Should I get dog food that's specific to my dog's breed?

The choice of dog food is actually pretty overwhelming for the owners, and it's easy to see how many dog owners can become quite anxious over the question of what to feed their pets. After all, we love our dogs, and we want them to be healthy and happy – so we want to feed them the best diet we possibly can. But knowing what that is can seem utterly impossible, because the choices are seemingly endless.

When it comes down to it, what you feed your dog is mostly a personal decision, and there are arguments on all sides from people who feel strongly that their way is the best way. It's probably best to look at the situation not as there being one elusive perfect food for each dog, but rather as there being lots of really good foods for every dog. Otherwise, you can become completely overwhelmed as you try to choose from the enormous selection of foods: food for dogs of various ages, foods with reduced fat or weight control formulas, foods for large breeds and small breeds... and now, there are the breed specific dog foods, just to add to the variety!

 

Two mainstream large animal food companies are in the lead with these breed specific foods. They are Royal Canin and Eukanuba. Royal Canin offers nine foods for specific dog breeds, and Eukanuba has foods for the top five on that list:

Labrador Retriever

Yorkshire Terrier

German Shepherd

Dachshund

Boxer

Chihuahua

Poodle

Shih Tzu

Bulldog

So are these breed specific foods actually worth the extra money? What makes them different from more generic foods? Well, for each breed, the food makers will perform research and studies in order to identify the most common and important needs of that specific breed of dog. The recipe for the food will then be built around those needs, producing a product that can then be promoted as providing everything that the breed requires in terms of nutrients and special needs.

This is actually a pretty good preventative measure to take against future vet bills! If you know that there's a particular condition or problem associated with your dog's breed, then check out the food for that breed to see if this is identified and accounted for in the food. If it is, then feeding your dog on this food might save you a lot of problems in the future. Likewise, if you've had any other issues with feeding your dog – in the case of chihuahuas, for example, these dogs are known to be fussy eaters due to their very refined palate, and the Royal Canin Chihuahua food has been developed with this in mind. It is designed to appeal to your finicky eater! Well worth a try if you've been experiencing problems.

However, that's not to say that these breed specific foods are the only way forward. They're not. They might work out very well for you and your dog, but on the other hand, another type of food might end up being just as good. Maybe a food designed for active dogs will work just as well as your breed specific food, or a food for large or small breeds more generally. The best piece of advice is to do your research, and then simply try your dog on the food. If it doesn't work out... well, it's not like there aren't lots of options out there! But all in all, breed specific foods are thought of as a good thing. They just won't necessarily be better than all the other great options out there!

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