{"id":3008,"date":"2019-05-16T10:00:25","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/?p=3008"},"modified":"2023-10-27T00:37:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T05:37:27","slug":"buying-breed-specific-dog-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/health\/buying-breed-specific-dog-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Spend the Money on a Breed-Specific Diet?"},"content":{"rendered":"\"A\n

Last year, owners spent almost $73 billion on their pets, according to the American Pet Products Association. What accounted for the majority of those expenditures? Was it veterinary care or toys? Actually, the single largest expense, accounting for just over $30 billion was \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 pet food.<\/p>\n

As if choosing between dozens of brands and flavors wasn\u2019t overwhelming enough, now there\u2019s another factor in the mix: breed nutrition, or pet foods tailored to specific dog and cat breeds. Designed around the health conditions that may be common to those breeds, these diets may also feature kibble shapes and sizes tailored for your breed\u2019s particular mouth.<\/p>\n

Do they help?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First off, a breed-specific diet probably won\u2019t harm your pet. And special kibble design might be helpful. For example, kibble shape and size can be designed to make it easier for flat-nosed pets (think pugs and Persians) to pick up and chew food with their short jaws. And larger, donut-shaped kibble might help a Labrador eat a little slower, rather than inhaling each meal.<\/p>\n

But can these diets really help prevent particular health issues?<\/p>\n

Currently, we know a lot about disease prevalence among breeds, but there\u2019s very little research available on whether nutrition will prevent those diseases. What\u2019s more, over-the-counter maintenance diets aren\u2019t legally allowed to make claims about preventing, treating or curing a disease. Only therapeutic diets, provided under the guidance of a veterinarian, can do that \u2014 and only after demonstrating that the food actually lives up to the claim.<\/p>\n

Choose a diet based on your pet\u2019s needs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The truth is, there are plenty of diets on the market that suit your pet\u2019s (and your wallet\u2019s) needs. Your veterinarian can recommend a few diets based on your pet\u2019s size, life stage and health.<\/p>\n

For example, large-breed puppies \u2014 whether they\u2019re Newfoundlands or mastiffs \u2014 can benefit from special diets designed to help them grow slowly so they\u2019re less likely to develop orthopedic conditions such as hip dysplasia.<\/p>\n

In terms of life-stage, puppies<\/a> generally require more protein and calories to meet their higher energy requirements than geriatric dogs who spend most of the day snoozing on the couch.<\/p>\n

And nutrition can certainly help manage some health conditions. A high-fiber, low-calorie diet, for example, might help a chubby dog slim down a bit. But a dog that\u2019s just the right weight doesn\u2019t need this kind of diet.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that there may be some benefits to breed-specific diets, but there are also plenty of other diets that are suitable for your pet. And breed-specific diets aren\u2019t a replacement for therapeutic diets specifically designed for a particular health condition. When in doubt, count on your veterinarian who knows your pet\u2019s nutritional needs.<\/p>\n

He or she can even recommend what\u2019s best for mixed-breed dogs, or mutts, that make up an estimated 53 percent of dogs in the United States. Because they deserve solid nutrition, too.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year, owners spent almost $73 billion on their pets, according to the American Pet Products Association. What accounted for the majority of those expenditures? Was it veterinary care or toys? Actually, the single largest expense, accounting for just over $30 billion was \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 pet food. As if choosing between dozens … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Breed-Specific Diets for Pets: Are They Worth It?","_seopress_titles_desc":"Explore the benefits and considerations of breed-specific diets. Dive into the facts and understand when to choose a diet tailored for your pet's unique needs!","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[60,59,80,137],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3008"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3008"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13726,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3008\/revisions\/13726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}