Making sense of all the available commercial dog food can be a job all unto itself. You have dry food options, canned food options, and then you have all the brands to figure out. Which choice is the best? Product packaging isn’t always the best way to find a healthy choice, since words like "premium" or "super premium" aren’t enforced guarantees of anything! Yes, the dog food industry follows standards, but only up to a point. There are plenty of loopholes that let dog food manufacturers claim things that aren’t necessarily true or even applicable – all in an effort to get the sale and reach a profitable bottom line. Here’s everything you need to know about dog food.

Kibble and canned food are the best types of commercial dog food known. Both are rich with the carbohydrates, fat, minerals, protein, and vitamins dogs need.

Kibbles differ from canned food however in the way that they’re prepared. Kibble is dry dog food, and its made via extrusion and/or baking, processes which remove the water. Baking and extrusion not only give kibble a crunchy texture, but also elongates its shelf life. Canned food on the other hand stores the water it was prepared with, so it must be kept in an unopened container until it’s served.

The key differences between the two address cost, shelf life, care, and nutritional value which is why many owners use both types of commercial dog food. Kibble is cheaper, higher in fiber, and good at cleaning teach. Canned food is easily chewable, easily stored, moisturized, and richer in vitamins, and enzymes.  Furthermore, canned food has a longer shelf life than kibble, but spoils much quicker once opened.

The reason why canned food retains more vitamins and minerals than kibbles is because it isn't extruded. Extrusion first separates food products into specific parts and then rendered – a process that turns food products into meal (coarsely ground foodstuff). The meal is then extruded with an extruder. Inside the extruder, the meal is steamed and pressurized and compressed into noodles that are then cut and shaped into bite-sized kibbles. Once dry and cool, manufacturers will spray vitamins, minerals, and fat onto the kibbles to meet recommendations and standards. After they’re flavored, they’re packaged and shipped off to retail outlets (pet shops, grocery stores, etc.).