How To Choose the Healthiest Dog Food

Any caring and responsible pet owner would agree that it absolutely matters what we choose to feed our animals, yet these days it is harder than ever to get a majority of them to agree on what may be best. Unfortunately, for most pet owners — even those who truly do care — the choice all too often comes down to cost and convenience.

While we can certainly appreciate how important those two considerations are, we’d also like to remind you that we don’t feed ourselves or our families on Convenient Store quality foods for good reasons, so perhaps we need to reevaluate what that word — convenience — means when it comes to what we choose to feed our pets.

A stroll down the dog food aisle in any grocery store in America will reveal an overwhelming number of corporate dog food brands along with all of the options they offer but really, all dog food breaks down into one of three categories:

In this article, we will discuss the pro’s and con’s of all three to help you make the most informed decision for your pet’s optimal health!

EXTRUDED DOG FOOD / KIBBLE

The ability to buy extruded kibble-style dog food in bulk at virtually any supermarket and then just pour servings of the dry, relatively odorless pellets into a dish is a convenience too compelling for many pet owners. But consider, for a second, just how long that food has been sitting in that bag on that shelf or one much like it between the time it is packaged and when you open it to feed your pet.

Now consider the fact that it is impossible to create a “complete and balanced” pet food that is also shelf-stable for those periods of time. As that kibble ages, whatever nutritional components it may have started with begin to break down, sometimes into less effective versions of themselves, and sometimes into detrimental byproducts.

Kibble products are often coated with sprayed-on nutrient mixes and flavor enhancers so that your dog will even eat it. Honestly, how far from nature are we willing to stray for this so-called convenience?

The vast majority of store-bought kibble is produced with ingredients that are nowhere near being considered safe for human consumption — things like roadkill, expired food from supermarkets, diseased animals and even in some cases other euthanized dogs.

Kibble contains grains and starches that your dog not only doesn’t need in their diet, but could be suffering from ingesting. Further, a New York Times article from 2018 linked several top dry dog food brands and products with cases of dilated cardiomyopathy, a deadly form of canine heart disease.

While kibble can be used to supplement the transition to a more species-appropriate diet, the sooner your pup goes cold turkey on extruded dog food/kibble, the better.

LIGHTLY COOKED DOG FOOD

We’ve all likely done it — slipped our furry friend a slice of steak or a bite of burger under the table. Aside from a piercing glare from your partner, there was likely no harm no foul for doing so. In reality, there are just a few differences between this type of diet and a raw dog food diet, but those differences are pretty significant.

First, the benefits. A balanced diet of lightly cooked meats and veggies is, by far, much more optimal than a strictly extruded kibble diet. Dogs that are notoriously picky eaters — like those recovering from a surgery or an injury — often respond paws-atively to some good ol’ cooked human food.

With a lightly or gently cooked dog food diet, you are back in control of what ingredients ultimately make it into your pet. Finding a proper balance in the nutritional benefits between those ingredients can be tricky and to compound the confusion, cooking certain foods can profoundly change their core nutrients. Yes, we believe in treating our pets more like family members but it is crucially important to remember that just because you might like braised ribs for dinner doesn’t mean that is the best choice for your dog.

Again, your goal should be to mimic your dog’s natural ancestral diet as closely as possible and, unfortunately, a lightly cooked diet leaves out essential phytonutrients and free enzymes that can only be found in a raw diet for dogs.

Ok, ok, we may be a bit biased here but it sure helps when you have the facts and science on your side. When you make the switch to raw dog food you provide a species-appropriate diet that your canine has evolved over thousands of years to optimize. By introducing your dog to a complete and balanced diet of meat, vegetables, bone, and organ matter you will transform their gut biome into a disease-fighting energy factory. You’ll notice a healthier coat, healthier stools, and just more pep in their step in general!

Of course, finding that perfect balance on your own can be a daunting, costly, and time-consuming task between researching recipes, acquiring ingredients, and then prepping and storing meals. Let’s face it… that’s not convenient and that is a deterrent for too many pet owners, especially with raw dog food subscription and delivery services like what we offer here at Cali Raw.

At Cali Raw, we take the guesswork and the mess-work out of raw feeding with handy tools like our Feeding Calculator, our Health Quiz, and of course our furbaby-favorite pre-prepped meals delivered fresh directly to your door.

Much like our dogs did not evolve by naturally foraging in the wild for grain-based pelletized kibble, nor did they cook their caught prey over a flame. A properly balanced raw dog food diet provides a biologically-appropriate return to your dog’s evolutionary path. Cali Raw takes the cost/convenience question out of the equation, we make raw feeding easy and affordable. If the enhanced health and longevity of your pet’s life matter to you, make the switch to a raw diet for dogs today!

But hey, you don’t have to take our word for it…

Cali Raw Dog Food was recently named as 1 of only 26 pet foods in the United States that meets the quality & manufacturing criteria for the annual list put out by TruthAboutPetFood.com. We take our role in your dog’s life very seriously and we are honored to be recognized for our dedication to helping as many pet owners as possible. The truth is out there and Cali Raw Dog Food delivers it fresh to your doorstep!

Originally published at https://www.caliraw.com.