When it comes to picking what we eat ourselves, we know that we need balanced dinners to stay happy and healthy. And it works the exact same way for our dogs!
But our dogs can’t tell us directly what they need, so it’s up to us as pet parents to know what makes a healthy diet for dogs. With hundreds of options for dog food on the shelves, it makes it pretty difficult to pick the right one. But don’t fret, we’re here to make things simple.
Keep reading on to find out what makes a healthy diet for our dogs, which includes the ingredients in the food and how the food is prepared, alongside where to get these healthy, balanced dinners from.
Why is a healthy diet so important for dogs?
Well the answer to this is simple, a healthy dog starts with healthy food!
Just like us, your dog’s health and happiness rely on them eating a balanced diet that’s packed with all the good stuff, alongside the right amount of exercise.
What makes a healthy diet for dogs?
There’s lots of things that go into making a healthy, complete, balanced diet for our dogs. But the main components that you need to think about are the ingredients it’s made with, how the food was made and if it’s suitable for your dog’s individual needs. After all, not all our furry friends have the same needs!
So, let’s take a look at these 3 factors in more detail.
Ingredients
Your dog’s food needs to be labelled as complete and balanced, as this means that the food has got all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients necessary to sustain your dog’s body with every meal. But although it might have everything your dog needs to survive, those ingredients might not be the best of the best to help your dog thrive.
Take a look at the back of the packet, do you recognise most of the ingredients there? A healthy diet for dogs will be made up of natural, real ingredients, similar to the ones we’d eat ourselves. So, look out for meat, fruit and plenty of veggies, these are key for delivering a balanced, healthy diet.
Unlike cats, dogs aren’t complete carnivores, they do best when eating a diet made up of meat, fruit, veg and grains if they aren’t sensitive to them. This will provide your pooch with the essential ingredients that make up dog food, the protein, carbs, healthy fats, fruit/veg and vitamins and minerals.
The protein source should be the first thing listed on the packet, as this will mean it’s the ingredient that makes up the largest proportion of the food. Dogs do receive most of their nutrients from protein, so it’s key that it’s first on the list, but they also gain a lot from the other ingredients, so it’s important to make sure your dog’s food includes high quality versions of those ingredients too.
You also want to make sure there’s no added nasties in your dog’s food. Food that’s made with natural, nutritious ingredients will be tasty enough anyway, without the need for strange extra ingredients, preservatives and artificial flavourings. Your dog should be eating good, honest food without any funny business.
Processing
No matter how high-quality the ingredients are in your dog’s dinners, it means nothing if they’ve been processed beyond belief to reach the final product.
To make kibble and wet food, the ingredients are often processed under extreme temperatures, to the point where many of the vital nutrients that may have been in the ingredients initially are ruined.
This means that your dog won’t get to enjoy the benefit of the food’s nutritional value as they’re unable to absorb the nutrients. Overly processed food can also experience dangerous chemical reactions due to the pressure and temperatures used which can lead to the production of carcinogens and harmful by-products.
Instead, natural, minimally processed food will be the best way to go when looking at what a healthy diet is for your dog, as this will be easier for your dog to digest, there’ll be no harmful reactions and your pup will be able to enjoy all the benefits of the nutrients.
Suitable for your dog’s needs
Every single one of our furry friends is totally unique, with a different set of nutritional needs. No two canines are the same!
A healthy diet for your dog will be suitable for their lifestage, whether they’re a puppy, adult dog or a senior pooch, alongside catering for their breed, allergies and any ailments they may have. Also, it needs to be provided in appropriate portion sizes for your dog’s size and how frequently they exercise.
With all these factors to take into account, it makes it hard to find a dog food that fits every need of each individual dog. And that’s where a tailored dog food can help.
A tailored diet will cater for your dog’s dietary needs, making sure they’re getting the very best nutrition and enjoying everything they need to live a long, happy, healthy life.
What is the best healthy diet for dogs?
So, as we know, the healthiest diet for dogs will be made up of natural, nutritious ingredients that are balanced to perfection, alongside being minimally processed to retain all that goodness. As well as this, it should be perfect for your dog’s individual dietary needs, and of course, it should be totally tasty too!
Here at Pure Pet Food, we make tailored, tasty recipes, taking into account your dog’s age, weight, breed, activity levels, allergies and ailments, creating a recipe that’s perfect for them.
We use human-quality, natural ingredients that taste just as good as they look, providing a meal that not only will your dog devour and love, but it’ll be really good for them too.
We don’t subject our ingredients to harmful, high temperatures either, we carefully prepare them under a gentle heat (a heat that’s lower than what we use to cook our own food!), which removes the moisture and preserves the food, no need for any nasty artificial preservatives.
And as a result, all that nutrition and flavour is locked in, you just add warm water and serve up a healthy, tasty meal in the matter of seconds!