Deciding the best diet for our dogs has only gotten more confusing as the types and varieties have proliferated. Commercial or homemade? Cooked or raw? Free feeding or discrete meals? Well, every dog is different, but chew on some of these ideas…
Deciphering Commercial Labeling
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is a governing agency that promotes uniformity in feed regulations and labeling and substantiates whether a food is nutritionally adequate. A food deemed “complete and balanced” must prove adequacy in sustaining puppies (“growth”), adult dogs (“maintenance”), gestating or lactating females, or “all life stages” (all of the above).
Substantiation can be achieved in one of three ways: through a series of feeding trials that last a specified amount of time, by meeting the AAFCO nutritional profiles for nutrient requirements and, finally, by approximating the nutritional profile of an already approved related product, identified as the “family member rule”. Each standard has its strengths and weaknesses, so your best bet is to read the ingredient list of each food to determine the quality of the ingredients it contains.
The Ingredient List on a Commercial Label
While there is a huge selection of foods out there, there are a few basic tenets which will help reduce the field substantially:
• Look for foods that have a meat source (e.g. “beef”) first in the ingredient list.
• In dry food, a whole meat (e.g. “chicken”) contains a lot of water, which means that it’s ideal if the second or third ingredient in the list is a specific meat meal (e.g. “chicken meal”). If the only other animal protein is much later in the list, it does not actually contain much animal protein.
• Canned foods need liquid for processing. It is better if this be the second item (not first) in the ingredient list, and it’s usually tastier to pets if broth is used rather than water.
• Animal proteins tend to be tastier and easier to digest than plant proteins.
• Avoid foods that contain by-products (either specific or general) early in the ingredient list.
• Look for foods with whole grains and vegetables; avoid fractions (“brown rice” is better than “wheat gluten”).
• Avoid corn at all costs! Corn is a simple sugar, which no dog needs. And some dogs fairly vibrate when there’s corn in their diet.
• Some animals have adverse reactions to grains. If your pup’s stool tends to be loose or he has itchy skin, try a grain-free diet.
• Avoid foods with artificial colors.
On Tuesday, there will be a follow-up article on home-prepared diets. So give a peek back!
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