Reading Dog Food Labels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe best way to understand any product is to read its label. Labels can be misleading in the information they give apart from being hard to read due to the tiny prints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a label, you should look at the product\u2019s name, net weight, manufacturer\u2019s name, feeding guidelines, ingredient list, intended animal and a statement of nutritional adequacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A product name with its labelling is enough information to understand the nutrition any product has in it. For example, if we the can mentions the term \u2018chicken, it\u2019 means at least 70% of the product is made from chicken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u2018chicken dinner\u2019 or \u2018chicken entr\u00e9e\u2019 means that chicken makes up only 10% of the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018With chicken\u2019 means that only 3% of the product is made from chicken and \u2018chicken flavor\u2019 implies that less than 3% of the product has chicken in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ingredients<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is difficult to identify the source and quality of the ingredients by simply looking at the ingredient list on the label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like wheat can be broken down into flaked wheat, kibbled wheat, ground wheat, whole wheat, all of which can be listed separately as ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meat is also similarly complex if broken down into different kinds based on the level of meat processing. It is important to note that full meats have a large quantity of water weight which reduces the overall meat percentage in the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meat meal instead is more nutritious as it has more percentage of meat compared to meat as it doesn\u2019t need to be reduced for the water weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Food labels are also crucial for dog parents to watch out for if their dogs have special dietary needs or any food allergies. If a dog only has fiber and protein, the labelling will help to identify foods with carbohydrates to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Complete and Balanced Statement in Dog Foods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nYou may have noticed this statement often on dog food package labelling- \u2018complete and balanced\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As per the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), there are specific rules as per which any pet food product is classified as complete and balanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any food needs to contain the minimum specified nutrients which a dog needs before it can be labelled as complete and balanced by AAFCO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guaranteed analysis also lists the range of protein, fats, carbohydrates and fiber present in the dog food and lists down the minimum and maximum amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Make Your Choice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAnother option is to contact the dog food manufacturer if you have any questions. A professional and reputed dog food manufacturer will help you with more information than what is mentioned on the food label of the particular product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking care to choose the\u00a0best dog food, understanding the nutrient requirements and consulting a veterinarian can help to make sure that your beloved pooch is healthy and happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Choosing the\u00a0right dog food\u00a0can be challenging. In a world, where we face an ever-increasing choice of options, you may have difficulty in figuring out what is right for your dog. With every dog food brand claiming to be the best, figuring out the healthy and affordable choice can be difficult. Let\u2019s figure out some simple …<\/p>\n
How to Choose the Right Dog Food for Your Friend<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/How-to-choose-food-for-your-dog.jpeg",500,375,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/How-to-choose-food-for-your-dog-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/How-to-choose-food-for-your-dog-300x225.jpeg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/How-to-choose-food-for-your-dog.jpeg",500,375,false],"large":["https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/How-to-choose-food-for-your-dog.jpeg",500,375,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/How-to-choose-food-for-your-dog.jpeg",500,375,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/How-to-choose-food-for-your-dog.jpeg",500,375,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lovimals","author_link":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/author\/lovimals\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Choosing the\u00a0right dog food\u00a0can be challenging. In a world, where we face an ever-increasing choice of options, you may have difficulty in figuring out what is right for your dog. With every dog food brand claiming to be the best, figuring out the healthy and affordable choice can be difficult. Let\u2019s figure out some simple…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2070,"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121\/revisions\/2070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovimals.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}