WHAT IS THE BEST DOG FOOD?

Are you aware of what it is your feeding your dog when you feed it branded dog food?

The commercial production of canning meat and cereal food for dogs began in the 1930’s by the Chappel brothers. Since then a lot has changed and legislation has been introduced to regulate and provide rules and guidance to the industry to help them fulfill their obligations to make safe pet food. www.pfma.org

According to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association the Pet Food Industry is “responsible, efficient and at the forefront of Technology.”

The key statement in this article for me however is, “This means that it can minimize the use of resources whilst maximizing the safety standards.”

If you look at the PFMA web site it is worth noting that it has many articles about Legislation, Sourcing of Raw Materials and Animal By Product Regulations. On the face of it the industry does seem to be a responsible industry. However the devil is in the detail and just like human foods there is good nutritional food and there is fast food. Fast food like your MacDonalds and Pizza Huts provide safe edible foods which wont do you any harm, however we wouldn’t want to live solely on fast foods mainly because of their lack of nutritional value and our bodies, health etc would eventually suffer. The same can be said for cheap dog foods. Although they meet industry standards, some dog foods are like feeding your dog big Mac’s every day.

To highlight the nutritional differences in some of the foods readily available in the high street shops and on the internet I have looked at three different brands of dog food and made some comparisons as follows.

The following compares the ingredients across three different types of Dog food readily available in high street stores and or the Web.

The three dog foods I have chosen are

Hi Life Pet, a meat based moist complete food

Pedigree Complete, a dry complete food

Winalot Canned Meat, a tinned meat food.

The first Dog food I looked at was Winalot Canned meat. The first ingredient was Meat and Animal derivatives 27%, which the label claimed contained at least 14% Meat and 4% Lamb. The term Animal Derivatives can be found on many Pet Food labels. According to best-dog-food-review.com, it can be sourced from any animal, and are usually “derived from the undesirable parts such as the heads, feet and guts”

Then it was Vegetables which had at least Peas 4% and Potatoes 4%. Potatoes the dog-review states is a high quality carbohydrate and is a good alternative to Rice.

The next ingredient is Cereal. Normally speaking Cereals are a good carb source that provides fibre. However like most things, you get what you pay for and Cereals are no different. Named cereals tend to be more expensive but a higher quality ingredient. But where the label just says ‘Cereals’ this tends to mean that the manufacturer can pick and choose which grain is cheaper at the time of purchase. Meaning there could be batch differences to the make up of the food. Cereals tend to be used for their bulking agent and less for their nutritional value. This value can change from batch to batch and it can be difficult for dog owners who have dogs with Allergies to know exactly what is in the food.

The fact that Meat and Animal derivatives were the first ingredient on the list suggests that this is the ingredient with the largest quantity of the recipe which is a positive. However Animal derivatives is normally made up of all the bits of ANY animal that has not been passed for human consumption. The bits no body wants. Interestingly you will see from the spreadsheet the amount of food a 20 kilo the manufacturer recommends is 3.2 cans per day, which is equivalent to 1.28kg. the latest pricing from ASDA is £1.37 per kilo for a can of Winalot.

This means feeding a 20 kilo dog for a week on Winalot would cost £12.28.

The next food I looked at was Pedigree Complete. A ‘Dry Food’.

Pedigree Complete Nutrition (Adult)

Ingredient list:
Ground yellow corn, meat and bone meal, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, animal fat (preserved with bha/bht), wheat mill run, natural poultry flavor, rice, salt, potassium chloride, caramel color, wheat flour, wheat gluten, vegetable oil, vitamins (choline chloride, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate [source of vitamin e], l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate [source of vitamin c*], vitamin a supplement, thiamine mononitrate [vitamin b1], biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement [vitamin b2], vitamin d3 supplement, vitamin b12 supplement), trace minerals (zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide).

The first ingredient on this list is Corn. Which means this is the largets quantity ingredient. It should be Meat. Corn is a difficult grain for dogs to digest and can be the cause of food allergies and Yeast infection problems in some dogs.

The generic terms ‘Meat and bone meal’ are low quality meat product for which it is impossible to determine the source. It is much better if the Meat contents are named like Chicken, Lamb, Beef etc.

Corn appears a second time as corn gluten meal. The AAFCO definition of corn gluten meal is “the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm”. In plain English, what’s left after all the nutritious bits have been removed.

The next ingredient is by-products. It is impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products and these are usually products that are of such low quality as to be rejected for use in the human food chain, or else are those parts that have so little value that they cannot be used elsewhere in either the human or pet food industries. The AAFCO definition of chicken by-product meal is “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.”

Animal Fat is the next ingredient and is a necessary part of a dogs diet. But there is a wide margin of quality of the types of animal fat used from not only manufacturer to manufacturer but from batch to batch within the same manufacturer. Once again some manufacturers choose not to name the animal fats used. It is these unnamed ingredients that should alert the dog owner when choosing the right dog food for his pet. In this mix the animal fat is preserved using bha/bht. These preservatives are believed to be carcinogenic, and banned from use in human food. Fat contains Linoleic acid (Omega 6). Which affects the dogs coat and skin. Generally speaking the higher the Linoleic acid the better. At least more than 3% according to Dog-food-review

In summary the ingredients of Pedigree Complete would appear to be low in meat content, low quality grains and contains meat and fat products of unidentifiable sources which have been preserved with carcinogenic preservatives.

As for the cost, according to the manufacturers feeding guide a 20 kilo adult dog should get 3 ½ cups per day. Which is the equivalent of 0.64 kilos.

The latest prices from Asda are £2.24 per kilo. This calculates to a daily cost of £1.42 per day and £9.96 per week. Considerably less than the Winalot canned meat.

The last food I looked at was a meat based ‘moist, complete dog food.

HiLife Pet.

Hi Life Pet comes in a metal foil bag. The manufacturers instructions are that the product should be stored in a clean dry place at room temperature and should be resealed once opened to maintain freshness. The product is at its best when consumed within one week of opening. I have five dogs and tend to buy in bulk, I could see this as a potential logistical challenge. Having to buy numerous bags so that they remain fresh.

As for the contents and quality of the food, the ingredients are as follows.

Meat meals (including Turkey, Chicken, Bacon & Beef). Min 17%. This is a good start. Then Ground Whole Wheat, Soyabean meal, Wheat Bran, Sugar, Fresh Meat min 4%, Fresh Vegetables according to season, min 4%, Poultry Fat, Salt,Poultry Stock and Sunflower oil.

The number one ingredient in this food is a named Meat, the cereal or bulking agent again is Ground Whole Wheat. Meat is mentioned again as Fresh Meat min 4% and the use of Sunflower Oil is a definite plus because it is a high source of Omega 6. The only down side to Sunflower oil is that it tends not to be too palatable, however used along with a named fat, Poultry Fat, works fine.

So, good ingredients,good named sources for the meats and Cereals. The Protein content is listed as 22%, there are also some nutritional additives in the mix.

The biggest surprise to me however was the cost.

The manufacturers recommended amounts for a 20 kilo adult dog are 0.3 kilos per day. Asdas latest price for Hi Life Pet is £2.60 per kilo. This is the most expensive food per kilo price of the three. However the daily amount times the £ per kilo means the calculated daily cost is £0.78, meaning the weekly cost is £5.46. £4 per week cheaper than the Pedigree and nearly £7 a week cheaper than the Winalot canned food. That’s a saving over more than £350 per year per dog compared to the canned meat. As I have five dogs that would equate to £1800 per year.

In reality I have five mixed dogs, two labs of around 30 kilos, a Northern Inuit of say 34 kilos, a cross at 25 kilos and the smallest cross at 15 kilos. The cost saving therefore to moving to Hi Life Pet would be more than £2000 per year.

I am really pleased I carried out this research as my eyes have been opened wide to the huge differences in the quality of the dog foods available and more importantly what I am feeding my own dogs and how it affects their health, looks and energy levels. I now feel more research is required, I only looked at three types and brands of dog food. There are hundreds of different brands out there and finding the right brand and quality will take a bit more digging. But I now know how to make the right choices for my pocket and my Dogs.

Other factors which I will consider in the next question will be

Breed types of my dogs, their activity levels and their ages, on deciding what if any changes to their diets I might make.

See you soon............