What’s The Best Food For My Dog? (Part 1)

August 27, 2019

One of the most common questions we get asked is:

“What’s the best food for a beagle?”
“What’s the best food for a poodle?”
“What’s the best food for a dog?”

Okay, you get the gist.

As a pet owner, this is probably a question that has crossed your mind. You want to give your dog the best, but what is it?

No Two Dogs Are The Same, Feed The Dog In Front Of You

Because no two dogs are the same, our belief is that there is no universal best food that is perfect for every dog. What works well for our dogs may not work well for yours.

While it’s a pretty time consuming process, we believe that you should feed the dog in front of you. This means that you should treat each of your dogs individually and find what works best for each of them since every dog has their own preferences, health conditions and some may even have allergies. And don’t forget that these are constantly changing.

Here’s the tadaa! method to finding the best food for your dog

4 Simple Steps
Step 1) Decide what type of food fits your lifestyle
Step 2) Figure out your monthly budget
Step 3) Try each food within your budget
Step 4) Check your dog’s fur and poo condition

We’ll jump into Step 1, right away!

Generally speaking, there are 6 main types of food in Malaysia:

1) Dry Food
2) Wet Food (usually comes in cans or trays)
3) Raw Food
4) Freeze-Dried
5) Dehydrated / Air Dried
6) Home-Cooked Food 

Below is a simplified comparison table of these 5 types of food

Food Type	Pros	Cons
Dry Food	Serving - Easy: scoop and serve Storage - Easy: cool and dry place, airtight container Pricing - Varies by brand and quality, but generally cheaper than other types of food Nutrition - Those labelled “Complete and Balanced” have been tested to meet specific standards set by the authorities for long term health maintenance	Processing - High Heat (with the exception of Air Dried/Oven Baked food) Palatability - Varies by brand and quality, generally weaker than other types of food - Difficult for dogs with teeth problems Digestibility - Varies by brand and quality but generally weaker than other types of food
Wet Food	Serving - Relatively easy Storage (unopened) - Easy: anywhere Palatability - Palatable for most dogs - Easier for dogs with teeth problems Digestibility - Generally better than dry food Nutrition - Those labelled “Complete and Balanced” have been tested to meet specific standards set by the authorities for long term health maintenance	Processing - Less heat than dry food, more than other types of food Storage (opened) - In refrigerator Pricing - Varies by brand and quality, but generally more expensive than other types of food *Note: Some wet food are not complete meals and should not be used for long term feeding. Check the labels or contact us for confirmation
Raw Food	Processing - Minimal, no heat Palatability - Highly palatable for most dogs Digestibility - Highly digestible for most dogs Nutrition - Easier to balance than home-cooked food Some commercial raw pet food are also nutritionally tested and balanced for long term health maintenance	Serving - Requires thawing/defrosting Storage - In the freezer; Once thawed for a period of time can no longer be refrozen and fed Pricing - More expensive than some kibbles
Freeze-Dried	Processing - Minimal, no heat Storage - Easy: cool dry place, airtight container Palatability - Highly palatable for most dogs Digestibility - Highly digestible for most dogs Nutrition - Those labelled “Complete and Balanced” have been tested to meet specific standards set by the authorities for long term health maintenance	Serving - Requires rehydration for best nutrition Pricing - Most expensive in the market when fed as main meal
Dehydrated/ Air Dried	Processing - Minimal, low to medium heat Serving (Air Dried) - Easy: Scoop and serve Storage - Easy: cool dry place, airtight container Palatability - Palatable for most dogs Digestibility - Digestible for most dogs Nutrition - Those labelled “Complete and Balanced” have been tested to meet specific standards set by the authorities for long term health maintenance	Serving (Dehydrated) - Requires rehydration for best nutrition Pricing - Cheaper than freeze-dried but more expensive than raw
Home-Cooked	Processing - Minimal, low to medium heat Storage - None if freshly prepared Palatability - Typically palatable for most dogs Digestibility - Digestible for most dogs	Serving - Requires thawing if previously frozen; or time/effort if freshly cooked Storage - Frozen if pre-prepared Pricing - Varies by quality of ingredients used Nutrition - Difficult to balance as the nutrition lost to heat is hard to measure - Requires supplementation for a balanced diet - Health problems arising from unbalanced diet only shows after prolonged period

Now you’ve gone through the pros and cons of feeding, you should be able to decide what forms of food would better suit you and your dog’s lifestyle.

Now for Step 2, figure out your monthly budget for pet food. Once you’ve decided on that, you can contact us -- via live chat or email us -- and we can provide you with a range of food within your budget.

We are currently working on a guide on the brands, formulas and pricing for your reference and will update this article soon.

That’s all for now, feel free to contact us if you need any assistance with finding the right food for you.

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