This looks like a dog’s dinner - Vol. 1
Diet in dogs is complex. In fact, if one is willing to do 4000 hours of study, certified veterinary technicians can specialize in the field. Dr. Google, or the people who work for the dog food company should not be your sole source of information. So I will help dispel some of the many, many, many myths about canine nutrition.
Dogs are not obligate carnivores. An obligate carnivore (such as a cat) is unable to make one or more of the amino acids required to live - they must obtain it from meat and ONLY from meat. Dogs can synthesize all of the amino acids their body requires regardless of the protein source they eat.
These common terms have no meaning:
Natural
Human grade*
Clean
Premium
Organic
Holistic
Biologically appropriate
Limited ingredient diet
These words mean literally whatever the dog food company says they mean because there are no AAFCO standards for any of these terms. *Special note is made of the use of the term “human-grade” as many loving dog owners believes this means their food is made of the same stuff they put on their own plates.
Grain-free usually does not mean no carbohydrate source. Grain-free food often contains legumes, peas, potatoes, yucca, etc.
Dogs use carbohydrates in exactly the same way their humans do. Carbohydrates are a source of rapid glucose - particularly useful to ancient dogs who were required to run down their prey.
The first ingredient on a dog food label is not the most plentiful. The first ingredient is the one that is heaviest by weight. Often, dog food manufacturers will use a meat source pumped full of salt water to bulk up the weight of the food so they can list it first. This use of salt water is one thing the FDA is investigating as a possible source of increased cardiomyopathy in dogs on grain free diets.
“Named meat meals” are not dying, diseased, euthanized or road killed animals. They are rendered bits of the animal after human food has been processed. Chicken meal, for example, is generally a whole chicken carcass, after thighs and breasts have been removed. NOTE: this applies only to “named” meat meals. If the term is “animal meal” or “meat meal” then any meat source can be used at all - including those mentioned above.
Dogs descended from wolves - about 130,000 years ago. This means that dogs have been living in the company of humans many, many millennia. As they adapted to our ways, so did their diet. The oldest domesticated dogs were often fed cast off scraps from the human tribes they followed.
Ash is not a “filler”. Ash consists of all the vitamins and minerals in a food source after everything else is burned away. This term is rarely used these days because it has become demonized but it simply is a shorthand way of saying vitamins and minerals.
Expensive food can be made with horrific ingredients. In the past, a “boutique” raw dog food company was using road killed, euthanized and rancid meats in their raw dog food product - and selling it at a steep cost as “premium” dog food. The company name is withheld but when they were in operation their address was the same as a road kill disposal company. The issue here is that although it is illegal to use these items in dog food, no one is really policing it at the USDA.
So how do you protect your dog?
Look for a food which is manufactured in a human food processing plant. There are very few of these but two examples are The Honest Kitchen and Sunday.
Look at the brands recall history, ingredient sourcing, and manufacturing plant. As an example, Acana dog food is manufactured in a processing plant that does not manufacture any other animal feed. Acana has never been involved in any recall. (This is likely about to change with the Acana aquisition by Mars Pet Food Division)
Ask your veterinarian for assistance in developing a whole, home cooked diet recipe.
Remember that what you spend on a food has little bearing on the food’s worth. This website has extensive information and dog food ratings which may help you make an informed buying decision. dog food advisor