Large dog breeds, in particular, suffer more from obesity than other breeds due to their history of orthopedic diseases- diseases that are only exacerbated by any extra weight they will have to cart around.

Naturally, as a caring pet parent, the last thing you want is for your lovable giant goofball of a dog to suffer from completely preventable health issues.  But what can be done?

In a day and age where people are more attached to their big furry friends than ever the answer is not only clear but quick and easy.  Diet dog foods- kibbles and wet food specially formulated in mind to maximize fat loss while retaining health, are widely available at pet food stores and online.

Not convinced that a simply labeled diet brand of food is specific enough to help your particularly large furry family member?  With the market of concerned and meticulous pet owners with dogs of all sizes in mind, there are many weight management dog foods specifically designed for large breeds.  And of these many brands, here are five that are more than worth taking a look at.

Holistic Select Natural Grain Free Dry Dog Food (Weight Management)

• The formula of this dog food is chicken and chickpea.
• This kibble variety is 100% grain free.
• The nutritional composition of this food is 26% crude protein, 8% crude fat, and 8.5% fiber.
• This dog food is made in the USA.

As a dog food specifically formulated for weight loss in larger breeds this iteration of Holistic Select is a worthy first contender on our list.  Its formulation is mindful of a high proportion of protein to a low proportion of fat, which means fewer calories for the afflicted pooch.  But don’t think that will make your dog hungry for dinner sooner, this formulation also comes with a healthy helping of fiber to keep a dog fuller for longer.  To top it off, the health and safety conscious dog owner can rest assured given that the kibble is both grain-free and made in the USA.

Royal Canin Health Nutrition Maxi Weight Care Dog Dry food

• The nutritional composition of this food is 25% crude protein, 9% crude fat, and 11.7% fiber.
• This formula contains glucosamine to promote joint health for larger dog breeds.
• This dog food is made in Puerto Rico.

While the round donut-like kibble pieces might be amusing to the eye, as a large breed diet dog food, Royal Canin serves up a contender.  The amount of fiber at a whopping maximum of 11.7% a serving is a strong guarantee that your dog won’t suffer the pangs of hunger even on a diet.  To round off the benefits for our specifically larger variety of fuzzy dieters, this formula contains glucosamine to support joint health in larger dogs.

AvoDerm Natural Dog Food

• The formula of this dog food is brown rice and chicken meal.
• The nutritional composition of this food is 20% crude protein, 8% crude fat, and 5% fiber.
• This formula of dog food contains omega rich avocado and avocado oil to promote coat and skin health.
• This dog food is made in the USA.

With almost five stars and over one thousand reviews on Amazon, this diet dog food is hard to miss.  AvoDerm Natural Dog Food is formulated with a large quantity of healthy and natural ingredients that will make any dog owner feel good about feeding it to their beloved pet.  In addition, for both weight loss and as a sign of transparency in the company, this dog food is one of the few that lists its caloric information on its packaging.  A detail that will make managing your dogs diet that much easier.

Instinct Original Grain-Free Rabbit Meal Formula Natural Dry Dog Food

• The formula of this dog food is rabbit meal.
• This kibble variety is 100% grain free.
• The nutritional composition of this food is 33% crude protein, 20% crude fat, and 5.5% fiber.
• This formula of dog food contains both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to promote coat and skin health.
• This dog food is made in the USA.

Just because Instinct Original isn’t specifically formulated for diet purposes doesn’t mean you should pass this dog food up.  While this food is more calorie-heavy than its diet geared brethren, the heavy amount of protein combined with a good sized serving of healthy fats is enough to keep even a big dog more than satisfied. With the filling nature of the food and its natural ingredients, your dieting dog will barely notice the reduction of snack time.

Purina Pro Plan Focus Weight Management Large Breed Dog Food

• The nutritional composition of this food is 26% crude protein, 9% crude fat, and 5.5% fiber.
• This formula of dog food contains both biotin and omega-6 fatty acids to promote coat and skin health.
• This formula contains glucosamine to promote joint health for larger dog breeds.
• This dog food is manufactured in the USA.

Longtime veterans in the dog food market, Purina rises to the competition with this line of large breed diet dog food.  Low fat and high protein already make this food an obvious potential diet choice for dogs without any other frills.  Not to fall behind other brands, Purina Pro Plan contains glucosamine for often joint afflicted heavier large breeds.

Conclusion

Even for responsible pet owners weight gain can sneak up on a dog and cause all sorts of trouble.  But rest assured, this trouble can be easily banished even for large dogs.  With the huge market of weight management dog food out there for large breeds, a healthy weight for your dog can be achievable just with one simple change.

The post 5 Weight Management Dog Food Varieties for Your Large Breed appeared first on GoBarking.com.

Different types of dog foods and different overall diets each have their passionate advocates and detractors. Many people treat their animals as their children and are willing to go to any lengths to feed them the best possible diet, no matter how much time or money it takes.

But what if you have time and money constraints but still want to do right by your dog? Should you feel guilty if you can’t afford the organic, all natural, whole grain or no grain, human-grade ingredient stuff? Should you forego having a canine companion if you don’t have time to cook food for it?

Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University, had similar questions, and she and co-author Malden Nesheim dug into the research and wrote a book, Feed Your Pet Right: The Authoritative Guide to Feeding Your Dog and Cat. Their surprising findings may reassure you about your pet’s diet.

Most Words on the Label Are Meaningless

While you can still buy basic dog kibble like Purina Dog Chow, many higher-priced brands tout their foods as better for your dogs, using labels like “premium” or “all-natural.” There are no official regulatory definitions for these words, and no standards that the foods have to maintain to have a particular label.

One label that is meaningful is “human-grade”, which means all ingredients are at the same standard required for human food production and in fact, are often manufactured in the same production facilities. Is it better? Dr. Nestle says that the biggest health risk with any dog foods is not the ingredients but contamination during manufacture. For this reason, human grade food may be somewhat safer but there are frequent recalls of human food for contamination as well.

“Complete and Balanced” Is What Matters

The most important words to look for are “complete and balanced”, which indicates that the dog food meets the nutritional requirements for pet foods set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Just about every pet food sold meets these basic standards, and contains similar ingredients. Non-premium, lower-priced brands have the same ingredients as the premium ones, but bulked out with more grains, and more meat, poultry, and fish by-products.

Just about every pet food sold meets these basic standards, and contains similar ingredients. Non-premium, lower-priced brands have the same ingredients as the premium ones, but bulked out with more grains, and more meat, poultry, and fish by-products.

There Is Very little Research Evaluating the Value of Different Types of Dog Diets

Nestle and Nesheim found almost no research comparing dog health and longevity when fed with premium vs. store brand dog foods, or commercial dog foods vs. home prepared food or raw diets. Any claims for one being intrinsically better than another is based on anecdotal evidence only, and is colored by people’s beliefs about what foods are healthy, whether it’s organic, high protein, whole grain, grain-free, or even kosher.

All Commercial Dog Food Is Made From By-products of Human Food Production

Dr. Nestle found that commercial dog food fills an important ecological niche, in using up meat and vegetable by-products that are left over from human food production. Not only would these be thrown out, adding to the food waste going into landfills, but she points out that feeding all pets on cooked human foods would strain the food production system severely.

“If everyone cooked human food for the 472 million cats and dogs in America, it would be like feeding an additional 42 million people,” she said in a New York Times interview.

What’s in the Food Is Less of a Problem Than How Much Food Dogs Eat

Like humans, dogs in the United States have a weight problem and it has the same underpinning as the human obesity issue: too many calories taken in, and not enough exercise burning the calories up. Feeding your dog too much of the highest quality food is ultimately worse for your companion than feeding it the correct amount of the cheapest nutritionally balanced kibble out there.

The bottom line:  feeding a pet basic supermarket food is not cruel. If it is labeled as “complete and balanced”, it has what your dog needs to survive, and is healthier than the diet of scraps and forage that most of the world’s dogs eat.

Some dogs have allergies and do better with or without particular ingredients, and if people feel better feeding their dogs premium or home made dog food, that’s fine. But no pet owner should be guilty about not being able to afford expensive dog food.

The post The Surprising Truth About Dog Food: No Proof That Premium Brands are Better  appeared first on GoBarking.com.