Is expensive dog food better?

How times have changed. I remember as a child being sent outside with table scraps to feed the family dog. When I left school and went jackarooing, there would always be a sheep to kill or a roo for dogs meat, to supplement dry dog food from the stock agent or supermarket. Fast forward 40 years and we are overwhelmed with choice (and guilt). Should we be buying $150 a bag food? Should we choose the Bison/Venison mix? That one took me by surprise. I don’t have the answers, and all the articles I have assembled below don’t seem to either.

I have tried to only include relevant, informative articles, that include research. Most of the sites that sell dog food, just sing the praises of the expensive brands, with no credible research and I found many of the articles little more than blatant advertising.

The cereal /meat discussion is also very current and in recent years there has been a trend to meat only kibble, although most research suggests that grain is only a problem for a minority of dogs that may have allergies or intolerance. It is also good to mix fresh meat and vegetables with dry food.

A useful comment in one of the papers was that people should check their dog droppings as a good indication of a healthy diet. The main take home I did get from the articles though is that obesity is probably a bigger threat to your dogs health and wellbeing than the brand of dog food you buy.