs more energy and useful elements. In the case of adults, the situation is simpler - two meals a day (breakfast and dinner) will do for them.
Natural food must be reheated. Thanks to this, the pet will show more interest in it, and it will be learned quickly. After all, in wildlife, when a predatory animal kills its prey, it tries to eat meat as soon as possible before it cools down.
The advantages and disadvantages of a natural diet
If the owner thinks too long about what is better - dry or natural dog food, he concludes that you need to look at the pros and cons of each option. We should start with natural, because it is more preferable. Its main benefits include:
- Natural composition. This item is considered the main advantage of this type of feed. The breeder is fully confident that there are no various chemicals in the pet's diet that harm the health of the animal.
- The possibility of adjusting the diet. Dry food, as you know, can not boast of diversity. It has the same composition, but natural products can be easily combined in various combinations. Thanks to this, the owners can satisfy the desires of the dogs.
Along with this, natural food has some drawbacks. As a rule, they are associated with the inability of the owner to develop a normal balanced menu. This list includes:
- Drawing up a diet by eye. This problem is the reason for the lack of trace elements and vitamins in the pet's body. Subsequently, this food leads to a deterioration in the health of the dog, so the breeder will be forced to send a pet to the veterinarian for the purpose of treatment.
- Consultation with a specialist. As already mentioned above, the help of a knowledgeable person is absolutely necessary when preparing a diet.
- Waste of time. Natural food is suitable only for those owners who are willing to spend a lot of time learning all the features and preferences of their own pet.
- Financial expenses. It is much easier for some breeders to simply buy ready-made dry food than to spend money on a variety of products, of which in the future you need to combine full meals.
Features of dry feed
Now it's time to learn more about dry food. Information about them will help to figure out the difference between feeding dogs with dry food and natural food, and most importantly - which option is better. When choosing a suitable feed, the owners will have to pay attention not only to its positive and negative features, but also to the size and breed of the pet.
How to feed a four-legged friend
To understand what kind of dog food - natural or dry - it will be better, you should learn about the peculiarities of pet feeding with the second type of food. In this case, the weight of the animal is of paramount importance. The package always indicates the daily rate and weight of the pet, so it will not be difficult to calculate the required amount of food.
In addition, attention should be paid to the activity of the animal. House dogs in solid age who do not really want to run and frolic, it is better to give less food. The fact is that otherwise the pet can become obese, which represents a considerable danger to its health.
A four-legged friend who is constantly in an active state should be fed accordingly. He does not need to indulge too much, because often the appetite of predators dominates the real needs for food. A pet can easily consume huge portions, but over time this type of food will also lead to obesity.
Today, on the shelves of stores you can find dry and wet ready-made feed. Experts recommend feeding your pet with the same species, since due to the abrupt transition from one species to another, it can become constipated. Intestinal bacteria need a certain time to get used to a different type of food, so you should not mix these foods quickly and immediately.
Regardless of the type of food the dog is required to give a large amount of water. The feed is much less liquid compared to natural food, so without it you can not do. This nuance must be taken into account when thinking about what to feed the dog - dry food or natural.
Selection features
To date, the owners have the opportunity to choose for their pets one of the three types of finished feed:
- Economy Class. Such feeds are more affordable. They are made up of proteins and bone meal. Despite this, for a long time feed pet economy class is not worth it, because they contain the minimum number of useful elements.
- Custom class Feed with an acceptable cost and rich composition have the only drawback, which is the presence in the composition of artificial additives in the form of various sweeteners, and so on. Of course, dogs like this food, but it can cause allergies, and it will be almost impossible to wean the pet from it.
- Premium class. In such products have all the necessary vitamins and trace elements. They are recommended to give the dog at least once a week, so that its health will improve significantly.
Advantages and disadvantages
The positive features of the finished feed include the following:
- You do not need to spend time on cooking, as the food is simply poured into a bowl, it does not need to be stirred, kneaded, and so on.
- You can buy a large supply of feed in advance and use it if you are too lazy to go to the store.
- Pets, who regularly consume ready-made food, are less likely to need vitamin supplementation in the diet, because in this food they are all in the required quantity.
The only drawback is that along with the beneficial vitamins and microelements, the pet also receives a certain dose of preservatives and other harmful substances. Of course, in expensive products they are not, but not every breeder can afford them.
Mixed food
Over the years, experts have not found an answer to the question whether it is possible to mix dry and natural food. This makes it even more difficult to transfer a dog from natural to dry. In fact, many hosts feed their pets with natural food, and only occasionally feed them with finished products. Some breeders do and vice versa. Therefore, each person has the right to independently decide whether to mix the food of his pet or not. If the condition of the dog does not deteriorate, then why not diversify its diet?
Many breeders are trying to organize the transition of a dog from dry to natural. It turns out this is not at all, although in fact it is not so difficult to do this if you follow certain rules. Detailed translation instructions are provided below. It will suit any breed, so you should not worry about unsuccessful attempts.
Translation of dogs from natural to dry
After learning about the advantages and disadvantages of both types of feed, many owners want to radically change the pet's diet. Of course, they can do this, but at the same time they will have to strictly follow the rules. The number of requirements is not so large, so it will not be difficult to remember:
- Gradual transition. Transferring a dog from one food to another is very stressful. If you do it sharply, then the pet may have a number of health problems: vomiting, upset stools, and so on.
- Quality varieties of finished feed. Saving at the stern should not be, as when transferring to a different type of food, you need to make the new pet like more. For this, it is recommended to purchase and give the dog only super premium and premium food.
- Water. When translating do not forget that the pet previously received a sufficient amount of liquid, which is not in dry food. The owner must make sure that the household always has a full bowl of water to which he will have access at any time. The dog should not be "dried", because of this it can completely abandon the finished feed.
Observing all the listed rules, it will be possible to transfer a dog from natural food to dry quite quickly. The most important thing is patience. Acting in the right direction and not leaving the case halfway, you can get an excellent result that will please both the owner and his pet.
Dry or natural dog food: the opinion of the owners
Experienced owners of such wonderful pets like dogs are always ready to share their thoughts about the best kind of food with newbies. If a person has started a pet for a long time, then he has already determined which is the best choice for dog food - dry or natural. Reviews about this are especially interesting to those people who decided to make a four-legged friend not so long ago, but want to immediately learn how to feed him correctly.
Despite the fact that there are a lot of different dry fodder on store shelves, most breeders prefer to cook their pets with natural products. They note that thanks to this feeding, they know exactly what elements enter the body of the pet, and do not worry about his health. In addition, having adapted to cooking natural food, you will not spend too much time on it, since grinding and cooking products take no more than half an hour.
The owners, who have chosen dry food for their pets, in most cases simply do not want to waste time on cooking. It is much easier to spend a certain amount on an already-loved ready-made meal than to look for, where and for how much to buy normal meat or any other products needed by a dog.
The content of the article
- How to choose the right dog food
- How to choose a dog feed
- What food is best to feed a puppy
The range of ready-made industrial dog food is so huge, and advertising is sometimes so controversial that it is difficult for the owner of a four-legged friend to navigate and find the right food. How to understand the variety of rations and make the right choice?
The first thing you should pay attention to is the composition.
Meat and meat products are the main source of protein and energy for dogs. In good feed, meat constitutes the main part, and on the packaging its type is always indicated (not chicken, but chicken or duck, not meat, but beef or veal). In the list of ingredients, meat should always come first.
Grain is also almost always found in industrial feed. However, vegetable protein is absorbed by dogs much worse than animal protein, and its absence will not affect the digestion of the dog.
You should not choose food with grain processing products (corn gluten, wheat gluten, etc.). It is better to give preference to whole grain supplements.
Whole vegetables and fruits are a good source of carbohydrates and vitamins, their presence in the composition undoubtedly improves the quality of food.
All preservatives in feed should be natural. These include, for example, ascorbic acid and tocopherol.
Calorie content
Caloric content of food is no less important than the composition. Improperly selected, too nutritious food can lead to allergies, obesity and related problems (diabetes, cardiac abnormalities, etc.). A low-calorie feed will negatively affect the condition of the skin and coat and may cause metabolic disturbances.
First of all, the food is selected according to the age of the dog. In each line there is a division into food for puppies, adults and older dogs. They best meet the age needs of the body.
During pregnancy, dogs require high-calorie food. No less calorie than puppy food. Во время болезни или в послеоперационный период животное также нуждается в легкоусвояемом питательном рационе.
При выборе корма также нужно учитывать активность животного. Рабочие собаки – ездовые, охотничьи – должны питаться калорийно, в соответствии с ежедневными нагрузками. В то время как собаки мелких пород, практически не выходящие на улицу, должны получать облегченный рацион.
Важно правильно подобрать корм для собаки: грамотно составленный рацион сохранит здоровье и продлит жизнь вашему питомцу!
Общие принципы
Некоторые владельцы путают натуральное кормление с едой со стола. Это ошибочно. Even the best food "for people" is harmful to pets. For dogs prepared separately.
On naturalka adhere to the following rules:
- components are prepared separately and mixed in a bowl before feeding,
- the dog should eat a portion of one “podliz”: if the food stays, it means that the dog overeats, over time he will develop obesity,
- provide constant access to clean water
- vitamin complexes are introduced into the diet - it is almost impossible to independently calculate the amount of nutrients in the daily menu,
- dairy and meat products must be given in different ways,
- give meat and offal raw, pre-freezing in the freezer for 2 to 3 days,
- vegetables are grated or chopped,
- cereals are boiled, you can broth,
- meat is cut into pieces of different sizes, taking into account the size of the pet, so that it cuts them,
- the products do not salt and pepper,
- Do not mix natural and dry food - this will lead to problems with the digestive tract.
All food must be fresh. It is stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days.
Transfer the dog from the dry food to the nature gradually, within 2 weeks. Additionally give probiotics, otherwise you can undermine the work of the digestive system.
Advantages and disadvantages of "natural" food
It is believed that naturalka cheaper dry food. This is only partially true. For large breeds, feeding with natural food will indeed be cheaper. They eat a lot of food, and most of the daily "natural" menu is cereals, vegetables, offal.
Small pets eat little and are very picky. Around them will have to literally "dance" to persuade them to eat a piece of healthy food.
However, natural feeding, in comparison with dry feed, has important advantages:
- independent quality control of products,
- naturalka - as close as possible to the natural, "wild" diet of animals,
- variety - the menu can be varied daily, which is especially important for small breeds.
This type of food is well suited for dogs prone to allergies. They often have negative reactions to the components of industrial feed. Self-cooking, you can eliminate the allergen.
In naturalki there are several drawbacks:
- expensiveness - in most cases it is cheaper to feed with industrial feed,
- big time and labor costs - every day you will have to cook not only for yourself, but also for a pet,
- easily deviate from the rules of feeding - the owners can make a mistake when calculating the required amount and ratio of products.
But the main drawback is found when you have to leave and temporarily leave the dog with friends or in a hotel. Attorney is unlikely to want to cook. Therefore, the animal is gradually transferred to industrial feed, and then return to the old diet.
Even worse when the trip is unplanned. The owner has no other choice but to hastily hand the “nanny” a bag of ready-made food and hope that the pet's digestive system will not suffer much.
What you can and can not give a pet
- Dairy products. Give kefir, ryazhenka, cottage cheese fat content from 2% to 9%. Skimmed milk in the menu is not entered, as it is poorly digested.
- Meat. Beef, veal, turkey, rabbit. It is better to give not a tenderloin, but sinewy meat. Chicken is added carefully - in some dogs it is allergic.
- Offal. The liver and lungs (infrequently, they provoke diarrhea), udder, scar, heart, stomachs.
- Cereals. Buckwheat, rice, oatmeal, barley.
- Vegetables and greens. Any, with the exception of potatoes, beans, cabbage. They provoke gas formation.
- Fruits and berries. All savory varieties. Rarely added, as a treat.
- Eggs. Chicken or quail, raw, 1 - 2 times a week.
- Sea or ocean fish. Enter once a week. Pre-boil, remove sharp bones.
- Chop off. Add to the finished liquid food, the best - in kefir.
- Crackers or biscuits. Only as a treat.
- Vegetable oil. Olive, sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseed. They are flavored portion. For small breeds - a few drops, for large ones - 1 tbsp.
Fish is not as nutritious as meat. It has half the protein. Therefore, it is given 2 times more.
About bones, opinions of breeders and veterinarians are different. Some recommend giving nibble raw spongy bones and maslaki. This will help to train the jaws and clean the teeth from plaque. Others prefer only artificial bones sold in pet stores.
Anyway, you can give bones to dogs with a full-fledged chewing apparatus and not having diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Also, sometimes you can pamper your pet unsalted hard cheese, nuts, special treats for animals. It is useful to occasionally introduce some seafood, sea and sauerkraut.
Important! The dog is strictly forbidden to feed the following products:
- sweets,
- bakery and pasta,
- onion and garlic,
- grapes and raisins
- smoked meats
- pork,
- fried, spicy, marinated, peppered, salty foods,
- corn, semolina, soy, barley,
- tubular bones,
- river fish.
Preparing your diet correctly: important tips and advice
The animal can not be overfed - it will lead to obesity. Pet should eat portions at a time. If food stays in a bowl, its amount is reduced.
Approximately the necessary daily volume of products is calculated as follows: 6–7% of body weight for puppies, and 3–4% for adult individuals.
Calculation for an adult dog weighing 15 kg: 15 * 0.4 = 600 g of food. For a puppy 15 kg: 15 * 0.7 = 1050 g
When choosing a menu, observe the following proportions:
- Meat - 30%,
- Offal - 20%,
- Cereals and vegetables - 35%,
- Dairy products - 10%,
- The rest is 5%.
These are average values. For the home and elderly dog calorie reduced daily menu. For a young, active, pregnant or working dog the amount of food increases.
Formulate the rules of feeding naturalkly possible only in general terms. Each breed has its own characteristics, which are taken into account in the preparation of the diet.
Natural nutrition is considered as close as possible to the dog's natural diet. Its main ingredients are meat, cereals, vegetables, offal and dairy products. Although this method allows you to independently control the quality of food, it takes a lot of time and effort.
Dog Food Classes
There are several classes of feed.
Super Premium - high quality fodder from fresh, high quality meat (for example, lamb, beef, poultry, etc.) using grain (flax, barley, oats, etc.). The digestibility of super premium class feeds exceeds 80%, and their energy value is higher than 450 kcal / 100 g, and this significantly reduces the amount of its consumption. Such foods are enriched with vitamins and do not contain preservatives, flavors and stabilizers. Among the super premium class feeds, they distinguish the line Holistic - feed, which include natural meat / fish in an even greater percentage (up to 90%), other natural herbal supplements. There are no GMOs, flavor enhancers and colorants in holistic feeds.
The composition of the feed premium class includes meat, fish, poultry, offal of good quality, as well as rice and / or vegetables: carrots, beets, potatoes. They contain vegetable proteins, dyes and flavorings. Premium class feeds are absorbed by 75%, and their energy value exceeds 350 kcal / 100 g.
Economy - This is a low-quality dog food, made from second-class ingredients, waste slaughterhouses and poor-quality grain. Instead of meat, meat and bone meal, animal fat, soybeans, corn, etc. are used. The feed contains various flavors, artificial additives and preservatives. The daily consumption rate is high, and the energy value does not exceed 350 kcal / 100 g.
Contrary to popular belief, one cannot say that dry food can damage the health of a dog. In this question, it is not the species that is most important, but the class of feed. So, if you feed a dog with economy class products for a long time, then surely such a diet would be harmful to the animal, because the economy class feeds contain some real meat, and also contain dyes and flavor enhancers. However, the super premium class feed is quite suitable for a dog's daily ration, because its composition is balanced. As for premium class feeds, they can be mixed with superpremium class feeds.
Ingredients: what to look for
The label on the package should contain the name of the brand of food, the composition and information on which dogs this food is suitable for. The first place in the composition of the feed usually takes the product, which is most, followed by secondary components.
Meat. First of all, meat should be kept in dog food. Useful food in which there is chicken, turkey and beef. The most successful option is food, on the label of which among the first several components are indicated meat in the form of flour and boneless, since the meat after shrinking loses up to 80% of its weight.
Cereals. The most useful cereals used for the production of dog food are brown rice and barley. White rice has less nutrients. Oats are good, but in some dogs they can cause stomach upset. Beer rice is a waste of beer production. Corn is poorly digested and can cause allergies. Corn gluten is a waste containing less nutrients than corn.
Other ingredients. In addition to cereals and meat, manufacturers add many other ingredients to dog food. For example, for dog food, it is preferable to add a whole egg, rather than egg powder. It is very useful for dogs to eat food, which contains vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs, algae, yeast, glucosamine, chondroitin, probiotics, minerals, vitamins.
Be careful!
It is important to remember that many ingredients can cause allergies in dogs. In addition, there are often cases of food hypersensitivity, in which there are regular digestive disorders (vomiting, diarrhea, blood in the stool), lack of fatness, poor quality wool. Often, such situations are due to improperly chosen feed.
Such cases do not at all indicate that you have purchased low-quality products - feed, on the contrary, may be of the best quality. However, the gastrointestinal tract can thus react to some feed ingredient as an allergen, as a result of which the inflammatory process develops and the above described symptoms occur.
What kind of food will suit your dog?
Unfortunately, there is no perfect food suitable for all dogs without exception. However, there are several criteria, focusing on which, you can try to find the very "perfect diet" for your pet.
- It is important that the dog likes the taste of food. If the dog does not like the food, apparently, it does not suit him and hardly needs to force the dog to eat it.
- The lack of a dog's problems with the gastrointestinal tract is another argument for the specific product.
- A good woolen coat of a dog indicates that it receives all the necessary trace elements and vitamins from food.
Unsuitable food: what to do?
- If your dog has chronic diarrhea / half-formed stools or vomiting, low body weight, perhaps the problem lies in the wrong feed. It is better to change the feed 2-3 times and see if the intensity of the symptoms changes.
- If there is a clear dependence in enhancing / terminating these symptoms, it means that your dog has sensitive digestion. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully study the composition of suitable / unsuitable food to determine the allergenic component.
- When changing the diet, it is necessary not only to change the firm of the feed, but to focus on the protein / carbohydrate composition. For example, if your dog was eating chicken feed, try changing it to a lamb, a fish, or buy a grainless feed.
- If, after several attempts to change the feed, it is not possible to adjust the digestion, then you should visit the veterinarian general practitioner, as the symptoms in question may also be observed for other, much more serious problems that cannot be identified without a special examination.
How to change the feed?
If you plan to change the natural food on a commercial diet, then you need to know that the best time for this is 5-7 days, during which you need to gradually add dry food to the old food, increasing its quantity every day.
3-4 days are enough to change the feed. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict whether a new feed will be suitable for your pet or not. The first signs of an unsuitable diet - a change in the chair for the worse (thinner, decorated, but with a strong smell, the appearance of blood in the feces) or the appearance of vomiting. With such a deterioration of food, you need to return the old diet for about a week, until the general condition is fully restored, and then try something else again.
Sharp feed changes in animals with sensitive digestion can lead to serious gastrointestinal disorders. When the food is selected and the general condition of the pet suits you, the addition of regular food is not strictly prohibited. The main thing is not to feed the animal to everyone at once, but, for example, adding dry food to porridge or giving it just as a treat in addition to homemade food). You can do this occasionally, provided that homemade food does not cause the pet to “glitch” in digestion. At the same time, it is permissible to combine feeds from different companies, for example, by giving dry feed from one manufacturer, and canned food from another.
Natalya Smirnova, veterinarian general practitioner and endocrinologist at the Biocontrol clinic: "Dry and wet rations (canned food) within the same brand often differ only in moisture content, while the components from which food is produced are almost identical. Everything depends on your pet’s preferences. You can feed an animal only dry or canned food, and they should also be combined. But it must be remembered that when feeding with dry food an animal should consume a sufficient amount of liquid. If a dog drinks water per day at the rate of 40-60 ml / kg of weight, feeding only dry food is quite acceptable. "
In conclusion, we remind you - in choosing a dog food, you must be guided by its personal characteristics. Food for your pet should be chosen according to its individual characteristics: breed, size, age, lifestyle, existing diseases and special conditions (pregnancy and lactation). It is important to remember that food that is ideal for a neighbor dog may not be yours. Some manufacturers make a note “for active dogs”, “for puppies” or “for older dogs”.
Dog food which company choose
We have compiled the best dog mixes ratings based on feedback from dog owners who fed their pets. In addition, for each product, we analyzed the composition, given its balance, content and quality of meat, as well as price.
As a result, we will consider the following feed:
1. The best dry food - German Wolfsblut, Czech Brit Care for large breeds and domestic Probalance.
2. The best wet foods and canned foods - the Brit brand has again distinguished itself, the cheap and affordable Puruchi One, as well as German canned food Belcando.
3. Best Puppy Foods - NOW Natural class holistic, hypoallergenic Acana Puppy & Junior and Italian mix from Almo Nature.
In our ranking, there are no economy class feeds, since they do not meet the requirements for the balance of nutrients and vitamins, and the meat in them is, at best, represented by food production wastes. For a complete nutrition of domestic predators need a mixture of premium and holistic.
Most of the presented feed can be found in pet stores and even supermarkets. These are products of brands:
Some are more difficult to find in the free market, but they can be ordered in specialized online stores. Alternatively, contact the breeders - they will help to reach the suppliers.
We are talking about products of foreign firms:
Best dry food
For daily meals it is most advantageous to take exactly dry food. It is more economical and is stored for a long time even in an open bag. But here you need to carefully read the composition. In the quality mixture should contain about 50% of the sources of protein (meat), but the artificial flavor and aromatic additives in it are undesirable.
Wolfsblut - perfectly balanced
Excellent German holistic feed. According to the manufacturer, animals for its preparation are grown on special farms without the use of hormones. Products favorably different extensive meat menu, sometimes very exotic. In addition to traditional lamb, duck and rabbit, you can find mixes with pheasant meat, deer, camel, ostrich, wild boar - just 15 items. And for the summer and diet food manufacturer offers dry food with six types of fish.
Pros:
- The meat content is 25-50%, if necessary, the rate of proteins “gets” at the expense of fish,
- The average size of the granules
- Virtually no allergies,
- Interesting and varied tastes that dogs will like,
- Contains a minimum of cereals or does not contain them at all,
- Enriched with phytocomponents,
- Three "format" packaging - 2, 7.5 and 15 kg.
Minuses:
- Содержание животных жиров в большинстве продуктов линейки достигает 18%, что может вызвать запор у некоторых собак и уж точно не подходит малоподвижным и склонным к ожирению псам,
- Высокая цена с резкими скачками при изменении курса валют,
- Смеси с содержанием томата могут вызывать аллергию.
Сухие корма Wolfsblut откровенно плохих отзывов не имеют: самые худшие из комментариев – нейтральные. В целом это интересная линейка полезных продуктов для собак разных пород. After their use, owners note a general increase in the activity of their pets, an improvement in the condition of hair and teeth.
Brit Care Adult Large Breed - the best feed for large dogs.
Czech fodder super premium. In the line there are mixes with chicken and salmon, but products for animals with allergies are of more interest. It is made from lamb with rice.
Pros:
- Hypoallergenic,
- Zip-lock on the packaging to preserve the smell after printing,
- Contains chondroprotectors to protect joints,
- The composition includes fruits and phytocomponents,
- A large package of 12 kg is equipped with a convenient side handle.
Minuses:
- Relatively high cost
- Fatty.
A great option for dogs with digestive problems or a reaction to other foods. It is suitable for medium, large and especially large animals over 2 years old, as well as for representatives of breeds prone to allergies (Labradors, Bulldogs, Shar Pei, etc.).
Probalance - the most inexpensive
Despite the foreign name, it is a mixture of Russian-made - just a Danish brand. In the domestic market, Probalance appeared relatively recently, so the dealer network has failed so far. Premium class.
Pros:
- Dehydrated meat in the composition instead of the dubious "poultry meal",
- Affordable price for this quality
- Does not contain corn and soybeans - oat or flaxseeds are used as sources of carbohydrates,
- Contains phytocomposition from medicinal herbs, chondroprotectors and prebiotics,
- 12 vitamins instead of the standard 3.
Minuses:
- Supply difficulties
- Low meat content - up to 30%,
- It includes the synthetic antioxidant E321 - its use is permitted in many countries, but it has not yet been recognized as absolutely safe.
In general, Probalance honestly fulfills the requirements for premium feed. However, dog owners recommend giving it to their pets to a lesser extent than indicated on the package. It is too high in calories, which can cause problems with emptying.
Brit - the most natural
The brand has already appeared in our review, as the best among dry fodder. Her canned food also collected a lot of good reviews and not a single bad one. True, this line is already produced in Russia - at the Yelets Meat Processing Plant. It belongs to the premium class.
Pros:
- Natural composition (only meat, offal and liposoluble vitamins),
- Does not contain cereals, although some products have rice,
- The share of meat products is 80%.
Minuses:
- There were reviews that recently there was more jelly in the banks - it seems that technologists are conducting experiments.
A rather small can weighing 850 g is suitable for feeding medium and large dogs. Small breeds may not have time to “master” the whole container in two days, and canned food will have to be thrown away. Veterinarians recommend giving Brit wet food to restore immunity after animal diseases and surgeries.
Purina One "My Dog" - the most affordable
A fairly common type of wet pet food for dogs that you can buy even in the supermarket. In general, the Purina brand produces good products of the budget and middle price segment, but the quality here is not premium.
Pros:
- Availability and low price
- Standard composition of useful components is maintained: 6 minerals and 3 vitamins,
- Natural vegetable side dish,
- Convenient packaging in sealed packs.
Minuses:
- The label vaguely prescribed composition,
- Contains potential allergens like wheat and corn,
- The presence of flavor additives without explanation of their origin.
Purina One is suitable for small and medium dogs, but the composition is not perfectly balanced. Vitamin complexes and natural meat will have to be additionally introduced into the pet's diet.
Belcando - the most meat
German canned dog food is produced in 400 and 800 g cans. Meat and liver are ground into rather large pieces, so that the owners can visually assess its naturalness. Rice and vegetables are added as a side dish.
Pros:
- The content of meat ingredients 60-90%,
- Optimum volume and convenient cover with key,
- Rich, rich ingredients
- Contains calcium and phosphorus,
- A standard set of vitamins and minerals, plus lecithin, necessary for older dogs.
Minuses:
- Fat and over-calorie,
- Not always combined with vitamins,
- High price,
- Not all pet stores can be found.
Belkando canned food is suitable for large and mobile dogs, as well as animals kept outside. Prior to the super-premium manufacturer, it is a little under-priced, according to the dog breeders themselves, but the quality is generally good. But the dry mixture of the same company did not inspire enthusiasm.
The best puppy food
For the growing organism of the dog, as well as for our children, balanced nutrition is especially important: with a high protein content, a powerful complex of vitamins and minerals. However, it should be hypoallergenic, since the immunity of a small pet is still too weak. The best option for puppies will be holistic feed, as well as premium-class mixes corresponding to their size and breed.
NOW Natural holistic New - the most useful
Canadians have made this seedless super-premium food bezzernovom specifically for puppies. In addition, Now Fresh tries to avoid the use of potentially allergenic products as much as possible by replacing chicken meat with duck and turkey.
Pros:
- Absolutely natural - made from meat fillets, eggs, vegetables and fruits,
- Not in the composition of the beets, which is important for dogs with white hair,
- Does not contain grains - instead of them, the suppliers of fiber are potatoes, peas and apples,
- Fine granules
- The optimal fat content is 16%.
Minuses:
- Almost does not occur in the free sale, although you can order it online
- Dry and for some puppies need to soak,
- The price is too high.
Excellent food for puppies with a balanced composition. Normalizes digestion due to lactobacteria and does not cause any negative reactions.
Acana Puppy & Junior - Absolutely Natural
One of the most famous and expensive brands of dog food produces a line of dry mixes for puppies of small, medium and large breeds. They collect a lot of positive feedback and have already earned the favor of veterinarians. The only problem that can arise with Akana is typical of any feed that just doesn’t suit your pet.
Pros:
- Made from dehydrated meat,
- Small and not too hard granules
- Does not cause food allergies,
- Contains vegetables, legumes and a whole bunch of phytocomponents, from cereals - only oats,
- Enriched with chondroitin.
Minuses:
- High fat content - 19%, which can cause intestinal problems,
- The price is too high.
The owners buy Acana Puppy & Junior food not only for puppies, but also for adults of small breeds - the composition is well balanced, and the small size of the granules is just in the teeth for indoor dogs.
Almo Nature Medium Puppy - the most popular
Italian-made dry mix is declared as a holistic product. In fact, the composition here is poorer - rather, it is a premium.
Pros:
- Meat content 53-55%
- From cereals - rice, oats and barley,
- There are no preservatives and flavors,
- Available at many pet stores,
- Not too fat
- Contains fruit and herbal extracts.
Minuses:
- The price is higher than it could be
- The "understatement" in the description of the composition by the manufacturer, which causes the owners to doubt the quality of the mixture.
In general, the food is not bad - neither the owners of the dogs, nor the puppies themselves show any discontent about it. But the self-confident inscription holistic does not correspond to the declared qualities and, most likely, is just a pretext to inflate the cost of the mixture.
What dog food to buy
1. For a dog's daily nutrition, it is better to choose good, but inexpensive foods: canned Brit, pui Purina ONE, dry food Probalance.
2. Animals with digestive problems and a tendency to allergies buy dry mix Brit Care, Acana.
3. For active dogs (hunting, service and fighting breeds) fatty and high-calorie mixtures of Wolfsblut, Belcando or more affordable options from Probalance are suitable.
4. Puppies up to a year or two is better to keep on expensive, but balanced holistics: Now Fresh or Acana Puppy. If you can not find them on sale, you can kill a mixture easier, such as Almo Nature. These same brands produce good food for decorative dogs.
