| The Web Pet Doctor better information. better care |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Medication Finder |
| Click here to get information on commonly used medication for your pet |
| Ever wondered if you could use aspirin? Common over-the-counter medicines that can be used safely. |
Symptom
Checker
Checker
 | Abdominal pain | |
| Scratching | |
| Vomiting | |
| Diarrhea | |
| Halitosis (bad breath) | |
| Ear odor | |
| Scooting | |
| Limping | |
| Coughing | |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
Reading Pet Food Labels
Walk down any pet food aisle of a grocery store, or even worse, a pet supply store
and you will find dozens upon dozens of choices of food. Even if you know which
brand you want to feed, is it better to feed dry, moist, semi-moist, or canned (and
what do each of those terms mean)? How do you know which diet is best
formulated for your pet? Do you want puppy, adult, senior? What do companies
have to accomplish to label a diet for weight loss? For urinary health? For indoor
cats? The answers may surprise you.
Thankfully, there are only a few rules you need to remember to be able to pick out
the best diet for your pet. There are a lot of great diets available; unfortunately,
there are also A LOT of not-so-great diets. Print out this page and take it with you
the next time you are needing pet food. Here is a quick check-list to follow: each
point will be explained further.
1. Is there an AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officiers) statement
on the label?
2. Does the AAFCO statement say the product is complete and balanced for all life
stages, or does it state a particular life stage such as growth or adult?
3. Is there a claim that feeding trials were performed with this diet?
4. What is the moisture content of the diet?
5. Does the label say Dinner, Platter, Formula, Recipe, Entree, With, Flavor, Stew,
Gravy, Broth, Juice, in Aspic, or in Jelly to describe the type of diet? For example:
Whitefish Dinner in Gravy, or With Beef Flavoring, or Seafood Entree?
First off, you need to know what is best for your dog or cat: what are their individual
nutritional needs?
Let's start with healthy adult dogs with no health problems. The following list
contains the minimum requirements of nutrients required, along with the maximum
of certain minerals, as they can cause devastating side effects if consumed in
larger amounts.
Protein- 18%
Fat- 5%
Calcium- 0.6% (maximum of 2.5%)
Phosphorus- 0.5% (maximum of 1.6%)
Potassium- 0.6%
Sodium- 0.06%
Chloride- 0.09%
Magnesium- 0.04% (maximum of 0.3%)
Iron- 80mg/kg (maximum of 3,000 mg/kg)
Copper- 7.3 mg/kg (maximum of 250 mg/kg)
Manganese- 5 mg/kg
Zinc- 120 mg/kg (maximum of 1000 mg/kg)
Iodine- 1.5 mg/kg (maximum of 50 mg/kg)
Selenium- 0.11 mg/kg (maximum of 2 mg/kg)
Vitamin A- 5000 IU/kg (maximum of 250,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin D- 500 IU/kg (maximum of 5000 IU/kg)
Vitamin E- 50 IU/kg (maximum of 1000 IU/kg)
Thiamine- 1 mg/kg
Riboflavin- 2.2 mg/kg
Pantothenic acid- 10mg/kg
Niacin- 11.4 mg/kg
Pyridoxine- 1 mg/kg
Folic acid- 0.18 mg/kg
Vitamin B12- 0.022 mg/kg
Choline- 1200 mg/kg
Now don't worry, it is not necessary to compare all of these nutrients on every
single bag or can. Most diets will be similar in most of the nutrients, except the first
6. It is important not to have excess protein, fat, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, and
potassium in certain illnesses, especially urinary disease, cardiac disease, kidney
disease, and obesity.
The very first thing you should do is look at the label. Is there a symbol anywhere
on the bag or can that states that this food has been AAFCO certified? If not, DO
NOT buy this diet. AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) sets the
standard for pet foods sold in the United States. They have determined the
minimum and maximum needs of key nutrients. Also, the diet needs to have been
placed through a feeding trial-there are very few companies that perform
these! The trials are the only way to determine if the diet is healthy.
Once you have found a diet that is AAFCO certified and has been through a
feeding trial, you still are not done. If the statement says "...this diet provides
complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages of dogs" (or cats), DO NOT
buy this diet! What this means is, that this diet can be fed to a puppy (or kitten),
and adult dog (or cat), or a senior animal. All 3 stages of life have different
nutritional requirements. Just as a human infant needs to eat different than a
teenager, an 8 week old pet has vastly different needs than a 10 year old pet. Do
not be fooled by that statement-it is a marketing ploy!!!! The statement needs to
delineate if it is for growth, adult, or senior pets. For example..."this diet provides
complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult dogs".
Okay, now you have only a few diets to pick from, as there are not many
companies that go through the motions needed to ensure a diet is healthy. Now do
you pick dry or canned? Look at the nutrition part of the label. See the moisture
(water) content percentage? You need to subtract that from 100%. For example if
the moisture is 78%, then you have 22%-that is the dry matter of the diet. This is
important information because this is the only way to calculate the
amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrate in that diet. For example, let's
calculate the actual contents of the following diet:
Crude Protein: 21%
Crude Fat: 12%
Crude Fiber: 5%
Moisture: 78%
So, subtract 100%-78%= 22%. This is the dry matter. You can only determine fat,
carbohydrate, and protein from solid food, not water! The protein content is
actually 46% (21% x 0.22 (22%); the fat content is 26% (12% x 0.22), and the fiber
content is 11%. While sometimes this can be a good thing (it is always good to
have more fiber), this can also be very misleading in a bad way. This diet has 46%
protein which is not beneficial to most pets, especially dogs or cats with kidney
disease. A diet that is over 1/4th fat is also not good, especially if you have an
overweight pet. However, by just looking at the label and not taking the water
content into consideration, this diet doesn't look too shabby. Unfortunately, it is
one I would not recommend.
and you will find dozens upon dozens of choices of food. Even if you know which
brand you want to feed, is it better to feed dry, moist, semi-moist, or canned (and
what do each of those terms mean)? How do you know which diet is best
formulated for your pet? Do you want puppy, adult, senior? What do companies
have to accomplish to label a diet for weight loss? For urinary health? For indoor
cats? The answers may surprise you.
Thankfully, there are only a few rules you need to remember to be able to pick out
the best diet for your pet. There are a lot of great diets available; unfortunately,
there are also A LOT of not-so-great diets. Print out this page and take it with you
the next time you are needing pet food. Here is a quick check-list to follow: each
point will be explained further.
1. Is there an AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officiers) statement
on the label?
2. Does the AAFCO statement say the product is complete and balanced for all life
stages, or does it state a particular life stage such as growth or adult?
3. Is there a claim that feeding trials were performed with this diet?
4. What is the moisture content of the diet?
5. Does the label say Dinner, Platter, Formula, Recipe, Entree, With, Flavor, Stew,
Gravy, Broth, Juice, in Aspic, or in Jelly to describe the type of diet? For example:
Whitefish Dinner in Gravy, or With Beef Flavoring, or Seafood Entree?
First off, you need to know what is best for your dog or cat: what are their individual
nutritional needs?
Let's start with healthy adult dogs with no health problems. The following list
contains the minimum requirements of nutrients required, along with the maximum
of certain minerals, as they can cause devastating side effects if consumed in
larger amounts.
Protein- 18%
Fat- 5%
Calcium- 0.6% (maximum of 2.5%)
Phosphorus- 0.5% (maximum of 1.6%)
Potassium- 0.6%
Sodium- 0.06%
Chloride- 0.09%
Magnesium- 0.04% (maximum of 0.3%)
Iron- 80mg/kg (maximum of 3,000 mg/kg)
Copper- 7.3 mg/kg (maximum of 250 mg/kg)
Manganese- 5 mg/kg
Zinc- 120 mg/kg (maximum of 1000 mg/kg)
Iodine- 1.5 mg/kg (maximum of 50 mg/kg)
Selenium- 0.11 mg/kg (maximum of 2 mg/kg)
Vitamin A- 5000 IU/kg (maximum of 250,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin D- 500 IU/kg (maximum of 5000 IU/kg)
Vitamin E- 50 IU/kg (maximum of 1000 IU/kg)
Thiamine- 1 mg/kg
Riboflavin- 2.2 mg/kg
Pantothenic acid- 10mg/kg
Niacin- 11.4 mg/kg
Pyridoxine- 1 mg/kg
Folic acid- 0.18 mg/kg
Vitamin B12- 0.022 mg/kg
Choline- 1200 mg/kg
Now don't worry, it is not necessary to compare all of these nutrients on every
single bag or can. Most diets will be similar in most of the nutrients, except the first
6. It is important not to have excess protein, fat, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, and
potassium in certain illnesses, especially urinary disease, cardiac disease, kidney
disease, and obesity.
The very first thing you should do is look at the label. Is there a symbol anywhere
on the bag or can that states that this food has been AAFCO certified? If not, DO
NOT buy this diet. AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) sets the
standard for pet foods sold in the United States. They have determined the
minimum and maximum needs of key nutrients. Also, the diet needs to have been
placed through a feeding trial-there are very few companies that perform
these! The trials are the only way to determine if the diet is healthy.
Once you have found a diet that is AAFCO certified and has been through a
feeding trial, you still are not done. If the statement says "...this diet provides
complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages of dogs" (or cats), DO NOT
buy this diet! What this means is, that this diet can be fed to a puppy (or kitten),
and adult dog (or cat), or a senior animal. All 3 stages of life have different
nutritional requirements. Just as a human infant needs to eat different than a
teenager, an 8 week old pet has vastly different needs than a 10 year old pet. Do
not be fooled by that statement-it is a marketing ploy!!!! The statement needs to
delineate if it is for growth, adult, or senior pets. For example..."this diet provides
complete and balanced nutrition for maintenance of adult dogs".
Okay, now you have only a few diets to pick from, as there are not many
companies that go through the motions needed to ensure a diet is healthy. Now do
you pick dry or canned? Look at the nutrition part of the label. See the moisture
(water) content percentage? You need to subtract that from 100%. For example if
the moisture is 78%, then you have 22%-that is the dry matter of the diet. This is
important information because this is the only way to calculate the
amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrate in that diet. For example, let's
calculate the actual contents of the following diet:
Crude Protein: 21%
Crude Fat: 12%
Crude Fiber: 5%
Moisture: 78%
So, subtract 100%-78%= 22%. This is the dry matter. You can only determine fat,
carbohydrate, and protein from solid food, not water! The protein content is
actually 46% (21% x 0.22 (22%); the fat content is 26% (12% x 0.22), and the fiber
content is 11%. While sometimes this can be a good thing (it is always good to
have more fiber), this can also be very misleading in a bad way. This diet has 46%
protein which is not beneficial to most pets, especially dogs or cats with kidney
disease. A diet that is over 1/4th fat is also not good, especially if you have an
overweight pet. However, by just looking at the label and not taking the water
content into consideration, this diet doesn't look too shabby. Unfortunately, it is
one I would not recommend.