Many pet owners have little or no idea what constitutes good nutrition for their dog. Most believe that if it’s sold at the store and says“complete nutrition” it must be fine, and so they will purchase the cheapest food they can find. After all, we want to be cost effective while doing what’s best for our dogs. In fact, most people that actually do pay attention to the food they give their four-legged friends do so only because the dog is either sensitive to or allergic to some food product and we, as the food provider, are suddenly forced to start reading labels on dog food. That’s how I learned about the major differences in feeding options. My older dog, it turns out, is very,VERY allergic to, of all things… corn. Who knew?!? I had no idea dogs could have allergies. But it turns out that just like people, dogs can be born with or develop allergies over time and those allergies (just as in people) can be outgrown or last a lifetime. In my dog’s case, she is severely allergic to corn and a little bit allergic to wheat, and has been since I’ve owned her – nearly13 years now. She’s also got some contact allergies to grass and even some seasonal allergies, but those are for a different blog post (My High-Maintenance Pooch…)

In this blog I will discuss the merit of a guaranteed analysis chart, what to make of the actual ingredient list and what some of those terms actually mean, how to determine how much to feed, how to determine if Nikita is at a healthy weight, and some thoughts on canned food.

What we feed our pets makes a huge difference. Not just because of potential allergies, but also because of overall health and nutrition. The higher the quality of food, the better your dog’s health. You will see the benefits of a high quality food over the long term in your pocketbook as well as your dog’s energy, coat, physical aroma, overall health and, yes, even in his poop. That’s right - what you put into your dog directly effects what comes out of your dog.

So, you want to feed Nikita the best food possible without breaking the bank. How do you determine which food will keep him healthy and happy? How can you discern the difference when studying the labels on the bag?Let’s say you’re comparing the guaranteed analysis on bags of food. One tells you it has a minimum crude protein of 21%, another has 24% crude protein and a third is 26%. Those are all pretty close. Is there really a difference? What does that percentage really mean, anyway? Which food is the best for Nikita? You may believe that the highest protein is the best choice for your dog because clearly that has the most nutritional bang for the buck. And when you look at the prices and see that the one with 26% is also the cheapest, you might think,“Score!” and head straight to the checkout with a 50-lb bag of food – that oughta hold you for a while…

In fact, there may be an enormous difference. The guaranteed analysis chart is a good place to start and can be quite useful if, for example, your dog is overweight and your vet recommends increasing the fiber content a bit. But, it is not enough to look just at the guaranteed analysis.In fact, that list may mean very little when it comes to certain things, like protein. 26% protein means that when the food is processed and analyzed in a lab 26% of the nutrient value was protein. But, the big question is: what kind of protein? Is it a protein that Nikita can actually digest and use, like meat?Or is it a protein that will pass right through him providing very little, if any benefit, like corn or wheat? So, while glancing at the analysis chart can help get you on the right road, you must determine what form those nutrients(protein, fat, fiber, etc) take in that particular food.

The first order of business when deciding which food to give your dog is reading the ingredient list. The most important ingredients are the first 5 ingredients. Why? Because, just as with people food, ingredients are listed from most prominent to least. That means that the first ingredient is the thing Nikita is eating most. Those first 5 make up the bulk of the diet. In those first 5 you want real meat or meat meal and healthy whole grains.

What’s meat meal? Meal is the end result after all the water has been compressed out of the ingredient. It’s a more concentrated form than the original product. So, for example let’s say you have a pound of chicken and you have a pound of chicken meal. The chicken is a pound of meat cut right off the bone. The chicken meal is a pound of meat that has been dehydrated of all its liquid. This means that there is more actual meat/protein in the pound of meal because there is no water there to make up a portion of the weight.

Let’s look at some ingredients and see what we see…

Food A: A good list of ingredients (crude protein is24%): Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (naturally preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Rye, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Potatoes, Peas, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed (natural source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Garlic, Alfalfa Meal, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Turmeric, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Fish Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Dried Chicory Root, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium.

Note that the first five ingredients in this list include meat, a meat meal (concentrated protein) and good whole grains (ground brown rice, ground barley and oatmeal) that are all full of protein, vitamins and minerals. Keeping the grains whole maintains their nutritional integrity by not stripping away bits that contain some of those nutrients. Then, ingredient #6is chicken fat (some fat in moderation is not only OK, but necessary for proper cell structure and energy burning). The rest of the ingredients in this list are an assortment of healthy whole foods and vitamin/mineral supplements to ensure a truly balanced diet. There are no fillers, no extra or artificial preservatives and no enhancements such as food dyes.

Food B: Now let’s look at this ingredient list (crude protein is 21% - not so much different): Whole grain corn,poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved withmixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), meat and bone meal, brewers rice,soybean meal, whole grain wheat, egg and chicken flavor, animal digest, salt,calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, calcium phosphate, L-Lysinemonohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, added color (Yellow 6,Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zincproteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, manganese proteinate, niacin,Vitamin A supplement, brewers dried yeast, copper sulfate, calciumpantothenate, copper proteinate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, VitaminB-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavinsupplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite

Note that the first ingredient is Corn. It is whole grain corn and that’s better than Corn meal or corn flour, but it’s still corn. The most abundant ingredient in this food is corn. That is roughly the equivalent of feeding your dog Frito’s Corn chips. A tasty snack, to be sure, but would you really want your entire diet to be corn chips? The second ingredient is poultry by-product meal. Poultry means that it can be any kind of feathered creature, don’t assume it’s chicken just because the front of the bag bag says Chicken on it. The ingredient list does not indicate that it is chicken. It could also be turkey, or duck or a combination of any of these. If Nikita is allergic to one of them, you have no way of knowing which is actually in this food, and it likely varies from batch to batch based on the market availability and price for the manufacturer. Further, it’s by-product.

BY-PRODUCT is something you definitely want to pay attention to. By-product is exactly what it sounds like. It is not the product itself. It’s what is left over when the usable product is used. In this case, it is poultry by-product, so we are talking about the head, beak, feet, feathers, combs and various other parts of the birds that are deemed not appropriate for human consumption. There is no nutritional value in by-product and it is little more than filler.

Then we see corn gluten meal. Corn does not naturally contain gluten (unlike wheat and rye).Corn gluten meal is misleading because many of us know that gluten (in wheat and rye, etc.) is the protein portion of the grain. But, corn gluten meal is a byproduct. It is residue left behind after processing corn for the flour andoil. It’s used often in pet food as well as being used as a lawn fertilizer and weed suppressant.

So in food choice number 2, the first three ingredients –the three most abundant ingredients in Nikita’s diet would be filler,by-product (filler) and filler. That doesn’t sound so healthy. And thisingredient list belongs to one of the most well known, most popular and least expensive brands available.

Food C: For one more comparison, let’s check out this ingredient list (crude protein is 26%):  Ground Whole Corn,Meat And Bone Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-product Meal, Animal Fat(preserved with BHA/BHT), Wheat Flour, Chicken, Rice, Dried Whole Peas, Dried Beet Pulp, Wheat Mill Run, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Carrot Powder, Caramel Color, Vegetable Oil (source of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins(Choline Chloride, Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate [source of Vitamin E],L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of Vitamin C*], Vitamin B12 Supplement,D-calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement [VitaminB2], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Salt,Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate,Manganese Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Added FD&C and Lake Colors (Yellow6, Blue 2, Red 40, Yellow 5).

First 5 ingredients: Filler,decent protein, but what is it – it only says “meat” not what kind of meat (chicken, beef, lamb, etc) nor even if it is the muscle or organ meat…, filler,filler and fat (not so horrible, but would be better one or two ingredients further down the list). Again, we start with corn and within the top 5ingredients we also have corn gluten meal and chicken by-product meal. And thisfood, like the second list, contains 4 different food dyes – why? Does Nikita care what color his food is? There have been recent studies that suggest a correlation between food dyes and hyperactivity in children. Could there be a similar correlation for dogs? We don’t know, but why would you want to give that to your dog when it has no nutritional value and is utterly unnecessary for Nikita’s enjoyment of the food?

A quick note on the bone in the meat and bone meal in this list. Bone is actually not a bad thing in a Nikita’s diet. It is an excellent source of calcium and the marrow left in the bones during processing is an excellent source of iron.

At this point, we have looked at the guaranteed analysis and compared it to the actual ingredient list. Upon studying the ingredients,we see that the food with the highest protein seems to be junk food. How is that possible? Because many dog food companies will utilize the protein in wheat and corn to magnify the amount of protein found when the analysis is conducted. But grain proteins are not easily digested by dogs and so it ends up being little more than filler – which can cause gas, bloating, loose and stinky poop…

Now let’s take a look at feeding recommendations. Unless the bag of food tells you otherwise, a cup equals a standard 8 oz measuring cup and amounts are meant to be daily rations, not per-meal rations. In other words, if Nikita eats breakfast and dinner, then the amount listed on the bag should be split in two, and he gets half in the morning and half at night.

Food A (24%protein) recommends between 1 ½ -3 cups of food per day if Nikita weighs between 26 and 60 lbs. At the maximum weight (60lbs) and the maximum ration (3cups) that works out to .050 cups of kibble per pound of Nikita.

The feeding suggestions Food B food (21% protein) is between 1 1/3 – 2 1/3 cups per day for a dog between 21 – 50 lbs. At the maximum weight (50 lbs) and the maximum ration(2 1/3 cups), this works out to .0533 cups of kibble per pound of Nikita.

Food C described above (26% protein) recommends 2 ½ -3 ½ cups for a dog weighing 25-50lbs. The maximum weight (50 lbs) and the maximum ration (3 ½ cups) works out to.070 cups of kibble per pound of Nikita.

We can look at the minimum weight/ration as well:

Food A: 26 lbs and 1 ½ cups = .057 cups per pound of dog

Food B: 21 lbs and 1 1/3 cups = .060 cups per pound of dog

Food C: 25 lbs and 2 ½ cups = .10 cups per pound of dog

Why am I going into such detail? Because I want to show that the higher the quality of food, the less you have to feed your dog. It may not seem like much of a difference when I break it down to the amount of food you feed per pound of dog you have, but it definitely adds up. The point is that the higher the quality of food, the more nutritionally sound the meal, the more condensed the nutrition is per kibble and therefore the less you have to feed.

So not only do you feed less, and therefore over the life of the dog buy fewer bags of food, but this goes directly to what comes out of Nikita each day. The more filler there is in the food, the less usable nutrition, the less that gets absorbed by Nikita’s body, which means more waste to come out.Not only more waste potentially in frequency, but more aromatic (and I don’t mean that in a good way) and quite possibly more volume. The higher the quality the food, the more sound the nutrition. The more condensed the nutrition, the more that gets absorbed by Nikita’s body and therefore less waste. It tends to be less frequent (once or twice per day, rather than possibly 3 or 4 times per day). It also tends to be more compact and well formed (rather than loose and messy to clean up) and it tends to stink less.

I hate to acknowledge this, but I can spot an Alpo poop from 15 feet away. It has some very distinct qualities in size, texture and stink.

We’ve discussed in some detail now, the ingredients to look for and the ingredients to avoid. We’ve acknowledged that the guaranteed analysis doesn’t always tell the whole story and we’ve looked at the feeding recommendations on the three example foods.

It’s important to stick to those feeding guidelines with a caveat to the dog’s actual energy output. These guidelines are designed for an average dog with an average energy level. If your dog goes jogging 8 miles every day with you, or is a true working dog (hunting or herding) and is burning calories like there’s no tomorrow, then you’ll want to increase the ration by 20% - 50% accordingly. If your dog is very sedentary and sleeps most of the day, and only gets a walk once per week, you may need to decrease the ration by 20% - 30% to maintain a healthy body weight. If you’re dog is training, or just spoiled, and so getting loads of treats, definitely decrease the meal ration accordingly to offset the calories ingested at other times.

A note about protein. Too much protein in a Nikita’s diet can cause behavioral issues such as hyperactivity or increased aggression. Sometimes less is more. This does not mean you want to scrimp on the protein, but it does mean that the highest protein content isn’t necessarily the best for every dog.

Also, if your dog is a working dog and does need a much higher calorie and protein content, there are selections available for working dogs such as Blue Buffalo Wilderness –high protein formulas.

Is Nikita fat?

How do you know your dog is a healthy weight? By appearance and by feel. When you stand over Nikita so that you are looking down on him from a bird’s-eye perspective, you should see a clear nip at his waist.His chest/ribs should be broader than his waist and you should see his hips stick out a bit further than his stomach. From a profile eye-level view, his waist should tuck up. In other words, his chest just behind his elbows should be closer to the floor by at least an inch or two than his stomach just before his back legs. This will vary some based on breed, but every breed should see the stomach is further from the floor than the chest. When you feel your dog, you should be able to discern his ribs.You ought not to see the ribs clearly, but you should not need to press firmly or really feel around to find the ribs under a layer of fat. You should be able to feel the ribs when you go looking for them. See the chart below.

Why is Nikita’s weight of concern? Because dogs are equally as prone to weight related illnesses as humans. If Nikita is overweight, or obese, he can develop the same heart conditions that humans get:high blood pressure, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure, an increased likelihood of heart attack or stroke. Nikita can develop the same bone/joint issues as humans: arthritis, limited mobility, disc erosion, pinched nerves,general soreness and stiffness, exasperation of congenital joint issues such as hip displaysia. He can develop weight related diabetes and experience all of the conditions that go with that: need for regular insulin injections, need for seriously restricted diet, potential circulation issues that could lead to the need to amputate a limb, potential blindness, potential sugar shock or insulin overdose – which could lead to coma and death. Further, obesity in dogs has been correlated to the onset of various cancers as well. Allowing your dog to be overweight can decrease his lifespan by several years.

So, to sum up: read the ingredients, not just the guaranteed analysis. Avoid fillers and by-products. Try to make sure there is real meat and meat meals as well as whole grains in the top 5. Avoid unnecessary additives that are really only there for our human appeal, such as food dyes.

Take note that food that is more expensive per bag may be a better buy in the end for several reasons. You will likely feed a bit less because it’s a more nutritionally sound product. The clean-up from Nikita’s waste will be easier to deal with. Nikita’s overall health will likely be better and so his life-time vet bills will be lower. And most importantly, Nikita will be happier, healthier and with better energy because you took the time to feed him a quality product.

You might be wondering what brands I used for my example ingredient lists.

Food A is Blue Buffalo – Chicken and Brown Rice recipe.

Food B is Purina Dog Chow brand Dog Food Complete and Balanced.

Food C is Pedigree with Chicken, Rice and Vegetables.

I will follow this blog with a brief blog that discusses canned food. But for now, if you want to include canned food in Nikita’s diet,try to find one that uses stock (chicken, lamb, beef or vegetable) instead of water. Water is just water. Stocks provides the liquid while also seriously increasing the nutritional value of the product by adding protein and vitamins/minerals to that top 5.

Here’s to a happy meal time for you and Nikita.