Canned Dog Food

but may also stock lower-quality

The following pet food companies not only offer wet dog foods that meet our ingredient selection criteria, but also provided Whole Dog Journal with independent, third-party laboratory nutritional analyses of their dog foods – analyses confirming that their canned dog foods are not just formulated to meet

Every aspect of an AAFCO feeding trial is meant to ensure that a food is capable of maintaining a population of a minimum number of dogs for a minimum period of time (26 weeks for a maintenance" claim; 23 weeks for a "growth" claim). At a minimum

When we review dog foods, we generally ask the makers of those that meet our selection criteria some questions. This year, we asked this: Do you have a complete nutrient analysis for each of your products? And if so

How many of you feed canned food to your dog every day? Or maybe I should ask, how many of you feed only canned food to your dog every day? While we'd like our annual canned dog food review to be of use to owners who feed any amount of canned food to their dogs, it should be most relevant to people who rely solely on canned products to provide complete and balanced nutrition" to their dogs

such as "meat

Wet dog food, a.k.a. “canned” dog food, is not nearly as popular as dry food. The total sales figure for dry pet food in the U.S. last year (more than $12.7 billion) was more than 21/2 times that of wet pet food (almost $4.8 billion). I understand the reasons for this, but wish it wasn’t so. Canned food is actually a much healthier diet for dogs than kibble.

Price is the most commonly cited reason that people prefer to feed dry food to their dogs; canned food is far more expensive to feed than dry food. Owners of large dogs or multiple dogs rarely feed canned food as anything other than an occasional treat, for this reason alone.Of course, there are other objections, too.

If you're currently feeding your dog a canned dog food diet or are thinking about starting, great! As always, the best thing for you to do is read the label. Skip over the pretty pictures of steaks and vegetables on the front of the can and pay close attention to the ingredients listed on the back.

Focus your attention to these two places on the label: the ingredients panel, and the guaranteed analysis. These sections are required by law, and reveal the most about the can.

While the price of the food should never be considered the sole indicator of its quality, many times a higher price does in fact mean higher quality ingredients have been used.

I've always wondered how wet dog food gets made – but it took a long time to find out. It seems like it's more difficult for a journalist to get into a pet food cannery than into a factory that builds spy planes. So when Whole Dog Journal is asked to take a tour of a dog food manufacturing plant we jump at the opportunity. This article details how canned dog food is made at one plant. From the initial ingredient preparations, to the canning and cooking process and the QC and testing procedures along the way, this article captures it all. Included in this web-only feature are detailed photos taken by Whole Dog Journal during the plant tour. Be sure to click on each image to enlarge it.

Whole Dog Journal readers have learned how to identify the best commercial foods when they shop for their dogs. But whether you feed dry kibble or canned food, even the best commercial diets can be improved with the addition of appropriate fresh foods. Keep the following things in mind when adding fresh foods to your dog's diet.

Caring guardians of companion canines often wonder whether one form of commercially prepared food – kibble or canned – is better than the other. The truth is, both types of food have relative advantages and disadvantages in terms of palatability, digestibility, and necessity for preservatives or other chemical additives. While they generally meet the same chemical composition standards in terms of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, these types of food provide very different nutritional value.