Dog Food Labels

Read dog food labels carefully to make sure that the food you are feeding your dog is of high quality. This page looks at different dog food ingredients and dog food analysis.

As mentioned in our page on Natural Dog Food Diet, when it comes to dog food diet, you really have 2 choices. You can prepare homemade dog food at home (e.g. a BARF diet, or a home cooked diet), or you can choose to feed one of numerous brands of dog food available on the market.

If you choose to use a prepared food such as dry kibble, it is important to know what you are feeding. Since our dogs are really what they eat, and since everything else a veterinarian does builds upon a solid foundation of a good diet, it is important for us dog parents to try to find the best wholesome diet possible for our dogs. Learning to read dog food labels will help you do just that.

Dog Food Labels - The Basics

When choosing prepared food for your dog, look at the dog food labels and compare the ingredients carefully.

Things to look for include the quality of the protein source, the amount of grain by-products, and any artificial ingredients such as preservatives, colors, or flavors.

The ingredient listings are regulated by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Ingredients in dog foods are listed on dog food labels in descending order. Therefore, those ingredients listed at the beginning of the list are more plentiful than those listed toward the end.

One very easy way to identify the main ingredients is to look for the first source of fat (or oil) on the ingredient list. All the ingredients that are listed before that first source of fat, and including it, are the main ingredients of the food. All the rest of items listed after the first source of fat are usually present in much smaller amounts and are usually vegetables, preservatives, flavorings, or herbs, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc.

[Top of Page]

Dog Food Labels - Choose the Right Protein Sources

Except for vegetarian dog food, the main source of protein is meat. When reading dog food labels, you may come across these terms:

Meat (e.g. chicken): Meat is clean flesh from slaughtered animals (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs) limited to skeletal muscle or muscle found in the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus, with or without accompanying fat, sinew, skin, nerve, and blood vessels. This can be from any animal species such as pigs, chickens, rabbits and so on. If the label says chicken, the meat should be chicken and not another animal species.
Meat meal (e.g. lamb meal): Meat meal is dehydrated meat (meat without the water content) and can be of high quality (some manufacturers of higher quality natural dog foods make their own meal) and is a good source of protein and other nutrients. However, for lower quality dog foods, meat meal can contain meat from "4D" animals (dead, dying, diseased, or disabled) unfit for human consumption.
Meat by-product (e.g. chicken by-product): Meat by-product is nonrendered (contains fat and water) clean parts other than meat, including lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomachs and intestines freed of contents. Meat by-products cannot contain hair, horns, teeth, and hoofs. However, there is no way to tell by reading the label how much of which "by-products" are included in the food.

When choosing protein sources in a dog food, we should:

Avoid generic meat ingredients that do not specify the source, i.e. what kind of animal the meat is from (e.g. meat, fish, poultry). Choose a brand that specifies the meat source (e.g. chicken, venison, beef, etc.)
Similarly, avoid generic "meal" such as "meat meal", "poultry meal", "fish meal", etc. Choose a higher quality brand that specifies the source of the "meal" (e.g. chicken meal, lamb meal, etc.)
Stay away from "by-products" such as "poultry by-products", "chicken by-products", "fish by-products", etc.

[Top of Page]

Dog Food Labels - Other Ingredients

Fats and Oils: In addition to protein, fats and oils are essential ingredients in a dog's diet but not all fats and oils are the same. Some, such as animal fats (e.g. lard, tallow), are high in saturated fat and low in essential fatty acids. It is therefore important that we identify the main source of fats/oils in dog food labels.
Look for specifically named fats and oils, such as flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, salmon fish oil, chicken fat, etc. Ideally the fats and oils should contain high percentages of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
Avoid mineral oil and other non-specific sources of oils and fats, e.g. "poultry fat", "vegetable oil", "fish oil".
Carbohydrates: While some people say that dogs do not need carbohydrates, "good" carbs such as whole grains can be an excellent source of nutrients. (However, remember that carbohydrates should never make up more than half the diet.)
Look for whole, unprocessed grains (also listed as "ground" or in "meal" form) since they yield complex carbohydrates and are much more nutritious than grain fragments and flours. Examples of whole ground grains are oats, barley, brown rice, white rice, bulgur, millet, etc.
Avoid fragments such as rice flour, corn gluten meal, beet sugar, as well as any unspecified grain sources like "cereal food fines".
Vegetables and Fruits: Fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables add vitamins, minerals and nutrients to the dog food and are nice to have. However, since these can easily be added to a dog's meal by ourselves, inclusion of these ingredients in a dog food is not of the utmost importance. If a brand of food contains high quality protein, carbohydrate and fat sources but no fruits or vegetables, it's still better than one with less ideal main ingredients but does include some fruits and vegetables.
Leafy greens are among the healthiest veggies to feed; other good vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, celery, cucumber, bell peppers, zucchini and other summer sqashes, carrots, and more.
Vitamins and Minerals: All dog foods have to meet certain nutritional standards, so dog food manufacturers are required to add certain amounts of vitamins and minerals to the foods. Like any other ingredients, these can vary in quality and in how well the body can absorb them.
Look for "chelated" or "sequestered" minerals (also labeled as chelates, proteinates, amino acid chelates or complexes, polysaccharide complexes). For vitamins, look for nonacidic, time released versions of vitamin C (labeled as ester C, calcium ascorbate, stabilized vitamin C or L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate), natural vitamin E (tocopherol, natural tocopherol) and natural sources of vitamin K (egg yolk, liver, oats, kelp, alfalfa).
However, remember that some of these supplements may be lost before your dog eats the food due to oxidation. It is therefore advisable to give additional vitamins, minerals, and other natural supplements to your dog.

[Top of Page]

Dog Food Labels - Preservatives to Avoid

To avoid processed foods from going rancid, It is necessary to add preservatives to the foods.

Look for natural preservatives such as mixed tocopherols (vitamin E), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), extracts of rosemary, sage, or clove.

Preservatives that should be avoided include:

BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole): A chemical preservative and antioxidant that, while listed as GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) in low concentrations, may cause allergic reactions and affect liver and kidney functions.
BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene): A preservative and antioxidant that is also listed as GRAS but may cause liver and kidney problems.
Ethylenediamine: A solvent, urinary acidifier, and color promoter that can irritate the skin and mucus membranes and may cause asthmatic reactions and allergic skin rashes.
Sodium Metabisulphite: A chemical preservative that has been found to have caused weakness, loss of consciousness, difficulty swallowing, and brain damage in people.
Sugar, sorbitol, ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol: Preservatives and sweeteners that may contribute to diabetes and obesity.
Ethoxyquin: A preservative, rubber hardener, insecticide, and pesticide that is a carcinogen.

[Top of Page]

Dog Food Labels - Other Ingredients to Avoid

Besides the above preservatives, other ingredients to avoid include:

Artificial Flavor Enhancers: Avoid foods with artificial flavor enhancers (such as phosphoric acid), any highly rendered products (e.g. digests of any kind), broth of unspecified origin (e.g. "meat broth"), and glandular meal.
Artificial Colorings: Dogs do not care what color their food is, so it is not necessary to add any colorings to the dog foods although natural substances such as caramel coloring or coloring agents made from carotenoids are harmless.
Avoid any "numbered" colorings which are coal-tar derivative dyes, such as Blue No. 1 and 2, Red No. 3 and 40, Yellow No. 5 and 6. Also stay away from color preservatives like sodium nitrite.