Because you love your dog, you want to provide a nutritious diet that will help them live a full and healthy life. However, high-priced food doesn’t always equal high quality food. Therefore, understanding dog food labels is essential to ensure you’re feeding your dog a balanced and healthy diet.
A quick glance at a dog food label might seem more confusing than helpful, but understanding even just part of the label will help you make better choices. Some pet owners assume that if they’re paying a lot for their dog food, it must be of higher quality than other brands. That’s not necessarily true. Even some foods sold only through veterinarians may not be any more nutritious than others. That’s why understanding the label is crucial—it’s the only way to know for sure what you’re feeding your dog. There are four key areas you should examine on every dog food label: guaranteed analysis, ingredient list, feeding instructions, and AAFCO standards. Below, you’ll find an explanation of each. But first, let’s explore what you can learn about a food just from its name.
What the Name Can Tell You
Dog food manufacturers can’t arbitrarily name their products in a way that misleads consumers. There are precise guidelines that determine what percentage of each named ingredient must be present. Here are some examples to help you understand these rules:
Example 1: Sally’s Chicken for Dogs: In this case, chicken must make up 95% of the total product (excluding water). Chicken must account for 70% of the total product, including water. However, just because you see the word “chicken” in the name doesn’t mean it’s 95% chicken. That’s because there’s another rule, as shown in the next example.
Example 2: Sally’s Chicken Dinner for Dogs: By including the word “dinner,” the requirement for the amount of chicken drops from 95% to 25%. Other words like “entrée,” “platter,” or “formula” can also be used to qualify the named ingredient (in this case, chicken). There’s also a rule that allows dog food manufacturers to highlight an ingredient that doesn’t meet the percentage requirements. Here’s an example.
Example 3: Sally’s Chicken Dinner with Cheese: In this example, the phrase “with cheese” means that cheese makes up 3% of the total product. In the case of “Sally’s Chicken Flavored Dinner,” there is no set percentage requirement, but the rule states that there must be enough to be “detectable.”
While the name can provide some useful information, you still need to dig deeper to get the full picture.
Guaranteed Analysis
This part of the label provides information about the minimum levels of protein and fat, as well as the maximum levels of water and fiber in the food. While the minimum amount of protein might look impressive, it’s important to note that the levels of protein and fat are listed as “crude sources.” This means that if the label lists 30% crude protein, you still don’t know how much of that protein is digestible. The digestibility of protein depends on its source. To ensure your dog gets the necessary nutrients, there must be enough digestible protein and fat. To learn the sources of the fat and protein, you’ll need to examine the ingredients list.
Ingredient List of Dog Food
All ingredients in the dog food must be listed in order of weight, starting with the item present in the largest quantity. You want to see a named protein as the first ingredient, such as “chicken” or “beef,” rather than just “meat.” In addition to ensuring the food contains ingredients you want, check for preservatives you may want to avoid. Reading the ingredient list won’t help much if you don’t know what the ingredients mean. Here are a few common ingredients and their meanings:
- Meat – The flesh of slaughtered animals, including chicken, cattle, turkey, etc. This may include muscle, heart, skin, sinew, and blood vessels.
- Meat by-products – Parts of slaughtered animals, excluding the flesh. This may include lungs, brain, spleen, blood, bones, and intestines.
- Poultry by-products – Parts of slaughtered chickens and turkeys, excluding the flesh. This may include lungs, brain, spleen, blood, bones, and intestines, but not feathers.
- Beef tallow – Fat derived from beef.
- Ground corn – The whole kernel of corn, which can be ground or chopped.
- Corn gluten meal – The by-product left after corn syrup or starch is manufactured, once the bran, germ, and starch have been removed.
- BHA – A fat preservative.
- Ethoxyquin – A chemical preservative.
- Tocopherols – A natural preservative.
Feeding Instructions
Dog food labels provide instructions for how much to feed your pet, based on its weight and possibly age. However, this is just a guideline. The amount your pet requires will depend on several factors, and it may be more or less than the suggested amount. While you can start with the listed guidelines, be sure to monitor your pet’s weight and adjust their food intake accordingly.
AAFCO
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets guidelines for all aspects of animal food production and labeling. AAFCO has developed standards that pet foods should meet. Foods that meet these standards will include an AAFCO statement on the label. A pet food that has an AAFCO statement doesn’t guarantee that the food is perfect, but any food without it should be avoided.
There is no single brand that is superior to all others. Many brands offer quality foods that provide a balanced diet. A food that costs more doesn’t necessarily mean it’s higher quality. The key is to read the label.
Understanding dog food labels takes some effort, but the health benefits for your dog make it well worth the trouble.
