Making sure your dog gets the proper nutrition is essential to a long, healthy, and active life. Meals should be planned to fulfill the animal’s complete biological, psychological, and physiological needs. They should be well-balanced and varied.

The canine physiology has been evolving for millions of years. The ancestors of today’s domesticated canines thrived on various uncooked, natural foods. These include bone, organ meat, vegetable, muscle meat, water, and fat. It is important to provide well-balanced meals which incorporate ingredients from each of those categories.

Domestication has not altered canine physiology very much. For this reason, many experts believe it is important to embrace the essential ingredients which their ancestors fed on in the wild. Zoologists follow this general rule when attempting to preserve animal species.

Six primary nutritional elements should be included in canine diets. These include proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, water, and carbohydrates. A well-balanced diet will include foods which provide nutrition from each of those categories.

In general, canine food is sub-divided into five categories. These include veterinarian-prescribed diets, holistic and natural commercial food, economy and generic food, premium food, and raw or home-made food. Commercial products are usually available in wet or dry forms.

It is important to read the labels of commercially-distributed food. The American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has developed standards of quality. These established guidelines are reflected on the labels. Experts advise selecting food that exceeds the AAFCO guidelines. In addition, avoid foods containing chemical preservatives, as well as fillers, such as soy, wheat, and corn. The best choices contain human-grade ingredients.

Legally, pet food manufacturers must list all ingredients in order of weight. This can help consumers identify the best possible options for their pets. Ingredients commonly found on pet food labels include meat, meat by-products, poultry by-products, fish meal, ground corn, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, brown rice, soybean meal, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), ethoxyquin, and tocopherols.

Meat ingredients include the flesh of animals, including chicken, beef, fish, turkey, and lamb. It can also include skeletal muscle, tongues, sinew, nerves, diaphragms, hearts, and esophagus. The meat by-products include animal parts that are not categorized as meat. These include the liver, brain, fatty tissue, intestines, stomach, spleen, kidneys, blood, and spleen. It does not include teeth, hooves, horns, or hair.

Poultry by-products include feet, heads, and internal organs. The organs often utilized include the kidneys, lungs, liver, heart, and intestines. These ingredients do not contain feathers.

Fish meal is made from the ground tissue of whole fish or fish parts. It may or may not include extracted fish oil. Ground corn is composed of entire kernels which are chopped or ground-up. Corn gluten meal is composed from the by-product which is left-over after corn syrup or corn starch is processed. It is the dried residue which remains after the starch, bran, and germ have been removed. Soybean meal is made from by-products which remain after soybean oil has been produced.

Brewers rice indicates small fragments of rice kernels which are left-over after larger rice kernels have been milled. Brown rice consists of unpolished rice which is left-over after all the kernels have been removed.

BHA is a fat preservative. Ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative used to prevent food spoilage. Tocopherols are natural compounds which are used as food preservatives, such as Vitamin E.

A healthy, balanced canine diet should never include the following elements. Avocado, alcoholic beverages, fish and poultry bones, tea, cat food, chocolate, coffee, tobacco, marijuana, citrus oil extracts, fat trimmings, raw meat, moldy food, grapes, raisins, currants, hops, human supplements which contain iron, fish, macadamia nuts, milk and other dairy products, persimmons, yeast dough, peach and plum pits, raw eggs, rhubarb leaves, salt, table scraps, sugary foods, and xylitol (artificial sweetener) can cause many health problems.

Throughout the life of a canine, her or his nutritional needs shift. It is important to feed puppy food to puppies, adult food to mature canines, and senior food to older canines. Both canned and dry food are appropriate, if the ingredients are high-quality. Often, owners of larger dogs will choose dry foods. This is because it’s easier to transport, and more cost-effective since these canines require more food. Also, the crunchy bits help scrape plaque and other build-up from their teeth. Owners of smaller dogs often choose canned foods. However, dry food’s ability to help clean teeth should be taken into consideration. When diets predominantly include moist foods, it is advisable to incorporate a few meals of crunchy foods.

Making sure your dog gets the proper nutrition is vital to her or his overall health. Feeding your canine friends balanced foods with high-quality ingredients can help support long, active, healthy life-spans.