If you’re like most people, when you look at the shelves of dog food in the store, you’re bewildered by the choices available: puppy foods and senior foods, foods for large dogs and small dogs, diet foods for pudgy pooches, foods that claim to be all natural, foods that promise to improve your dog’s coat, foods that make their own gravy, and foods shaped like little bones.
How can you possibly pick the best food for your furry friend that will give him all the nutrients he needs and help him live a long and healthy life? Worry not. The following sections help you make better choices when buying dog food.
Many different forms of dog food are available today. Dry food usually contains less than 10 percent water, semi-moist foods contain 25 to 40 percent water, and canned food contains 75 to 80 percent water.
You may also have heard the terms premium or super-premium to describe dog foods, but these terms don’t have a legal definition — they can be used by anyone. Premium is a term frequently used to describe high-quality dog foods generally sold in pet supply stores rather than grocery stores. Super-premium generally refers to the highest-quality foods that are prepared using the best ingredients available. Likewise, no legal definitions govern the terms gourmet or natural when referring to dog food.
Most veterinary nutritionists agree that semi-moist dog foods offer very little nutritional value. These foods contain dyes and other nonessential additives so that they can be shaped into little bones, steaks, or other shapes. The additives may make the food visually appealing to the consumer, but dogs don’t care what their food looks like. Semi-moist foods also are preserved with sugar, which contributes to obesity and periodontal disease in dogs.
Avoid foods that don’t have complete nutritional information on the label (see the “Reading a Dog Food Label” for more information). Foods that are produced and sold within the same state aren’t required to have complete nutritional information the way foods that are sold across state lines are. These foods may be nutritionally sound, but without complete information, you can’t be sure. Also steer clear of dog foods that haven’t been tested in feeding trials with real live dogs.
Who’s in charge around here?
Several watchdog groups oversee various parts of the dog food manufacturing and marketing process. Take a look at this rundown of the regulatory agencies and what they do:
• The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO): The AAFCO consists of animal food officials from the United States and Canada who have joined to develop minimum standards for dog foods (and other animal foods as well). The AAFCO publishes standardized nutritional guidelines for dog foods, which most dog food manufacturers use as their nutritional standard. The AAFCO has also established specific guidelines for what should and should not be included on dog food labels. Although the AAFCO does not have any powers mandated by law, reputable dog food companies willingly comply with its guidelines — which allows them to state on their dog food labels that they meet or surpass AAFCO guidelines. Visit its Web site at www.aafco.org.
• Pet Food Institute (PFI): PFI has been around since 1958 and is the national trade association for pet food manufacturers. It monitors legislation that affects the pet food industry and lobbies for the interests of pet food manufacturers before federal legislative bodies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the AAFCO, and Congress. As a way of self-policing, PFI has established the Nutrition Assurance Program, which provides specific guidelines for the feeding trials that are used to test the nutritional quality of dog foods. Dog food companies that have complied with these guidelines in their food trials can state on the label that their food provides complete and balanced nutrition according to AAFCO procedures. For more information, visit its Web site at www.petfoodinstitute.org.
• National Research Council (NRC): The National Research Council’s Committee on Animal Nutrition was the first group to establish minimal requirements for canine nutrition. First published in 1974, the minimal requirements are similar to the recommended daily allowances (RDAs) you see on packages of human foods. The NRC requirements for dogs were updated in 2001, based on a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on canine nutrition. The Canine Nutrition Expert Subcommittee of the AAFCO currently recommends that dog foods use its nutrient profiles rather than those of the NRC. However, the NRC provides an important and independent source of information for the consumer on the nutritional requirements of dogs. Access the NRC at www.nas.edu.