Welcome to the challenging world of trying to buy a good dog food!

So, how do you narrow down your choices and figure out what your dog needs versus just closing your eyes and picking a food? Or should you just buy what your neighbor or best friend feeds their dog?

First of all, don’t buy a dog food just because your neighbor or best friend feeds it to their dog. Start with the idea that every dog is different with different nutritional needs. Your dog is different from your friend’s dog. If your friend has an older, overweight Dachshund you probably don’t need to feed your young, energetic German Shorthaired Pointer the same food the Doxie eats.

In order to choose the right food for your dog, you can ask the following questions to help narrow your choices:

1. How old is your dog?

Dog foods are formulated for different life stages. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) provides labeling guidelines for pet food manufacturers. Foods that are labeled “complete and balanced” can be formulated for growth and development/all life stages or maintenance. The different formulations have different nutrients for different life stages. If you have a puppy, you should look for a food that is labeled for “growth and reproduction” or “all life stages.” If you have an adult dog you should look for foods that are labeled for “maintenance” or “all life stages.” Foods that are labeled “all life stages” can be fed to all dogs, regardless of age.

2. What size is your dog? (If your dog is a puppy, it helps to know what size s/he will be when s/he grows up.)

Large breeds and Toy/small breeds can have some special nutritional needs. For example, many large/giant breeds grow very fast as puppies. This can put added stress on their bones and joints, leading to arthritis and other health problems later in life. Breeders often recommend that large/giant breed puppies be fed a puppy food that is designed for large breed puppies to help encourage slower growth. It’s especially important that large/giant breed puppies have the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio in their food . This ratio is about 1.2:1. You should not add calcium supplements to a puppy’s food if he is eating a good puppy food since this can also lead to bone and skeletal problems later in life.

Toy/small breed can also have some issues. These breeds tend to have a faster metabolism than medium and large dogs. They burn up more calories than their larger doggy friends. For this reason, many dog food companies make dog foods that are formulated for small breeds. These foods usually have more calories per ounce. Small dogs cannot eat very large meals so the food is nutrient-dense, allowing a small dog to take in a lot of nutrients and calories in a small meal.

3. Is your dog overweight?

It’s estimated that over 50 percent of the dogs in North America today are overweight or obese. If your dog is overweight you might need to consider a food with fewer calories or less fat. Or you could re-examine your current feeding practices. Free feeding (leaving food down all the time) encourages dogs to over-eat. Measuring your dog’s portions and only leaving food down for 15-20 minutes can prevent your dog from snacking all day and putting on weight. You can also cut down on fattening treats. Try replacing treats that have lots of calories with healthier treats like apple pieces. Encourage your dog to get more exercise.

4. Does your dog have any health problems?

If your dog has a specific health problem, talk to your veterinarian about what kind of food he needs. Depending on his health problem, he might need a prescription diet. These foods are expensive but they are sometimes necessary. You can also ask your veterinarian if there are any commercial dog foods that could be fed in place of a prescription food.

5. Does your dog have any food allergies or sensitivities?

Many premium dog foods today are formulated to help dogs avoid certain food allergens. Grain free dog foods began this way. Foods with exotic meat proteins (buffalo, venison, kangaroo, etc.) were created for this purpose. Limited ingredient diets are made for dogs with food allergies and sensitivities. The majority of dogs do not have food allergies or food sensitivities but many of these foods contain very high quality ingredients so they can be a good choice for any dog. (Though we caution that if you feed foods with exotic meat proteins, you may not have a selection of novel meat proteins if your dog happens to develop a food allergy.)

Dogs can be allergic to many things but they tend to be allergic to some of the most common dog food ingredients simply because they have the most exposure to them: beef, dairy, chicken, lamb, fish, corn, wheat, soy. Some people have started adding rabbit to this list. If your dog is not allergic to these ingredients, you don’t have to avoid them – though many people avoid soy for other reasons. Corn and wheat have also become unpopular dog food ingredients (a topic for another day). If you know that your dog is allergic or sensitive to an ingredient, look for foods that don’t contain it. In some cases, dogs can be allergic or sensitive to multiple ingredients.

Of course, you will also have to consider your budget when buying dog food. Honestly (and speaking as the owner of four large dogs), some dog foods are incredibly expensive! My dogs get better food than I do but it makes me happy. Everyone has different circumstances. You can find good foods for a modest price; and some foods with great reputations are over-hyped and over-priced, in my opinion. On the other hand, cheap dog food usually has cheap, poor quality ingredients. Learning to read a dog food label, knowing ingredients, and understanding how to figure the dry matter basis of a food are helpful in choosing foods (also a topic for another time).

Hopefully, by asking yourself these questions about your dog’s age and condition you can start to make some choices about which food is right. There doesn’t have to be one right food for your dog. It’s fine if you try several foods to see how your dog likes them. Be sure to feed the food for a few weeks to give it a chance. And don’t change the food too quickly or it will likely upset your dog’s stomach.

Have fun browsing and comparing dog foods!

The post How to choose the right food for your dog appeared first on Safe Pet Treats | Pet Food Safety and Recalls.

In case you don’t know, our mobile app will scan the barcode found on the back of pet food products and alert you if the product has been recalled by the FDA (get it on the Apple store or Google Play).  While gathering the data needed to build our app database, we noticed a few brands that were consistently on the recall list so this sparked our interest. Our thoughts shifted towards the brands that have NEVER been on the FDA recall list and with a little bit of research we quickly found a few brands but one stood out consistently above the rest. Orijen.

Information on Orijen

Orijen is a brand made by the Canadian company, Champion Petfoods®. They believe in feeding your pet biologically appropriate foods that match what your dog or cat would eat in their natural environment. This includes foods that are high in protein and low in carbohydrates.  Far more meat because this is what your dog or cat would primarily eat in their natural environment.

Why we picked Orijen

Orijen uses only meats that are farmed or fished by local farmers in western Canada.  Fresh meats arrive daily, never frozen and in the most natural form possible and according to the company “fit for human consumption”.  The idea of using local farmers to supply their meats with no preservatives and never being on the FDA recall list are the main reasons we switched to Orijen and our girls LOVE it!

Review

Packaging – The product comes in a vacuum sealed bag.  It’s a re-sealable bag that will help keep the food fresh by keeping air and bugs out. We found that the bag was a little difficult to reseal but after a few seconds we got it completely sealed and the seal held.

Color – We’ve tried multiple Orijen products and all of them have been the same brown color.  This is a good thing because it means that they don’t add dyes to their food.  Dyes are chemicals other pet food company’s use to make the food look appealing to humans.

Texture – Our three girls are Chihuahuas and they have no problems chewing this food.  Our heaviest is 5.5 lbs and the lightest is 3 lbs. The kibble is big enough to make them chew and it breaks off easily. This is important for us because of past experiences with other brands of dog food.  If the kibble is too small or too hard, our girls will just swallow it whole.

Smell – The food does have a strong odor but that’s due to the freshness. After all, this food is not meant to be appealing to humans.

The Cons

There are a couple of cons when it comes to Orijen and that is the price and availability. It’s true what they say, you get what you pay for. You are paying a premium for a premium grade quality food and at the end of the day, do you really want to put your pet’s health at risk in order to save a few dollars? The average price of a 15lb bag of Orijen food is around $60.  You could find it cheaper online but beware; there are some companies in China that are counterfeiting the product.  Find out more here.
Orijen is only sold at select locations here in Houston. Our local Petsmart or Petco does not carry the Orijen brand so we have to drive a few miles further to a fantastic pet shop called Woof Gang Bakery.


The Safe Pet Treats team highly recommends this product for all Dog and Cat owners. Champion Pet Foods (the makers of Orijen) has been in business for over 25 years and their values mirror that of pet owners who only wish to provide their pets with the highest quality ingredients available without the use of preservatives and other chemicals. Give Orijen a try, your pets will love it!

We also created a video of this review.  Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you find it helpful.

The post Orijen Dog Food Review appeared first on Safe Pet Treats | Pet Food Safety and Recalls.