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Deciphering the exact composition of our dog's ration or balanced food is a real puzzle. The list of Ingredients not only informs about its nutritional composition, it also helps to assess the quality of the product. After all, what are the best dog food?
In this article by PeritoAnimal, we will explain in detail how the order of ingredients is and what is the specific position in the list, the most common expressions for different types of preparation or to identify low quality foods.
Discover the dog food composition and stop being guided by different advertisements! In this way, you will learn for yourself how to identify and differentiate good dog food from poor quality, choosing the best dog food:
the order of ingredients
The ingredients in dog food are usually indicated from the highest to the lowest, according to your weight, however, is according to the weight before being processed. This can have a significant impact on the total weight certain ingredients have in the final product.
When it comes to dog food (and other dry foods), we find that ingredients that have a high water content in their natural state (such as meat) lose a great deal of weight during processing because lose a lot of water. In contrast, ingredients with a lower water content in their natural state (such as rice) lose less weight in the final product.
Consequently, when it comes to a dry food, an ingredient listed first may actually be present in a smaller percentage if it is in its more watery natural state, compared to those that follow it on the list.
For example, compare the following two partial ingredient lists:
- Dehydrated poultry meat, rice, corn, beef fat, corn gluten, beet pulp...
- Poultry meat, rice, corn, beef fat, corn gluten, beet pulp...
At first glance, they look the same, but the difference is that the first list starts with the ingredient "dehydrated poultry meat", that is, in this list meat is, without a doubt, the most important ingredient, it suffered dehydration, as it was weighed before being processed with the other ingredients.
In contrast, the second list may or may not have poultry as the main ingredient, as it has lost some weight by eliminating water during processing. Unfortunately, in this case it is impossible to know precisely whether the poultry ranks first in the dry weight of the product or if it actually ranks below rice.
On the other hand, an infrequent practice is the separation of ingredients. Some manufacturers separate a food into two or more of its components so that they are listed more often. Thus, if a dog food contains many corn and corn derivatives, the manufacturer may list them separately. In this way, each ingredient is indicated as being of lesser importance, even when the corn content is very high.
For example, consider the following two lists:
- Dehydrated poultry meat, corn, corn gluten, corn fiber, beef fat, beet pulp...
- Poultry meat, corn, beef fat, beet pulp...
The first list has three corn-content ingredients that appear after the bird: corn, corn gluten, and corn fiber. The total corn content is likely to be higher than that of the meat, however, as the ingredients are separated, it gives the impression that the meat is the main ingredient.
In some cases, it is a misleading marketing strategy that meets the established parameters. However, this is not always the case. In some cases, the ingredients of "premium feed" are simply mentioned separately, because that's how they get into food processing.
Either way, keep in mind that dog food doesn't have to be mostly meat (in fact, pure meat diets are harmful). The fact that rice, or some other ingredient, appears first or occurs in different states is not necessarily a bad thing. What's important is the quality of the food you buy for your dog.
As the weights of each ingredient on the list are generally not indicated, it remains to be discovered when an ingredient list is misleading and when it is honest. Unfortunately, it's not possible to know with certainty just the container information, but the first source of fat gives you an idea of what the main ingredients are.
The first source of fat is usually the last of the important ingredients listed. Therefore, it indicates that those that come before are the heaviest, while the later ones appear in small amounts, either for flavor, color or micronutrients (vitamins, mineral salts, etc.).
For example, consider the following two lists:
- Dehydrated poultry meat, rice, corn, beef fat, corn gluten, corn fiber, beet pulp...
- Dehydrated poultry meat, rice, corn, corn gluten, corn fiber, beef fat, beet pulp...
The only difference between the two lists is the relative position of bovine fat, which is the first fat source found (and the only one in the example). The first list has four main ingredients, from poultry to beef fat, and the other ingredients come in smaller amounts. The second list has six main ingredients, ranging from meat to fat.
Obviously, the first list has a higher meat content compared to the other products, as corn gluten and corn fiber are only included in small amounts (they are after the fat).
The second list, on the other hand, has a lot of corn (like pure corn, gluten and fiber) in relation to meat, as all of these ingredients appear before the fat.
The dog food on the first list is very likely to be more balanced than the one on the second list, even when the ingredients are the same. For this, you should also consider the warranty review information.
Ingredient name
By default, all ingredients are indicated by their common name. However, common names sometimes serve to hide the low quality of some ingredients. Other times they are not so common, like the "zeolite" or the "chondroitin sulfate’.
When reading the ingredients, prefer foods that indicate specific ingredients, such as "dehydrated chicken meat", instead of those that indicate the generic ingredients, such as "beef’.
Also prefer dog foods that clearly indicate the species used for their main ingredients. For example, "chicken meat" indicates the species, while "poultry meat" does not indicate.
Meat meal is a bit misleading as you cannot know its quality from the information on the label alone. There are good quality meat meals and poor quality meat meals. If your dog's food doesn't contain meat and only includes meat meal, it's worth investigating a little the brand you buy (which can be very good, but it's worth checking out!).
Avoid, as much as possible, the by-products, both in the ingredients of the meat and in the vegetable kingdom. The by-products are generally of low quality (nervous tissue, blood, hooves, horns, viscera, feathers, etc.), are poorly nutritious and have poor digestibility. Therefore, these by-products can provide the required levels of nutrients in the food, however, as they are not very nutritious or easy to digest, the dog needs to eat a lot more.
For example, a label that says: Rice, meat by-product meal, corn gluten, animal fats, etc.., raises certain questions about the quality of the product. The main animal ingredients of this food are meat by-products and animal fats. With these indications you cannot know which animal species include or which parts of the animals. These types of labels can describe low-level foods.
There are still some additives you should avoid because they are harmful to health. They are banned even in processed foods for humans, however, they are strangely allowed in dog foods. In another article, you'll find a list of additives in dog food that are worth avoiding.
To ensure that your dog's food does not contain harmful additives to health, you can research eco-friendly dog food (with or without meat), ensuring you are a natural food source.
number of ingredients
Finally, keep in mind that a larger number of ingredients it does not mean better quality food. The pet food doesn't need to have many things to cover the dog's nutritional needs. A food can be complete and healthy with few ingredients.
Sometimes ingredients are added in small amounts to give different flavors or colors. In other cases, ingredients are included in small amounts as a marketing strategy, as many people think these foods are more nutritious because they contain apples, carrots, tea extracts, grapes and who knows what else.
A meal with multiple sources of meat (for example: chicken, cow, lamb, fish) is no better than a single source of meat. What matters in this case is the quality of the meat and not the number of animals it contains.
The presence of many ingredients is not considered bad as long as the food meets the nutritional needs of your dog. However, if you find among the ingredients some dyes, preservatives or additives that can be harmful, it is best to avoid that food and look for one that is for your pet.
Don't forget to ask about the optimal amount of dog food, making sure it will adequately meet your nutritional needs. Also, our article on choosing my dog's food can help with this mission.
