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Amir and Jordan are looking to buy a puppy to add to their family. To prepare, they begin their research and discover that the dog food aisle alone can be overstimulating!

Animated food boxes (from the movie 'Sausage Party') sticking out of their shelves asking to be picked

Finding yourself in a similar situation? Don't stress! Narrowing down your options will help lessen this overstimulation at the store and build confidence in your decisions.

Choosing between kibble and a raw diet

💡 Kibble refers to hard food pellets packed with proteins, vitamins, preservatives, and more. The kibble industry is HUGE which means you have lots of great (and not-so-great) options!

Benefits of high-quality kibble

  • Flaticon IconRefrigeration not needed

  • Easier for travel

  • Takes longer to expire

💡 Raw diets on the other hand are historically what dogs ate. After the Industrial Revolution, raw diets declined in popularity but more owners are returning to the more natural route. This involves feeding your dog a diet that best models that of whole prey (meats, organs, bone, etc).

Benefits of a high-quality Raw diet

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  • Lots of balanced and pre-packaged options available and the option to do-it-yourself for experienced owners

  • Organic and natural

  • Produces less smelly and smaller poops

Woman saying 'what would you do?'

Did you know?

Dogs are considered facultative carnivores, meaning they can survive on an omnivore diet BUT they thrive best on a carnivorous diet. Simply put, dogs can get all their nutrients from a balanced diet. Fruits and vegetables act best as snacks or supplements but not as meals (source: Truecarnivores.com, "Obligate Carnivores: Nature’s True Carnivores").

What to look out for!

Just like in human food, packaging companies put the heaviest ingredients at the top of the list. Take a look at some ingredients to aim for and avoid below.

Aim for:

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  • First 3-5 Ingredients are ones you can pronounce or are familiar with

  • Vitamins

  • Natural oils

  • Omega fatty acids

  • Low-carb foods to avoid bloating in dog's gut

  • Real meat named byproduct meals (Ex: turkey byproduct meal) are not as good but are acceptable

Avoid:

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  • Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) , butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) & ethoxyquin

  • These are cancerous preservatives banned in places like the EU, Japan, Romania, Sweden & Australia

  • Generic byproduct meal (Ex: meat and bone Meal)

  • Added sugars (sucrose)

Pick The Best Dog Food

Amir and Jordan now have some very basic guidelines to help them pick their new dog's food. As they enter the store, they're presented with many options.

Help them decide which option to get!

Quiz options of 4 different types of dog foods with ingredients list

To hear a description of the text in the above poster, click the play button in the audio file below.

Quiz

Which option should Amir and Jordan buy for their dog?

Provide Diversity In A Dog's Diet

By this point, you may have found the right food needed for your dog! You're done right?

Nope!

💡 Now you need to rotate your dog's foods — if the food is chicken based, the next time you buy a kibble bag or raw food, select a different protein such as:

  • beef

  • pork

  • lamb

  • goat

  • turkey

Dog in a burning room says, 'Chicken .... again'. In the second frame the dog says, 'This is Fine'.

This diversifies the enzymes and gut bacteria needed in your dog's gut to keep them healthy and strong. Plus this aids in preventing food sensitivities for your dog.

Besides, how would you feel eating the same protein for every meal every day?

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Take Action

Lady frantically runs through food aisle at grocery store. She throws food into her cart.

License:

This Byte has been authored by

MR

Michael Ricciardi

Learning Designer & Secondary school Music Teacher

English

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