Dog food: types and classes, how to choose

On the shelves of pet stores today you can find a huge number of a wide variety of dog food. There are products for healthy animals of different ages, therapeutic formulations that are indicated for problems with digestion, kidney, dry, wet mixes, dog treats and many other options. It can be difficult for a beginner to choose something suitable for his pet. Let's talk about the features of different types of dog food.

Classes of dog food

All dog food is divided into several main classes:

• Super Premium - high quality dog food. Super premium dog food is made from premium meat: beef, lamb, poultry. In the composition there are cereals: flax, barley, oats. The degree of assimilation of such a composition exceeds 80%, the energy value is usually 450 kcal per 100 g and higher. This significantly reduces the amount of animal consumption of such feed. These mixtures are enriched with vitamins, do not contain preservatives, flavoring additives, stabilizers, flavorings. Separately, it is also worth mentioning a subclass of superpremium class feeds - holistic.
• Holistic is the best food on the market today. The composition of holistic dog food includes only natural meat and fish, up to 90%, natural vegetable additives. These mixtures are completely free of GMOs, flavor and odor enhancers, dyes, stabilizers. Digestible holistic feeds are 100%.
• The composition of premium mixes premium feed includes meat, fish, poultry, good quality by-products, rice, vegetables, vegetable proteins. The use of coloring and flavoring additives is allowed. Such feeds are digested by the digestive tract of the animal by 75%. The energy value of these products is 350 kcal/100 g and higher.
• Economy. The cheapest and, accordingly, low-quality class of dog food. Usually it is produced from second-rate ingredients, from waste coming from slaughterhouses, low-quality grain. Instead of natural meat for the production of such mixtures use meat and bone meal, animal fats of various kinds, soy, corn and other cheaper components. In economy-class feeds may be present flavorings, flavor enhancers, artificial additives, preservatives, dyes, stabilizers. The daily consumption rate of such mixtures is high, because their energy value does not exceed the mark of 350 kcal/100 g.

These classes of food can have a different state: dry dog food, semi-dry mix and wet. Of the brands we can recommend Acana, Baskerville, BonaCibo, Brit Care, Brit Fresh, Brit Premium, Carnilove, Hill's, Home Food, Isegrim, Mera, Nutram, Nutrican, Orijen and others. But one chooses based on the class of the food.

Other classifications of dog food

In addition to the division into classes, there is also a division of food into types based on consistency:

• Dry food. It is available in the form of dry pellets of different fractions. It is considered a balanced concentrated food containing vitamin complex, fats, carbohydrates, proteins.
• Semi-dry mix. Usually contains propylene glycol, which keeps the feed from drying out.
• Wet (canned) feed. It consists of cooked products and water, which takes about 70-80% of the composition. Therefore, if judged by weight alone, the daily allowance of wet food will be greater than that of dry food.

About therapeutic dog food

Separately, it is worth mentioning an important variety of dog food - dietary or therapeutic mixtures. The composition of such products can vary. It depends on the disease for which the food is intended.

Therapeutic foods are specially developed by veterinarians, they undergo many tests and include only high-quality components. It should be remembered that dietary mixtures do not cure diseases, they do not include medicinal components, they only help to reduce the load on the diseased organs, alleviating symptoms.

Buy therapeutic food can only after consultation with the attending veterinarian. Self-medication of the pet is inadmissible! If the food is inappropriate, it can be harmful to your dog's health.