Why do you need to understand your dog food ingredients label? Because what you don't know about what is in your pet's food could actually be harming your beloved dog! You think you are feeding your dog food for optimal health, when in fact, you might be poisoning him.
Sometimes is seems like you need a degree to figure out all the ingredients in your dog food. What do all these terms mean? The dog food companies basically tell you not to worry about it - they will take care of your beloved pet. But consumers got a terrible wake-call with the massive pet food recalls over the last few years. They may know what is best for our dogs, but that is not what they are giving us. Thankfully, more organic and all-natural pet foods have been springing up, giving us healthier dog food choices.
But it's not hard to figure out what is in your pet food so you can compare with other brands. Here are some of the more common "tricks" to reading dog food ingredients lists:
1. You can get a feel to the quality of the dog food by looking at the first 5 - 10 ingredients, as these make up the majority of the pet.
2. Look for natural preservatives, such as vitamins E and C (also shown as tocopherols and ascorbic acid). Inferior pet foods still use BHT, BHA, and Ethoxyquin. These chemical preservatives have been banned from use in human food.
3. A trick some dog food companies use, legally, is to break up one ingredient into several "sub-ingredients," thus moving these ingredients lower in the ingredient list. This is especially true for inferior grains. For example, instead of seeing "corn" listed, you might see corn bran, corn gluten, and corn flour, even though they are all derived from corn. Now, another ingredient that weighs more than either of these sub-ingredients, will be listed before these.
4. It makes sense that a quality food food will have a meat listed in the first 2 ingredients. But you really want to see a meat meal. The meat meal is the same as meat, but most of the moisture/liquid has been removed first. Therefore, an ounce of meat weighs more than an ounce of meat meal (and is higher in the ingredient list), but there are more nutrients and protein in an ounce of meat meal than an ounce of meat. But when the dog food gets processed, the meat is first dehydrated. So you would be getting less of the actual meat if meat is listed instead of meat meal. Very confusing!
The moral of the story? Learn to read the labels to see what you are actually feeding your dog. Your current dog food may be great, or it may be the worst thing for your dog. Don't just rely on enticing packaging showing a delicious chicken and lots of fresh beautiful fruits and vegetables. Although we like to think that is what we are feeding our dogs, the reality is, most dog foods are nothing like this!
More Information:
Learn how to keep your dog healthy by deciphering the
dog food ingredients label. Visit the
Healthy Dog Food blog to learn more about the ingredients used and how to find the healthiest dog food to keep your dog healthy, naturally.
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