When considering the best dry dog food, pet owners may also want to consider switching food types. There are three basic types of dog foods on the market today: dry dog food, wet canned food, and raw diets.
Here are the basics and benefits of each:
Dry Dog Food: There are many quality dry kibble products on the market. The best dry dog food is going to have a balance of nutrition, low filler elements, and high identifiable proteins. Perhaps the best argument for dry dog food is the convenience factor. It is easy to determine how much food to provide a dog. Dry dog food also tends to be less expensive and can be left out without fear of spoilage. Some dry dog foods also can help with teeth health.
Wet Dog Foods: There may be many reasons for opting to avoid dry dog food all together. PetMD suggests wet dog foods can help provide extra hydration in a dog’s diet for dogs who struggle to drink enough water. Wet canned foods can be good for older dogs who can’t smell as well as they used to or are missing teeth. However, wet food is messier than dry and has a short shelf-life after it is opened.
Raw dog food: Some pet owners believe even the best dry dog food is not good enough for their pet. Proponents of a raw dog food diet say the other options have additives that are far from the "ancestral" food a dog’s relatives would have eaten in the wild.
Pet WebMD notes that the popularity of raw diets is growing, even with controversy surrounding the diets.
Proposed in the early 1990s, the diet is often referred to by the acronym BARF — Bones and Raw Food. The diet was developed by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst. The diet relies heavily on muscle meat, bones, raw eggs, and fruit.
The drawback is that raw dog food can host bacteria that food officials consider to be bad for both pet and human. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that raw dog food is more likely to have potential dangers such as salmonella and listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The
American Veterinary Medical Association also has warned about the dangers of the diet.
People could be exposed to these bacteria in handling the food. This is particularly dangerous for people with compromised immune systems, the young, the very old, and pregnant women. The FDA recommends thorough hand-washing for humans and to not wash the meat intended for dog food. Washing the raw food could spread harmful bacterias to nearby surfaces.
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