Why are dog food ingredients lists so hard to figure out? It’s like some secret language. But you need to learn to translate your ingredients in your dog food. If you don’t, you could be feeding your best friend food that prevents optimal health and even causes some health problems down the road.

Sometimes is seems like you need a degree to figure out all the ingredients in your dog food. What do all these terms mean? The dog food companies basically tell you not to worry about it – they will take care of your beloved pet. But consumers got a terrible wake-call with the massive pet food recalls over the last few years. They may know what is best for our dogs, but that is not what they are giving us. Thankfully, more organic and all-natural pet foods have been springing up, giving us healthier dog food choices.

What you need to do is learn how to compare your dog food to other brands. There are a couple of tips to help in deciphering the dog food ingredients label:

1. The first 5 – 10 ingredients listed are the majority of the food. If they are not quality ingredients, it is not a quality pet food.

2. Look for the chemical preservatives BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin. These preservatives have been banned from use in human food as they are linked to kidney and liver damage. However, they are still used in inferior dog foods. Look instead for natural preservatives, like vitamins C and E (ascorbic acid and tocopherols).

3. A trick some dog food companies use, legally, is to break up one ingredient into several “sub-ingredients,” thus moving these ingredients lower in the ingredient list. This is especially true for inferior grains. For example, instead of seeing “corn” listed, you might see corn bran, corn gluten, and corn flour, even though they are all derived from corn. Now, another ingredient that weighs more than either of these sub-ingredients, will be listed before these.

4. We all want to see a meat listed as a top 2 ingredient. That way we know our dog will get the good protein he needs. But really, you want to see the meal of that meat listed instead. If a meat is listed by itself, then its weight is measured complete with liquid. That makes it very easy to put as a #1 or #2 ingredient. But when the food is actually processed, the liquid is removed, so weight-wise, it might actually fall down to #3 or #4. A meat meal is weighed after the meat has been dehydrated. So you get more of the animal protein and nutrients in the meat meal than you would just the meat.

The moral of the story? Learn to read the labels to see what you are actually feeding your dog. Your current dog food may be great, or it may be the worst thing for your dog. Don’t just rely on enticing packaging showing a delicious chicken and lots of fresh beautiful fruits and vegetables. Although we like to think that is what we are feeding our dogs, the reality is, most dog foods are nothing like this!

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