There are so many types of dried dog food you can buy today that it is difficult to know which one to choose. First we should discuss what dried food is and how it compares to other dog foods.

Dried dog food has been cooked or baked into hard small biscuit pieces. It is a good and complete source of nutrition and the crunching and chewing of the dried food acts like an abrasive against the teeth, removing plaque and stimulating the gums it can help keep teeth and gums in good condition. Complete dried dog food is easy to serve because you simply pour the required measurement into the dog's bowl and it tends not to smell like the wet, canned dog foods.

Most leading dog food brands such as Arden Grange Dog Food develop differnet ranges depending on whether the dog is a puppy, adult, senior, certain breed or has sensitive digestion. But which is really the best for your dog?

If your dog is aged up to 18 months look at the different brands of food for puppies. These are usually non-breed specific because puppy food contains different levels of ingredients. Puppies need different quantities of certain vitamins and nutrients, just like human babies. Puppy food can also be split by size of the breed i.e. small (e.g. Shih Tzu), medium (e.g. Border Collie) and large (e.g. Bull Mastiff). You should now be able to narrow down your choice by age and size of your puppies breed.

When choosing a dog food brand for adult dogs it might be a little easier because most dog food manufacturers split their ranges by the size of dog or specific breed. If you decide to simply go off the size of your dogs breed, all that is left is narrowing down the manufacturer and maybe the flavour of dog food such as chicken, beef or rabbit (which does tend to be the dogs preference which is where samples come in handy!). Or you can choose a range that has been developed specifically for certain breeds such as boxer dog food.

The other factors that can be considered in your choice include personal preference. Brands such as Arden Grange are animal friendly i.e. not tested on animals during product development. Price is also an important factor; if you happened to switch brands because of the cost your dog could go on 'hunger strike' or get an upset tummy. So do make sure you will be able to keep up the costs of the dog food on a regular and ongoing basis.

Tip: If you have more than one dog of a similar size it might be a good idea to try to get them all on the same brand and range of food.