How DO You Select a Good Dog Food?

Back in 2007, horror stories of beloved pets dying due to tainted foods manufactured in China peppered the news. The ingredient that was the major culprit was melamine, and the majority of the tainted products were imported from China.

Over 3,000 pets were estimated to have died due to kidney failure caused by consumption food containing this ingredient (melamine, when mixed with resins, is a fire retardant. It’s also one o f components in Formica. Sounds like a great addition to pet food!)

I felt fortunate: I’ve always been a Dog Food Nazi, and have attempted to keep up-to-date about the dietary requirements of my canine pals. The food I was feeding them wasn't poisoned. After hearing about the melamine scare – which was also found in toothpaste and infant formula – I became even more vigilant.

Read the Label!
Many Americans diligently read labels before purchasing products for their human families. I encourage pet owners to do the same for their 4-legged family members. Forget the advertisements you see on TV or in magazines.

Ignore the claims bolded on the package. Pull out your glasses and take a look-see at what’s listed as ingredients in your dog food. It’s not hard. It doesn’t take long, and it’s the only way to understand what’s inside the package.

In short, if you understand labels on human food, you’ll understand labels on pet food. Read the ingredient list. Then re-read it.

In the U.S., the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) set the standards for the nutrient profiles you’ll find on every can or bag of pet food. This information includes the recommended minimum amount of protein, vitamin and mineral levels, etc.

These profiles include recommendations on fat, protein, vitamins, and mineral contents of pet food; they also include maximum levels of intake for certain nutrients. Providing excessive amounts of ‘nutrition’ has become an issue with some dog foods.

All dog foods need to have an AAFCO nutrient profile or indicate that it has an AAFCO feeding trial rating. (The latter is better: it indicates that a minimum number of canines have been feed the food for at least 6 months, and that these dogs finished the trial in good health.) The nutrient profile indicates that, based on manufacturer research, the dog will be fed at least minimum amounts of the ingredients listed.

The nutrition label provides a guaranteed analysis of the food’s ingredients. It will list everything from how much crude protein, fat and fiber a food contains to how much moisture is factored in to levels of vitamins and minerals are included.

However, the label will not tell you how much of the ingredients are actually digestible by your dog or cat. Some proteins, for example, are easy for Fido or Fluffy to digest. Others are fillers, and will end up as waste. The latter provide little if any nutrition, but are included in the crude protein information of the food.


As with human food, pet food ingredients must be listed in order of weight before cooking and/or processing. The first ingredient that is listed is the primary ingredient.

Or is it?

As with the labels on biped food, manufacturers list all ingredients – but can be crafty in how they do so. “Splitting” is the practice of listing the same ingredient with different names to hide a mediocre or poor ingredient. “Beef meal” or “chicken meal” may be the first ingredient listed. Both are good proteins for your pet.

Keep reading. Just down the list you may see ‘ground corn meal’, and the ingredient after that is ‘corn gluten.’ After that you may see ‘corn gluten meal,’ or another form of corn. Add those ingredients up: voila! The primary ingredient is actually corn, not beef or chicken.

Corn is frequently the main ingredient in dog food. It’s a much cheaper source of protein than chicken, fish or beef. Dogs can only digest about half of the protein in corn, and the rest – you guessed it – is what you clean up when you walk your pooch. In essence, you are paying extra to clean up (or ignore!) your dog’s waste. Also, many dogs have or will develop allergies to it. Avoid it as much as possible.

Why did we end up with grains like corn in dog food? Manufacturers needed to keep boosting profits. Adding what is considered waste from human food processing to dog food eliminated the need for waste disposal, and added a whole new industry with which corporations could generate profit.

As you peruse your pet food labels, look for meat. Beef, chicken, lamb, fish, bison, whatever. The more meat, the better. Grains should be whole grains. Anything else was probably swept up off the floor after a human food was manufactured.

Watch for these
There are other ingredients to avoid. Any foods that have unnamed meat, fat or protein sources are scary. ‘Meat by-products,’ ‘animal fat,’ ‘poultry fat’ are all ingredients that are red flags. You don’t want to know where these products are from. (It’s scary!) The good pet foods actually list the protein source as ‘chicken,’ ‘beef,’ ‘fish meal,’ ‘lamb.’ The better the product, the more specific the ingredient list. The higher these ingredients are in the list, the better the food.

Additional red flags: the preservatives ethoxyquin and BHA. The first is used in tire production. I cannot tell you what it’s doing in dog food. Also avoid foods with artificial sweeteners and colors. The color is added to appeal to you, not your dog.

The Big Debate: Grain-less food or not?
I’m a big proponent of grain-free dog food. Canines and cats did not evolve eating grains. The super premium foods limit the amount of grain in the food (some is necessary to act as a binding agent – the manufacturers have to get the kibble through their equipment, after all). My breed of choice, Akitas, tend to have skin problems. Since I went grain-less (then raw), my dogs’ skin issues are virtually non-existent and their coats are spectacular.

Here's a good place to start for dog kibble. Dogfoodanalysis.com ranks pet foods from one to six stars. As you move up the hierarchy of foods, there are fewer and fewer foods in each category. Stick to those 6-star foods! It's my belief that foods you can buy in the grocery store or Walmart are pet foods to avoid.The better the food, the healthier the dog.

The pet food industry generates over $16 billion anually – and manufacturers are fighting for your pet food dollars. It's up to you to monitor your 4-legged friend's diet. For more information on what’s actually in pet foods, read ‘What’s Really in Pet Food.’Bon Appetite!