Dog Food Ingredients: Understanding the Protein Source
All dog foods, good or bad, must have a protein source in the formula. Higher quality foods will have actual meat as the protein source, while lower quality foods will have more of the protein coming from cheap grain sources such as soybean meal and corn.
When choosing a food for your dog, much of the terminology is confusing. Some labels list a “meat”, such as chicken, while others list a “meat meal”, such as chicken meal. They may also list a “meat by-product”, or it may have little to no meat at all.
So, how do you determine which is the best choice? Here, I will go through some definitions and explain the differences between each dog food protein group and show which is best.
The AAFCO definition of “meat” is the clean flesh derived from slaughtered mammals and is limited to skeletal muscles, tongue, diaphragm, heart and esophagus. It may or may not have the overlying skin and fat with it.
To keep processing equipment from clogging up, only about 35% of the formula can be fresh meat. That means the remainder of the protein has to come from another source. Fresh meat is approximately 60% water, so of the 35% raw meat you start out with, almost 60% is lost in the manufacturing process. So the total protein from “meat” ends up being less than it appears.
The definition of meat meal is the rendered product from mammal tissues, but can not include blood, hair, hoof, horn and hide… it goes on with a lot of technical jargon that I won’t bore you with. Granted, meat meal has a broader definition and could contain other than just skeletal muscle, but it is still a more concentrated source of protein because following rendering it is only about 10% water. Meat meal can be used in much higher percentages in the formula, so there is less need for grain proteins.
Since the contents of the dog food is listed on the label in order of the weight of each before processing, the water content of fresh meat can mislead the consumer as to how much meat is actually in the formula.
While grains are not necessarily bad, I personally feel that they should be limited in a dog food formula since dogs are, by nature, primarily a meat eater. Dogs do have a need for some fiber, but about 4% is sufficient in a good dog food.
When evaluating a dog food, I prefer meat meal, whether chicken, lamb, turkey, etc, to be the first ingredient. If meat is the first ingredient, meat meal needs to be second. Along with meat meal as the first ingredient, there needs to be another meat protein source somewhere in the next four ingredients. I do not like to see any corn, soy or wheat product, or any by-product of them in a dog food. They each have their own issues that dogs don’t need.
Look for a high quality dog food from a reputable pet manufacturer that sells primarily to pet stores, not big box stores and read your label carefully. Look at the additional articles on dog food ingredients to avoid.