I took a close look at some popular brands of dog food to find out the ingredients.
I am not a vet or a nutritionist, but I can read.
If you are reading this blog you should be able to read the ingredients in your dog’s food. Take a look, and let me know what you find out.
The first two ingredients in a healthy dog food should be high-quality proteins, according to Michelle Smith, owner of Natural Pet Center in Fargo. The dog food should also include high-quality fruits and vegetables. If it contains any grain at all, it should be high-quality grain like oatmeal or brown rice. Stay away from corn and by-products.
Animal by-products are any part of an animal other than meat, according to the Association of American Feed Control Officials. By-products could be any combination of feet, lungs, brains, blood, spleens, kidneys, fat, etc.
In addition to the list of ingredients, pet foods also list a “guaranteed analysis” that tells you the food’s overall protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber and moisture content, according to a Petco press release.
I took a look at dog food ingredients from the following brands of dog food: Purina One lamb and rice; Iams ProActive Health Chunks; Nature’s Variety Prairie lamb meal & oatmeal medley; and Innova Evo.
Dog food ingredients are listed in order of weight, making the first five to six ingredients the most important.
These dog food brands speak for themselves:
Purina One dog food
I chose to look at this food because it’s what my mutt Ace currently eats. I wasn’t surprised it failed to meet the above requirements. It was the worst one out of the four foods I looked at. Here’s what Purina One lamb & rice formula contains:
Lamb, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Corn, Poultry By-Product Meal, Oatmeal, Animal Fat Preserved With Mixed-Tocopherols, Lamb Meal, Animal Digest, Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Caramel Color, Choline Chloride, L-Lysine Monohydrochloride, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Rboflavin Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Garlic Oil, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Sodium Selenite
Purina One says its “highly digestible rice” gives dogs healthy energy. But according to the AAFCO, brewers rice is an inexpensive rice by-product that does not contain the nutritional value of whole grain brown rice. It’s a cheap carbohydrate.
Corn gluten meal is used as a weed killer.
Animal digest is a broth made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals, according to the AAFCO. These animal parts can come from anywhere as there are no regulations on this. They can come from animal shelters, euthanized horses, etc. Yes, there is horse meat in dog food. It is in the form of “animal digest” or “animal by-product.”
Iams dog food
Iams ProActive Health Chunks comes in a green bag. This well-known brand is sold almost everywhere. Here are the ingredients:
Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken Fat, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Meal, Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Brewer’s Dried Yeast, Salt, Flax Meal, Fish Oil, Caramel, Choline Chloride, Minerals, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins, DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract
Nature’s Variety dog food
Nature’s Variety is marketed as a natural dog food, so I was not surprised it contains higher-quality ingredients. Here’s what’s listed in Nature’s Variety Prairie lamb meal & oatmeal medley:
Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Barley, Canola Oil, Menhaden Fish Meal, D-calcium Phosphate, Ground Flaxseeds, Montmorillonite Clay, Natural Lamb Flavor, Alfalfa Meal, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins, Sea Salt, Minerals, Lamb Liver, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Apples, Carrots, Peas, Freeze Dried Lamb, Freeze Dried Lamb Hearts, Freeze Dried Lamb Liver, Pumpkin seeds, Ground Lamb Bone, Butternut Squash, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Salmon Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Olive Oil, Duck Eggs, Pheasant Eggs, Quail Eggs, Sage, Clove, Rosemary Extract
Innova Evo dog food
Innova Evo dog food is an all-natural, meat-based, grain-free dog food. I chose this food because some readers mentioned this is what they feed their dogs. Here are its ingredients:
Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Herring Meal, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Egg, Apples, Tomatoes, Potassium Chloride, Carrots, Vitamins, Garlic, Cottage Cheese, Minerals, Alfalfa Sprouts, Ascorbic Acid, Dried Chicory Root, Direct-Fed Microbials, Vitamin E Supplement, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract
Sounds good to me. I think I’ll have some! I can pronounce all the ingredients, and I don’t have to look up what they are.
Switching dog foods
If you plan on switching your dog to a healthier food, gradually switch foods because this is easier on the dog’s digestive system. Slowly increase the amount of new food as you decrease the amount of old food.
If you want to save money, you could always feed your dog a high-quality brand mixed with a lower-quality brand. That way the dog is still getting all the good nutrients. I know I eat a variety of healthy and less-healthy meals myself. You may also want to look into making homemade raw dog food meals for your dog.
Take a look at the dog food ingredients from the brand of food you buy, and let me know if it meets your expectations.
Remember, you have until Wednesday to win some free samples from Natural Pet Center by leaving a comment on my natural dog food post saying what kind of food your dog eats.
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About 3 months ago I put Chels on the cheapest brand we have (they had run out of hers) smells like dead fish… and its the first time shes put on weight so Im not even lookin at the label at the moment…
I did read that by-products meant meat that abbatoirs rejected for human consumption, those with sores, cancer etc… makes ya wonder whats goin into dog food eh
Our dogs get a casserole each with cooked meat, rice, salt and vegetables (usually carrots and garlic). To this, I’ll add a box of sardines if the meat has a lot of bones and not so much flesh; plus fresh goat milk. All my dogs are crazy about fresh goat milk… I used to buy dog candy in Sweden and bring with me down here, but having read what’s in them (and the lack of natural products), I’d rather just dry pieces of liver myself.
As I had mentioned before, Gus is so high maintenance that he must have his food cooked every day. This means my lucky dog gets human food prepared for his big, sensitive tummy. It’s all worth it though!
Wow, I’d fight her dogs for fresh goat milk!! My two munchkins are currently eating the Cosco small-dog dry food, with a kelp supplement tablet crumbled into it and a splash of olive oil. I used to have pepper on a dry food from her vet that had venison and potato, which she did beautifully on, but it **costs so much** that I just feel like jerk paying for it! Plus with the 2nd dog now it just is way too much moolah for that stuff.
Sooo, we transitioned slowly to the Costco food, which has a pretty good rundown on the label, I should take another look at it since reading this post, that’s for sure. Seems to be agreeing with both dogs.
I walk dogs with my neighbor who cooks all the food for her two Aussies – she makes a meat loaf for them with carrots, chicken, etc and wow does it smell good. She makes a fresh batch every few days.
Thank you so much for this post! Trying to find a dog food that isn’t completely disgusting, that the dogs like, and won’t break the bank is a real challenge. Thank you for your research on the topic.
You’re welcome, Amy!
Great article and right on track! The guaranteed analysis on 95% of the food labels you will read DO NOT post carbohydrate content. Typically Guaranteed analysis will only list crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber and moisture. You need to contact most manufacturers directly to find the carbohydrate content of the food. Of all the grain free foods, Innova EVO claims to have the lowest over-all carbohydrate content in dry pet food.
If we can be of any help with nutrition or wellness questions, please let us know… you can follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/PetsLovePFD) or friend us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/petfooddirect).
Thanks!
I never look at the guaranteed analysis. I look at the ingredients since they are listed in order of weight anyway. But that is good to know! Thanks!
I have a worksheet so you can grade your dog’s food. It is relatively easy, adding and subtracting points for the ingredients that ae in the food. I’d be happy to share it with you, Lindsay!
I’d love to see that!
Hi Christie! Is that worksheet you created yourself or is is published somewhere? I’m interested in that too. Lindsay, would it be something you could post?
Absolutely! If I try the worksheet, I’ll post info about it.
I’ll get the worksheet to you, Lindsay. I actually found it on-line, however I can’t remember where!
Great! Thank you!
Evo is the food Biggie eats when he’s not on raw. If I had to feed him kibble I’d feed Evo – but even Evo is a step down from the raw. And, I found out the hard way that corn doesn’t agree with the big one’s tummy.
Ha. “The big one.” Yes, I agree that raw is the healthiest way to eat for both dogs and humans as long as it is done properly.
Lindsay – did you receive the worksheet that I emailed to you on Sunday?
Yes! Thank you!
Great post! So many dog owners trust that the food they conveniently purchase while at the grocery store (or even petco) is actually quite bad for the dog.
My two dogs visit a holistic vet who is very into making sure the diet is right to avoid any health problems down the line. He gave me a pamphlet on dog foods and how many actually have ingredients that contain … DOGS! “Animal by-product” literally means animal and it means ANY animal, including dog meat and meats that are considered not safe for humans to eat.
I feed them Solid Gold dry food and natural balance low ingredient diet wet foods because one of them has terrible food allergies.
Major typo in what I just posted, *So many dog owners trust that the food they conveniently purchase while at the grocery store (or even petco) is actually quite GOOD for their dog.
Yeah, you are SO right. People just trust that a food is good because it comes from Petco or PetSmart or because their vet said it’s OK. Boy are they off.
GREAT post! It makes me so sad when people don’t pay attention to dog nutrition. I have to bit my tongue whenever I see someone with Iams or Purina in their cart at the super market. Even Science Diet is no good! Vets only recommend it because most get kick backs from the company.
Yeah. One way to look at it is that you are saving money in the long run by buying healthier food. Cheaper food will be more likely to lead to diseases and obesity. Science Diet is not a food I would recommend either. And I have also heard many vets say that any dry dog food is fine, I’ve had vets recommend all three of those brands.
Hi…
Great breakdown of the common food ingredients in many of the popular commecially made dog foods. It’s amazing how rare it is that I see someone reading the food labels of dog food.
Because of the recent illnesses that have occurred due to contaminated dog food, I have startd to make dog food at home.
It’s much easier than you would think and I’m satisfied with the knowledge that I know exactly what my dog is eating.
Phil
I’ve heard of others who do this. For some, it works out great because they have done their research like you have. For many others, they end up with sick dogs or dogs lacking certain nutrients because you can’t just feed a dog raw hamburger and call it good.
yes i prefer just to make my own to its stupid to put all this in dog food no wonder why they get sick and have problems i rather give my dogs raw hamburger meet instead of this becuase heck they even put a weed killer im thier so thank you so much about makin me see the importance of checkin the labels and do you no what dog food that dosent have it
Look for natural or organic brands of dog food. Some of the brands I trust include Canidae, Evo, Innova, Solid Gold, Nature’s Variety and Nutrisource – but there are many others. You likely won’t find these brands at the usual grocery store or a Target or Wal-Mart. Petco and PetSmart carry maybe one natural brand. They seem to be getting better, though. I shop at a local natural pet food store in my area called Natural Pet Center. Perhaps there is somewhere similar in your area.