How to read the formula of dog food

The better the food, the more high-quality meat is in the ingredient list. The first ingredient in the dog food ingredient list is often the ingredient with the largest proportion in the dog food. , so the first place in the ingredient list must be high-quality meat (animal protein) such as chicken, beef, fish, etc., and the surface is meat instead of meat powder. In addition, to judge whether the meat content of dog food meets the standard, you must first At least two of the three items or at least three of the first five items must be meat; if the first ingredient in the ingredient list is cereal, just PASS. Because the protein content of such dog food does not meet the needs of dogs.

Grain-free

"Grain-free", as the name suggests, is dog food that does not contain grains. That is, corn, wheat, wheat bran, cereal husks and other grains. In recent years, many dog ​​food brands have begun to focus on the "grain-free" series of products.

Grain-free does not mean that there are no carbohydrates, and grain-free does not mean that it is a "whole meat grain." Some brands advertise that they are all meat and grain-free, but in fact it is almost impossible.

Qualified grain-free food should be dog food that does not contain cereal crops, but is made from vegetables, fruits and other low-carb ingredients.

For example, potatoes, peas, etc. have a carbohydrate content of only 16.5%; in contrast, barley, etc. have a carbohydrate content of 25.6%. So when looking at the ingredient list, you should pay attention to its raw material formula.

Fresh meat food

The emergence of "fresh meat food" is because in the past, dogs were fed raw meat for a long time, which caused parasites to breed in the body, which increased the dog's risk of disease. "Fresh Meat Grain" is a product.

Fresh meat food will be more expensive than ordinary dog ​​food because its nutritional value is higher than ordinary food. Another factor is that the production process causes a greater loss of materials.

Some fresh meat foods have a large proportion of ingredients written on them, but after the final dehydrated dog food is made, the actual proportion of fresh meat in the finished product only accounts for 1/3. This is a common phenomenon.

There is also "meat meal food", which is a dog food whose protein is mainly meat meal.

Meat meal is considered by many bloggers to be inferior grain, but in fact, according to the definition of AAFCO (American Feed Control Association), meat meal is a product made from refined mammalian tissue, while fresh meat is from slaughtered livestock. Clean meat.

Essentially, both are edible high-quality animal tissues. So when choosing dog food, you don’t actually need to mind the difference between the two. So when it comes to selection, you can look at the "purse" approach.

Natural food

Natural food is no additives, pure natural dog food. But "natural" is really good? In fact, no matter whether cat food or dog food, it is impossible to be "purely natural". After entering the domestic era, dogs cannot hunt wild animals and only eat staple food, which cannot meet the daily vitamins, minerals, etc. needs of dogs.

So, even the staple food that is said to be natural must contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals and is not natural dog food. However, these additives are also designed to better meet the nutritional needs of dogs.

As long as a staple food does not contain artificial flavors and fragrances, artificial colors and preservatives, it is actually fine. It's almost impossible to do without adding any additives.