Once upon a time the family dog ate scraps from the dinner table.
Then dog food evolved. There was kibble. And canned food. Along came semi-dry (remember Gaines Burgers?). Prescription food. Breed-specific food. Size-specific food. Raw food. Freeze-dried food. Allergy foods. Grain-free food. Limited-ingredient food. Exotic proteins food. Even vegetarian food.
And the recalls started coming, too. Much like human foods – there are articles extolling the benefits of an ingredient one week, and the next week the same ingredient is high risk.
What’s a responsible dog owner to do?
We all want to do what’s right. Our dogs are family members and want to give them the best diet we can, fulfilling their nutritional needs and giving them food they’ll love. How can we know? We can’t even necessarily believe our veterinarians – most receive minimal education in nutrition and the information they do get in school may be sponsored by the dog food manufacturers!
There isn’t a single “best” dog food, but there is a best choice for your circumstances, your dog, and you. Our choice is to make our dogs’ food – although we do keep dry food in the house as well. We keep our dogs accustomed to eating a dry food so if there’s an emergency, we don’t have to worry about feeding them. Kibble also makes a handy training treat.
We know our choice isn’t right for everyone. But we all want to give our dogs the best food we can. These dog food resources will help you choose that best option. Note: we are NOT affiliates of any of these websites and receive no compensation. We want you to have the best information available for feeding your dog.
Dog food resources:
Website – DogFoodAdvisor.com
We’ve been consulting DogFoodAdvisor.com for years – whenever someone tells us about a wonderful new dog food we just have to check out. You’ll find ratings for just about every food available in the U.S. market; including both dry and canned food. You can also sign up for email notices when another recall is announced.
DogFoodAdvisor.com doesn’t just rate the foods. They also give you a breakdown of what’s good, what’s okay, and what should be avoided in each brand. Not every flavor of each brand is reviewed, but there are enough to give you a good idea of the company’s food.
You can also find the best-rated foods in each category, if you’re inclined to change. We’ve used it ourselves when we needed a “back-up” dry food.
Book – Your Pet Chef Cookbook by Lisa Hennessy
Your Pet Chef Cookbook is the book we use to make our own dogs’ food. Complete disclosure – the author is a friend of ours and we learned to make dog food right in her kitchen. You’ll find that some dog food experts resist adding vegetables and fruits to their dogs’ meals, but, as veggie-lovers ourselves, we had a hard time accepting that idea. Besides, we’d always heard that dogs are omnivores, like people. And our dogs absolutely adore their veggies. In fact, when our agility instructor insisted that all dogs learn to play “tug,” the only thing Hope could get her first agility dog (Dax) to tug on was a stalk of celery!
Book – The Royal Treatment: A natural approach to wildly healthy pets by Barbara Royal, D.V.M.
Her name really is Royal! And she’s also someone we actually know and whose expertise we value and trust. Dr. Royal is a veterinarian and practitioner of both Western and Eastern medicines. Many years ago, when she was first embarking on her journey in acupuncture, she would come to our family’s book store to give our shop cat (Merlyn) acupuncture treatments. She kept him going, despite his arthritis and kidney failure, until the ripe old age of 19!
The Royal Treatment will help you make common-sense decisions about the care and feeding of your pets. It goes into food and much more – from learning how to tell if your pet is sick, to the best way to clean their ears, using herbs and supplements, and figuring out what your pet’s behavior may mean for his/her health.
Book – Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals by Lew Olson, Ph.D.
Funny how it keeps coming up – we know Lew Olson! She’s actually a Brussels Griffon person, so although we haven’t had the pleasure in person, we’ve known her name for years. Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs is a terrific book that addresses specific issues and how we can use food as medicine, as well as feeding puppies, senior dogs, picky eaters, and more. Lew is active in both conformation and performance showing with her dogs, in addition to being an AKC and UKC judge. This book includes plans for all types of food – raw, cooked, even kibble. She also addresses the need for supplements and minerals. It does make making dog food at home simpler.
Facebook group – K9 Nutrition
This is kind of cheat – K9 Nutrition is Lew Olson’s Facebook group. You do have to ask to become a member of the group, which is a large and diverse one. The community members – and Lew herself, will answer questions and address specific issues members have. There is no judgment allowed – whatever you’re currently feeding won’t be criticized.
If you’re like us and you’ve become unsure which commercial dog food is best for your dog, we hope you’ll take advantage of these resources and that your pup thrives – no matter what you choose! And check out our selection of tasty, healthy treats for your dog!
