How do you usually choose dog food? Let me guess. Many people may be the pet shop said, look at the price is not expensive to buy home, or on the package of dog head and their own breed, see the price is not expensive to buy home. It may be more casual when feeding, like a buffet. As long as the dog still wants to eat, unlimited. Anyway, the price is not expensive, affordable! If this is the way to keep a dog, the dog is really a little pathetic. Dog food, as the most important food for dogs, is really worth every owner's careful choice and feeding. If you don't want the dog to get sick and become fat or thin into a bamboo pole. At least learn to look at the dog food packaging bag, once learned, you will not be easy to be pit.

Pet food in the United States is regulated by FDA, AAFCO and states. However, AAFCO provides only minimum standards, and in fact, manufacturers often choose unregulated ingredients to communicate with consumers more efficiently and make brands.
AAFCO's website states that "it's not uncommon to label people's preferences", that is, some manufacturers are more keen to cater to their owners' preferences than to meet the needs of their pets. So, instead of looking at hype advertising. It's better to know the ingredients and nutrition yourself. After all, the ingredients of big brand dog food are not necessarily big brand
Find the "nutritional analysis," the percentage of protein, fat, and fiber. Considering the different moisture content of dog food is an important indicator. So you can only remove the moisture and then compare.
The moisture content of different pet foods varies greatly, ranging from 6% to 80%. Canned food certainly has more moisture than dry food, so it is necessary to make a strict comparison. You have to remove moisture from different foods first.
First, calculate the amount of dry grain, and subtract the moisture percentage by 100%. In this example, moisture accounts for 10%, so dry grain accounts for 100% - 10% = 90%. Then the percentage of protein, fat, etc. was transformed from 26% to 28% (calculation process: 26% / 90% = 28%). In this example, there is little difference before and after the transformation, because the moisture only accounts for 10%. If there is more water, such as 40%, then the dry grain will account for 60%, then 26% will be 43%. (calculation process: 26% / 60% = 43%).
All in all, in this case, it's 28% protein. Of course, another kind of food should be converted in the same way. Fat and fiber are also used in the same way.
Note that percentage is not everything, protein content is 28%, but where is the source? It may come from the beak and foot of chicken. That means you have to look at the ingredient list. The ingredients of pet food are sorted by quantity, and half of the ingredients are written in the top five places (the more you write, the higher the content). Ideally, the top five will have meat, as well as corn and wheat. They also form the basic form of dog food granules.
Even AAFCO admits that "the economy influences the choice of raw materials". "Protein may not be a simple protein, and some amino acids may not be absorbed by pets.".
Manufacturers may play word games, such as dividing a component into several parts and writing them separately to make them look more colorful visually. Or try to make you ignore ingredients your dog doesn't need. Human edible grade, i.e. no animal by-products, no additives. But some animal by-products are also good. For example, liver is a good source of amino acids.
If necessary, you can contact the manufacturer and ask what "animal by-products" refer to. But it does not rule out the by-product of the manufacturer today. Tomorrow is the by-product again, but your dog will find it!
In terms of cost performance, the density of different foods will change with puffing, and the weight units of different dog foods may be different. Some use kg and some use pound, which makes the comparison more difficult. But you can convert it into one unit.
It is very important to confirm whether the nutrition is up to the standard, which will affect the dog's health. If the dog food does not provide all the necessary nutrition, look for the following words on the package: "the product formula meets the nutrition index after AAFCO certification" and "the product provides comprehensive and balanced nutrition".
Please choose the dog food suitable for your dog's current life stage. This will also be written on the package, such as puppies / adult dogs. In addition, we may have to consider the factors of body shape and variety, but we should pay attention to that if the conditions are too broad, it is suspicious.
Refer to the feeding guide, even if you are confident and know how to feed. But when you change the brand, you still have to look at it carefully to ensure scientific feeding. But! No matter how sophisticated the manufacturer is, you need to look at your dog's needs and preferences.
If you are not sure, talk to a veterinarian, especially about the growth of puppies or the birth of a female dog. If necessary, visit the veterinarian regularly.
You should also pay attention to calories when feeding. There are great differences in calories among different types of food. Calories are especially important for developing, overweight or skinny dogs. It is generally expressed by "how many kilocalories per kg"
Be alert to advertising, such as natural, organic and high quality. These marketing terms are not officially defined. Although we hope that all foods can be natural, in fact, it may just be without additives, and the same is true for high quality food. In fact, it doesn't mean much
After all, the history of development is here. Foreign control is indeed strict, but the right to choose, always in their own hands ~ above, I hope to help you