Dog food: What goes into the bowl?
A dog's meal should contain plenty of meat, a little vegetables, fiber for digestion, oil for the coat, and all the minerals and vitamins a healthy dog needs. You can find all of this information on the dog food labels. Right?
The subtle difference:
Another point that primarily affects dry food is the term "meat." There's a big difference between, say, poultry meat meal and poultry meal or poultry protein. Meat meal refers to dried and ground meat—in poultry meal or poultry protein, the word "meat" is omitted—because all parts of the animal are utilized. And even the word "poultry" leaves considerable room for interpretation. Is it chicken? Or duck? Or turkey or goose, or a mixture of all? This information is particularly important for dogs with food intolerances.
Attention must also be paid to protein classification: a feed whose packaging and label suggest a specific protein, such as chicken, is not necessarily a so-called monoprotein—that is, exclusively chicken. To be able to call a feed "chicken," the feed must actually contain just 4 percent chicken.
And what else is in it?
To be considered a complete feed, it must be ensured that all relevant nutrients for the animal's holistic nutrition are present. However, if all nutrients are not present (or no longer present) due to the selection of ingredients or the method of preparation, they must be added subsequently. A list of these additional substances must also be declared accordingly.
And what doesn't have to be declared?
All added feed additives must be declared and labeled if they have been approved with maximum levels (i.e., upper limits) for the respective animal species. Unfortunately, this leads to the conclusion that if no maximum levels are set, nothing needs to be declared.
Dry food vs. wet food:
Dry food is more practical for the pet owner—easy to store, easy to feed (even in summer), and easy to portion and transport. On the other hand, it contains a lot of carbohydrates, which is the only way to keep the braces in shape. Wet food doesn't always meet this standard, but it has the unbeatable advantage of avoiding excessive carbohydrates and similar additives.
Conclusion:
The label provides a good basis for assessing the quality of the food. The more precise the information, the more certain you can be of high-quality raw materials and careful processing. The fewer percentages and the longer the list of ingredients, the lower the quality of the raw materials and/or the processing.
If you want to know what really ends up in your dog's food bowl, you can't avoid reading the label. A trained canine nutritionist can provide assistance and help you choose the right diet for your individual pet.