Just like people, Moka needs a healthy diet to live her best life. Dog diets are one of the most talked about areas of pet care, and there is a lot of information to sift through. Generally, dogs can achieve good health by eating high-quality meals that include:
carbohydrates
fats
minerals
protein
vitamins
water
There are many different approaches pet parents take to ensuring their dogs get the nutrition they need. In our home, Moka is fed a combination of dry kibble from Nutro and a wet food for sensitive tummies from Hill's Science Diet. I decided to go with the sensitive formula a s since Moka has arrived, we have been introducing new foods and new treats, which can cause some digestive issues.
What is considered 'nutritious' food for dogs?
When considering the best diet for Moka, I broke it down into five main categories:
canned food
dehydrated and freeze-dried diets
freeze-dried raw
kibble diets
raw diets
As mentioned above, I decided to go with a combination diet of canned food and kibble. These are fairly straight forward, but the quality of the food is important. I would suggest that you visit a few dog food review websites to help make a decision on the brand of kibble or wet food that you choose to feed your dog or to assess the quality of the food you are currently feeding them. You can also sign-up for dog food and dog treat recalls, which does happen and is an important part of keeping your dog safe and healthy. The most popular review sites are:
Dehydrated and freeze-dried diets
For raw and fresh food feeders, dehydrated and freeze-dried foods offer pet parents time-saving ways to feed their dogs without dealing with raw meats. These are also great for vegetarians or others that have hard time handling raw animal products.
What are the differences between the two?
Dehydrated raw dog food
The process to produce dehydrated raw food involves using warm air to slowly remove moisture from the raw ingredients. The process doesn't use artificial preservatives and \offer the benefits of raw dog food without having to deal with raw meat. If you're a camper or hiker, it's also a great option for low-weight and easy-to-packs options for your pet.
Freeze-dried dog food
When making freeze-dried foods, moisture is removed from perishable raw food through a pressurized vacuum chamber. This gets rid of any bacteria in the process. The food is considered high-quality as it keeps more of the nutritional content than dehydrating. As an added bonus it doesn't need refrigeration.
Raw diets
This could really use it's own dedicated post, and I may explore that in the a future blog. From the reading I have done, you are either completely for it, or completely against it. And, this type of diet does come with additional risks versus a canned, kibble, dehydrated or freeze dried diet. A raw diet usually includes muscle meat, bones (ground or whole), and organs, such as kidneys. This of course comes with risk, some of which could be:
bones or foreign bodies irritating or even damaging the digestive system
contamination for either you or your pet
I think it is important to consider the risks with this diet. The approach is based on the idea that dogs evolved from wild animals, and that they deserve a diet that is more based on what they would have eaten as wild dogs, or wolves. To me, this presents a question, as the dogs we now have in our homes are no longer the wild animals they once were. With domestication, dogs may well have evolved to eat kibble or cooked foods. More information can be found at Fetch by WebMD.
Moka is doing well and loving her food. I'll keep looking at options, but for now, she's happy at dinner time and her mental and
physical performance is high. Keep an eye on your dog, their mood, their activity level (and their poo), and if you need to consider a change in diet, I hope this information helps!
MokatheJindo.com does not sell any products mentioned on this blog, not does MokatheJindo.com endorse or promote and specific products or companies. Any mention of products does not relate to our recommendation of the product in any way and are merely suggestions based on the products Moka herself uses.
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