Should Your Dog Be Eating That? Understanding the Ingredients in Dog Food

With people becoming more and more aware of what they are putting into their bodies, it is not surprising when they begin to wonder about the ingredients in dog food. After researching this ingredient list, most owners feel compelled to create homemade meals for their dogs. So, what is really in your dog’s food?
 

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The primary ingredient in dog food is animal byproducts. Approximately 50 percent of a slaughtered animal is lean muscle tissue and is considered suitable for human consumption. The remainder of the animal is ground up for use in many other industries and products. Animal byproducts can be anything from bones to organs and many other parts in between. Because there is such a variety in what actually makes up the byproducts in each batch of dog food, quantitative nutritional values are inconsistent. There is not much regulation concerning the ingredients in dog food, and although uncommon now, road kill was once considered a usable animal byproduct. Animals labeled as “4D” (dead, dying, diseased, disabled) are still allowed in dog food and were only recently banned for human consumption.

Grains and vegetables are also listed in the ingredients of your pet’s bag of food. While it sounds healthy, it is actually no better than the animal byproducts. These ingredients are considered unfit for human consumption as well and often do not contribute much nutrient-wise. Over the years, the ratio of plant material to meat in dog food has increased, which has led to some nutritional deficiencies that had to be addressed. Cereal grain and starchy vegetables are commonly used ingredients in dog food. Their main purpose is to give the food texture, but also increase the calorie content while providing a cheap source of energy. Gluten meal, or high protein extract, is often used as a way to increase the amount of protein because it costs less than using animal sourced protein. Corn gluten meal is the most commonly found meal within dog food ingredients. Another common ingredient is wheat gluten, which is used to give the food bits their shape and also thickens gravy. Typically, a dog food that contains vegetable proteins is a lesser quality brand of dog food.

The low carbohydrate brands of dog food would seem to be a better choice, but in fact, have similar nutritional quality to the other types of food and tend to be higher in fat. The grains are often simply substituted with various types of starchy vegetables.

Most all dry dog foods are sprayed with fat to increase their appeal to the dogs and are then preserved with either natural or synthetic preservatives in order to ensure desired shelf life. Dogs need to eat a mixture of meat, vegetables and grains, just like humans. But, with all of the filler and artificial ingredients that go into a dog’s food, it is not hard to see why many people are switching to homemade meals for their dogs.