Make sure it meets all the AFCO requirements, which are the government requirements found on the back of the bag. When the food contains meat and meat by-products, it is an indication of a good diet. Like people's food, the ingredient at the top of the list is the main ingredient. This goes for canned food as well.

If you have a senior dog, your nutritional needs may differ from when you have a puppy. The sporting or the hunting dogs may do better on a diet different from maintenance nutrition meant for dogs that aren't as active. It depends on the breed, but we generally start recommending senior dog food from 7 to 9 years of age and puppy food from 8 to 14 months.

There are breed-specific dog foods out there. For instance, the sporting mixes tend to have higher protein content for the high-energy dogs. Will your dog thrive on a non-sporting mix? Yes, sure. But they may do better on the high-protein food. Some toy breed foods have smaller kibbles because little dogs like to crunch the little kibbles or pieces of food. Your large breed foods are formulated for the nutritional needs of large, big-boned dogs, particularly puppies. It optimizes their growth levels to prevent problems later in life. Do all breeds need breed-specific food? No. I recommend feeding for the life stage, but there are foods formulated for specific breeds which focus on palatability and kibble size. Kibble shapes may differ depending on the preference of certain breeds. Labradors, for instance, may chew and crunch their food more given it has a certain kibble size and shape. So that's why they are breed-specific.

There's no right or wrong answer. It depends on lifestyle, and it can be breed-specific. The average is twice daily, but there are dogs that are free fed. I recommend measuring the amount that you leave out. Free-feeding means that you leave food out for them while making sure that they have a finite amount. I recommend that puppies get fed more than twice a day. It gives them more energy in the day for their active lifestyles. Some of the toy puppies, in particular, need to be fed very often. They're more prone to low blood sugar, so more food more often will decrease those incidents. Stay with the recommended daily amount, but break them up into smaller portions throughout the day.