Feeding My Dog Breed.com

Dry Dog Food Pros and Cons

Been thinking about switching up your dog's diet? New puppy maybe? Our honest dry dog food pros and cons provides invaluable information on feeding dogs kibble.. crunch.. crunch.. gulp.

Pros and cons of dry dog food stick figure holding green check and red x.

Dry Kibble - Convenient & Common

Like most dog lovers, dog nutrition often fills my mind and I wonder if that great looking bag of dry dog food is the best option for feeding my beloved friend. Like me, you probably want to provide the best possible nutrition for your pet. You may even second guess at times if feeding dry kibble could be causing your dog problems like allergies, digestive issues, or other nagging health ailments.

Truthfully, we all want to provide our dogs the best possible nutrition. I'll admit, I've actually switched to raw feeding my dogs years ago and you and can learn more about this in the raw dog feeding section of FMDB. No, I'm not at all saying that kibble dog food is bad. Frankly, many brands are quite good and we'll actually recommend some quality brands further along in this kibble feeding section.

If you're poised to start feeding dry kibble dog food, or already are, there are dry dog food pros and cons that we hope evokes some insight. All brands are not created equal, trust me on this. Let's get into those pros and cons now and you'll see what I mean about the brand differences as you make your way through the next few articles.. woof!

Dry Dog Food Pros and Cons

DRY KIBBLE PROS

  • Convenient, easy to feed & widely available.
  • Easy to store, travel with or leave with a pet sitter to feed when you're away.
  • Many brands to choose from based on nutrition and your budget.
  • Formulas available for different life stages, breed, and health requirements.
  • Can be used as training bait, easy to carry in a pocket or pouch.
  • Great to take on-the-go, perfect for dogs and their owners with an active lifestyle.
  • Simplified feeding, most kibble dog food labels provide feeding guidelines based on a dog's weight.
  • Cleanliness made simple as a mess made by a sloppy eater can be swept up or vacuumed.

DRY KIBBLE CONS

  • Some kibble brands are garbage, yeah, it's cheap though.
  • Not so honest packaging and advertising meant to lure unsuspecting buyers in a highly competetive market.
  • Many, many brands to sift through to find a good dry dog food.
  • Frequent product recalls due to contamination or manufacturing errors.
  • Billions of dollars per year industry that often compromises nutritional value for budget and profit.
  • Loosely regulated by Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) & US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
  • Some believe that dry dog food and cereal based food are associated with bloat in certain breed dogs.
  • Poor brands of kibble can contain questionable animal parts, dead or diseased animal parts, binders, chemicals, preservatives, additives, processing agents, food coloring, dies & more.

When comparing dry dog food pros and cons..

Like those listed here, don't jump to judgement just yet! Here at FMDB we've published invaluable articles to help select a great kibble dry dog food. We will help you sift through the poor brands, pick a nutritional dog food and even recommend our favorite dry dog kibble brands!

Dog Nutrition & Health

Good dog nutrition is our ultimate goal, knowing with good nutrition, good health should follow. While kibble dog food seems to have been around forever, it really didn't take off here in the US until the early 1970's. Prior to the era of kibble most pet dogs thrived on table scraps, offal cuts of meat, canned pet foods, or a hodge podge of home prepared meals. And of course, whatever they could scavenge while roaming about.

Think about this.. Is it coincidence that over decades since the early 70's, the Veterinary Industry has also exploded? And, what seems like countless dogs are afflicted with cancers, seizures, allergies, growth related and other physiological issues? Hold on to that thought, we'll reveal some troubling info on following pages about the quiet relationships between kibble manufacturers and Veterinarians that will really get you thinking.

Forgetting for a moment the what you just read, feeding a dog dry kibble is the preferred dog feeding method of millions of pet lovers. If you're a new dog owner, considering dry dog food, or already feed dry, you have a ton of options with a vast array of formulas to pick from. On the fence? Does our dry dog food pros and cons have you second guessing? Don't chuck that bag of kibble just yet. There's more to come and it's not all bad, I promise.

Kudos to you for seeking the best possible diet for your furry friend! Continue on your kibble journey by following our next article, or get out of Dodge and check out our Raw Feeding section ;)

Up Next.. Understanding Dog Food Labels

Or select an article from our Dry Dog Food main page.