Pedigree

Much like humans, dogs differ in their nutritional needs. A working dog, for instance, needs more energy-boosting foods than a lap dog because he uses his energy often and thus needs frequent replenishment. And where does he get that much needed replenishment? That’s right. From his diet.

The same goes with a puppy and an adult dog. Puppies need a different set of nutrients, vitamins and minerals from that of an adult dog. That’s because a puppy is still growing and therefore his body requires nutrients that specifically contribute to his growth. An adult dog, on the other hand, has already achieved its optimum growth level and therefore his needs are more geared towards daily activities.

Many commercially available dog food products, such as those under the Pedigree label, are specially formulated to address the different needs of dogs in each stage of its life. There are Pedigree dog foods that are made especially for the consumption of puppies as well as those for dogs in the adult stage of their lives. As a matter of fact, the Pedigree dog food online site and store contains products for senior and middle-aged dogs.

But with so many Pedigree dog food products available out there, how do you know whether you are feeding the right one to your dog?

To be sure, choosing the right food for your dog is a difficult task. It requires much consideration and maybe some help and advice from your veterinarian. Otherwise, the consequences of hasty decisions could be costly, not to mention disastrous for your dog’s health.

While you can always use Pedigree dog food coupons to save on your purchase, nothing beats making an informed buying decision. So what do you do?

Here’s what:

Tip #1: Read the label
This is the first order of the day. Whether you are browsing through the Pedigree line of products or Wellness or some other popular dog food brand, you always want to look at the label.

Don’t get distracted by the many attractively colored names of the brand in big, bold letters. Instead, turn the product over to look at the back portion of the label where the list of ingredients can be found.

For every dog food buyer, this is the difference between making a smart buy and a sadly uninformed one.

Tip #2: Check out the first five ingredients on the label
The list of ingredients is going to be long. If you are new to this whole dog food buying thing, you might get overwhelmed. But contain yourself and instead focus on the first five items on the list. These, after all, are what matters most.

The first five ingredients define the dog food product you are inspecting. Out of all the ingredients that the manufacturers have included in their products, the first five are the most dominant and a large percentage of them make up the whole dog food content.

They are mostly protein sources, fats and grains – all of which can be found in almost every dog food, Pedigree included. But you might notice that some of the terms used differ. Are they substantially different? Or are they different in name only?

That’s what you are going to find out in the next step.

Tip #3: Understanding the label
Now, there’s reading the label and checking the ingredients. And then, there’s understanding what it all means.

Knowing what the dog food label means can be quite tricky. Explaining it all in great detail will take a lot of time and space. So we’ll simply focus on the most important ingredient of all – the protein source.

Make a distinction between meat meals and whole meats. The first is only meat-based while the second is pieces of real meat pieces. By meat-based, what we mean is that it contains only about 80% meat, with the rest made up of gluten. So if you want the premium source of protein for your dog, go for dog foods that contain whole meats as opposed to meat meals.