How to choose a dog's diet?

Choosing a dog's diet can quickly become a real headache. Today, Clémence, in charge of product development, gives you some keys to choosing the food for your dog.

The first thing we often hear is the nutritional approach: "the food given to your dog must cover his physiological needs according to his age, size, activity and specificities".

Obviously, covering your dog's needs is the # 1 goal for him to be healthy, but the choice of food for your dog goes beyond this strict nutritional aspect! Indeed, as for our own diet, we choose foods that are in accordance with our beliefs, our lifestyle, our budget ...

The first thing to choose is the type of food  :

- Croquettes or pâté, an "industrial food".

- Homemade preparations, "household food".

- BARF, made from raw meat.

If household rations and BARF are becoming more and more adepts because they allow you to get closer to your dog's natural carnivorous diet, you should know that these are the types of food that will require the most preparations, availability, places, organization and rigor. In addition, it is difficult to balance this type of ration on a daily basis to cover the needs of your dog. You also need to make room in your fridge or freezer to store meat, fruits and vegetables. This type of food can be beneficial for your dog, especially if he has very important intolerances or food allergies, but it is necessary that you are supervised by a nutritionist veterinarian and that you take into account all logistical aspects.

The croquettes have the advantage of being practical, of having constant nutritional contributions, of being able to be transported easily and of being stored longer. They are also complete and balanced. Today, kibbles are mainly used to feed dogs because of their many advantages . Obviously you have to find the right ones!

It is also possible to combine with dog food to vary your dog's meals.

To choose your croquettes well here are some elements to take into account.

Your dog is a carnivore and therefore, to respect his physiology, the kibbles must be rich in meat with a low cereal content or without cereals. On the label, the ingredients of the composition are written in descending order according to their proportions. Meat must therefore be present as the first ingredient.

Second, a high price is not always a sign of superior quality. However, a very low price (<2 € / kg) is rarely charged on good quality products. Also watch out for the presence of preservatives, palatability factors, aromas, artificial colors ... Prefer more natural recipes.

Also check that the information on the bag or the product sheet is in accordance with the age and size of your dog . Finally, you must take into account any specific features of your dog: overweight dog, sterilized dog, intolerance or food allergies, sustained activity ... Depending on the target of the kibble, the nutrient values ​​will not be the same in order to correspond to the needs of the dog according to its specificities.

Finally, remember that no matter which diet you choose, it is important to establish a food transition between the old and the new diet. See our article on the subject . 

At Ultra Premium Direct, we have a wide range of cereal-free or  low-grain foods  (with rice) to meet all of your dog's needs. We use high quality natural ingredients.

Are you still hesitating? You can contact our team of nutrition experts on 05 64 25 03 08 from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for advice and to find the most suitable product for your little one.