Commercial or homemade? Cooked or raw? Free feeding or discrete meals? Let's explore:
Deciphering Commercial Labeling
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) promotes uniformity in feed regulations and labeling, but it also substantiates whether a food is nutritionally adequate. A food deemed “complete and balanced” must prove it can sustain puppies (“growth”), adult dogs (“maintenance”), gestating or lactating females, or “all life stages” (all of the above).
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:
1. Look for foods that have a meat source (e.g. “beef”) first in the ingredient list.
2. In dry food, a whole meat (“chicken,” for instance) 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.
3. Canned foods need liquid for processing. It's better that this be the second item (not first) in the ingredient list. It's also usually tastier to pets if broth is used rather than water.
4. Animal proteins tend to be tastier and easier to digest than plant proteins.
5. Avoid foods that contain by-products (either specific or general) early in the ingredient list.
6. Look for foods with whole grains and vegetables; avoid fractions (“brown rice” is better than “wheat gluten”).
7. Avoid corn. It's a simple sugar, which no dog needs. Some dogs don't take well to corn in their diet.
8. 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.
9. Avoid foods with artificial colors.
Red Flags when Assessing Your Dog’s Diet
Sometimes it’s difficult to assess what a symptom might indicate about a diet. Here are a few rules of thumb:
- Fecal matter with a strong odor may indicate indigestible proteins in your dog's diet.
- Carbohydrates are harder to digest than animal proteins, and high carb intake can manifest itself in flatulency or, worse, inflammation in the body.
- Poor-quality foods with artificial colors and preservatives, hormones, and other chemicals can contribute to
overall ill-health and create or increase allergic sensitivity.
- Hyper, unfocused, out-of-control behavior may be due to an extremely high level of cereal foods such as wheat, corn or corn meal. As a test, soak the food in water for 15 minutes; if it swells in size and gets mushy, it’s mostly cereal.
Dogs who are shy and stressed do not digest their food well and often suffer from intestinal complications such as diarrhea. Their coats are often extremely dry and shed heavily.
- An EFA (Essential Fatty Acid) deficiency results in a dry, dull coat, hair loss, impaired wound healing, and the eventual development of skin lesions.
COMING WEDNESDAY: Don't take home-prepared dog foods lightly
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Comments (2)
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Catalina Perez
said:
 |
... Laura, great tips! To be honest, I've never paid much attention to what ingredients are in my dog's food. From now on, I will look closely at what I buy for her. Thanks! |
leslie
said:
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... "An EFA (Essential Fatty Acid) deficiency results in a dry, dull coat, hair loss, impaired wound healing, and the eventual development of skin lesions. " Lord that sounds awful! Hopefully avoiding that with Trin's daily fishy-oil pill (shaped conveniently like a fish) and olive oil dressing on dry Core food. - Les |
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