What ingredients should I avoid in dog food

6 Dog Food Ingredients You Should Always Avoid

It can be confusing when trying to work out what food to choose for your dog. Many commercial dog foods have lists of ingredients on them, which can be quite hard to fully understand. How do you know which ones are safe and which ones could be bad for your pet? Today, Breed Advisor takes a look at 6 dog food ingredients you should always avoid feeding your pet.

How is pet food regulated?

FDA

The Food and Drug Administration regulates the manufacture of dog food and treats in America. TheFDAmakes sure that all of the ingredients used in pet food are safe and included for an appropriate reason.

The FDA also stipulates certain information that must be included on the label for pet food, including the name of the product and manufacturer and the proper listing of the ingredients, ordered from most to least in terms of weight.

Some states also insist on further information to be included on packaging, following a model from the AAFCO.

AAFCO

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is a voluntary membership association made up of individuals that regulate the sale and distribution of animal feed. This association also helps to define standard ingredients and nutritional requirements for pet foods.

Products that came with AAFCO approval have a statement on the packaging which confirms the diet is suitable for pets based on their life stage and that nutritional claims made by the manufacturer are true.

This statement should give owners confidence when purchasing their pets food that it meets the standards for which it claims which can be a starting point when looking at which food to purchase.

How to Read an Ingredients List

The list of ingredients on a packet of any food, human or animal, is a legal requirement and tells us what the product contains. Ingredients are ordered in decreasing amounts (based on weight), such that the ones that make up the bulk of the diet are listed first, with the other ingredients following in decreasing order.

It doesnt, however, give us any details on where these ingredients came from, or their quality. There is a risk of over-analyzing these lists without them giving us a huge amount of information.

Types of Ingredients to Avoid and Why

1. Chicken meal vs chicken breast

Some foods contain things like chicken meal which is a concentrated form of protein produced by cooking and drying out chicken meat. This allows it to be ground down into a concentrated form that can be used in dry kibbles.

This product contains a higher quantity of protein than the equivalent amount of fresh chicken breast, yet it doesnt sound quite as appealing. For our pets, this less tasty-sounding ingredient may actually be more nutritious for them, so there is no need to avoid it.

Chicken breast vs chicken meal also doesnt tell us anything about how that chicken was reared and what the quality of the meat was originally.

2. Ingredients Added for Marketing Purposes

A pet food manufacturer might state proudly on the front of the packet that it contains something exciting like venison or blueberries, but you may find that it only makes up a very tiny part of the diet. It also allows them to charge more than a similar food that doesnt contain them. So, consider carefully what these ingredients add in terms of nutrition, and whether they are present in a large enough quantity to have any impact.

3. By-products

By-productsare the parts of animals that are less popular for humans to eat such as the heart, kidneys, and spleen (it does not include hooves, hair, and horn, this is a common misconception). Organs such as these are all perfectly safe to eat and are highly nutritious for our pets. They are high in protein and various vitamins and minerals, so there is no need to avoid them if you see them listed on pet food packaging.

4. Filler ingredients

There is no standard definition as to what filler means, but some people think these are ingredients that are high in starch and low in protein, used to bulk pet food out. However, even carbohydrates have value in your dogs diet so dont rule them out of hand completely. Corn and rice are examples of healthy nutritious fillers, but corn syrup and MSG (monosodium glutamate) are perhaps less good. Choosing a diet with fillers that appear lower down in the ingredient list might also be a good idea, with meat, meat meal, or meat by-products appearing above this.

5. Additives and Preservatives

Some of the ingredients further down the list can sound a bit scary and chemical-like. These tend to be preservatives such as ascorbic acid or butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). Other ingredients are thickeners, conditioning agents, or flavors, like sodium hexametaphosphate or carrageenan.

Even some of the amino acid additives (building blocks of protein) can sound complicated, such as DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, and DL-Tryptophan. However, all of these ingredients are perfectly safe for your dog and will have been approved for use.

6. Avoid known allergens

Grain-free diets are heavily marketed but only dogs that have true allergies need to avoid grain. Dogs are omnivores, which means eating grain is fine for most pets and provides part of their nutrition. Furthermore, there is also evidence suggesting that grain-free diets can contribute to a serious heart condition known asdilated cardiomyopathy, but research into this is ongoing.

But if your pet does have an allergy that has been diagnosed (usually through a veterinary lead food trial), then you should of course avoid diets containing ingredients that may trigger symptoms in your pet. Read the ingredients list carefully when choosing a diet for a dog with allergies, as even foods that state they are chicken or chicken flavored, may for example still contain beef as well. This could cause a flare-up of symptoms if that ingredient is what your dog is sensitive to.

The AAFCO has some useful information on how to furtherinterpret the ingredientslist.

How to choose the right dog food and treats for your dog

1. Choose an AAFCO diet suitable for your dogs life stage

You can narrow down your choices by making sure that you try and purchase AAFCO approved food, and pick a diet that is suitable for the life stage of your pet puppy, adult, or senior.

Also, some dogs with medical conditions will need a diet specifically to help manage this, which your veterinarian will be able to guide you on.

2. Choose a good manufacturer

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) constructed a list ofrecommendationsfor pet owners to use when trying to select a diet. These look into the background, qualifications, and quality control methods of different food manufacturers.

There is a comparison page on thePet Nutrition Allianceswebsite where some of the WSAVAs questions have already been put to manufacturers for you.

3. Decide whether to feed wet or dry food

Consider whether you prefer to feed your pet wet food or dry food (or a combination). Dry foods tend to be easier and less messy to feed than wet foods, but some animals prefer the texture of wet food, so there is no right or wrong answer. Find the best tasting dry dog foods.

4. Decide on your budget

Cost can play a big part in dictating what diet many owners buy. There is a variation in price between different manufacturers which can be confusing when knowing which one to go for.A way of thinking of this is that a budget burger and sirloin steak are both technically meat, but one is a higher quality product than the other.

That being said, dont be lured into a diet just because it contains exciting-sounding ingredients or is extremely expensive. Adding exciting ingredients or buzz words like whole and holistic can drive the price of a food up without adding extra, nutritionally.

5. Beware of exotic ingredients

Dont be lured into a diet just because it contains exciting-sounding ingredients. Whilst things such as flaxseed, kale, or emu sound very appealing to us, they probably dont add much nutritionally for our pets. Whole foods or exotic ingredients may also only appear in minute amounts in the diet, but this still lets the manufacturer advertise how exciting the diet is, as well as charging more.

6. Feed the correct amount

With any diet, you should feed according to the manufacturers guidelines to maintain appropriate body weight. Under or overfeeding your pet can lead to issues. Keep this in mind when buying additional treats and snacks for your pet on top of their normal diet.

What ingredients to look for

As a general rule, a good quality dog food will have animal-based protein ingredients at the top of its list, such as meat, meat meal, and meat by-products. This means the diet contains a good source of protein and lower amounts of other carbohydrate-based ingredients. As well as the ingredients list, remember to always look for AAFCO approval to increase your confidence when choosing your dogs diet.

Conclusion

When purchasing FDA-approved pet food there are no specific ingredients that you need to avoid. All of the ingredients will have been permitted for use in your dogs food and will be safe for him to consume.

Instead, focus on buying a good quality complete diet that is appropriate for his life stage (ideally AAFCO-endorsed) and feed according to packet guidelines to ensure a healthy weight is maintained.

If you are still confused it is worth talking to your veterinarian to see what products they would recommend for your pet.

10 Ingredients to Avoid in Dog Food: Vet-Approved Facts & FAQ

The information is current and up-to-date in accordance with the latest veterinarian research.

Learn more

Many pet owners tend to not read the ingredient labels on their pets food. But more people are starting to become more aware of what should and shouldnt be in dog food. Theyre opting for higher-quality food and shying away from ingredients that arent doing dogs any favors.

Looking at the dog food label can sometimes tell you whats a high-quality ingredient, but other times, it can be difficult to decipher the words or understand what shouldnt be there at all.

Here, we go over 10 ingredients that dont belong in dog food, and we also briefly cover good ingredients.

The 10 Dog Food Ingredients to Avoid

1. Artificial Colors

Adding artificial color to pet food has been a practice used for decades. All it does is make the food look prettier for us dog owners. Obviously, dogs dont care how the food looks just how it smells and tastes.

However, there arehealth concernsassociated with artificial food coloring, including tumors, allergies, and cancer. That said, there is currently no conclusive evidence that artificial food dyes cause cancer, and its not a guarantee that your dog will develop allergies because of artificial colors in their food. If you dont want to worry about it, though, avoid pet food that contains Blue 2, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and caramel color.

2. Artificial Preservatives

Preserving dog food is essential because you dont want the food going rancid too quickly.

Artificial preservatives are what most pet food manufacturers use. The most common ones are ethoxyquin, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), propyl gallate, and tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). They are all quite effective, but there areconcernsabout how these ingredients might affect a dogs health.

3. Meat Not Included Among the First Ingredients

The best dog food has named meat among the first few ingredients. The order in which the ingredients appear tells you how much of it is in the food by weight. If grains or a carb is listed as the main ingredient, the food may be lower quality.

If meat is listed second or third but is otherwise surrounded by carbs, it means the food gets more nutrition from carbohydrates than meat.

Carbs are necessary for your dogs health, but you dont want your dog to have a diet heavier in carbs than protein. So, aim for food that lists whole meat as the first ingredient.

4. Bone and Meat Meal

This ingredient does depend on the kind of food that youre purchasing. High-quality dog food is more likely to have a high-quality meal. But bargain-type dog food will more likely use meals with questionable nutritional value.

When whole meat is used in dog food, much of the weight of the meat is composed of water, which evaporates when cooked. Meals have the water removed before cooking, so its a much higher concentration of protein.

But when you purchase cheap dog food that contains the generic title of meat meal or bone meal, theres no way to tell if its good quality or not. Meat and bone meals dont even tell you what animal they came from, let alone what went into them.

The final verdict is if you know that youre purchasing high-quality dog food containing poultry or a named meal, its usually safe. Otherwise, avoid any food that says it has a non specified meat meal or bone meal.

5. Meat By-Products

Most named by-products, such as chicken by-products, can be healthy additions to your dogs food. These are just the bits and pieces that come from an animal when the meat has been removed. These can include things like bones, tendons, and organ meats, which might not sound too appetizing to us but will provide your dog with nutrients.

But if the by-product isnt named and you see meat by-product or animal by-product on the label instead, you dont know what youre getting, especially if there arent any other whole meats listed. This may mean that these by-products wont provide your dog with the right nutrition.

6. Carrageenan

Carrageenanis extracted from red seaweed and is used as a thickener, most typically in wet dog food. A few studies have shown a link between this ingredient and inflammation, colon cancer, food allergies, and IBD.

The FDA has approved carrageenan for now, but more studies are being done on this ingredient. If youre worried, you can avoid this ingredient in the meantime.

7. Propylene Glycol

Propylene glycol is a moistening agent that can be found in some dry dog foods with a crumbly texture, as well as certain soft dog treats. While the FDA has deemed propylene glycol safe in small amounts, its not recommended in large and frequent amounts. It has been banned in cat food because cats have a more adverse reaction to it. While it might be okay for dogs, you might still want to avoid it.

8. Animal Digest

Animal digest isnt necessarily bad for dogs but not knowing the constituents makes it hard to know for sure. It is used to increase the aroma and flavor of food.

Animal digest is made by using clean meat that is broken down through enzymes, acid, or heat, and turned into a powder or liquid to spray.It does not include things like feathers, horns, hooves, teeth, and hair.

9. Sweeteners

Adding sweeteners, artificial or otherwise, to pet food is unnecessary. Some manufacturers add corn syrup, which adds no nutritional value to your dogs food. Its a high glycemic ingredient that isnt good or needed for dogs.

Artificial sweeteners of any kind, such as saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose, can be dangerous for dogs in large amounts. Xylitol, in particular, is quite toxic for dogs.

10. Sourcing

This isnt an ingredient, but its about ingredients in general. If dog food companies arent transparent about where they source their ingredients, they might be bringing in ingredients from cheap manufacturers in other parts of the world.

Locally sourced food is best. Youre not only supporting your local farmers, but youre also generally guaranteed higher-quality ingredients, which are found in many higher-quality dog foods.

The manufacturing standards in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia are much higher than in many other countries. So, if your dog food doesnt offer any information on where the ingredients came from, try to find a food that does.

Picking the Right Dog Food

Now that you know what to avoid, here are a few tips on what to look for.

Grains

Grain-free food is all the rage but isnt a good thing for all dogs. Unless your dog has a sensitivity to grains and your vet has specifically advised you to put your dog on a grain-free diet, grains are actually healthy additions to dog food.

Limited Ingredients

Most dog food manufacturers know the right balance of vitamins and minerals, which is why so many ingredient lists seem to be long.

Limited-ingredient foods are typically meant for dogs with food allergies and intolerances. If youre in doubt about whats in a dog food, chat with your vet, as they can help you decipher a few of those longer-named ingredients.

Food Allergens

The most common sources of food allergies in dogs tend to be proteins. Beef, chicken, dairy, and eggs are the most common ones.

Meat First

Remember, you want to see meat sources (and named ones, such as chicken meal or deboned chicken) listed within the first three ingredients, preferably in the number-one spot.

Your Dog

Your dog needs food specifically for their needs.

You need to keep the following things in mind when shopping for dog food:

• Age
• Breed
• Weight/Size
• Health
• Activity level
• Any medical conditions
• Your dogs favorite tastes and textures
• Your budget

Also, speak to your vet, especially if your dog has any health issues. They can help you find dog food suitable for your dog.

• Optimize the benefits of your dogs diet with our calorie calculator here.

Final Thoughts

As a general rule, the cheaper the dog food, the cheaper the ingredients. Still, you dont have to break the bank to get food that will be nutritionally balanced and contain the right ingredients.

Now you know more about what should and shouldnt be on the ingredient list when you read a dog food label. If you care about what you put into your body, its probably important to you to know about what goes into your dogs.

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