Dog owners are concerned about making sure their pets get the healthiest options available when it comes to dog food. Owners spend time and effort reading up on the optimum nutritional values in dog food and the alternatives. But few ever question the standards set by authorities who regulate the quality of dog food available in the market.

Having a good knowledge of the breed of your dog, and what his optimum weight is for his age, will be a good foundation for making sure your dog stays fit, lithe and healthy. He should be getting regular exercise and space to run to work off those calories, and a good diet to ensure he is getting all the nutrients he needs.

Just like any living organism in this world, dogs have certain food that they should avoid or not eat. Because your dog cannot communicate with you directly, it is the responsibility of the dog owner to take care of a dog’s dietary needs.

It is commonly known that chocolates are bad for a dog health, and you should not feed your dog any food that even contain chocolate. Not as commonly known are raisins and grapes, as both are toxic to dogs, too much of them in your dog’s stomach might even cost him his life.

It is funny to realize that there are a lot of dog owners out there who find it a challenge and definitely a major headache to feed their dog everyday. Like coaxing their kids to eat their food, a overly pampered dog also need coaxing before they eat up their food.

It is not uncommon for a dedicated vegetarian dog owner to desire that his dog follow his diet. Based on religious or moral values, there are some dog owners who would insist that their dogs be feed a vegetarian food only.  While I’m not against vegetarian diet for humans, since it is proven to a certain extent that we humans can survive on a vegetarian diet. Nevertheless, it is still debatable if dog owners should make their dogs go vegan, since studies shown that it might not be healthy for dogs to a very large extent.

Understanding commercial dog food labels is not rocket science as long as you know the correct way to read them. With guidelines set by The Association Of American Feed Control Officials, Inc. (AAFCO), it has certainly made your job easier.