Canned, Dry, Frozen, or Semi-Soft?
Now that you know more about the different types of dog food available, what form of it is best for your dog to eat? There's dry kibble, canned, frozen, and semi-soft. Choosing which food to buy is mostly a matter of preference, although each food type has its pros and cons. Your dog might prefer one kind to another, so don't be afraid to test them out. He might like one kind too much, though. For instance, if your dog likes canned food to the point that he eats it too fast and vomits, you might want to switch to another form.
Occasionally, you may want to switch dog foods. To avoid gastric distress and minimize diarrhea, make the switch gradually. Start your rottie out with 90 percent of his old food and 10 percent of the new food. Increase the new food by 10 percent each day while decreasing the old food by the same amount.
Dry Food
Pound for pound, dry food is the most economical and easiest to prepare. There are more choices in dry food than any other form. When you purchase your rottie's food, check the bag's freshness date or the manufacture date. Since most premium dog foods are no longer preserved with ethoxyquin, they can become rancid quickly if subjected to heat or long periods of shelf life. Ethoxyquin is a preservative that's been given a bad rap because of anecdotal stories of miscarriages, cancer, tumors, and other ailments. However, there hasn't been any scientific proof that ethoxyquin causes any health problems so far. As most other preservatives don't have the shelf life of ethoxyquin, it is very important to buy fresh dog food.
If your brand of food doesn't have an expiration or manufacturer's date, buy it from a store that turns over its stock regularly. Don't purchase old bags — the food may be rancid and will have lost most of its nutritional value. Purchase food no longer than six months from its manufacture date to ensure freshness. Most dog foods have a shelf life of one year or less.
As for palatability, if your rottie is a picky eater, he may turn his nose up at dry food.
Canned Food
A second option is canned food. Canned food tends to be more expensive because you pay for the processing, preservatives, and packaging. Also, dogs need to eat a larger amount of canned food in one feeding than dry food. It tends to appeal to dogs more than plain dry food, so many dog owners mix the two. Canned food is convenient because it has a long shelf life, but once opened, it must be refrigerated for freshness.
Preparing a meal of canned food for your dog will take a little longer than scooping a serving of dry food, but if your dog responds better to it, it's probably worth the extra effort.
Frozen Food
Frozen food is relatively new on the scene and may not be available in all areas. It is expensive when compared to dry food because you pay for water weight and storage. You need a freezer to store it, and if the power goes out, you might lose your rottie's meals for the next week. There are no preservatives in frozen food and it is highly palatable.
Semi-Soft Food
Semi-soft food now takes two forms. The older form looks like meat patties. They're soft and chock-full of salt, sugar, and artificial coloring. Use these sparingly. The newer form tends to be available in meat rolls. These meat rolls are designed to be a palatable alternative to dry dog food. Unlike the old type of semi-soft food, this food tends to have no fillers or artificial colors or sugar. They're highly palatable but require refrigeration, especially when opened. They are more expensive than dry dog food.
