One of the foremost questions on your mind when you bring home a furry baby will likely be, what is the best food to feed my dog? This question stays relevant as your puppy grows because a dog’s nutritional needs continue to change and evolve at different stages of life.

And so, this a question you must keep asking, irrespective of whether you’re a first-time pet parent or a seasoned one, or whether you have on your hands a puppy or a full-grown dog. Because feeding your dog a well-balanced diet in the right quantities is critical for their overall health. To be able to do that, you need to acquaint yourself with accurate dog nutrition facts. Accurate being the operative word.

However, sifting through a sea of information – often overflowing with disinformation – for the relevant facts can be a challenge for pet parents. That’s where Mom with Dog steps in to help you make informed choices about the right dog diet plan based on nutrition advice sourced directly from vets and dog nutritionists.

First things first, every dog requires six basic nutrients to survive and thrive – water, protein, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, and vitamins. While the proportion of these nutrients may vary, depending on a number of factors – your dog’s breed, age, any underlying health conditions, and so on, these are crucial for their organ systems to function optimally. Based on this basic premise of dog nutrition, let’s take a deeper look at:

Dog Food Fundamentals

When pet parents ask, “What is the best food to feed my dog?”, they’re half-expecting the answer to be a solely meat-based diet. Well, in the interest of busting myths around dog nutrition, let’s begin by saying that that is not the case. As previously mentioned, a dog – any dog – requires a mix of six key nutrients to remain healthy: water, protein, carbohydrates, fat, minerals, and vitamins. And it’s not possible to derive all of these from meats alone.

But aren’t dogs carnivores?

Well, there goes the second myth surrounding dog nutrition facts and diet plans. While dogs are a member of the Carnivora group, they are not obligate carnivores – which means that meats are not an absolute requirement in their diets. And if you’ve noticed, the list of essential nutrients also mentions carbs. This means, much like their human companions, dogs, too, are omnivores. Over time, their dental structures as well as intestinal tracts have evolved to process and absorb nutrients from an omnivorous diet.

Dogs’ nutritional needs are best met with a combination of plant- and animal-based foods. And here too, the digestibility and quality of the ingredients are more important than the source of key nutrients. Being mindful of this is key to devising the right dog diet plan.

The bottom line is, an all-meat diet is ineffective in meeting your dog’s nutritional needs. While a dog can survive on a solely vegetarian diet, meeting their high protein requirement through a plant-based diet alone can be a challenge. So whether you’re looking for a healthy dog diet homemade or packaged, balance and the quality of nutrients is key.

What to Feed Your Dog

Now that we’ve covered some crucial dog nutrition facts, let’s come to other pressing questions that pet parents contend with:

• What is the best food to feed my dog?
• What is the best dog diet plan for my pooch?
• Which are the best dog supplements?
• Can a healthy dog diet homemade meet my pet’s nutritional requirements?
• Is dog diet barf a good choice for my pooch?

Once again, there are no one-size-fits-all answers here. The right dog diet plan depends on factors such as your lifestyle, the age and breed of your dog, activity levels, and so on. Even so, there are certain broad guidelines you can work with to arrive at the sweet spot that marries convenience with the right dietary choice for your pet.

How much to feed your dog

The first important consideration is how much food to give your dog. Typically, puppies need to be fed smaller but more frequent meals – a minimum of 3 to up to 5 a day – whereas adult dogs can thrive on two wholesome meals a day. Senior dogs, too, may consume two meals a day but their caloric requirements are lesser, so the portion size will have to be adjusted accordingly.  As a starting point, you can work with the following formula for an average dog with no special needs or underlying health conditions:

30 x weight in kg (or pounds divided by 2.2) + 70 = daily caloric needs

Food options for your dog

Next, comes the question of what to feed your dog. Here there are three primary options available to pet parents: processed food, homemade meals, and barf diet.

Processed foods, such as kibble or canned food, are a preferred option for a vast majority of pet parents for the simple reason that they are said to meet your pooch’s nutritional requirements whilst minimizing the effort in putting together a meal. But remember, not all dog food is created equal. When it comes to choosing processed dog food, you have the option to choose between canned meals and kibble. Always remember that the quality of ingredients matters more than their claimed nutritional value. If wet/dry packaged food is your preferred choice for feeding your dog, buy the most premium dog food you can afford to make sure they get the best nutrition possible.

The second option is homemade food. While it can be the healthiest way to feed your dog, striking the balance between the right ingredients can be tricky. That’s what Mom with Dog is here for. To help you ascertain the right mix of ingredients and quantities for your pet based on their specific needs.

And last is, dog diet barf, which even though strongly recommended by a large section of dog nutrition consultants, comes with its share of drawbacks. Raw diets can expose your dog to several risks and also make them a hazard for any young or immunocompromised members of the family. So, switching to a barf or raw diet is a decision that must not be made lightly. Mom with Dog will help you delve deeper into this subject to help you make an informed decision. The takeaway is that figuring out the right food for your dog is a critical and complex decision that will deeply impact the quality of your dog’s life as well as yours. Mom with Dog endeavors to hold your hand through this decision-making process with concise insights on different aspects of dog nutrition.