Dog Food: Chicken In Dog Food

When you select the best dry food for your dog, is it better to go with the chicken meal than the pure chicken?

Chicken meal is better because it is simply chicken that has been baked to remove bacteria and other toxins. Chicken is simply pure chicken. What you might not know about chicken, is that it is made mostly of water. If a label on a bag of dog food says 60% whole chicken that is quite misleading as that does not take into account how much of that 60% of chicken is left after
baking it to remove unwanted substances!

When you read the label on the bag of dog food and it says 60% of chicken meal, your getting more of the chicken because the product has already been baked to remove unwanted affects such as bacteria.

Converting to Dry Matter

If you really want to know what you are doing you need to understand that all pet foods have different levels of moisture. Canned foods can have up to 80% moisture whereas, some dry foods can have as little as 6%. This is important for 2 reasons. The first is that the food is priced by the pound, and when you buy dog food that is 80% water you get 20% food and the rest is water. So this means that the amount of food your pet consumes is small and expensive. The other reason for understanding percent moisture is to help you compare crude protein and fat between brands and between canned and dry. The listings on the label are for the food as it is, not as it would be on a dry matter basis. So without converting both brands of food to a dry matter basis you will not be able to compare them accurately.

Fortunately, the conversion is not that complicated.

If a dry dog food has 10% moisture we know that it has 90% dry matter. So we look at the label and check the protein level that reads 20%. Next, we divide the 20 percent protein by the 90% dry matter and we get 22%, which is the amount of protein on a dry matter basis. Does this make sense so far? Good. Now let us compare this to canned food that has 80% moisture.

We know that with 80% moisture we have 20% dry matter. The label shows 5% protein. So we take the 5% and divide it by 20% and we get 25% protein on a dry matter basis. So the canned food has more protein per pound on a dry matter basis after all the water is taken out. We can do the same for fat, fiber and more.

If you can do the calculations, you can then understand the whole nutrition of the dog food.

Where to Find Nutritious Dog Diet?

Locating the best and most nutritious meals for your pets diet can be a daunting task if you are not well prepared, below I focus on some of the most convenient places you can find dog food. We all want our dogs to eat well, why? Because we understand the advantages of a well balanced healthy dog diet, the challenge we may have is where to buy this nutritious dog food. Markets today abound with all types and varieties of dog food. We are indeed spoiled for choice like it's popularly said. Be it canned dog food or dog food in bags, it's all available and much convenient because all you have to do is pop into your local store, whether departmental or grocery. Store chains don't want to be left behind either, and they too are catching up with the trend, so you can't miss dog food in their shelves, besides they give you better prices for your purchase of dog food.

 But suppose you are wary of purchasing your dog food products from the grocery store, then you should consider getting it from the stores that stock feeds animals. Companies like TSC frequently deal with clients interested in purchasing best quality pet food. They can be more than glad to offer you assistance in deciding the best meals for your dog, and even recommending the best brands for you that can best meet your dog's nutritional and dietary needs. You could also obtain expensive good dog food from such stores that may not exist in your Closest Wal-Mart.

Most companies have moved their products to cyberspace. These companies use the internet as their market platform for their organic and natural pet diets. This means you can use the internet to locate dog food products that feel good to you. Some of these electronic merchants will deliver the dog food product you purchase on-line onto your doorstep, feels good. Modernity has revolutionized the way we feed our dogs, HOW CONVENIENT! The internet offers you unlimited options when it comes to your dog's diet like never before, take advantage of it. But do not be hasty and overlook the apparent. Consult with your vet about the best varieties of dog food. Some vets even sell specific dog food brands and other numerous varieties straight from their offices.

Once your mind is settled on a certain kind of dog food brand for your dog, remember to show it to your vet when he comes in for check up or when you pick your monthly worm medication. A trustworthy vet cannot offer you dog food that is not good for your dog, because they understand the health problems it could lead to. Your vet is might be the best place to locate dog's food suitable for your dog's diet.

Do not be surprised that the best and highly nutritious dog food can be obtained fresh from your home kitchen or even your kitchen garden. There are pet owners who prefer to domestically prepare their dogs food. A dog's diet must have animal tissue present, some greens, and even grain. Meats, greens and grains carefully chosen can be domestically prepared to make sure good nutrition for your pet is maintained for you pet. If you have grown carrots and green beans in your kitchen garden, think about incorporating these to your pet's diet, it will do lots of good. Besides you won't have to worry about the source and preparation because you know already that.

Excellent dog diet could also come from the butcher. If you decide that your pet diet is going to be home made, you can undoubtedly find good quality animal tissue from your local butcher. Chicken breast and ground turkey is best. Whatever type of food you settle for in meeting your dog's dietary needs, always seek your vets advice prior to making any diet changes. Once you have your specific diet figured out, make the best use of the healthier and handy method accessible to you.