Dog Food Ingredients
Dog Food Ingredients
Do you know what’s in your dog’s bowl of food?
Dog Food Ingredients Explained
Your dog’s health depends on what you feed him. Data tells us that at least 50% of our pets will develop cancer. Some are now arguing that’s as high as 60%. Your choice of ingredients — and you do have a choice at every budget — matters.
Data also tells us that over 90% of cancers are not genetic. They are caused by what we eat, the products we use and the environment we live in.
Let’s explore what the dog food label really tell us.
How To Read Dog Food Labels
So, What should you be looking for as you read the label of your dog’s food?
When I worked at Microsoft many moons ago, we use to say RTFM! Read the Freaking Manual. People would call and ask questions that were easily covered in the manual. Not much has changed — answers are all around us, but we have to read (or watch a video now) to get answers.
But one big problem is the trickery that marketing companies are using to make it really difficult to understand the language on our dog food labels. It’s hard for the pet parent to understand what they are actually feeding their dog.
Let’s see if we can start to simplify that:
First Ingredient In Dog Food Protein
Yes, we know now the first ingredient in dog food should be a protein. Protein should be the largest single ingredient in the recipe. There should be more of that ingredient than any other single ingredient in the bag. By today’s standards, expect that to be REAL MEAT. But in many cases of dry kibble dog food — it’s a marketing trick.
Meats listed first (or 2nd) on your ingredient list are BEFORE moisture is removed in the processing cycles. This way, they get to list it first and the higher % of ingredients — however, you may find that less protein is digestible (bioavailable) than listed after the processing occurs. (See study by Krogdahl et al. (2004)).
What Is Next on the Ingredient List?
Look at the next several listed ingredients. What happens when you add up combinations of some of the other ingredients? Example: Meat by-products, bone meal, Pea Protein, Potato Protein, or other sources of protein. Many of you will find 2 or more other protein sources in the ingredient list that often ADD UP to more total protein than the first ingredient listed. But the bag isn’t going to tell you that!
These non-meat or plant-based proteins do not provide the complete amino acid profile that dogs need for their health. These proteins are also generally less digestible by dogs than meat proteins, giving their carnivorus nature.
Beans In Dog Food
Legumes, Peas, Beans, Soybeans
You may also notice that several of these protein ingredients are not even meat-based — they are from legumes or other plant materials.
Ingredient Splitting In Dog Food
Be sure to take a look at all the variations of certain ingredients (aka Ingredient Splitting) — for example, you may see peas, pea protein, pea starch, pea flour as separate ingredients throughout the ingredient list. You’re not going to see how much of each, but you can be sure it’s contributing to your total protein & starch counts. And if you could get itemized percentages you’d probably find that your starches exceed your protein. (see below how to calculate)
So you must know that when you see the Guaranteed Analysis Crude Protein % — it is all sources of protein, not the just first ingredient.
Also worthy to note — most legumes are sprayed with Round-Up (Glyphosate) which will make it’s way into your dog’s system. Recent studies show dogs are averaging 32 times the amount of glyphosate found in urine tests, while dogs who eat a while diet have virtually no detectable glyphosate.
Look for Organ Meats
Organ meat is a good thing and you want a recipe that includes organ meat.. Ounce for Ounce Organ meat will contain more vitamins and minerals than any other protein source. They are often cheaper to use than other sources of meat and therefore used a lot in dog food. This will mostly include liver. In your listed ingredients you’ll mostly see liver and hearts, especially in the higher end foods.
Technically, hearts though they are an organ, hearts are counted as muscle meat.
Most Raw feeders suggest that organ meat be a total of 10%. That is made up of 5% liver and 5% other organs. Others will argue that if you have a variety of organ meats you could include up to 25% total organ, still keeping liver low. We keep liver on the lower end because of its job of managing waste. Other organ choices include chicken gizzards, the brain, pancreas, kidneys, skin, lungs, testes, and so on. But it’s unlikely you’ll see them itemized on the label. (We’ll talk about glandular later)
Blended proteins may sound awesome to get a variety — but the ideal proteins are rotated periodically not given all at the same time. It’s true, single ingredient proteins for life are not wise — as it can become a long-term problem with sensitivities and missed health benefits of variety.
Why Rotate? The body digests proteins and carbs at different rates. Rich Red meat foods, though great nutritionally, can be hard on the kidneys & digestive system — so moving to lighter fish or dairy days each week offers some support to the digestive system. You can’t achieve that when the proteins are all mixed together and you use the same recipe day after day.
Dog Food Ingredients — Meal and By-Products
Look for Meal & By-Products
By-product is pieces and parts of everything that is left on the animal after the good meat is taken off. It’s brains, horns, thyroid, trachea, hooves, tails, feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs, tumors, intestines. Blech. Yea, your dog would probably eat this stuff if they were eating wild prey — but it wouldn’t be at the OMISSION of other muscle meat. And it would not be from unidentifiable animal sources. It would also not be from dead, deceased, dying and disabled animal parts which is a common practice in some brands.
Meal products are also highly processed (cooked many times at high heat to remove moisture and fats) meaning whatever nutrient was there to start is gone, long gone by the time it’s cooked. Thus, synthetic vitamins and minerals must be added back into the food. Synthetics are just not the same quality as nutrients from what was once whole food.
Meat Meal is generic labeling and might be from roadkill, zoo animals, or deceased livestock, or other deceased animals (remember the whole euthanasia drug ending up in dog food?). There is no specified animal source of this meat source. These ingredients are NOT human grade.
When you see Beef Meal, Duck Meal, Fish Meal, etc — you’re getting pieces and parts of what’s left from a specific animal source Then it goes through a high heat cooking process and then a dehydrating process to powderize. This leads to a high % of protein per volume of dry matter basis.
Dried Egg Product: more often than not, the eggs that failed inspection for human consumption. A highly processed food that may not even be whole egg, just some part of the egg, perhaps even only shell.
Be sure you’re looking at ALL of your protein sources — as this may in fact be where your dog’s sensitivities and tolerance issues originate.
Carbohydrates In Dog Food
How Much Carbohydrate is in the serving?
Look for things like Sorghum (fancy word for sugar), Corn, Wheat, Peas (in any form), grains, rice, quinoa, barley, millet and oats. Not all grains are created equal, and some like millet and oats can be beneficial in moderation
You won’t see that called out on the label. You have to do a little math.
Add up the Guaranteed Analysis Details: Crude Protein, Crude Fat, Crude Fiber and Crude Moisture, and Ash if they display it. Subtract that amount from 100% — and the amount left is roughly your % of carbohydrate in the bag. Are you over 20%? I’d be concerned about that, as we know carbs convert to sugar and are said to contribute to inflammation in the body. Inflammation can lead to a host of health concerns long term.
Are your carb percentages greater than your protein? Considering your dog has no need for carbs that should be worrisome, especially if they are coming from potatoes, corn, wheat, or rice.
We know that many of the low quality grains will also be exposed to Roundup (Glyphosate) which relates to the same issue as noted with legumes above.
How Do you Calculate Carb estimates in Wet or Moist Canned Foods
Friends, I’m going to burst your bubble. Canned food isn’t really much better quality than dry kibble. It may be lower in carbohydrates. It’s really just processed food that contains more moisture. Moisture can be a good thing as it reduces “organ robbing” as the digestive process begins. But the ingredients are not necessarily better
As you look at the label of a can of dog food, your Protein, Fat, and Fiber is going to seem relatively low as fed (as labeled), and moisture will be quite high! Typically in dry food moisture is about 10%, whereas in canned food it may be around 80%. So how do you do the math
Subtract the Moisture Amount from 100% — Example 100-80 = 20%. This will be your Dry Matter Basis.
Then divide your Crude ingredient by the Dry Matter Basis — Example 9.5 Crude Protein divided by 20, Makes your Protein 47.5%
What Does Crude Mean?
Crude means not yet processed. Not yet refined. So in dog food it’s basically the amount before cooking or having the moisture removed. In Dog Food Labeling, this will be the minimum amount. It may be more.
Crude Protein is total protein — not only muscle meat protein, but it will also include any meal, and plant protein.
Crude Fiber is only the undigestible fiber content.
Find the Salt
Whatever comes after salt is known to be less than 1% of the serving amount. That’s right, AFFCO tells us that we can include no more than 1% salt in a recipe. Because labels are listed in order of how much of the ingredient is in the recipe in descending order… everything after salt is less than 1%.
Sme brands put blueberries and other fruit or veg on the front of their bag. They market heavily on TV about added blueberries. Yet, it may be the last ingredient on the bag. If it’s after salt, it’s less than 1% of the recipe. Did they wave a blueberry at your dog’s dinner and market it on the food back as healthy antioxidants?
Preservatives In Dog Food:
Look for Preservatives in the product. Preservatives are generally also carcinogens. They are there to extend the shelf life (up to 2 years in the warehouse) of food and slow oxidation and slow the rate at which fats become rancid. Preservatives kill off friendly bacteria in the digestive tract -- making it harder to digest food which can result in issues with the skin, coat, poop, depression, poor nutrient absorption, and digestive upset
BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole) -- antioxidants as a preservative in animal feed, cosmetics, rubber, and petroleum products ( FDA -- considered Generally Recognized as safe (GRAS) in LOW DOSES). BPA is in plastics and can liners. Linked to cancer, behavioral disorders, mental disorders, reproductive disorders, and diabetes. Look for BPA free.
BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) -the chemical is used in certain dog foods to prevent fats and oils from prematurely spoiling. In other words, BHT can extend the shelf life of fat in a food product. Linked to Cancer. banned in many countries. Carcinogen associated with kidney damage. Sometimes found in topical flea and tick products.
BHA — banned in many countries. Carcinogen associated with kidney damage. Sometimes found in topical flea and tick products.
PG (Propylene Glycol) -- Moistening agent found in some dog foods and treats to help reduce moisture, retain it's texture and prevent bacteria from growing. The problem is it's chemically derived from Ethylene Glycol, also known as antifreeze, which is extremely toxic to animals. So yes, PG is is said to be safe “enough” for inclusion in foods in low amounts — but what happens over time? As the body compounds toxins and stores them in the liver?
Ethoxyquin. to preserve energy source in fats. It’s actually a pesticide and has been linked to cancer, kidney and liver damage, blindness, and leukemia.
Often used in “meal” ingredients and not disclosed. Ethoxyquin can be added to fish by fishermen as a preservative until they return home. If the food manufacturer doesn’t add the ingredient themselves, they do not have to disclose it.
Tbhq (Tertiary Butylhydroquinone). A chemical stabilizer. Used to make varnish & resins. Common side effects of Tbhq include neurological effects, contact dermatitis, and the potential to cause cancer, plus many more!
Fillers In Dog Food
Fillers allow them to stretch products using cheaper ingredients. You may see these in the form of grains. Barley, Wheat, White Rice, Soy, Corn, Flour, Gluten. You’ll find these to be common allergens & contributors to many inflammatory health issues. Further evaluate if any of these ingredients are organic — they are most likely GMO, which has a negative effect on your dog’s gut health.
Rice: is a low-quality ingredient containing very little nutritional value. It’s inexpensive to use and makes an easy filler in dog food. Rice can be contaminated with arsenic which is linked to chronic health issues and create inflammatory response in the body. Most rice is genetically modified (GMO), and GMOs inhibit healthy microbiome. (Remember — it’s not even appropriate for the bland diet you may have been told to consider when you do is in recovery)
Glutens — binders to hold foods together. Contributes to IBD, IBS, and allergies.
Corn Gluten Meal: Recently renamed to Corn Protein. That sounds better right? It is an inexpensive, low-quality way to increase total protein in food. It is a by-product of corn after processing and may contribute to allergens.
These ingredients are commonly found in weed killers and most likely GMO. You may also see Whole Grain Corn, corn meal, corn germ meal. It’s all corn and the more of these you see on the label, but more corn filler in your dog’s food. (See ingredient splitting) Corn is considered to be a protein in your pet’s food. The Pet Nutrition alias claims Corn Gluten Meal is higher in protein than meat. To create corn gluten meal sulfur dioxide and anhydrous ammonia are used. Both are registered as a toxic chemical substance with EPA and continue to be regulated under the 1990 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Inventory Update Rule (IUR). There are also antibiotics used in the production of corn gluten meal, which are specifically forbidden for use in animals. They include virginiamycin and erythromycin.” Read More
Ground Pecan Shells: a cheap, low-quality way to add fiber to the diet. Another way of using waste material from other food processing facilities. Ground Pecan shells may increase fiber but will inhibit a healthy microbiome overall, thus making long-term use problematic for digestive health.
Food Dyes or Colors: your dog really doesn’t care what color his food is. The colors are added for your benefit. But they are chemically dangerous for your dog’s health over time. Associated with cancer and allergies.
Vitamins and Minerals In Dog Food
Where are they on the bag — and from what source? Every kibble and canned dog food product prepared at high heat temperatures can be assumed to have lost important whole food vitamins and minerals in the cooking process.
We need those! We need them from whole food ingredients. NOT from synthetic sources that were added back to the food because the process of cooking kibble at high temperatures cooked out the Vitamins and Minerals. Synthetic Vitamins and Minerals are often not bioavailable to your dog — meaning they don’t get fully absorbed, they get passed right on out the backside.
You will see a list of “ingredients for vitamins and minerals when they have been added after processing. This may be different that seeing a list of whole foods and seeing a list of nutrients expressed.
Even many supplements pet parents purchase online or at the vets office are often synthetic. So even in trying to boost your food, you’re not making much progress. In a high quality, well-balanced, home-prepared raw or diet like Volhard or Volhard Supplements — you don’t have to worry about synthetics!
How To Identify Synthetic Vitamins and Minerals
DHA — Omega 3
Yep, you need this too! DHA is an essential fatty acid (EFA) that can only be provided by food sources. Think Fish! Krill Oil. But in most foods, it’s probably going to be supplemented. The big question is what’s the source and is there a risk of being rancid? The short answer is yes — most added Omega goes rancid before the bag is actually used.
(Read More About the many benefits of Omega 3)
Polyphenols
These are actually a good thing. They are antioxidants that come from food sources like apples, carrots, broccoli, berries and other fruits and veggies.
Where are they on your label — did they show up after salt? With that in mind — how much are are you really getting?
Pre-Biotics & Probiotics
See post: See post: what are pre-biotics See Probiotics
Are they in there? From what sources? Is there a variety?
Interestingly enough Pea Flour is considered a source of pre-biotic.
Pre and Probiotics are essential for good gut health. Good gut flora. Microbiome. It’s essential for the immune system. It’s also essential for the production of serotonin which deficiencies are directly linked to aggression and anxiety! Gut health is the begging of GREAT HEALTH.
Fats:
Did they have to add them back in? You know they did, because kibble is cooked 3-4 times at extremely high heat which renders out fat and vitamins and minerals. It basically KILLS any thing nutritious in the food. It all has to be added back.
The problem is fat is usually added as “rendered fat” from some other source. It’s sprayed on kibble along with flavoring so that the dog will actually be enticed to eat it. You’ll usually see fat preserved with Mix Tocopherols — that’s ok, it’s a derivative of Vitamin E.
where did the fat come from? Typically fats are sprayed on the extruded kibble chunks AFTER the cooking process. It’s called a palatant. It makes it taste better. Generally, without this, your dog won’t even touch the kibble.
These fats are generally rendered animal fats. If it doesn’t specify the animal type — it could fats could be from any source of animal. Sometimes from the 3Ds category (dead, dying, diseased) and sometimes left over from restaurant grease.
Moisture:
Let's get real here. They list moisture on the bag. Usually somewhere around 10%. The issue is, that’s just what was used to make the kibble goo stick together in those little nuggets. Your dog is actually going to be in a chronic state of dehydration eating kibble. In fact, there’s an issue called Moisture Organ Robbing that occurs when feeding kibble. That means, to begin digesting dry kibble, your dog’s body pulls moisture from organs of the body — the heart, the skin, the kidneys, and so on in order to start breaking down the kibble. Organ Robbing is not a good thing. You can help, by mixing in a little water with the food when it goes in, but nothing will compare to fresh foods with a moisture content of around 70%!
Interestingly enough, when you see a meat source listed on the label of your dog’s food, it’s generally listed based on on weight BEFORE moisture has been removed in processing. It’s another sneaky way to list meat first without it really being your highest source of protein in the final product.
Other Ingredients in Dog Food:
Sugar and its many forms: corn syrup, dextrose, sorghum, sugar, caramel — obesity, diabetes, inflammation, pancreatitis, yeast infections. These are not necessary for healthy dog diets.
Please remember to avoid Xylitol and its new name Birch Sugar. Avoid Sorbitol. Both are toxic to dogs.
MSG: a common allergen. It may have other names including hydrolyzed protein, texturized protein, protein isolate, natural flavor, yeast extract, Autolyzed plant protein Glutamic acid MSG, Autolyzed yeast Hydrolyzed plant protein Sodium caseinate, Calcium caseinate Hydrolyzed vegetable protein, Gelatin Monopotassium glutamate Yeast extract, Glutamate Monosodium glutamate. Yeast food or nutrient
Powdered Cellulose: plant fiber or wood pulp. Yes, wood pulp.
Natural Flavors: it doesn’t mean the flavor of beef actually came from beef ingredients. AAFCO says that the flavor must be “sufficently detectable”, but it might be meal, by-products, it may or may not the animal it claimed to be — example chicken may become flavored as beef, and it could be artificial flavoring. It just has to fool your dog. Natural flavors may include MSG or may be animal digest.
Titanium Dioxide: Pigment White. Some argue it’s paint. Others suggest it’s completely inert and used in sunscreens. But it does have links to cancer. Why is it there? When organ meats do not pass the USDA testing for human food quality — the meat material is “painted” to indicate not to use it in human foods. But it’s accepted into dog foods. Common in Milk Bones.
Animal Digest: a flavor enhancement to get your dogs to eat the food highly processed, dry extruded goo they turn into dog food. It’s created by processing various unspecified sources of animal by-products leaving a big question regarding quality and nutritional value. There’s nothing standard about the definition of Animal Digest.
Carrageenan - binder found in canned food and that makes those food rolls stick together. Inflammation can lead to cancer.
Colorful Dyes: these are to appeal to you, not the dog, and they are dangerous. We want you to eat colors of the rainbow, but in phytonutrient rich fresh fruit and vegetables. Not in colorful dyes.
Menadione: synthetic Vitamin K, toxic in high doses. Toxic to kidney, lungs, liver and mucus membranes.
Go ahead. Pull out your bag and read the label. I’ll wait. Contact me with any questions.
Sadly we also have to consider what’s not on the label. It’s been proven time and time again - what’s on the label isn’t always even in the product — AND — that some ingredients found in the bag are not listed at all. Read Blog from Dr. Jean Dodds: Undeclared Ingredients In Pet Food
It can all seem very overwhelming! Once you start to understand and you find a great food source, you don’t have to worry about it anymore. That’s why I choose Volhard. It’s all done for me.
