How to pick the best dry dog food for my dog's health and age?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. My top recommendations of veterinary diets include Hill's Science Diet, Purina, and Royal Canin. These are well-known brands that are stocked in veterinary hospitals, and are AAFCO formulated to be balanced and appropriate. I recommend avoiding grain-free, boutique diets from other brands, as these are not regulated and often are do not have balanced nutrients. I hope this is helpful!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sure that you have probably noticed that there are several different foods available in the market which does not make it any easier sometimes. I prefer any of the Purina pro Plan diets as they are highly nutritious and also very palatable. Also, I highly recommend the hill's Science Diet foods which are also great. Both of these brands have puppy specific diets that would be perfect for Snoopy. Good luck and have a great day!

Foods in the US need to be regulated under AAFCO standards to be complete and nutritionally balanced, so most foods will do a good job of making sure your pet stays healthy and happy. Specialist foods generally are designed to treat an issue, such as a food allergy or a health problem, and are beneficial for pets that need it. As for the prescription diets your vet sells, these are specially formulated to help treat a specific medical condition like a prescription medication would. They are prescription-only because of this, and sometimes cost a bit more because a lot more research and formulation (and sometimes unique ingredients) goes into them to make them able to treat a health condition. In many cases, your vet can send a prescription for this food to an online pet store or pharmacy so you can purchase the product cheaper.

Dogs should be fed an age appropriate diet, either a puppy food, maintenance diet, or senior blend. The best dog food companies are Hill's Science Diet, Royal Canin, & Purina. You can not go wrong choosing one of these. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It would be best to feed him a complete balanced diet. There are plenty of good diets out there. I prefer the Science Diet products but others like Purina Pro Plan and Royal canin are also great. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there. I would recommend feeding a diet from a company with a good reputation, who employs veterinary nutritionists to help formulate their diets and does AAFCO feeding trials to prove that their diets provide complete and balanced nutrition when fed long-term. Companies that meet these criteria include Iams, Purina, and Royal Canin. Purina Dog Chow Complete Adults would be a very reasonable choice.

You have a lot of flexibility since she's a young/middle age adult, and I'm assuming she's healthy. Basically any food made by a reputable company is going to be fine for her. There has been more and more evidence coming out recently that grain-free diets aren't healthy for dogs (linked to a particular type of heart failure called Dilated Cardiomyopathy) and raw food also presents risk of salmonella and e.coli to both the dog and family around the dog, so I'd generally recommend staying away from both of those options. The brands I like are Hills, Purina, and Royal Canin because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff, have good quality control, and generally make solid products. I hope that helps a bit!