by Krista Halling DVM CCRP DACVS
Let’s face it – multiday adventures with your pup often mean buying unfamiliar dog food, often a daunting event. Although dry dog food is highly processed, the advantages of kibble are weight savings, cost savings and shelf stability. When selecting a bag of kibble for your dog, don’t be influenced by compelling catch phrases or scoops of blueberries. Here’s what to look for as well as what to avoid.
Three questions you should always be asking are 1) “Does this kibble meet my dog’s nutritional needs?”, 2) “Has its nutrient content been verified?” and 3) “Has it been tested to be free of toxins and bacteria?”.
Let’s look at a package for these answers and any warning signs…
Ingredients
The list of ingredients might sound healthy, but it’s important to remember that a list of ingredients is just that – a list of ingredients. It does not mean that kibble meets your dog’s daily nutritional requirements for amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. So unless your dog has specific food sensitivities, don’t put too much emphasis on the list of ingredients.
“Complete and balanced” for your dog’s life stage
Look for this statement on the packaging. In North America, the nutritional requirements of dogs are established by AAFCO and in Europe by FEDIAF. Manufacturers may state that they have followed AAFCO/FEDIAF guidelines. You can also check the manufacturer’s website to see if their food is formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist or a consultant with a PhD in food science. Recognized life stages include “puppies”, “adults”, “pregnant/lactating dogs” and “all life stages”.
Quality control
What’s actually in the package? You may need to check the manufacturer’s website for their quality control standards. Do they analyze their dog kibble for nutritional accuracy (that their finished product is as nutritious – as “complete and balanced” – as they claim) and do they screen the kibble for the presence of toxins and bacteria?
Calories
The packaging should include the caloric density of the kibble (often in kcal/cup) so that you know how much to feed your dog.
Preservatives
Unlike canned food, dry dog kibble requires preservatives to prolong its nutritional and safe-for-consumption shelf-life. So you want preservatives to be present (“No artificial preservatives” is fine but “No preservatives” is a red flag). Look for natural preservatives including vitamin E (aka tocopherol) or vitamin C, or artificial preservatives including butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) or butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT).
By-products
AAFCO defines byproducts as “what is left over after the intended product has been made. In the case of dog kibble, “it’s often the excess materials left over after processing human foods. Many raw commodities, when processed, result in a primary product for human consumption and secondary products mostly for animal consumption. Using primary animal and plant products for humans and their related byproduct materials for animals is a common practice. This doesn’t mean byproducts are unsafe or lack nutrition—they just aren’t part of the original primary products.”
Grain-free
Grain-free dog food diet has become a trend in recent years, but not due to scientific evidence that it is healthier. In fact, there is an association between dogs fed a grain-free diet and the development of canine cardiomyopathy, a potentially fatal disease of the heart muscle. So we recommend avoiding grain-free diets, and if your dog is already on a grain-free diet, speak to your veterinarian ASAP.
Raw meat
For some dogs, a raw diet might be a good choice, but always be aware that, by definition, raw or freeze-dried food has not been subjected to temperatures high enough to kill bacteria and parasites, and therefore raw meat-based foods frequently contaminated with harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, E.coli and Listeria.
“Veterinarian-recommended”
Be careful of this catchphrase. Like “4 out of 5 dentists”, it sounds compelling but usually there is little criteria required for this statement to be placed on a bag of dog food.
Price
Don’t be swayed by marketing suggesting that a higher-priced dog food is healthier for your dog than a lower price food. That’s not necessarily the case; many grocery-chain dog foods are safe and healthy. It comes down to whether the food is complete and balanced for your dog and whether there is adequate quality control to verify that the food meets your dog’s nutritional needs and is safe for consumption.
As a final note, if you’re transitioning from one dog food to another, try to switch to the new food over 5-7 days to allow your dog’s intestinal tract to adjust. I know this might not be practical when travelling since you’d need to buy a new bag of food a week before finishing the current one, but it’s a good rule of thumb.
References and additional reading
Pet food decisions: how do you pick your pets food? – Petfoodology
Veterinarian-recommended foods: what you need to know – Petfoodology
Selecting a pet food for your pet – WASAVA
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