What Ingredients Are Used in Commercial Dog Food

The Association Of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) regulate and set standards for the pet food industry. AAFCO runs tests on the ingredients used in the preparation of pet food to assure that they meet certain nutritional guidelines. These guidelines have a rather wide range of acceptability due to the number of different qualities of pet foods. Therefore, having the AAFCO stamp of approval on a dog food label does not necessarily mean the food is good for our dogs.

One can quite easily get misinformed when reading a dog food label. Much of the information provided can be vague or misleading. In order for us to know what exactly it is that we are feeding our dogs, we must learn how to read what is on the label correctly. By doing so we can give our animals a more nutritious variety of foods.

Probably one of the first things we first look for in a label is the brand name. Many of us buy dog food just by the brand or product name. Constant exposure to repeated brand and product name marketing have led us to believe that the product is good. However here is something to keep in mind. If the product name has the name of a certain ingredient, then that ingredient must be 95% of the total weight if the food is dry, or 70% if it is wet food. If the label title has the words like dinner or formula, then the ingredient must be 25% of the weight.

Pet food labels list their ingredients by weight. Ingredients weighing the most are listed first. Taking the above example into consideration, a “dinner” labeled product will only contain 1/4 of the mentioned product. So even though the ingredient is part of the labeled product name it is not necessarily the main ingredient. Corn or bone meal is more than likely the main ingredient. Both these ingredients can be found in cheap discounted or generic brands.

Many labels don’t mention an ingredient in the product name. Instead the word “flavored” will be used. In this case there is no amount requirement for a percentage of an ingredient in the product. The product, with whatever ingredients are used, is just flavored with the taste of say chicken. “Natural” dog food is another word found on labels. All that this is stating is that no artificial colors or ingredients, and preservatives are being used. “Premium” dog food is worth mentioning because products using this word in their labels follow the AAFCO standards to the fullest and their products provide good nutritional value.

One of the best ways to find a good quality dog food product when checking out the list of ingredients is to identify the first fat ingredient source. Many times we will see on the ingredient list items such as beef fat or chicken fat. The ingredients listed prior to the fat source are the product’s main ingredients. The more ingredients listed the lower quality of the food product. The items listed after the fat source are just fillers and flavorings used to enhance the product.

If we are feeding our dogs a commercial dog food brand, then the most important thing that we can do as a dog owner is to learn to read dog food labels. When reading through the list of ingredients if we come across an item that doesn’t sound like something we would like to eat, then we should think twice about feeding it to our dogs. Let us take a little extra time to learn what we are really feeding our dogs.

As dog owners we are in total control when it comes to caring for our dogs. Knowing what the best dog food is, what are the right dog food ingredients and what dog food nutrition they provide can sometimes be overwhelming. Find out more about commercial and homemade dog food recipes by visiting www.onlinedogfoodrecipes.com.