Faced with the diversity of brands, the choice of kibble for your dog is not always easy. We will give you the keys to choosing the food best suited to your pet’s natural and original needs!
How to read a label?
In order to choose the kibbles adapted to your pet’s nutritional needs, it is essential to study the ingredients used to formulate the kibbles.
Even if the indications on the bag labels may seem like something from another planet, there are simple techniques that can be applied to understand this gobbledygook desired by the distributor brands.
Position of ingredients on the label :
- 1st position for the main food
- Cereal foods (wheat, corn, rice…) are dispatched in the list to fool the consumer.
When the rate of cereals or carbohydrates becomes more important than the rate of proteins (meat or fish) . There is a problem! Dogs and cats are essentially CARNIVOROUS!
What are vitamins for?
Vitamins are essential to the functioning of the body, each with a defined role: for example, vitamin D3 fixes calcium on the bones.
It is the diversity of vitamins, quality and quantity that will make the difference between a basic food and a premium food.
Calcium and phosphorus, what’s the point?
Calcium is an essential element in the construction of the puppy’s skeleton and the proper functioning of the adult dog’s muscles. Only older dogs need a lower level of calcium to prevent osteoarthritis problems.
The calcium level must be between 1.3 and 1.5 times higher than the phosphorus level since these minerals are inseparable.
It is this phosphate-calcium ratio that must be taken into account when choosing your pet’s diet.
Standard or premium quality?
Generally, you can find STANDARD quality kibbles in supermarkets or garden centers … And PREMIUM quality kibbles sold on online sites specialized in pet food or in veterinary clinics.
Here is the difference :
- STANDARD quality kibbles are very affordable, but… To the detriment of the quality of the ingredients used.
- PREMIUM kibbles are formulated with high quality ingredients, with a percentage of animal proteins much higher than the gluten, cereal, or vegetable protein rates (different names according to the brands).
The quality of the composition :
Some indications on the quality of the composition, from the best to the worst: Fresh chicken (or beef, poultry, pork) → dehydrated poultry meat → dehydrated poultry protein → poultry by-products (the offal of various animals). PREMIUM kibbles will thus use high quality ingredients, as fresh as possible!
But then… What to choose?
We advises you to choose kibbles:
- PREMIUM quality croquettes with superior quality ingredients (fresh or dehydrated meats)
- Without cereals (or with a small percentage)
- A high animal protein rate (between 28 and 40%)
- Enriched with nutrients (vitamins, calcium, phosphorus …) according to age
