I was quite happy with the food my Senior Labrador with allergies had been using. My mutt is a bit of a picky eater but requires no special variety of hypoallergenic, weight management or sensitive tummy food.

As I see all the new entries to the market, I find myself standing in the aisles reading the back of bags to see what the differences are. There have been quite a few timely articles in my professional journals, which take no advertising, about pet foods. The journals periodically compare dog foods, dog training equipment, toys etc. Below, I have shared a few of the most important criteria in comparing dog foods.

What SHOULD be in your bag of dog food:

Lots of animal proteins in the top of the ingredients list
Ingredients are listed by weight, so you want to see top-quality animal protein at the top of the list; i.e. the first ingredient named should be chicken, lamb etc.

Named animal protein
"Meat" is an example of a low quality protein source of dubious origin. Chicken, beef, lamb and other named meats indicate higher quality food. Animal protein "meals" should also be from named species (look for "beef meal" as opposed to "meat meal")

An animal protein meal in a supporting role when a fresh meat is first on the ingredient list
A protein meal should augment the animal protein in the diet. Fresh (or frozen) meat is mostly water by weight, so if a fresh meat is first on the list, another source of animal protein should be listed in the top three or so ingredients. Fresh or frozen meats do not contain enough protein to be used as the sole animal protein source in a dry food: they contain as much as 65 to 75 percent water and only 15 to 25 percent protein. In contrast, animal protein "meals" meat, bone, skin and connective tissue that's been rendered and dried contain only about 10 percent moisture, and as much as 65 percent protein.

Whole vegetables, fruits and grains
Fresh, unprocessed food ingredients contain nutrients in all their natural complex glory, with their fragile vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants intact. Don't be alarmed by one or two food "fractions" (a by product of the natural ingredient, like tomato pomace or rice bran) especially if they are low on the ingredients list. But it's less than ideal if there are several fractions present in the food, and/or they appear high on the ingredients list.

A "best by" date that's at least six months away
A "best by" date that's 10 or 11 months away is ideal; it means that the food was made very recently. Since we are at the mercy of the port and the pirates, some of us stock up on the only foods that our dogs tolerate. You can use a bag of dog food past its "best by" or expiration date as long as the food is kept clean and dry and there are no signs of bugs, vermin etc. But dog food close to or past its expiration date will likely not contain the stated levels of vitamins. Vitamins are the first thing to deteriorate when stored for long periods.

What SHOUDN'T be in your bag of dog food.

Meat by-products or poultry-by products. Higher value ingredients are processed and stored more carefully (kept clean and cold) than lower-cost ingredients (such as by-products) by the processors.

A "generic" fat source- such as "animal fat." This can literally be fat of animal origin, including restaurant grease and fats derived from road kill. "Poultry fat" is not as suspect as "animal fat", but "chicken fat" or "duck fat" is better (and traceable)

Added sweeteners.
Dogs, like humans enjoy the taste of sweet foods. Sweeteners effectively persuade dogs to eat foods made up mainly of grain fragments and containing little healthy animal protein.

Artificial colors, flavors or preservatives i.e. (BHA, BHT or ethoxyquin).
The color of the food does not matter to your dog, it's a marketing ploy aimed at humans. Dog food should be flavored with healthy meats and fats which is enticing enough to a dog. Natural preservatives, such as toccopherols (forms of vitamin E), vitamin C and rosemary extract, can be used. But note that natural preservatives do not preserve foods as long as artificial preservatives, so owners should always check the" best by" date on the label and look for relatively fresh products.

Amy L. Rapp