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A Couple of Main Considerations When Purchasing Pet Food for Your First Dog

29 October 2020 by Sophie Knight

Getting a new dog for your household can be an exciting time. These furballs are not just adorable but they are bound to introduce a different dynamic to your family with the unconditional love they offer. Nonetheless, as a dog parent, you will take on several responsibilities when it comes to the overall health of your puppy. And while vet visits, stability and exercise and more are all important when it comes to the care of your new dog, nutrition is emphatically paramount.

But the multitude of brands and types of pet food can make it challenging even for the discerning pet owner to know what is best for their puppy. Thus, some people simply go with what they are familiar with from advertisements rather than whittle down their options based on what their puppy needs. To ensure you do not make this mistake, here are just two main considerations when purchasing pet food for your first dog.

Your puppy's age

One little known fact about pets, and dogs, in particular, is that they have varying nutritional needs depending on their current life stage. Hence, if you have a younger dog on the property, you should bear in mind that while your dog may take several bites of the older dog's food, they would not be receiving the nutritional requirements needed for their specific developmental stage. Puppies need a high protein diet at this early stage because they are balls of energy.

Moreover, the protein helps with bone development as well as muscle building. Older dogs, conversely, cannot thrive on a high protein diet, as this will invariably cause health problems for them. This, the first consideration to have when you go pet food shopping for your dog is their age and subsequent developmental stage.

Quality vs quantity

Consumerism has never been as high as it currently is. Most brands promote the purchase of large quantities with the guise that the customer will feel that they are getting their money's worth, but this should never apply to your pup. Rather than gravitate towards bags of pet food that offer high quantities for cheap, you need to familiarise yourself with the type and quality of ingredients in the bag. Puppies, for starters, should get their protein from real meat products, so look for ingredients such as beef, lamb and chicken.

However, be wary of meat by-products on the ingredients list, as these do not offer nearly as much nutritional value as their real meat counterparts do. The second quality ingredient to prioritise is vegetables, fruits and grains. Pet food that offers a balanced amount of these ingredients will be much more nutritional for your dog than an alternative that has vastly different ratios of these ingredients.

Use these tips to find pet food for your dog. 

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