You know, hunting dogs are actually active dogs. As a pet owner, you need to give your hunting dog the best nutrition. By this way, you can help him sustain the energy he needs for his hunting field. But, there are a lot of options to choose on the market these days.
Let’s take a look at this article. We will help you know how to choose the best food for hunting dogs. We also provide you the important factors to consider in a dog food.
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Contents
Factors to Consider When Choosing the hunting dog foods
Your hunting dog is related to two things including proper training and diet. But, it’s essential to determine the important factors to consider when choosing the right one. The food you choose needs to be safe for your pet.
Maintenance Food vs Performance Food
You need to maintain your hunting dog accurately. It’s best to feed him 50 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent of protein, and 20 percent of fat. This helps you to maintain the performance as well as the health of your dog. These foods can be able to reduce the dog’s metabolism. At the same time, they reduce your dog’s ability to use fats as well.
Performance food contains high protein and fats. They are used for both the promotion of metabolic endurance in optimum level and mental strength, as well as visual sharpness. So, these foods are ideal for hunting dogs.
Thanks to the difference between these two kinds of food, you can adjust your feeding plans according to your dog’s needs.
Hunting Dogs Need More Fat than Carbohydrates
In fact, dogs need more fat than humans. This is considered as their primary energy source. Therefore, you should find dog food coming with a high volume of fat. And, a hunting dog normally needs 20 percent fat. This helps to prevent him from getting tired quicker during hunting activities.
Look at Your Dog’s Activity Levels
In order to determine the exact time to feed maintenance and performance food, you should consider all of your dog’s activities. Even when your pet is not in the hunting season, you still should give him performance food with a reduced percentage of fat.
Determine the Types of Hunting Dog Food
When it comes to choosing the right hunting dog food for your dog, there are two different types to consider.
Canned Foods
Your dog surely loves these foods because of their high protein. In fact, they can be able to give your dog a lesser amount of carbohydrates. That’s why they are great for active dogs. Especially, these foods offer few preservatives because of going through the canning process. Also, they are easier to eat and digest. Moreover, they can be able to not only promote weight but also reduce bloating than dry food.
Dry Food
When it comes to the nutritional value, it’s best to look for dry food to feed your dog. It provides your dog with low moisture level in order to maintain the nutrition. So, when feeding your dog dry food, it’s easy to keep your dog from being fit as well as healthy.
The Important Ingredients
You know, your hunting dog needs a lot of energy for his work. Therefore, it’s essential to feed him with foods that contain high-fat content. There are important ingredients of hunting dog foods as below:
Nutrient dense
This ingredient is to provide your furry friend with the essential energy. Also, they are great for the development of his muscles. It helps your dog stay stronger to the terrains.
Fat
Your dog’s coat can become thicker thanks to a layer of fat. It’s really necessary for your dog in the cold seasons. Moreover, fat plays an important role in optimizing its performance.
Protein
Protein is essential for your dog when it comes to the building blocks of muscles. This ingredient is really important for him to maintain his metabolism. In addition, it can also help to prevent him from injuries.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate can be able to give your pet quick energy even when they may raise the blood sugar. Intestinal gas may be the result of too many carbs. On the contrary, too little of them may lead to constipation in your dog.
Vitamins, minerals, and water
These ingredients are important for your dog chemical reaction. They can help to encourage your dog’s digestion as well as his metabolism. That’s why it’s important to look for these ingredients when shopping for your dog’s food.
It’s best to choose ones with Vitamins A, B, D, K, E, phosphorous, and calcium as well. Water also plays an important role in your dog. So, remember to keep some cans of water during your hunting trip. They will help your dog to avoid dehydration.
In addition to essential ingredients, there are also some things to avoid when choosing the best foods for your hunting dog. In fact, it’s a bad idea to choose dog foods with soy, corn, and wheat.
You still can feed your hunting dog rice, cereal, and oats. Also, avoid feeding your hunting dog with ones made with an excessively high percentage of protein.
Best dog foods for hunting dogs
Solid Gold High Protein Grain-Free Cold Water Salmon
This food contains high protein. Also, it’s a grain-free food. This choice is an expensive choice. But, it offers excellent fat and protein levels for your hunting dog. The first five ingredients in this food include ocean fish meal, salmon, peas, chicken fat, and pea protein. Because of no grain, the food helps your dog easily digest the food.
Orijen Original Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
This food is very expensive because of the high quality. It contains a 38/18 set of percentages for protein and fat. The first fifteen ingredients of this food are meat proteins, except eggs. This food ensures to give your dog high-quality and non-filler sources of protein. They are great for your dog.
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Dry Dog Food
This dog food is more affordable than others above on the market. This is also one of the high-protein dog foods today. It’s popular for hunting and working dog owners. It promises to give your dog a good source of fat and protein.
The first four ingredients in this formula are lamb meal, sweet potatoes, buffalo, and chicken meal. So, it ensures to provide your dog with three great sources of protein as well as non-grain carbohydrates.
Purina Pro Plan Sport All Life Stages Dry Dog Food
This dog food is actually the most affordable of the list today. However, it still can provide your dog with the 30/20 protein to fat percentages. So, this is a good choice for dogs that have to work hard all day. The main source of protein as well as the fat of this food is chicken.
Many pet owners choose this product because it contains no corn gluten meal. This dog food is recommended highly for dogs that have strong stomachs. If you still want to choose it for dogs with a sensitive stomach, it’s better to add less processed ingredients.
Nutro High Endurance Dry Dog Food
Nutro High Endurance is also one of the most recommended foods for performance animals, including hunting dogs. The food promises to give your pet good energy levels. Moreover, it also gives him a lot of energy. Chicken meal is known as the main source of protein of this formula.
In addition, this food is made from other healthy ingredients such as whole brown rice, whole grain oatmeal, as well as chicken fat. Plus, the food is packed with chelated minerals and fatty acids.
Conclusion
Food is one of the most important things for you to consider carefully. Indeed, they can be able to affect their physical health as well as their entire performance. Hopefully, our reviews of some of the best working dog food choices listed in this article can help you can easily choose the best dog food for your hunting dog.
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