Reading a pet food ingredient list is not always clear cut. As an informed pet parent, it's essential to understand how to read one. Of course there are certain ingredients you should avoid but there's also tricky ways pet food manufacturers make the panel appear to have more meat in it than there really is.   

Here are some essential things to look for when reading a dog food nutrition label:  

  1. Ingredients are listed by weight: The first ingredient listed on the label should be a named meat (e.g., chicken, beef, lamb). This indicates that the food contains a significant amount of quality protein. If a generic meat meal (e.g., poultry meal) is listed first, this can be a sign of lower quality. If "meat" is listed it could mean horse meat, road kill, euthanized pets, and is discussed further in #2.
  2. Corn, gluten, and by-products: Corn and gluten are common allergens for dogs! Corn in particular not only has a very high glycemic index, it is not easily digestible, and offers no protein benefits. If the ingredient is not listed as whole corn, it is usually just the cob with no kernels included anyway. Wheat gluten is what's left over from certain grains after processing. Glutens raise the protein level on a food label but is nutritionally inferior to meat. You want to get your protein from high-quality meat sources, not gluten. By-products are what's left of a slaughtered animal after the parts intended for human consumption have been removed. This meat processing scrap is considered inedible and includes waste material like beaks feet, backs, etc. These ingredients are nothing more than inedible waste of inferior nutritional value. Furthermore, if the ingredient doesn't identify the source of the meat (chicken, beef, pork, etc.) and just says "meat" it could legally contain road kill, dead zoo animals, dead, dying, and diseased animals, and even euthanized pets from animal shelters. Why! Because the FDA openly allows this practice and has also approved poop, dust, plastic, breakfast cereal, candy, hair, & feathers in "feed" grade foods. The exception would be any human-grade pet food. None of these ingredients would be allowed in a human-grade manufacturing factility.
  3. Carb content: The amount of carbohydrates in your dog's food can significantly affect their health. High-carbohydrate diets can lead to weight gain, diabetes, and other health problems. Look for dog foods that have a lower percentage of carbs and higher protein and fat content. To calculate carb content: Protein + Fat + Moisture + Ash, then subtract 100 = Carbohydrates. (This method works for dry food only; to figure out canned food you need to get the dry matter values.) Remember, dogs and cats have no nutritional requirements for carbs. They do not need them.
  4. Colors and preservatives: Look for dog foods that are free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. These ingredients can be harmful to your dog's health and may even cause allergic reactions.
  5. Ingredients after salt: As we mentioned before, the ingredients listed on the label are listed in order of weight, with the heaviest ingredients listed first. After salt, there should be no more than a few ingredients listed. Anything listed after salt only makes up 1% of the bag. So if any meat or superfoods like cranberries are listed after salt, it is almost non-existent in the food.
  6. Ingredient splitting: Some manufacturers split up similar ingredients (such as different types of grains) to make them appear lower on the ingredient list. This can be misleading, as the total amount of these ingredients may be higher than a single ingredient listed higher on the list. For example: If chicken meal is listed as 18%, white rice at 10%, and brown rice at 10%, chicken meal can legally be listed as the first ingredient. But, in reality, rice makes up 20% of the bag and the meat should be listed 3rd. Be aware of this deceptive marketing trick!
  7. BHA, BHT: BHA is considered a carcinogen and both BHA and BHT can promote tumor growth and impair blood clotting. They've been banned in Japan, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. You shouldn't consume it and neither should your pets.

Armed with this information, what do you do now? We recommend foods that are made in human-grade facilities from brands that source their own ingredients (and don't let a co-packer find the cheapest ingrediet available). Your main goal when feeding dogs and cats is to find foods that have the highest meat content and lowest carb content that fits you and your pet's lifestyles. Be sure to turn that bag over and read the label as best you can!  

Take our simple kibble assessment quiz HERE.