Want to know how to pick the right kibble for your dog? This is no easy task when there are so many choices in the dog food isle of any pet supply store. The pet food regulatory organization, AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials), makes it a little easier to compare pet foods with labeling requirements. Just because it is required doesn’t mean it is easy to understand! At least the labeling requirements do give a baseline so you can be an informed consumer. My hope is that sharing my knowledge in this post will help you pick a great food for your dog.
First, let’s figure out the basic nutrition that your dog needs. Despite what some marketing tells you, canines are omnivores. This means that dogs need animal protein, carbohydrate, and vegetation in their diet. Please note that I am not a veterinarian. I developed this info-graphic by finding commonalities in dry dog food that were developed for particular purposes or life stages using AAFCO standards. After recommending dog food for years, I can attest that this model is a good starting point.
Step 1 in decoding dry dog food labels is to look at the name on the front of the bag.
The name on the front will tell you a lot about the quality level of the food. I'm using chicken for this example but the rules apply to any meat source:
Chicken Dog Food = 95% of the foods pre-cooked weight was chicken
Chicken Recipe, Dinner, Entrée, Formula, Nuggets = 24-94% of the foods pre-cooked weight was chicken
Dog Food With Chicken =
3-24% of the foods pre-cooked weight was chicken
Chicken Flavor Dog Food = less than 3% of the foods pre-cooked weight was chicken
Obviously you want one of the first two options. However, the second option can have a big variance! Read on to be able to tell which ones are better by looking at the guaranteed analysis and ingredients.
Step 2 is to flip the bag over. Find the Guaranteed Analysis and match it to the nutritional needs of your dog. Sometimes this information is on the side of the bag instead of the back.
Step 3 is to look at the ingredient list. The first 5 ingredients are the most important as they make up the majority of the weight in a dry dog food.
I recommend to avoid ingredients such as by-products, brewers rice, soy, & glutens because I have seen better digestion with protein sources that are higher quality. The higher quality protein sources are meat or meat meals (dehydrated meat in powder form).
Foods with meat as first ingredient, followed by a meat meal will have the higher pre-cooked weights of meat and the protein is coming from more digestible quality sources.
If there are "ingredients to avoid" after the meat (and particularly if there is no meat meal), then much of the protein is coming from lesser digestible and lower quality protein sources. Meat will still be the first ingredient on the label, but remember that meat is mostly moisture. That moisture is cooked out during the high heat extrusion process. Meat will most likely not be the ingredient with the highest post cooked weight!
Meat meal is highly debated, but it doesn’t bother me as long as it is sourced from the USA, UK, New Zealand, or Canada. (The other countries are listed because unique protein sources such as lamb or whitefish are usually sourced from outside the USA) When kibble is made it is put through extremely high heat and then extruded. The high heat cooks out almost all the moisture from meat, therefore dropping the total weight of meat in the final product. Adding meat meal bolsters the protein amount without having to add the undesirable and less digestible ingredients.
The other ingredients that I prefer to avoid are corn, wheat, sugar, & salt. Corn is a cheap ingredient that is incredibly starchy. I have seen too many overweight dogs that are fed a food with a lot of corn. Coincidence…I think not! And think about what cows and pigs are fed before slaughter to fatten them up....you got it...corn! Also, I read recently how the FDA increased the allowable limits of carcinogenic aflatoxins in animal feed. It was all a big business decision after mold-infested corn crops caused farmers to place $75 million in insurance claims. Whether it ends up in food meant for pigs, cows, or pets...it just isn't right. Wheat is the #1 canine allergen, so it is probably best to avoid. It is generally agreed upon that sugar and salt do not belong in a healthy canine diet.
Fruits and veggies- take ‘em or leave ‘em. They are usually so low on the ingredient list (therefore in nominal amounts) and cooked to death during the high heat extrusion that I’m not convinced they matter. In my opinion, fruits and veggies in kibble is a total marketing ploy. I am pretty sure the vitamin and mineral pack does all the heavy lifting when it comes to absorption of those nutrients.
BEWARE! Manufacturers can be sneaky with how they list ingredients.
Look out for repetition of ingredients. Most of the time this is done with grains. For example: Chicken, chicken meal, rice, ground rice, rice flour. If they added up all the weights of the rice, then rice would probably be the second ingredient instead of chicken meal!
Avoid generic fats, such as animal fat or poultry fat.
Step 4: Ensure the food is a good match for your dog. A food is optimal for your dog if it is digested well, does not cause any reactions in their body, and maintains a healthy weight. Consider switching foods if you see signs of improper digestion or reactions. Allergy testing can be performed at the vet if you suspect any food reactions.
These are the signs of improper digestion to look out for:
Increased stool volume
Loose stool or diarrhea
Gas (flatulence or belching)
These are the signs of reactions (non-scientific way of saying allergy):
Hot spots
Inflamed paws; constant licking of paws
Inflamed Ears; can be accompanied with ear discharge
To maintain proper weight be sure to feed the recommended amount on the bag based on the dogs desired weight. So if you want the dog to lose weight, feed it the recommended amount for the weight you want him/her to be. Your vet will be able to tell you the dog's optimal weight.
Pet Weight Loss Tip: To help fill your dog’s tummy with less food simply float the kibble in water. The kibble will expand and give a greater volume in their stomach. Plus it never hurts to hydrate!
Now you can feel empowered the next time you go dog food shopping! In Lynchburg there are two locally owned options to buy premium kibble.
If you must shop a big box store, PETCO has more choices for premium foods.
