What are premium dog foods and are they really any better for my dog than your garden variety dog foods? How can you tell what a premium dog food is? Is it listed on the bag somewhere? Is it more expensive? What makes a premium dog food premium?

The main difference between premium and economy dog foods is the quality of the ingredients and the amount of actual nutrients digestible by your dog. Ignore any of the fancy wording or delicious looking pictures on the bag of food. Look, instead, at the dog food ingredients first.

Look at the first 2 ingredients to see if you are purchasing a premium dog food. Economy dog foods use a lot of low quality grains and meat by-products. Premium dog foods list an animal meat as the first ingredient.

Grains/Carbs: Dogs are better able to digest certain grains better than others. Rice, oats, lentils, and barley are all easily digestible for dogs. Corn, soy, and wheat are not. This means less nutrients for your dog. And since economy foods list grains as top ingredients, this means the dog food as a whole is less nutritional than premium dog foods.

Another problem with the type and quality of grains/carbs used by the economy dog foods is that they are common sources of food allergies for dogs. They are also usually the by-products of the grain, not the whole grain itself, and thus has virtually no nutritional value to your dog. The grains/carbs really turn out to be nothing more than a way to make your dog feel full.

A meat by-product is not a top 2 ingredient in premium dog foods. Meat by-product is just what is left over after all the usable meat has been removed. This includes the bones, head, intestines, and blood.

Again, like cheap grain by-products, meat by-products are just not an equal substitute for real animal meat for your dog. They are used to boost the protein percentages in the dog food and make pet owners feel like they are feeding their dogs animal meat.

Most premium dog food brands will have a animal meat or meat meal as the first ingredient. This means the major ingredient in the food is an actual animal protein which will have the most usable nutrients available for your dog.

Is price an indicator of premium dog foods? You certainly won't find any 'cheap' premium dog foods - quality ingredients cost more money. However, you will find some 'expensive' economy dog foods. These dog foods have high prices to make you think you are feeding a premium dog food, when in fact, all you are doing is increasing their profits. Always look at the ingredients list to see what you are paying for.

And now there are even more types of dog food, like organic and all-natural. To find out more about the different choices available for your dog and how to carefully select the best premium dog foods for your beloved pet at the Healthy Dog Food blog.

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Written by K.C. Jones using tags: compare dog foods, dog, dog food, dog food ingredients, dog health, healthy dog food, pet health, Pets, premium dog foods