To ensure your dog is getting a balanced diet, it is best to buy commercial dog food from a reputable company as they have done the necessary research and testing to guarantee all the dog's needs are met. If you're cooking at home, you'll need to do more research to ensure the food provides all necessary supplements.

Dogs require fats, proteins, carbohydrates, water, vitamins, and minerals. Commercially made dog food ensures that these are present in the correct amounts and ratios for different life stages.

Senior dogs should transition to a food specifically designed for seniors. This usually contains higher levels of joint support and brain health supplements. The age at which a dog is considered a senior also varies by breed - large breeds may reach this stage as early as five to six years, regular dogs between eight to ten years, and small breeds not until they are ten to twelve years old.

The best food for an adult dog is an adult formula food. This is custom made to suit their needs at this stage of life. The age at which a dog becomes an adult varies depending on size - small breeds generally reach adulthood at nine to ten months, middle-sized dogs at around a year, and large breeds between a year and a half to two years.

The ingredients of a treat are most important. If your dog has a food allergy, you want to ensure that the allergen is not included on the ingredient label. Besides, you want to ensure that the treats are made in a reputable company's facility to ensure there are no bad byproducts or anything harmful in them.

On a food bag, you want to ensure that the food is ACCO certified, which means it meets the food standards of this country. If your dog nutritionally needs fat or a low amount of fat, perhaps due to conditions like pancreatitis, you will want to look at the maximum fat content on the label. If your dog has a certain food allergy, whether that be chicken or beef, you should scan the ingredients carefully. Dogs that are sporting or hunting dogs will need a higher protein level to keep up with their needs.

Life stage nutrition categorizes nutrition into the best foods for a puppy, an adult, and a senior dog. Depending on the size of the dog, the puppy stage is considered anywhere between a year to about 18 months of age for a large breed, and then adult stages from there to about seven or eight. After that comes the senior stage, which for large breed dogs, starts more around six years of age.

Specific diets are particularly important for large breed dogs. Their food, whether it's a puppy or adult formula, has slightly different ratios of minerals and vitamins that help them grow properly as they are going to get so large. Apart from that, ensuring a good quality and complete diet is important. If your dog eats really fast, there are different sizes and shapes of food that can be helpful in slowing them down.