The first few words in the ingredient list of a good dog food should be clear meat

The ingredient list of pet food is the same as that of human food. The more ingredients are contained, the higher their ranking in the ingredient list. Come forward. The first ingredient of high-quality dog ​​food should be a clear meat or meat meal (such as chicken, beef, mutton, etc., or chicken meal, beef meal, etc.).

Good dog food will add meat powder or dried meat

Fresh meat contains a lot of water (usually more than 75%), even if this raw material accounts for the largest proportion of all raw materials, drying The content in dog food will also be very limited in the future. If fresh meat is at the top of the ingredient list, but there are no other clear sources of meat after it, then there won’t be a lot of this high-quality fresh protein in the dog food. This is why another source of meat or meat meal must follow the fresh meat.
Take the two different formulas of Desire Tundra and Snow Mountain Premium as an example.
Let me explain, in terms of pricing and brand positioning, the quality of Desire Tundra is better than that of Snow Mountain Special, so I don’t mean to criticize the formula of Snow Mountain Special.
Let’s take a look at the recipe for Craving Tundra:
Fresh goat meat, fresh venison, fresh sheep meat, fresh bison meat, fresh char meat, fresh hare meat, fresh Wild duck, fresh rainbow trout, fresh sardines, fresh Alaska pollock, red lentils, green beans, dried duck, dried herring, chickpeas, peas, alfalfa, dried kelp, pumpkin, cod liver oil, goat tripe, lamb liver, Lamb liver, sheep tripe, venison liver, deer tripe, carrots, spinach, apples, pears, cranberries, elk liver, deer liver, frozen bison liver, frozen lamb liver, zinc proteinate, juniper berries, rose hips, dandelion Roots, elderflowers, marigolds, chicory roots, dried enterococcus fermentation products, etc.

The top 10 ingredients in the formula are fresh meats from clear sources, followed by two types of beans that provide carbohydrates, followed closely by two dehydrated meats from clear sources.
It is completely consistent with what is said above. Fresh meat is followed by meat powder (here is dried meat, which is better than meat powder). If you are not allergic to the 11 protein sources in it, this is a very good dog food. formula.

Let’s take a look at the Snow Mountain Special Grade recipe:
The first step in the recipe is chicken, followed by brown rice, oats, and potatoes, all of which are carbohydrates, and then Chicken meal.
Basically in line with the principles mentioned above, meat powder with a clear source appears in the ingredient list along with fresh meat.
Although compared to the formula of Longing for Tundra, Snow Mountain Special is not as luxurious (and the price is not as luxurious). But if a dog is allergic to red meat, Snow Mountain Special Formula is more suitable than craving tundra~

GoodDog food will add complete fruits and vegetables

Complete, unprocessed fruits, vegetables and cereals contain all their vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants and other ingredients, which are better ingredients. For example, beets are better than beet pulp, soybeans are better than bean dregs, potatoes are better than potato flour...
However, there are occasionally one or two such "dregs", "powder", "meal" and "fiber" in the formula, and in The position at the back of the ingredient list has little impact on the overall formula, but if they are all by-products and there are few fresh ingredients, you should be careful.

Good dog food is not cheap

High-quality dog ​​food costs much more than low-quality dog ​​food, mainly because the price of raw materials varies greatly. Therefore, good dog food must not be cheap, but expensive dog food may not be good. Although some dog food itself is not very good, the merchants spend a lot of money on various soft-text marketing promotions to make it as expensive as high-quality dog ​​food. Therefore, all you poop collectors must pay attention to the ingredient list when purchasing.

Good dog food is the one that meets the age of the dog

Although dog food generally meets a basic nutritional standard, there is a range of this nutritional standard. There are obvious differences in the nutritional needs of adult dogs and puppies with low physical activity indoors, working dogs with high physical activity, pregnant and lactating female dogs, and elderly dogs, so special formulas should be needed to meet this demand. Most dog foods without special instructions are formulas suitable for adult dogs, while some are marked with "all-dog period" or special formulas. Please choose based on your dog's situation.

Dog food ingredients that need to be avoided

① Various meat by-products, poultry by-products from unclear sources, and powders made from these things

Although it cannot be denied that these ingredients also contain a lot of nutrients, they are after all the "leftovers" of some human foods.

② Ambiguous fat

"Animal fat" is a very vague concept, and it is difficult to guess its source. It may come from the scraps produced by the slaughterhouse, or it may be obtained from animals that died abnormally. There is no way to verify it. In comparison, clear materials such as "chicken fat" and "duck fat" are better.

③ Add sweetener.

Sweeteners can increase the flavor of food, make dogs like it, and improve the taste that may not be satisfactory to "dogs".

④ Artificial colors, flavors, preservatives (such as BHABHT ethoxySiloquinoline, etc.)

For dogs, the color of food does not increase appetite. The aroma of protein and fat in meat is the most attractive.
Artificial preservatives, commonly used sorbic acid, benzoic acid, and nitrous acid are all toxic to varying degrees, while fat-soluble BHA and BHT are potentially carcinogenic. Natural preservatives are usually used in better formulas. (such as mixed tocopherols) instead.