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Feeding your pet right can be difficult. There are many different pet foods available and it can be difficult to determine which food is the best. Some foods claim better quality all natural ingredients, no additives or fillers, or they are #1 vet recommended. Bright, colorful packaging with animal pictures is visually appealing, however it can mask a poor quality food. Reading the ingredient label on each pet food is the only way to determine the food quality. The biggest test is your pet; they are going to tell you the foods appeal based on smell and palatability.Guaranteed analysis
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The guaranteed analysis on the information panel of the dog food label lists the minimum levels of crude protein and fat and the maximum levels of fiber and water. The protein and fat are listed as crude sources and not as digestible sources. The digestibility of protein and fat can vary widely depending on their sources. While the guaranteed analysis is a start in understanding the quality of the food, be very careful about relying on it too much. A pet food manufacturer made a mock product that had a guaranteed analysis of 10% protein, 6.5% fat, 2.4% fiber, and 68% moisture, similar to what you see on many canned pet food labels. The only problem, was that the ingredients were old leather work boots, used motor oil, crushed coal, and water!Ingredient list
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All pet foods must list the ingredients present in the food. The ingredients must be listed in order of weight. This is one of the best ways to determine the quality of the food. With a little knowledge of the ingredients, you can choose a food that is highly digestible and free of unwanted products. Many of the ingredients with chemical-sounding names are actually vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients. As a consumer, you must read all of the ingredients carefully including the ingredients at the end, to know the type of preservatives and colorings that are used.- Meat: Meat is the clean flesh of slaughtered animals (chicken, cattle, lamb, turkey, etc.). The flesh can include skeletal muscle, tongue, diaphragm, heart, esophagus, overlying fat and the skin, sinew, nerves and blood vessels normally found with that flesh.
- Meat By-products: Meat by-products are clean parts of slaughtered animals, not including meat. These include lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver, blood, bone, some fatty tissue, and stomach and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth, or hooves.
- Poultry By-products: Poultry by-products are clean parts of slaughtered poultry such as heads, feet, and internal organs (like heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and intestines). It does not contain feathers.
- Fish Meal: Fish meal is the clean ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish or fish cuttings, with or without the oil extracted.
- Ground Corn: Ground corn is the entire corn kernel ground or chopped.
- Corn Gluten Meal: Corn gluten meal is the by-product after the manufacture of corn syrup or starch, and is the dried residue after the removal of the bran, germ, and starch.
- Brewers Rice: Brewers rice is the small fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from larger kernels of milled rice.
- Brown Rice: Brown rice is the unpolished rice left over after the kernels have been removed.
- Soybean Meal: Soybean meal is a by-product of the production of soybean oil.
- BHA: BHA is butylated hydroxyanisole, a fat preservative.
- Ethoxyquin: Ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative that is used to prevent spoilage in dog food.
- Tocopherols: Tocopherols (e.g., vitamin E) are naturally occurring compounds used as natural preservatives.