Within a relatively short space of time, manufactured dog food, produced from waste products of the human food industry, became the standard diet of the domestic dog. Today, most dog owners rely on some form of pet food – dried, canned, semi-moist or ‘gourmet’ – to feed their dogs, often to the exclusion of anything else. But over the same short period, something else happened. Dogs began to get ill with diseases that had never been that prevalent in the species before.

As a dog-lover I care enough for their wellbeing to think long and hard about the nutritional value of what I give them to eat. My research tells me that an awful lot of what is marketed as healthy ‘scientific’ pet food is anything but. Decode some of the terms listed on the dog food product label, and you might not be so quick to put the food in your supermarket trolley or your dog’s bowl.

Your dog is what he eats. Feed him the right diet and you’ve given him a huge head start to lifelong health and fitness. So what is the correct diet? Some people believe the right way to feed dogs is to give them an exclusively raw diet based on uncooked meaty bones. Others feed their dogs human food they have cooked themselves. Then there are the many different commercial brands that the overwhelming majority rely on. Wet or dry? Premium, gourmet, or supermarket own-brand? How do you know what is best?

I recommend feeding a dog very high-quality dog food, both wet and dry, which contains ingredients you can trust. I would supplement this with a little cooked chicken and cooked vegetables, chiefly to provide variety of taste and texture. The homemade food option might be worth exploring if you have the time to source the ingredients, weigh them out in the correct quantities and prepare them – but most people don’t. What is important is that your dog gets the best possible deal at chow time you can give him.

Get more tips on what NOT to feed your dog.

To find out more about ensuring your dog is happy and healthy, buy It’s Me or The Dog: Fat Dog Slim.

Click here to buy Victoria's previous book It's Me or the Dog: How to have the perfect Pet.