Dog food is a meal specially made for the consumption of dogs alone. Dog food ingredients vary from plants, to vegetables and meat. For thousands of years, dogs have survived eating dog food that is made up of human food scraps and left-overs.  It was only few years ago when commercial dog food had been out in the market. Aside from the typical dog food, there is also what they call dog treats. Dog treat is a special kind of dog food given to the pet as a reward.

There are three types of dog food and it differs depending on how much water one should mix. The first type of dog food and the least expensive when bought by pound is the dry dog food. Dry dog food is less likely to spoil when compared to the canned dog food. Inside the pack of a commercial dry dog food are pellets called kibble. Kibbles are produced either by baking or extrusion. Baked kibble has a longer storage life and is more expensive than extruded kibble. Dry dog food with baked kibble is only available in specialty and pet stores. On the other hand, extruded kibbles spoil easily especially when this type of dog food is exposed to air for quite a long time. Extruded kibbles are the type of dog food that can be found at supermarkets. Another type of dog food is the canned or wet dog food. However, because of the high water content, canned dog food is lower in protein and fat when compared to dry or even semi-moist dog food. Once opened, canned dog food should be served and eaten immediately by the canine. Prolong exposure to air may cause this type of dog food to spoil easily. The last and the latest type of dog food is the fresh dog food. Australia produced this type of dog food decades ago and only recently that it became available in the markets of America. Fresh dog food is not processed by means of baking nor extrusion but by pasteurization making it susceptible to the bacteria. To prevent immediate spoilage, fresh dog food must be stored in a refrigerator. Among the three, fresh dog food is the only type that does not have any preservative and uses only fresh ingredients.

Dogs, like humans, are also prone in different health problems. That is why manufacturers created specially formulated types of dog food. This includes dog food for canines with allergy, with arthritis, for nursing adult dogs, for old dogs, for overweight dogs and dogs with diabetes.

If humans enjoy the savory tastes of different meat flavours, so does our canine pals. Dog foods are available in assorted flavours. Some of these much loved flavours are beef, chicken, lamb and salmon. These flavors are the common food types that can be found in a dog food. Along with these, fruits such as berries and apples, vegetables like green beans, sweet potatoes and carrots, as well as grains such as oatmeal, rice and barley, are also the common food types found in a dog food.