The word dry food you hear a lot when you start dealing with pets, and you find people saying that it is good and beneficial and others saying that it is harmful.
In this article, you will know what dry food means? And any alternatives to it? Why dry food is the best of them? And you will know scientifically at the end of the article how to choose the best dry food for your dog or cat? We will also recommend to you some of the types that you can buy.
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What is dry food – dry food?
- Dry food Or dry food is food intended for dogs and cats, made with specific amounts and proportions that cover the pet’s need for protein, energy, vitamins and minerals, which differ according to the type of pet, its age, and the stage it goes through, whether pregnancy, lactation, training or guarding.
Is dry food harmful or beneficial for dogs and cats?
Dry food is like any food in the world, it has both sweet and bad. Let us first see what are its benefits and harms, and then we know how to differentiate between the beneficial and the harmful.
The benefits of dry food
- A complete nutritional meal that contains percentages of all the nutrients that your dog or cat needs.
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- Helps remove the lime layer accumulated on the teeth.
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- It strengthens bones and helps in growth.
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- It helps in the growth of muscles and tissues because it contains protein.
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- Preserves animal hair because it contains fatty acids.
- It does not spoil quickly and can be preserved for a long time.
Dry food as a type of food has no harm or side effects in and of itself, but the issue is exactly like our food, for example, when you are tired of eating boiled food, if you eat cooked food, it may tire you more, and this is exactly the issue here. Damages
Damages may arise from choosing the wrong dry food
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- Allergy due to the presence of some components
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- Reflux and diarrhea as a result of using poor quality or spoiled dry food
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- Obesity as a result of using more dry food than the pet needs
- Formation of stones as a result of colored food and excess salts
Dry food is better or fresh food?
Dry food is the alternative and competitor to fresh food, which is made at home, such as boiled chicken and boiled vegetables, or any food that is prepared at home, especially for pets.
Fresh food, of course, is one of the best nutritional ingredients that you can give to your fiber, but you must provide it with all the vitamins and minerals and the amount of daily energy it needs, given that this is difficult to achieve andFrom experience, most of the dogs that we saw eating fresh food in Egypt had hair problems and a lack of physical structure, and we gave all our advice to using dry food.
Dry food or alweet food? Dry Food vs Wet Food?
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- Weight food is very close to dry food, but the amount of water in it can reach 80%
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- There are various kinds of food, of good quality and of poor quality
- It is difficult to rely on whey food as a source of food because it is very expensive compared to dry food and is used as a side source and is also used in sick cases because it is easier to digest than dry food.
Dry food components
The basic components of dry food are usually a source of protein, such as beef, chicken, fish, eggs, and fats, as well as grains such as corn, wheat, starch, and a group of vitamins and minerals.
The proteins used can be cuts of meat, leftover meat, or leftovers from meat processing. As for grains, they are used to reduce the cost of the protein used. .
If you find the word Meat unlike the product, it means using real meat, whether from the body, heart, diaphragm, esophagus, or in general any meat suitable for human consumption.
If it was mentioned “Meat by-product” means anything other than meat, such as lung, kidney, brain, blood and bones, and this is based on the instructions of the American Feed Control Organization AAFCO The instructions also say that these ingredients cannot have hair, horns, teeth or hooves
But if it was mentioned Meat Meal on Dry Food describes that the product is made from animal tissues, which means it could be any part of the animal, but we don’t know which.
That is why our preference for a certain type of dry food remains over another type, to be specific to the type of protein source, and the more words remain unspecified, the lower the quality and the less our candidacy for dry food.
Manufacture and processing of dry food
The dried food is processed using heat and pressure to form the granules that are then packaged, but of course a large part of the important vitamins are lost during this process. That is why vitamins and minerals are added during the processing of the dried food, so that the final product contains all the appropriate and necessary needs for the pet.
How to introduce dry food to dogs or cats
It is placed in a dish as a complete meal, and a little warm water or soup can be added, or it can be mixed with white food
The appropriate amount for the age and weight of the animal must be taken into account, and it should be written on the dry food package, and it should be divided equally according to the number of meals per day.
The number of dry food meals for dogs and cats per day
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- In the first six months, the prescribed amount of dry food is divided into 3 meals equally
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- From 6 months to a year, the division is divided into two meals a day
- After a year, the amount of food is in one meal per day
NB: It is better not to play after eating, so that there is no stomach problem
How do dogs or cats get used to dry food as food?
A lot of us get a question, how do I get my cat back on dry food?
If the dog or cat is used to eating fresh food, it will be difficult to switch to dry food at once, so it is done gradually over four days.
On the first day, use 3/4 of the meal fresh and ¼ of dry food
The second day: ½ fresh and ½ dry food
As for the third day, ¼ fresh food and ¾ dry food
And the fourth day, the entire meal will be dry food
Important note
You need to know what kind of food your fiber likes, because dry food is made from ingredients such as fish, chicken, and meat, so choose the kind that your fiber loves as the main ingredient.
Some companies have made products specifically for “nose” dogs and cats 😀 and they are the ones who don’t want to eat anything, and by experimenting with these types, they got results
How do you choose the most suitable dry food for your dog or cat?
1- Check the source of protein in the dry food
The first thing you need to look at is the protein source, the most important of which are the first 3 sources written on the packaging, and of course they are called beef, poultry, chicken, or fish. If it says meat by-products, this means that the protein is of low quality.
And if it is written that the meat by-products are liver, for example, then this is excellent as well. As for the source of the protein, if it is unknown or not written at all, then it is free of it…
Also, if the first 3 components of plant protein are not animal, then this is a protein of low quality and not suitable, because dogs and cats are carnivores, and a large part of dogs and cats are allergic to vegetable protein.
And there are certain products in the market that you will find written on it |Grain Free Or Glutin Free, and this is of course better, but it is more expensive in price and with a big difference.
If your dog or cat eats food that contains pills, you must follow up if he appears allergic to it, such as the appearance of sick symptoms related to eating, such as skin problems, diarrhea, reflux, or weight loss.
2- Fat
Dry food, the best in quality, is the one in which the source of fat is mentioned. As for the one that does not have the source written on it, then of course it is lower in the evaluation.
3- Pay attention to the age group
You must know very well if this dry food is suitable for the age of your dog or cat or not, because for example, puppies and kittens must have higher protein and energy than adults to form their muscles and provide them with the energy suitable for their body, so they have a special diet. And age information you will find written on dry food packages
4- Physical and reproductive activity
Not all adult dogs are as active as some of them, or even cats, for example, pregnant and lactating women, need high energy and more protein than young ones. Exactly the same thing applies to dogs at the time of training or any work that involves effort. They cannot eat the same food as a dog sitting at home.
Based on this, you need to know which stage your dog or cat is going through, or the nature of its activity, in order to ask while buying which is the most appropriate dry food and choose the food that will benefit your fiber during the stage it is going through.
5- platoon
For dogs
Some dogs have long hair, so they need omega-3 or omega-6 and biotin as essential hair vitamins.
And certain species, such as the German Shepherd, are susceptible to dislocation of the joint in a satisfactory manner, so it is preferable to have vitamins that strengthen the joints, such as the glucose amino glycan, for example. The best dry food for German dogs is different from the best dry food for other dogs. And better Dry food for puppies is not the best dry food for adults, and so on
Dogs of large breeds have a completely different need for energy and protein. If they eat food containing high protein and energy at an early stage, their body may lose weight and cause bone and joint problems. That is why it is very important to make sure that the dry food is suitable for your dog.
With regard to cats
Cats whose hair is long are more likely to form hairballs in the stomach, so it is preferable to have silica gel in the dry food to disassemble these balls from each other.
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6- Pay attention to the brand
Some companies have all the correct ingredients written on the packaging, but they are unknown and not widely known, and the reactions to them are not strong. Unlike other companies that are known to care about quality, and also dogs and cats love to eat them, that is why we recommend that you choose a well-known brand that is widespread in the market. like Dry Food Royal Cannon And Dry Food Josera For cats and dry food monilo and Dry Food Mira Dry Food Fokker There are also Egyptian brands at cheap prices, such as Dry Food Alpha and Dry Food Pioneer
The best food for young dogs (puppies) less than a year old
As we told you, choosing the right dry food for your dog depends on many factors, including that the type is widespread and its quality is good. We wrote a full article on the subject that you can see here. The best dry food for dogs in Egypt
Of course, choosing the best dry food that suits your cat is linked to more than one factor. Among these factors is that the brand is offered and of high quality, so we wrote a full article for this, which you can see here. The best dry food for cats in Egypt
Dry food prices in Egypt 2020
Dry food has very different prices according to quality, type, weight, ingredients and brand. You can see all the prices and choose what suits you best.
Or shopping under the brand name from here
But if you need to get a general idea of prices
Category less than 500 pounds for a large package from 15 to 20 kilos
And here are most of the types of local manufacture, such as Dry Food Canido andDry food super canido And Dry Food Pioneer and Dry Food Alpha
And a category from 500 to 1000 pounds
This category is mostly imported and has a great gradation in quality
like Bavaro Dry Food , Josera , Mira , Champ, Fokker , Belcando , Beefy Dog
As for the category of more than 1000 pounds
This category always contains dry food types, the quality of animal protein is high, and its quality is also respectable
like Earthborn dry food And Royal Canin for dogs
The consumption of cats weighing 2 kilograms is approximately 50 grams per day. Most people buy 2 kilogram packages. This happens if a cat breeder or two, but if more, they need larger packages in weight
The price per kilogram ranges from 40 pounds per kilogram to 200 pounds, based on quality, type, weight, ingredients, and brand.
like Dry Food Josera And Dry Food Mira And Dry Food Beef Cat And Dry Food Monello and Leonardo W Dry Food Royal Canin
It is very important that you know the most suitable food for your fiber based on all the criteria that we said. You can send us a WhatsApp or call us at 01022337450 or write a comment on the article and tell us the type and age of your fiber. A specialized doctor from us in Happet will tell you the best dry food for you based on the budget proposed by you, and we will also deliver it to you at home
And you can buy your favorite type online from
Dry food store for dogs
And Cat dry food store
What is dry food? What are its benefits and harms? What are its ingredients and how do you choose dry food suitable for your pet? Know the prices of dry food and its best types, such as Dry Food Royal and Dry Food Josera Enter now.