With so many brands and types of dog food on offer, choosing the right one can be a real minefield for owners – here are some tips to get you started
The more we learn about canine nutrition, the more we are starting to understand how much of a key role it plays not only in terms of our dogs’ overall health, but also their behaviour. There is a growing body of research into what is known as the ‘gut microbiome’ – in other words, the collection of ‘friendly’ bacteria and other microbes that live in the digestive tract. An imbalance in the gut microbiome is thought to be related to numerous health and behaviour issues. For example, a 2019 study found a link between gut microbiome composition and aggression in dogs – though the sample size was only small at 21 dogs, this lays promising foundations for future research.
That is not to say that rebalancing your dog’s microbiome will magically make any training or behaviour problems go away, but it is a necessary factor to consider as part of any training programme. Indeed, it is one of the things I ask clients about before drawing up a training plan, and I am always surprised by the number of dogs who are experiencing unresolved tummy issues or allergy symptoms (itchy skin, ear infections). It does not appear to be common knowledge that it is not normal for a dog to regularly have episodes of diarrhoea or loose stools – this is a clear indication that something isn’t quite right in your dog’s gut. If you are experiencing something like this with your own dog, you need to first take a close look at exactly what you are putting into your dog and how that might be affecting them!
NOTE: If your dog is experiencing acute, severe diarrhoea/vomiting, especially if accompanied by other symptoms like lethargy, please see your vet immediately.
Types of dog food
Kibble
Kibble is probably the most commonly fed type of food – it’s readily available, easy to store, has a long shelf life and costs less than other food types. However, kibble is also the least digestible of all the food types on offer, and often contains low-quality ingredients and preservatives that can be hard on our dogs’ tummies. That said, not all kibbles are equal – some companies actively avoid harmful preservatives and try to use better quality ingredients. The way the kibble is made is also important: it is usually cooked at high temperatures, which is a cheap method of production but reduces the nutritional value of the food. That said, companies like Forthglade are now offering ‘cold-pressed’ kibble, which is cooked at a lower temperature so as not to impact the nutritional value of the food quite as much.
Wet food
Wet food is also a popular choice for dog owners. It is slightly more expensive, but is still easy to store and has a relatively long shelf-life. Wet food is more easily digestible than kibble, and is certainly more palatable – I’m not surprised many dogs turn their nose up at kibble, as it’s not particularly appetising! Such dogs are often labelled as ‘fussy’, with owners advised not to switch to something else (e.g. wet food) so as not to ‘spoil’ them. However, this ‘fussiness’ can actually be an indication that they either do not find dry kibble palatable (which is fair enough in my opinion!), or that it causes them stomach discomfort when they eat it. Such dogs often do far better on a complete wet food. As with kibble, though, it’s important to look at the quality of the ingredients and how they are processed.
Raw food
Raw food is growing in popularity among dog owners – it is more easily digestible than both kibble and complete wet dog food. However, it is more expensive and requires you to have lots of freezer space for storage. The most important thing to note about raw feeding, however, is the microbiological risk – a number of disease outbreaks (e.g. of salmonella) have been linked back to raw dog food. If you do decide to feed your dog raw, you must apply strict hygiene standards when handling and preparing the food, and it is not advised to use raw dog food in households with immunocompromised individuals or pregnant women. Many dogs find raw food very palatable, and owners often report that it improves the consistency and frequency of their dog’s stools.
Fresh, home-cooked food
In terms of nutritional value, digestibility and palatability, a gently cooked, home-prepared diet ranks the highest of them all. The downside to a fresh diet is that it is more time intensive and involves cooking ingredients that some people may find unpleasant (offal, anyone?!). If you do decide to go down the home-cooked route, it is essential that you seek the advice of a canine nutritionist or your vet in order to make sure that your dog is getting all the essential nutrients they need.
Composition of the food
In addition to the type of food you feed your dog, it’s important to look at its nutritional composition. It is a legal requirement for dog food manufacturers to provide percentages for a number of basic macronutrients in their food: protein, fat, fibre and ‘ash’, sometimes known as inorganic matter. If you add all these percentages up and subtract the total from 100, the percentage you have left is the amount of carbohydrates in the food. The ideal percentage of each of these macronutrients varies depending on a number of factors, such as age, activity level and general health. A good starting point, though, is 30% protein, 18% fat, 5% fibre, 7% ash and 40% carbohydrates. Note that this is calculated on a dry matter basis – if you feed your dog wet food you will need to convert the values from ‘as-fed basis’ to dry matter basis. There are a number of calculators available online for this purpose, like this one.
It's not just about the percentages, though – it’s also important to look at the actual ingredients used. You ideally want to avoid foods containing soy (a common allergen), refined grains (such as white rice) and unspecified ‘derivatives’. Good ingredients to look for include fresh meat (rather than dehydrated/dried meat, sometimes referred to as ‘meal’), offal and bone, fish oils, sweet potato (rather than white potato), vegetables, flaxseed/linseed and yucca extract. Another great ingredient that may surprise you is wholegrains. Although there is currently a trend towards feeding dogs grain-free diets, wholegrains (e.g. brown rice) can be hugely beneficial for our dogs’ health and digestion provided that they do not have a confirmed allergy to gluten.
One final thing to watch out for is ingredient grouping and splitting. The ingredients shown on dog food packages are listed in order of percentage quantity contained in the food from highest to lowest: however, some manufacturers group ingredients to bring things they know are desirable for consumers further up the list, or split ingredients to push ‘bad’ things further down the list. For example, they may just list ‘meat’ to make it look like the food contains a high percentage of fresh meat, when actually much of it is dehydrated ‘meal’. Alternatively, they may split the potato content into ‘potato’ and ‘potato flour’ so that it appears that the food contains less potato than it actually does.
Probiotics
Another way you can give your dog’s microbiome a little boost, especially if they have had a period of digestive issues, is to give them a daily probiotic. There are a lot of these on the market – some better than others. Canine nutritionists recommend opting for a multi-strain variant such as maxxidigest, although many vets will prescribe single-strain probiotics like Pro-Kolin. Whichever one you choose is up to you – but I always advise people to keep a poo and behaviour diary when they start using something like a probiotic, as this makes it easier to objectively track whether it actually makes a difference to their dog's digestive health and/or behaviour.
Want to learn more?
If this post has whetted your appetite, there is loads more information out there!
For more information about canine nutrition or to book a nutrition consultation for your dog, check out https://www.holisticpetservices.co.uk/ - Alyssa is a Clinical Animal Behaviourist with a PGDip in Canine & Feline Nutrition.
For more information about the different dog foods available on the market, head to https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ which offers a handy comparison tool. Don’t take its rankings at face value though – always take a closer look at the specific ingredients and whether they are right for your individual dog.
If you find your dog is hyperactive and struggles to settle, this can often be related to diet and nutrition! If you purchase my Perfectly Calm and Collected Package I will look at all of the factors that might be contributing to your dog’s inability to relax – including their diet – so that we can come up with a holistic training and management plan that works for you and your unique dog. Get in touch today to see how I can help!