The best dog food does not exist as one specific product that suits all dogs. Which dog food is best depends on your dog's life stage, size, activity level and any special needs, combined with the quality of the ingredients the meal is made from. An eight-week-old puppy, an adult hunting dog and a senior dog with a more moderate everyday life each have their own nutritional needs, and the same meal can therefore be excellent for one and completely wrong for the other. In the following, you will get the concrete factors you need to assess, so you can make a choice that matches your dog exactly.
Start with the life stage before you choose a meal
The life stage is the first thing you should consider, because it governs most of what your dog needs. A puppy grows quickly and needs a meal with a nutritional profile that supports bones, muscles and general development. An adult dog needs a meal that keeps weight and energy in balance over many years, while a senior dog often thrives best on a profile that takes into account a slightly calmer everyday life and the golden years. At ESSENTIAL FOODS you will find meals grouped by life stage, so you can go straight to puppy & junior, adult or senior and choose within the stage your dog is in right now.
If you are choosing a meal for a senior dog, it can make sense to take a closer look at a meal composed with the senior dog's everyday life and well-being in mind. Here, OLDER is prepared precisely for the golden years, where the dog still deserves exquisite ingredients and flavour, but with a profile suited to a more moderate daily life.
What is the best dog food for size and activity level?
Two adult dogs of the same age can have widely different needs if one is a small dog and the other weighs five times as much. Small dogs have a fast metabolism and a small mouth, and they thrive on meals where the kibble has a suitable size and a nutritional profile tuned to their appetite and daily well-being. If you have a small dog, you can go straight to meals grouped for small dogs, while the larger breeds find their meals for large dogs.
The activity level plays at least as big a role. A dog with a high activity level that works, hunts or trains a lot burns far more energy than a dog with a more moderate everyday life, and the meal must reflect that. For the dogs that perform a lot, relevant meals are gathered in the working & sporting collection. If a very active dog is given a meal intended for a calmer everyday life, you risk it losing weight or lacking energy, while the opposite can lead to a dog with low energy consumption gaining weight.
Look at the ingredients, not just the bag
When two meals resemble each other in life stage and size, it is the quality of the ingredients that determines which is best. The dog is very much a meat eater, and therefore a high proportion of good-quality animal ingredients is one of the most important hallmarks of a good meal. At ESSENTIAL FOODS, all meals are prepared from fresh ingredients and human-grade ingredients, that is, ingredients of the same quality as those used in food for humans, and composed of carefully selected local and regional delicacies.
A good piece of advice is to read the list of contents rather than the front. Look for animal ingredients being high on the list, and be aware of unnecessary fillers that do not contribute real nutrition. If you want to delve into what a meal should consist of, you can read more in the guide what should good dog food contain, which goes through the most important points in detail.
Special needs determine the choice for many dogs
Some dogs have needs that weigh more heavily than everything else, and then the meal should be chosen accordingly. If your dog has a delicate or sensitive stomach, a meal that is gentle on digestion can make a big difference in everyday life. Here you will find relevant meals gathered with digestion in mind in the collection sensitive stomach, and you can read more about the subject in the guide delicate or sensitive stomach.
If you notice signs of allergy or intolerance, an allergy-friendly meal may be the way forward, and for some dogs with special dietary needs a grain-free meal may be relevant, because the grain is left out entirely. Grain-free does not, however, in itself mean a better meal for every dog, so it is a choice that should rest on your dog's specific needs. If, on the other hand, weight is in focus, a meal with low fat content may be relevant, and you can read more about how to assess your dog's weight in the guide does your dog have a healthy weight. If you are in doubt about what suits your dog exactly, ESSENTIAL FOODS' nutrition advisors are ready on phone, chat or email and will help you find the right meal.
Taste and variation keep the appetite going
Even the most well-thought-out meal is of no use if the dog will not eat it. Therefore, taste and variation are a real part of which meal is best for your particular dog. Some dogs prefer poultry, others fish or game, and many thrive on alternating between different flavours over time. If you want to find out what your dog prefers before committing to a large bag, you can start with a trial meals and let the dog show the way itself.
PÂTÉ is another way to add taste and variation, either as a meal in itself or as a tasty addition on top of the daily meals. In the collection pâté you will find exquisite varieties that are cooked from fresh ingredients and that many dogs find hard to resist.
Give a puppy the right start
If it is a puppy you need to find a meal for, the choice is extra important, because the foundation for a healthy life is laid early. The BEGINNING series is created for the finest beginning with luxurious, grain-free puppy meals prepared from fresh ingredients, human-grade ingredients and carefully selected local and regional delicacies, completely without grain and unnecessary fillers. You can see the entire selection of puppy meals in the collection puppy & junior.
Feeding a puppy involves many questions about amounts, changes and routines, and ESSENTIAL FOODS has gathered advice about these in a well-thought-out universe for puppy owners in particular, where the advice comes directly from ESSENTIAL FOODS. If you want to read up thoroughly on the subject, the ultimate puppy guide is a good place to start.
How to switch to a new meal
Once you have found the meal that suits your dog best, the switch itself is worth doing properly. The dog's digestion needs time to get used to new ingredients, and too abrupt a change can give an upset stomach. The safe approach is to mix the new meal gradually into the old one over about a week, so that the proportion of the new one slowly increases while the proportion of the old one falls. You will find a step-by-step walkthrough in the guide how to switch dog food.
Which dog food is best ultimately comes down to how well the meal matches your dog, and how high the quality of the ingredients is. Take your starting point in life stage, size and activity level, add any special needs on top, and choose a meal composed of fresh ingredients and human-grade ingredients. Then you have a solid foundation for a choice your dog will thrive on for many years.