How Does Your Dog Food Rate?
Proper pet nutrition has gained interest worldwide lately. With the 2007 mass pet food recall, pet owners are becoming more aware of what they feed their beloved animals. How lucky for our four-footed friends! However, there is a downside. The major pet food companies love to entice us with commercials & ads showing healthy happy dogs...but what are they really advertising? How do the 'grocery' brands really compare to holistic & natural foods? Here is a rough guide widely used to rate foods!
How to grade your pet's food:
Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat -not actual protein source stated such as chicken, lamb, turkey etc) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points for each
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (I.e. "ground brown rice", "brewers rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the meat protein sources are not in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants or preservatives, subtract 3 points for each
8 ) If it contains corn (ground corn, corn gluten, whole grain corn etc) subtract 3points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any added animal fat other than fish or flaxseed oil, subtract 2 points
11) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat or a component of wheat such as gluten, subtract 3 points
14) If it contains "digest" subtract 5 points
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
Extra Credits:
Bonus credit-If the food contains NO grains, add 10 points
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the protein source is meal vs meat, add 5 points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics or prebiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points (these may be hard to determine as many manufacturers of natural holistic food use these products without actually printing the information on the bag)
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables are pesticide-free, add 1 point
Score:
100+ = A+ 94-100=A 86-93 = B 76-85 = C 75 or lower= Failed
