What is the best dog food for beagles?
This is a question that we often get from sitters and owners who work with Rover. Help the community out by answering them in our forum!
3 Answers
As many have already answered, I'll keep this short.
I have been in the dog industry for 12 years, and I have studied canine nutrition for that entire time as well.
My first piece of advice: Read the ingredients. Stay away from meat byproducts, "animal protein", soy, corn, BHA, BPA, and most grains.
Second piece of advice: The first 2 ingredients should be a meat source.
Third piece of advice: Anything after "salt" means that there is less than 1% of that ingredient in the food. So foods that advertise a picture of some sort of vegetable, superfood, or meat, but place after salt in the ingredient list is a marketing ploy. Don't fall for it.
Since beagles are prone to weight issues, it's always a good idea to have your beagle on a high-protein, low-fat diet. Three of the best food brands on the market are: Blue, Natural Balance, and FreshPet. Blue has a variety of flavors and formulas to meet your dog's needs and is very high in protein. On a similar thread, Natural Balance also has a variety of flavors and formulas. For either brand, it is advisable to feed your dog the "Weight Control" formula (Blue) or "Fat Dog" formula (Natural Balance) to ensure that his weight remains at a healthy level. FreshPet differs from Natural Balance and Blue in the sense that it is a refrigerated food that you can cut up and give to your dog. This food is the highest in protein, meaning it doesn't contain the fats that will contribute to obesity. For FreshPet, it's important to follow the feeding guidelines outlined on the package to ensure your dog is eating the appropriate amount.
All of the above foods are available at any PetSmart, online at http://www.chewy.com, or any major pet food retailer.
My beagle adores Freshpet! I sometimes mix it in with Salmon oil or so, sometimes add a bit of rice and kind of mix it all together. She actually seemed to have an allergy to chicken ingredients in kibble and was having terrible itching all over her body. However, once I made the switch, the incessant itching stopped!
My aunt who is a professional dog groomer/trainer explained that sometimes if you can, you can mix wet food like Freshpet with some harder food, just so that it doesn't affect their teeth. Hope this helps!