4 Popular Misconceptions on Dog Food

Picture this, my friends: You go to your dog’s pet food bowl in the morning. You pour a cup of food into the bowl, then step back. Your precious pup is beyond excited to eat his breakfast - but you’re feeling a little bit of dog mom (or dog dad!) guilt.

You’re a busy pet parent and need to get to work, so feeding your dog a raw food diet (or even a wet food diet) four or five times per day just isn’t an option. You need a shelf-stable dog food that you can “dump and go.”

But does that mean you have to sacrifice quality? I used to think that was the case and it made me so guilty; I felt like I wasn’t giving Sherlock everything he deserved. Sure, he was getting his calories, and he seems to enjoy his food, for the most part. But processed dog food – ugh! Is it really the only option?

I’ve done a lot of research about dog food and I’ve realized that there are a lot of popular misconceptions on dog food out there. Here are four popular misconceptions on dog food that it’s time we did away with!

The 4 Popular Misconceptions on Dog Food

Misconception #1: Dog Food Should Really Be Raw

I’ve definitely been dog-mom-guilted in the past about not feeding Sherlock a raw food diet. These diets are said to produce the closest experience to what a dog would eat “in the wild.”

Diets like this often contain combinations of raw meat, vegetables, and bones. Sure, they’re nutritionally dense and probably pretty close to what Sherlock would eat if I let him “free-range,” as they say.

But are they really better? Or even practical?

I use baked dog food because it’s shelf-stable. I can feed it to Sherlock and not have to worry about it going rancid in his bowl by the time I get home from work. These foods are also easy to store and take on the go with no refrigeration necessary. The big problem with raw foods, after all, is that they need to be kept cold.

The good news? According to The Ohio State University, there’s not a lot of evidence that a raw diet is superior to a normal one for dogs. Plus, raw food diets can be dangerous in that they can expose pets and their owners to bacteria, heightening the risk of gastrointestinal problems.

The takeaway? Although raw food diets can be nutritious, they’re in no way superior to baked food - and they can pose some risks.

Misconception #2: It Always Contains Fillers

Sadly, many dog foods contain artificial flavors and preservatives to help extend their shelf life. That is true of many foods – but fortunately, not all of them.

To find the best quality baked food for your pup, you’ve got to choose one that is made with 100% human-grade ingredients. We’re talking no fillers, no preservatives, no artificial flavors. Just fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains.

Sounds like a pipe dream? It’s not! Ollie Baked is a great example of such dog food. This dog food is cold-formed in small batches to maximize nutrition without the need for fillers.

In fact, Ollie lets you know the major ingredients in each of their baked options, and all of them are recognizable! With the Baked Beef option, your pup receives nutrients from sweet potatoes, oats, lentils, and carrots. The Baked Chicken option features carrots, oats, chickpeas, and sweet potatoes as some of its star ingredients. With no fillers, Ollie’s baked bites contain no artificial flavors, which means Sherlock can enjoy the flavor of real veggies, legumes, and oats.

Misconception #3: Nutrition Can’t Be Optimized

Unfortunately, there’s some truth to this one – baked dog food is more processed than raw or canned food.

It’s true that the manufacturing process of traditional kibble includes a high amount of carbohydrates. These can lead to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and cancer (though the jury is still out on whether this is due to the presence of carbohydrates or because dry kibble is often fed free-choice).

However, this is big! This isn’t true of all dog foods. While you can always get a recommendation from your vet on the most nutritious food for your four-legged friend (and this is a great idea, too, since your dog might have unique health needs that need to be addressed in his diet), I recommend Ollie Baked recipes for the best possible nutrition.

The foods included in Ollie have minimal carbohydrates and maximum protein. The Baked recipes have high levels of:

• Protein
• Vitamin B
• Omega 6 fatty acids
• Vitamin A

Overall, it can be tougher to find a baked dog food that offers top-notch nutrition, but it's certainly not an impossible task these days.

Misconception #4: The Flavors are Bland

Another misconception about some dog food is that you have to feed your pup the exact same food for his entire life.

Not the case!

Now, this misconception comes about because you don’t want to switch your dog to a vastly different brand overnight. If you're going to change foods – even just flavors - you should rotate it out slowly, transitioning over a period of several days to avoid major tummy troubles.

But there are lots of benefits to rotating out the dry food. For one, it ensures that they receive a wide variety of nutrition from varying protein and other ingredients. While some people believe it can help to prevent allergies from developing later in life, the jury is still out on whether this is the case - but at the very least, a rotational diet can add a variety of nutrients to your pup’s diet and make it easier to diagnose allergies if they come up.

You might think some dog food is boring, but that’s far from the case - at least, not when you choose the right dog food brand. Ollie’s Baked recipes offer a fresh take on dog food, with two different recipes that are gently baked and minimally processed for maximum nutrition and maximum flavor.

In the first chicken and carrot recipe, chicken is the primary ingredient, followed by other protein – and vitamin-packed ingredients like eggs and chickpeas. In the beef and sweet potato recipe, your pup gets delicious flavor notes of chickpeas and beef liver. Yum!

Baked Dog Food: The Takeaway

Ultimately, a fed dog is a happy dog - and while you might feel guilty about feeding your dog a baked food diet, you really shouldn’t. Baked dog food has come a long way; the food of today has just as many nutritional benefits as raw or canned food, plus the ability to stay shelf-stable for much longer.

If you’re a busy pet parent, then take it from me. You don’t have to compromise! Feed a quality dog food like Ollie Baked, and you’ll get the best of both worlds.