Do You Know The Difference Between Pet Diets?
August 15, 2018
Pet’s diets are not what they used to be even a decade ago — the days of dry kibble are long over and there has been an influx of different dog diets on the market. There are numerous diets dog owners are trying out to help their pooch live healthier, longer lives.
If you’re curious about the different dog diets on the market, work with us at Royal Pets Market and Resort in St. Petersburg to design a wellness plan for your pet with our broad range of pet supplies. We treat your pets like royalty and want them to be vibrant and happy, even a little more after they leave our facility! Educate yourself about the different dog food diets available to help you make the right decision for you and your furry friend.
Why do dogs need anything other than kibble?
Dogs, just like humans have very specific dietary needs, it just has been addressed or even really considered until the last couple of decades. Dogs require a different diet because of allergies and different stages of life. Dogs too, are allergic to different proteins and grains, in addition to their energy requirements — a puppy and highly active dog will require more than a senior dog.
There have also been some myths around kibble that we’ve accepted as conventional wisdom that just isn’t true, this includes:
Kibble cleans teeth – A vast majority of dogs have a dental disease, which tells you something about their food.
Kibble is a balanced and complete meal – Labels may do a great job of marketing a “complete and balanced” diet, but it does not mean it’s the ideal diet — it just means it meets the minimal requirements put in place by the pet food industry.
Kibble is better than the alternatives – When you compare kibble to canned dog food, kibble is preserved by chemicals and canned food by the canning process. Kibble is also quite dehydrating, so in the hotter months, it’s easier for dogs to get dehydrated from the hot weather combined with eating kibble every day. Every type of food has its drawbacks, so it’s important to know the differences (which we’ll get to in a moment).
Variety can give dogs GI issues – When you eat the same thing every day it limits the nutrients you can get including a variety of vitamins and minerals, and the same is true for dog food. While variety may upset a dog’s GI tract is a consequence of not having a diverse diet. Once nutritionally sounds food has healed their gut, you can begin gradually adding new foods.
What are the different kinds of dog diets?
There are a whole host of dog food diets and they’re all worth learning about if you ever find your dog in need of new and different nutrition.
Raw food diet – This dog diet is exactly as it sounds — it’s minimally processed and uncooked in its natural and raw state. This diet includes a multitude of raw meat and fish along with raw vegetables and no grains — essentially it’s the raw paleo food diet for dogs. The philosophy behind this diet is that when dogs were undomesticated they ate raw muscle meat and organ meats that provided crucial vitamins and minerals, in addition to ground bone for calcium. You can find raw dog food meals frozen, and all you have to do is thaw it for your dog.
Dehydrated raw dog food – This is exactly like the raw food dog diet, except you skip having to thaw the dog food. The dehydrated food uses warm air to remove moisture from the food to preserve them and is chemical- and preservative-free. This is a great option for when you’re traveling or have to board your dog.
Freeze dried raw food – Again this is similar to the raw food diets above, but it enlists the freeze drying process. The freeze drying process happens by first freezing the food and then drying it to remove the water content, and then drying it one last time to get any leftover water.
Air-dried raw dog food – This process closely resembles the dehydrated raw dog food method, but yields a very scoopable and servable end product. The air-drying method very slowly and gently removes water and eliminates any foodborne pathogens while preserving the crucial vitamins and minerals.
Dog’s diets have been diversifying and beginning to resemble what they ate long ago. People are considering alternative options to kibble because what was once held as the gold standard in dog food has since found its issues overtime. Whether your dog has allergies or a sensitive system, a raw dog food diet may be a great option. There are various types of the raw dog food diet, that only differ in how they’re preserved.