When it comes to dog nutrition, do you know the six nutrients your dog — and you — need to survive and thrive? Whether you feed your dog a premium commercial food or prepare homemade meals, it’s important to understand the fundamentals of canine nutrition.

Every living thing needs a wide variety of nutrients — nutrients are substances from food that provide energy and enable our bodies to function — to actually survive. There are six major classes of nutrients for both dogs and people:

water, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.

Now let’s take a closer look at these six essential nutrients your dog needs to eat: