Faced with a wide variety of dog food on the market, how should owners choose a good dog food for their dogs?
Today I will share with you, when choosing dog food, it is recommended that shovelers master the following knowledge points!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > first: dog food classification</h1>
Classified by moisture, dog food has dry and wet food.
Because dogs eat wet food for a long time, they are easy to be picky, their teeth are not exercised, they are easy to accumulate debris and tartar, and finally cause oral problems, and there are more preservatives in wet food, so most shovelers are more willing to choose dry food to feed.
Dry food, also known as puffed grain. It is subdivided into commodity grains, natural grains, and grainless grains. Commodity grain prices and ingredients are low, generally a few yuan to more than ten yuan a catty, it is not recommended to choose. If you want your dog to eat healthy, it is recommended to choose natural grains and grain-free foods. If you are allergic to your dog's grain, choose grain-free.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="38" > Second: View the ingredient list</h1>
According to the food labeling management regulations, the ingredients of the ingredient list are arranged according to the amount of addition from high to low, so the higher the content, the earlier the position, and the lower the content, the lower the position. In the top three, the more animal meat is better, the higher the ranking, the better, and the top few of the good dog food ingredient list must be meat.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > Third: what minefields to learn to avoid</h1>
A good dog food, in addition to the high nutritional guarantee value, the formula should be transparent, and the raw materials should be of high quality. Transparent formulation ingredients avoid these minefields:
1. Confuse the difference between meat content and animal raw materials;
2. The meat content is small and the proportion is unknown; the grain raw materials are too high, containing too much plant-based protein that is not easy to digest, which can easily lead to abdominal pain and even diarrhea in dogs;
3. The table of raw materials such as meat and fat does not indicate the source, the source is unknown, and there may be problems with the meat;
4. Contains antioxidant bHA (butyl hydroxyanisole), BHT (di-tert-butyl cresol), flavor additives (food attractants) and so on.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="40" > Fourth: Learn to refer to the nutritional indicators of dog food</h1>
The following eight main references are made:
1, crude protein, index: puppy dog food ≥ 22%, adult dog food ≥ 18%
Dogs, as carnivores, need a lot of protein for tissue growth.
2, crude fat, index: puppy dog food ≥8%, adult dog food ≥5%
Provides energy, maintains the integrity of cell membranes, cell mediators and precursor substances of certain hormones, is an important factor in determining the palatability of food, and is a source of vitamins A, D, E, K. It is an essential ingredient in food, but it can also be harmful if you consume too much.
3, coarse ash, indicators: both are ≤ 10%
Setting up coarse ash indicators can prevent bad merchants from adding cheap, nutrient-free raw materials to dog food.
4, crude fiber, indicators: both are ≤ 9%
The right amount of crude fiber can stimulate intestinal peristalsis, help dogs with constipation to defecate, and make the dog's digestive system more smooth.
5, calcium, indicators: puppy dog food ≥1%, adult dog food ≥ 0.6%
Calcium intake must be balanced with phosphorus to ensure healthy bone growth and maintenance.
6, total phosphorus, index: puppy dog food ≥ 0.8%, adult dog food ≥ 0.5%
7, water-soluble chloride, that is, salt, indicators: puppy dog food ≥ 0.45%, adult dog food ≥0.09%, recommended maximum of no more than 1%
It is essential in the animal body.
8, lysine, index: puppy dog food ≥ 0.77%, adult dog food ≥ 0.63%
It is an essential amino acid.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="41" > Fifth: Look at the nutrition facts of dog food</h1>
Protein is between 22% and 35%, too low will affect the growth and development of dogs, but too high will bring a huge burden to the liver and kidneys.
Fat is best not to exceed 18%, too high can easily lead to soft stools, obesity, pancreatitis and so on.
Water-soluble chloride, or salt, is recommended at a maximum of no more than 1%. Dogs eat too salty dog food for a long time, which is prone to tear marks, hair loss, and even affects kidney health.
The most appropriate ratio of calcium to phosphorus is between 1.1:1 and 1.4:1, and if it is out of balance, it is easy to cause dog rickets.
Coarse ash content can not exceed 10%.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="43" > Sixth: contact resolution</h1>
Owners can make further selections by personally touching the dog food, so try to choose some dog food that is available for tasting or gifting.
(1) Try not to choose dog food that feels very greasy, and dogs eating too greasy can easily cause a lot of problems.
(2) If there is any musty, pungent, sour or strong aroma, all passed.
(3) If you feel very sticky on your hands, there may be a problem with the quality of dog food or materials, please purchase with caution.
(4) Poor quality dog food will be large and small, and the surface is relatively rough.
(5) The color of dog food is too light, indicating that the meat content is not high, and the colorful color is added with pigment.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="44" > seventh: choose the brand</h1>
Dog food has imported grain and domestic grain, and there are many options. However, domestic grain is more cost-effective, because of imported grain, it must be counted in transportation costs, tariffs, agent authorization costs, etc., the same quality, a pound of imported grain is 10 to 20 yuan more expensive. Therefore, in domestic grain, generally at 20-30 yuan a pound can choose high-end dog food, and there are many advantages in all aspects.
Now is the era of the rise of domestic products, many domestic dog food brands are not bad, take this "hungry dog food" for example.
In its quality inspection report can see the detailed data, 28.93% of the crude protein to meet the needs of dogs, and do not have to worry about other problems caused by too high, long-term feeding, crude fat is not more than 18%, crude ash is only 6.7%, the latter indicators are to meet the dog nutrition and health requirements.
After choosing dog food, it is also necessary to look at the situation after feeding the dog to see if there is discomfort, soft stool, tear marks, serious hair loss, etc., in order to judge whether the dog food is appropriate. Therefore, this dog food also comes with a trial food package, and there is no food package refund service, which can be said to be quite sincere!
The above selection of dog food knowledge, I hope to help you shoveling officers!