Recommended reading about dog nutrition
Choosing the perfect diet for your dog can be overwhelming. Here's some advice on where to start.
By Dr. Mikel Delgado, PhD
Choosing a diet for your dog may seem overwhelming at times - for a good reason! There are hundreds of dog food brands, and you want to do what is best for your dog.
At Good Dog, we think the best thing to do is to make informed choices. To do so, it helps to understand what dogs need nutritionally to thrive, and to be aware of what controversies and questions exist regarding different types of diets. It’s also important to feed your dog food that they enjoy. We’ve put together this list of balanced, evidence-based resources that we hope will help you navigate the pet food aisles (whether virtual or brick-and-mortar)!
Jump to:
Books about how to feed your dog
Food regulation, safety and labeling
Guidance on selecting a food for your dog
Grain free diets for dogs: What to know
Finding a veterinary nutritionist
Books about how to feed your dog
We recommend these books because they all provide an evidence-based and balanced approach to feeding your dog. They are not PRO or ANTI particular diets, brands, or products (e.g., raw, kibble, etc.) but instead present the research to help you make a good decision for you and your dog.
Dog Food Logic - Linda Case
Rather than tell you what to buy, Linda Case breaks down the science behind dog food and nutrition while also presenting information about the pet food industry, marketing, and how we make decisions about what to feed our dogs. Accessible and engaging writing.
Canine and Feline Nutrition: A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals - Linda Case, Michael Hayek, Leighann Daristotle, and Melody Foess Raasch
A detailed textbook on pet nutrition, covering everything from micronutrients to the dietary needs of pets with health concerns, life stages and nutrition, and the production of pet food.
Feed Your Pet Right - Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim
Nestle covers the pet food industry, how pet foods are marketed, supplements, the alternatives to commercial pet food, and how pet food research is conducted. A thorough, well-researched, and highly accessible book on pet food.
Food regulation, safety and labeling
The guidelines for how pet food is labeled, analyzed and regulated are established by an organization called the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). The
AAFCO also sets the nutritional requirements for pet food and pet food ingredients.
AAFCO: How to Understand a Dog or Cat Food Label
AAFCO: Labeling & Labeling Requirements
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulates the manufacturing and labelling of pet food. They ensure that pet food is safe and also handle any recalls of pet food.
Feeding guidelines for dogs
Basic information about nutrition, and what your dog needs:
VCA: Nutrition - General Feeding Guidelines for Dogs
How veterinarians assess an individual pet’s diet and dietary needs:
AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats
Your questions and answers about pet food and pet nutrition, answered in this regularly updated newsletter by Tufts Veterinary Nutrition Service:
Guidance on selecting a food for your dog
General guidelines for evaluating pet food companies:
WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee: Guidelines on Selecting Pet Foods
What to look for when searching the web for information about pet food:
WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee: The Savvy Dog Owner’s Guide to Nutrition on the Internet
Homemade diets for dogs
Thinking of a homemade diet? We recommend working with a veterinary nutritionist. For those interested in a home-cooked diet, you can get more guidance at these sites:
Pet Diets: a teleconsulting service by veterinary nutritionists. They also have an extensive library of helpful information and a Q&A page.
Balance It!: helps pet owners create customized home cooked recipes that are balanced and meet their pet’s nutritional needs.
Grain free diets for dogs: What to know
Grain-free diets are a current concern as are foods with exotic protein sources, and high amounts of legumes, such as lentils and peas. In 2018, several “BEG” (boutique, exotic and grain-free) diets were associated with a recent spike in cases of heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The condition was reversed for many dogs after switching from a grain-free diet. Research on the association between canine heart disease and diet continues. In the meantime, we suggest avoiding a BEG diet unless your veterinarian specifically recommends it.
Freeman, L. M., Stern, J. A., Fries, R., Adin, D. B., & Rush, J. E. (2018). Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs: what do we know?. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 253(11), 1390-1394.
Raw diets and safety
Raw diets are increasingly popular with dog owners. To date, there is no scientific evidence that raw diets are superior to other types of dog food, although many who feed raw report positive outcomes for their dogs, such as a glossier coat and more compact stools. Like with other food recommendations, make sure that a commercially-prepared raw diet meets AAFCO standards. If you are interested in making your dog’s food, work with a veterinary nutritionist to make sure the recipe is nutritionally complete.
When feeding raw, the most important thing to be aware of is the risk of pathogenic bacteria (primarily Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter) to both companion animals and humans. These bacteria are more prevalent in raw food diets than other types of pet food.
FDA statement on preventing illness from pet food
What not to feed your dog
Finally, there are definitely some things that your dog should NOT eat. The AKC offers these guidelines.
People Foods Dogs Can and Can’t Eat
Finding a veterinary nutritionist
The American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) has a directory for board-certified veterinary nutritionists: https://acvn.org/directory/
Most veterinary schools also offer consultations through their nutrition departments.
Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado, PhD is Standards & Research Lead at Good Dog. Mikel received her PhD in animal behavior/cognition from the Psychology Department of UC Berkeley, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine before joining Good Dog. Mikel is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, and has over 20 years of experience working with companion animals.
Join our Good Breeder community
Are you a responsible breeder? We'd love to recognize you. Connect directly with informed buyers, get access to free benefits, and more.