What Are Premium Dog Foods?
Premium dog foods are most certainly better than an economy dog food. But it’s sometimes hard to figure out the difference between a premium dog food and the rest. Do you go by price alone? A lot of companies are betting on it. Does it say premium on the bag? What makes a premium dog food premium?
The main difference between premium and economy dog foods is the quality of the ingredients and the amount of actual nutrients digestible by your dog. Ignore any of the fancy wording or delicious looking pictures on the bag of food. Look, instead, at the dog food ingredients first.
The first 2 ingredients tell you a lot about the dog food you are about to purchase. The difference between an economy and premium food are the quality of the grains and meats used. Premium dog foods list an animal meat as the first ingredient. Economy dog foods, and premium dog food impostors, will list grains and meat by-products as the first two dog food ingredients.
Grains: Economy dog foods usually have a grain as the first ingredient, premium dog foods will not. Dogs are able to digest some grains well, like rice and oats, but have difficulty with corn and wheat.
Some grains, such as soy, wheat, and corn, are also common sources for food allergies in dogs.When utilized as by-products, such as corn wheat gluten, they are nothing more than cheap fillers. Their main purpose is to fill up your dog’s stomach so that he feels full. It’s kind of like human junk food – fill your tummy with no nutrition.
Animal meat by-productsare another top 2 ingredient that just are not found in the best premium dog foods. Meat by-products are what is left from a slaughtered animal after all the human-grade meat has been removed – bones, feed, heat, lungs, brain, etc.
Again, like cheap grain by-products, meat by-products are just not an equal substitute for real animal meat for your dog. They are used to boost the protein percentages in the dog food and make pet owners feel like they are feeding their dogs animal meat.
Most premium dog food brands will have a animal meat or meat meal as the first ingredient. This means the major ingredient in the food is an actual animal protein which will have the most usable nutrients available for your dog.
What about price? Is that a good indicator of the type of dog food? Not really. Of course if you see a really cheaply priced dog food, it is probably an economy food. But just because the food is expensive, does not automatically mean it is a healthy, premium dog food. Again, you need to take a peek at the dog food ingredients list to really know what you are getting.
And now there are more types of dog food, like super-premium and all-natural. For more information about the different choices available for your dog and how to carefully choose the best premium dog foods for your beloved pet at the Healthy Dog Food blog.