The appearance of a small pet in the house always brings people joy and good mood. However, like any animal, a puppy will need a lot of attention and care. First of all, when starting a dog, you need to think about its diet. Fortunately, today for this there is a large number of feeds that can be purchased in specialized stores.
What is feed analysis necessary for?
The selection of food should be approached with particular care. The ideal option would be to select special feeds made by manufacturers who are ready to bear responsibility for the quality of their products. After all, dogs need a well-balanced diet, which should include proteins, vitamins, and other equally important foods.
If you do not analyze all the products that are part of the finished feed, then the animals may simply not receive any very important elements.
And this will negatively affect their health in the future. Ideally, it is best to use natural feed. However, not every person has the opportunity to cook daily for their pets.
Therefore, many prefer to feed their dogs artificial feed, which can be divided into dry and soft. They are also divided into classes:
- economy;
- Premium
- super premium.
All of them differ not only in price, but also in the quality of the ingredients. It is for this reason that feed analysis is needed. In addition, all dogs need as much meat as possible. Various cereals are a small addition; they should be no more than 40 percent of the total composition. They will not bring much benefit, but also much harm.If there are offal in the composition, then it is imperative to pay attention to the fact that these are entrails, and not crushed bones.
The ideal food will be considered to be in the composition of which not the general word "bird" is written, but a specific type of meat (for example, turkey or chicken).
Composition Characterization
It is worthwhile to familiarize yourself with the composition of all dog foods in more detail and compare them from economy class to super premium.
Economy class
These feeds are considered one of the cheapest among other feeds. They will not bring much benefit to animals. Moreover, if you feed your pets with such food for too long, then after a few months they may have health problems. And all because in the composition of these feeds there is practically no real meat, but only offal of doubtful origin.
In addition, this includes food fillers such as soy, corn or wheat of the lowest quality.
The composition of the feed also includes various flavors and flavor enhancers, which is addictive in animals.
As a result, they refuse to eat quality products, preferring to them purchased and not the most useful substitutes. The list of the most common economy-class feeds includes:
- Pedigree;
- "Psarny yard";
- "Our brand";
- "Caesar";
- Friskies
Mid-priced
This category includes better feed. A large number of offal is still present in their composition, however, they are more useful. In addition, the composition may also include real meat - it all depends on the producers. In the percentage of meat there is no more than 25 percent.
Most often, the basis of such food is rice.
It is preferable to give such food to adult dogs, but it is worthwhile to understand that such food is still not ideal.
If we make a comparative analysis of all the options, then those made in European countries or in the USA are considered to be of higher quality. It is worth considering them in more detail.
AVVA
Such feeds are produced in the Netherlands. Their main ingredients are products of animal origin. This is fresh or dried chicken or lamb. Foods are completely balanced, have a high percentage of both fats and proteins. In addition, they have many vitamins and minerals.
Advance
Produced feed data in Spain. The composition most often includes chicken meat. In addition, most products have a fairly high level of protein. They also have all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
Brit Premium
The products of this brand are rich in minerals. In addition, meat is most often used without bones. It also has chicken liver and mussels.
Chicopee
Release food in Germany. The composition includes chicken and lamb, rice or barley. However, the percentage of fat in such feeds is too high.
Hill's science plan
Produce such feed in the Netherlands. The percentage of meat in them is very high, in some ranges reaches 50 percent. The most commonly used nutria meat. The responsible approach of manufacturers allows these feeds to occupy a leading position for quite some time.
Probalance
They are made in Russia. The composition includes beef meat, as well as rabbit meat. Besides, in the composition you can find flax seeds, which contain many vitamins and minerals. There is absolutely no grain in such feed; they are replaced by peas, potatoes or lentils.
Super premium
These dog foods are perfectly balanced. They include only real meat, the percentage of which is not less than 40 units. Offal can also be included, however, they are only of the highest quality. It can be chicken hearts or a liver, but by no means ground bones. In addition, super-premium foods are distinguished by the fact that they do not add flavor and odor enhancers.
Almost all manufacturers of such dog foods do not hide the information that in order to achieve a high level of protein mass, they introduce amino acids into them. Indeed, without this, her rate would be very low.
All feeds are distinguished by a sufficient amount of minerals and vitamins.
Most of these products are multi-linear. They are intended not only for adult dogs, but also for puppies. If we compare the composition of these feeds, they practically do not differ. The only difference is that the food for puppies is more high-calorie, as well as the percentage of vitamins and all necessary elements in them is slightly higher than in products for adult dogs.
The most popular among them are:
- Eukanuba;
- Brit Care;
- 1st Choice.
It is also worth considering the holostics feed, which are of the highest quality. They have a large amount of meat and absolutely no offal. If we talk about vitamins, then manufacturers use only their natural sources, for example, berries or fruits. Feed holistic can provide the dog with everything that is necessary for his health. However, you need to buy them only in specialized stores. The most popular among them are:
- Now Fresh;
- Acana
- Grandorf.
Below is a comparative table of some feeds of different classes for clarity. It indicates the qualitative composition of each product so that you can analyze it and evaluate its usefulness.
Name of feed, class | Protein composition | Fat composition | Carbohydrate composition | Additional components |
Pedigree Economy | Chicken offal flour, corn gluten, meat and bone meal. | Animal fat, vegetable oil. | Wheat, rice, wheat grinding, corn, wheat flour. | Chemical preservatives, salt, dyes, |
Advance Premium | Corn gluten, lamb, poultry meat hydrolyzate, dry blood, animal proteins. | Animal fat, fish oil. | Beet pulp, crushed corn, maize, rice. | Lemon acid. |
Eukanuba Super Premium | Chicken, chicken offal flour, dry egg powder, fish meal. | Chicken oil, fish oil. | Cornmeal, dried beet pulp, barley, sorghum, flax. | Rosemary, chicken seasoning, chicken cartilage, salt. |
Grandorf, holistic | Lamb, turkey. | - | Rice flour | Apples, Tsaregradsky pods, natural flavors. |
Who controls the quality?
All manufacturers rely on GOST R 55453-2013 and adhere to the technical conditions described in it, as well as the necessary standards. In any industry, there are special veterinary controls that check all the components at different stages. To begin with, the inspection is carried out visually, and then in the laboratory.
Besides, it is very important in which country the product was made. For example, in Europe, all standards are quite high, and the quality of products for animals is always under control. But still, when buying, you must always pay attention to all the components, even if the product is manufactured abroad.
Summing up, we can say that everyone should choose dog food very carefully so as not to harm the health of their pet, and also pay attention not so much to advertising as to the quality of the product and its composition.
You can learn about the dry feed market and hidden premium and economy brands from the video below.
