How to read dog feed labels

Today we are going to talk about an important issue: how to read the tags of the feed for animals? How are ingredients read correctly?

In the first place we must say that it is always advisable to speak with your veterinarian of trust to obtain the best commercial diet to give your dog, they know the general problems of dogs, their nutritional needs and that it is the best according to age. On many occasions, the owners of the dogs trust to give them any brand of feed for dogs without taking into account their composition and formula. There are many differences between one feed for dogs and another.

LA feeding of your dog is a fundamental part in your health and well -being. So the advice is as follows: before buying a feed for dogs of any brand, it is convenient to review the composition of the feed well and always give it an adequate quality of feed for dogs to your four -legged friend.

The meaning of the labels present in dog feed.

In a dog feed I could find different terms, each one has a specific meaning:

Commercial name

It is the name that the manufacturer assigns to the food for the dog.

Aim

Here the animal species to which food is destined, including the stage of life is indicated. We can find feed distinctions for puppies or adult dogs.

Food name

We talk about a complete food when it provides the complete nutritional requirements in the animal, while the nutritional supplement is what alone is not able to guarantee nutritional needs.

Classification

Dry food has a moisture content of less than or equal to 14%; Semi-humid food has a moisture content between 14 and 34%; Wet food has a moisture content greater than 34%.

Ingredients

These are the materials of which the food is composed. They are usually listed in descending order. So the first ingredient is what is present in greater quantities, and so on. This means that if the first marked ingredient are cereals, it means that such food is rich in cereals and not in meats or fish, so this one thinks for specific dogs would be of lower quality compared to a feed for dogs in which meats or fish are in greater proportion. The food, both dry and wet, is usually supplemented with vitamins and minerals, including vitamin. A, vitamin D3, etc ...

Analysis levels

The content of the analysis table is a table that indicates the values ​​of the chemical analysis of the foods reported in percentage. The values ​​you find here are for the entire product (wet -based) including water.

Dosis

It is the amount given to your pet and will depend on age and weight.

ANALYSIS OF THE Average Components

Proteins

Charne or fish (and in particular, the egg or soy feed). The feed for dogs that provide proteins through meat instead of the flours are more valuable. You can find the following words on the label of different dog feet: fresh meat, dehydrated fresh meat, meat flour (containing bone and feathers residues among others), meat and meat products (some dog feed do not indicate the origin of the meat), eggs. By raw protein we understand the amount of a protein, both animal and vegetable and varies depending on the type of feeding, if it is feed for adult dogs or feed for puppies, the percentages vary depending on the brand and the type of feed for dogs. A quality dog ​​feed usually has more than 25% gross protein, with 30%, 35% or 40% we talk about a feed for high quality dogs. It is important that the types of protein, animal and plant are correctly balanced, that is, if most proteins are from vegetables or animal.

Carbohydrates and fiber

It is found in corn, wheat, rice, beet pulp, fruit-oligosaccharides (fos), potatoes. In the dry feed we see a higher percentage of cereals on wet foods. In the feed for adult dogs, raw fiber varies between 1.8 and 2.5%, while in the puppy it usually ranges between 1.5 and 2%. Although these percentages may vary depending on the brand and quality of dog feed.

Oils and fats

Those found in animal feed can be of animal origin (chicken, pork, sebum, fish oil) or plant origin (flax seeds, corn, sunflower the most frequent). Raw fat is the percentage of lipids present in food.

Humidity

It is the amount of water present in the food. In dry feed it varies between 9 and 10% (so if the dog or cat will eat only dry foods can drink more water), while in humid foods it varies between 65 and 85%.

Gross ashes

They are the percentage of inorganic substances. A high value in minerals does not always have to agree with the percentage of ash in the food, since here a high content of slaughterhouse by -products, such as feathers, bones and connective tissue. A quality dog ​​feed has a correct contribution of minerals and no byproduct of the production phase. Moreover, a good feed for high quality dogs contributes foods that pass through exhaustive controls and that are suitable for human consumption.

These are some tips to read the labels

If in the ingredients of a dry and wet food for dogs and cats it is found as the first cereal ingredient, qualitatively is not the most ideal. Unless it is a specific dog feed. Normally it means that cereals were used as filling material at the expense of the meat that is more appreciated. I want to point out that dogs and cats are mainly carnivorous.

If you are written, for example, chicken, on the feed label, it is a statement that indicates that the highest percentage of meat is chicken, but it also contains other types of proteins such as plant proteins.

If a food is defined as monoproteic, perhaps the duck, then find the words in a generic way oils and fats, would cancel the monoproteic effect, it may be that among the fats there are other types of animal fats.

If in a dog feed indicates the percentage of protein, you have to consider the source of these proteins to find out how many are bioavailable, that is, if the origin is ox meat, lamb, chicken, fish such as salmon, eggs or if on the contrary the proteins come from flours or vegetables in greater quantity.

Read the percentage carefully wet and semi -middle foods and its dosage. Sometimes these foods must be given in greater quantities since they contain too much water or too much fiber, which is a much more expensive diet for your dog unnecessaryly. A good feed for high quality dogs is the most recommended for your dog's daily food.