Have you looked at the variety of dog food in the markets lately? Browsing over all the bags, they all brag about the great quality of meat they have inside and how healthy the dog food is. But how do you know? You have to learn to decipher the dog food ingredients label to find out.
What is a healthy dog food? A healthy dog food can be broken into 2 components: the right type of food for your particular dog, and the quality of the ingredients. The first part depends upon what kind of dog you have. Is he active? Does he have a medical condition? Is she nursing pups? You first need to determine the type of dog food that best suites your dog.
Now you must figure out the quality of the ingredients used. The proteins are a very important part of a good, quality dog food. They are also a good source of confusion when looking at the ingredients list. Animal proteins can be stated in different ways. Meat, meal, and by-product are the three main categories.
Three Categories - What's the Difference? The meat is rather simple - it is the meat from the animal. Meal is also straight-forward - it is the meat after most of the moisture has been removed and then ground up. By-products, confusing at first, are also rather straight-forward - it is most everything else from the animal after all the meat has been removed (necks, intestines, brain, etc.)
Which is Better - Meat or Meal? Now you look at your dog food ingredients list. Naturally, most people would assume seeing the meat listed as the first ingredient would mean the best food. But in actuality, you want to see the meat in the meal form.
By law, ingredients in food must be listed in order of weight. Since meat meal has had all moisture removed, it will be lighter than meat. If you start with two identical pieces of meat, and make meal of one, it will be lighter and therefor lower on the ingredients list. So this is a rather sneaky way of getting a meat in the top of the list, because once the meat is processed, it is made into a meal and put in the dog food it is made.
What Does a Generic 'Meat' Mean? All animal meats must be identified on the label. If the food is from a specific animal, such as salmon, it will be stated as 'salmon'. If the food is from an animal class, like fish, then more than one type of that animal could be in the meat - like salmon, tuna, cod - and will labeled as 'fish'. A generic 'meat' or 'meat meal' is the absolute worse - it means the actual animal meat cannot be even identified. You could have some cow, goat, fish, geese, etc.
The bottom line is that if a specific animal source cannot be identified, the dog food manufacturer is probably more concerned about their bottom line than the health and well-being of your pet. - 29895
What is a healthy dog food? A healthy dog food can be broken into 2 components: the right type of food for your particular dog, and the quality of the ingredients. The first part depends upon what kind of dog you have. Is he active? Does he have a medical condition? Is she nursing pups? You first need to determine the type of dog food that best suites your dog.
Now you must figure out the quality of the ingredients used. The proteins are a very important part of a good, quality dog food. They are also a good source of confusion when looking at the ingredients list. Animal proteins can be stated in different ways. Meat, meal, and by-product are the three main categories.
Three Categories - What's the Difference? The meat is rather simple - it is the meat from the animal. Meal is also straight-forward - it is the meat after most of the moisture has been removed and then ground up. By-products, confusing at first, are also rather straight-forward - it is most everything else from the animal after all the meat has been removed (necks, intestines, brain, etc.)
Which is Better - Meat or Meal? Now you look at your dog food ingredients list. Naturally, most people would assume seeing the meat listed as the first ingredient would mean the best food. But in actuality, you want to see the meat in the meal form.
By law, ingredients in food must be listed in order of weight. Since meat meal has had all moisture removed, it will be lighter than meat. If you start with two identical pieces of meat, and make meal of one, it will be lighter and therefor lower on the ingredients list. So this is a rather sneaky way of getting a meat in the top of the list, because once the meat is processed, it is made into a meal and put in the dog food it is made.
What Does a Generic 'Meat' Mean? All animal meats must be identified on the label. If the food is from a specific animal, such as salmon, it will be stated as 'salmon'. If the food is from an animal class, like fish, then more than one type of that animal could be in the meat - like salmon, tuna, cod - and will labeled as 'fish'. A generic 'meat' or 'meat meal' is the absolute worse - it means the actual animal meat cannot be even identified. You could have some cow, goat, fish, geese, etc.
The bottom line is that if a specific animal source cannot be identified, the dog food manufacturer is probably more concerned about their bottom line than the health and well-being of your pet. - 29895
About the Author:
There are many more factors to take into consideration when determining what is the healthiest dog food for your dog. Learn more about how to read your dog food ingredients label at the Healthy Dog Food Blog: helping you determine what makes a healthy dog food.
