Commercial or Premium Food for your Dog?

The difference between run of the mill dog foods and high quality dog foods is quite extensive however; there are easy methods that we as dog owners can take advantage of to ensure that we offer the best possible diet to our faithful companions.

Commercial Dog Food

The commercial dog food market is one heavily relied on by wholesale and commercial stores as it is this type of product that contributes widely to the success of these consumer franchises. Why is this?
For the production of a commercial dog food product, dog food manufacturers use a lower quality ingredient structure. (Including animal by product)Why do they do this?- By doing this, the cost of production is low.- The profit is high due to the public buying the product at a reduced price than that of the premium product.- Most pet owners are not concerned with what the label on the bag reads.- Fillers (cheap additives) are included to make the food taste good.

Premium Dog Food

Premium dog food is exactly how it sounds.- Products that are manufactured with the dog in mind instead of the dollar.- Products that are properly nutritionally balanced.- Products that contain high quality ingredients.- Products that take due time to be created allowing for proper research to be conducted- Extensive product testing, ex. Taste trials.One phrase sums up my illustrated point exactly, that is:
Commercial dog food manufacturers gain from our ignorance! Would you as a parent feed your new baby a low quality formula, or would you go with the more expensive yet far superior brand?
As a dog owner, I can vouch for the latter. Knowing how important a healthy diet is to the present and future longevity of my dog makes me feel guilty that at one point, I was actually feeding him a commercial dog food!

Check List for the Consumer

The below list is a simple guide containing things to consider the next time you go to purchase dog food for your dog:- Commercial products are sold in commercial establishments. (Grocery stores)- Premium products are not sold in grocery stores.- A lot of commercial products list whole meat of some kind as their first ingredient. (Misleading due to the measurement being taken before the meat is cooked, reducing it drastically) - Premium products will not list whole meat as their first ingredient.- A lot of premium products contain specific breed formulas best suited for your breed of dog.- When buying a premium dog food, you pay for what you get. In order to ensure a quality product money is spent to research, test and tinker with the product to create the finished product. I do not mind paying a little extra for my dog’s food because I know that he would thank me if he could for taking such good care of his dietary needs.