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The following is a summary of a well written, easy to understand website and should be a must read for everyone owning a pet! Please read and take advantage of this website and link to increase your pets health, and just possibly save you tons of money on vet bills. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=labelinfo101
Dog Food Labels
This is a billion dollar a year industry devoted to feeding your pets. There are hundreds of different pet foods all battling for your money. It is extremely important for the consumer to be able to read an ingredients list and to determine what is actually in the food. The ingredients listed before the first fat are the most important and all ingredients are listed in order of preprocessed weight. An average label may read…
Chicken, Chicken meal, Brown rice, White Rice, Chicken Fat…..
Dry dog food usually has only about 10% moisture content. Therefore, the after processing amount of chicken compared to chicken meal in a dog food is considerably less. Therefore, after processing the main protein source for this example is Chicken meal, with actual chicken being much less.
In this example there is two different forms of rice mentioned. The manufacturer has used two different kinds of the same product to mislead the public. In actuality this dog food may be more rice than chicken but individually there is less brown rice than chicken meal, and less white rice than chicken meal. Yet all together there is way more rice than chicken meal.
Protein Sources
Protein can come from a variety of sources, however, there is only a few that are worth feeding to your dog. Chicken, Beef, Lamb or Salmon meals are excellent sources of protein and should be the first or second ingredient on the label. If it does fall second in the list the first ingredient should be a named meat (chicken, beef, or lamb). Protein sources that should be avoided include Beef & Bone meal, Blood meal, “Any Animal” byproduct meal, fish meal, and liver meal. Absolutely no meal from a vegetable should be given.
The word “Meal” should always be preceded by a species. If the species of meal is not stated then you can rest assured that whatever came to the processing plant that day is in your dogs food. This can range from horses and goats to pigs and skunks. Don’t consider price as the best way to judge a dog food. Just because it is expensive does not mean it is worth the money. Science diet, Eukanuba, and Iams are just a few that are expensive yet in our opinion not worth the money.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates in food are derived from rice, wheat, barley or oats. Other sources of carbs may come from potatoes, sweet potatoes, tapioca, or peas. The quality of your dogs carbohydrate is very important. Some grains that may be contaminated by mold and are deemed unfit for humans are still capable of being used in dog food legally. Carbohydrate sources to avoid are fragments like potato product, middlings, or mill run of any kind. Also avoid unspecified grains sources like cereal food fines and grain fermentation solubles. Acceptable carbohydrates sources are whole ground grains, rice, oats, and barley. A lot of expensive, well known dog foods have corn in the first five ingredients and by that we know in actuality it isn’t a very good dog food. Science diet and Iams cost about the same as a dog food without any corn in it such as Taste of the Wild or Canidae grain free.
Fiber Sources
Fiber comes in different ways. Most companies are going to use the cheapest, most available source possible. This can range from Cellulose (dried wood) to peanut hulls. These fibers are used to add bulk and consistency to the kibble. A short list of fiber sources is corn cellulose, oat hulls, rice hulls, soybean mill run and wheat mill run. There are better sources of fiber available such as brown rice, oats and vegetables. Beet pulp is not as bad as it has been made out to be. It is generally very well tolerated and has specific properties that make it suitable as a source of nutrition for the beneficial bacteria that reside in the intestine.
Fruits and Vegetables
These are usually added in small amounts. A dog food that has fruits and vegetables low on the ingredients list may not be as good as a dog food without any fruits are vegetables in the ingredients list. This is all dependent on the quality of the protein, carbohydrates and fat sources. Ingredients to avoid are apple pomace, grape pomace and citrus pulp. If you want your dog to have vegetables they should come from your kitchen and not relied upon to be in dog food in any decent quantity. Dogs should never have grapes, raisins, garlic, or onions.
Fats and oils
Fats and oils are important to a dog for brain development, healthy skin and coat. In most dog foods there is a low percentage of omega 3 and 6 oils. We supplement this by giving our dogs Flax seed oil and sometimes Salmon oil. Any other oil that is in a dog food should come from a named species like herring oil, chicken fat, or sunflower oil. Non-species specific oils such as poultry oil, vegetable oil, and fish oils should be avoided. Mineral oil is a stool softener and should be avoided. Beef tallow and lard makes dog food really tasty for dogs; however, should be avoided because of a high saturated fat content and low in valuable fatty acids.
Preservatives
The better quality ingredients that are in a dog food the easier to prevent from degrading. What a consumer should be looking for is a dog food preserved with Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E). This is usually in the first or second line of the ingredients list. Preservatives to avoid are…
Glyceryl Monostearate
A thickening, emulsifying, antisticking and antistalant agent. Can contain up to 200 ppm butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) as a preservative (see also BHT). Depending on method of manufacture, it can also contain glyceryl distearate (42-44%), glyceryl tristearate (20-23%), free glycerol (3-5%). Other impurities include mono-, di-, and triesters of related fatty acids as well as unreacted fatty acids. Due to the uncertainty of chemical additives, this ingredient should be avoided.
BHT
Butylated Hydroxytoluene - a crystalline phenolic antioxidant, C15H24O, used to preserve fats and oils, especially in foods. Banned from human use in many countries but still permitted in the US. Possible human carcinogen, apparently carcinogenic in animal experiments. The oxidative characteristics and/or metabolites of BHA and BHT may contribute to carcinogenicity or tumorigenicity.
BHA
Butylated Hydroxysanisole - a white, waxy phenolic antioxidant, C11H16O2, used to preserve fats and oils, especially in foods. Banned from human use in many countries but still permitted in the US. Possible human carcinogen, apparently carcinogenic in animal experiments. The oxidative characteristics and/or metabolites of BHA and BHT may contribute to carcinogenicity or tumorigenicity.
Ethoxyquin
6-ethoxy-1,2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethylquinoline is used to prevent damage to fruits and as a stabilizer for rubber. This product has been linked to thyroid, kidney reproductive and immune related illnesses as well as a potential carcinogen. It is allowed in animal feed but never really intended to be used in companion animal food on daily life long basis. Several studies are underway to evaluate the safety of this additive. If the ingredients list has fish meal in it, then it is more than likely preserved with ethoxyquin unless otherwise stated on the bag or by the company.
Sweeteners
The dog food industry sometimes adds sweeteners to it’s dog food to enhance the taste. A small list of sweeteners is sugar, sorbitol, fructose, corn syrup, and D1-Alpha Tocopherol acetate. These sweeteners are not a natural part of a dogs diet and should be avoided. Sweeteners are used to make a dog food more edible by a dog that may otherwise not eat the food if it wasn’t sweetened.
Flavorings
Obviously a high quality food doesn’t need any flavorings. Some flavorings are harmless and may add a little nutritional value. The good flavorings are a species specific stock or broth such as chicken broth, or beef broth. The flavorings to avoid are rendered products such as any “digests”, ingredients of unknown origin or artificial flavorings.
Dyes
Dyes add nothing nutritional to the food and are used to add color to an otherwise grayish color of poor quality ingredients. For instance red dye can be added to the food to make it seem like it has more meat in it than it actually does. Dyes to avoid are blue 2, red 40, yellow 5, 6 and other numbered dyes.
Supplements
Many of the common supplements that are added to dog food are not present in large enough quantities to make a therapeutic difference. Dog food companies are required to meet minimum requirements. So, by law, they have to add certain vitamins and minerals into their food. Some of these vitamins and minerals can be cooked off during processing, however, a good quality dog food company will replace any vitamins or minerals in the end after the food has cooled. If you feel your dog needs more chondroitine, glucosamine, or probiotics then this should be given separately. A daily vitamin can also be given to your dog if you feel they could benefit from it. We recommend your money be spent on a good food rather than half way decent food and a vitamin. Research has proven over supplementation is the cause for many early life canine disorders.
