There is a growing and disturbing trend of people looking for the best dog foods for specific breeds. This stems from the new marketing approach that many dog food companies are taking. They claim that they have breed specific formulas. This is utter hogwash. The best dog foods for any breed are those made with high quality ingredients and that have the proper balance of nutrients.
Related: The Low Down on Hypoallergenic Dog Food
There Are No Best Dog Foods for Certain Breeds
I have a very strong stance on this. There are no best dog foods for certain breeds. This is a marketing ploy that I find highly offensive to my sensibilities. As a long time vet assistant, I’ve seen what happens when people try to do the best for their dogs under false pretenses. We actually had a woman resist changing her dog’s food to remedy GI upset, because it was on a breed-specific formula.
Here’s the deal with breed specific dog foods. They are a complete and total marketing ploy. They are dubious attempt to charge people more for food than they would normally pay. Specialty dog foods, the “best dog foods” for your breed are nothing more than a high quality dog food with a picture of a certain breed on the bag.
If you look at the ingredients of specialty dog foods, you may see one or two vitamins or minerals that have been marginally changed. You might find a couple of ingredients that are different, but by and large these specialty dog foods are NOT special. Unless you count how much money you’ll pay for them.
Think of it like this: Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the back of an Excedrin bottle? It’s 250mg acetaminophen, 250mg aspirin, and 65mg caffeine. If you look on the back of an Excedrin Migraine for Back and Body bottle, you will see EXACTLY the same thing. That’s what the “best dog foods” for certain breeds are: packaging.
The Best Dog Foods are the Ones that Nourish Your Pooch
When you buy dog food, you are probably out to get the best of the best dog foods you can, and that’s why I find this breed specific strategy so appalling. High quality dog food isn’t cheap to begin with, so trying to make it even more expensive irks me to no end.
If you want to find the best dog foods for your pet, all you need to do is look at the label. It doesn’t matter what the picture on the bag is, the label doesn’t lie. Look for a dog food with high-quality ingredients. Also, whether your dog has food sensitivities or not, refrain from getting foods with ingredients like meat by-products, wheat, and soy. Meat by-products are just disgusting, low-grade garbage, and a dog’s body wasn’t meant to metabolize wheat or soy.
Related: How to Choose the Best Dry Dog Food
In closing, the best dog foods for your pet are high-quality foods made with real ingredients. There are two things to remember when looking for the best dog foods for your pooch: bargain basement foods are terrible, and breed specific foods are a scam.
Does this surprise you? Do you have any other questions about dog food? Ask us in the comments!
