Does Your Dog’s Food Matter?

When you consider that, if given the option, most dogs have no problem eating some of the most vile things, it can be surprising just how picky they’ll be when offering them food from the dog chow bag. If you’ve ever dealt with this surprising and frustrating factor, understand that you’re not alone. Mealtime pickiness with most pets (cat owners know this all too well) is a common occurrence. But why? In this overview, we’ll go over the importance of feeding your pup dog food, as well as some great options to consider.

It may seem a bit silly, but we’ve all been there when it comes to feeding our pets. More often than not, we can easily find ourselves feeding our pets just about anything we have on-hand, especially if the brand of pet food we’re using is getting the upturned nose treatment.

The reality is that, unless you have your dog out in the wild where they’re running around and acting like a wild animal, the daily walks on their own aren’t going to be enough to work off any issues your foods may have caused. Below are a few reasons why feeding your dog dog food is important for their overall health and shouldn’t be ignored.

#1. Weight & Caloric Management

You need to understand that, just as you shouldn’t be eating the same calorically dense foods as an Olympic gymnast or a bodybuilder, your dog shouldn’t be eating the same foods as you. This is because dogs need around 30 calories per pound of body weight per day for weight maintenance. This means a 10 lbs. chihuahua needs only around 300 calories per day while a 70 lbs. lab may need around 2,100.

Generally, if you’re lax on what you’re feeding your dog, there’s a good chance you’re not measuring their caloric needs. This can lead to a bulked up pup in no time (believe me!)

#2. Adequate Vitamins & Minerals

You also need to keep in mind the actual nutrition in their respective foods. Dog food is made for dogs. That means it’s going to have the right types of vitamins and minerals that they need as well as in the right amounts. A great example is something like taurine, which you wouldn’t have much of in your foods, but is a core essential for most pets.

#3. Proper Digestion

Lastly, you need to consider the importance of your pet’s digestion and how that compares with our own. We can eat things they can’t and vice-versa. When you veer off from their respective dog foods and into random human foods, you run the risk of taxing your dog’s digestive health while also depriving them of certain digestion-based minerals and enzymes that they’d otherwise have.

Quality Dog Foods

There are a lot of different dog foods available that consider themselves to be the top-tier option. And, while it’s never clear who’s truly the best option, one that has gotten a lot of buzz for their rave reviews is Centinela Feed & Pet Supplies. They’re a California-based pet food store that has tons of high-quality local pet food options, often with raw options as well as frozen and canned foods, giving you a pretty extensive variety to choose from.