Thanks to continued research by commercial pet-food producers, the general public knows a lot more about canine nutritional needs and how to help a dog thrive rather than just survive. As you might have suspected, however, not all dog foods are quality products.

Commercial pet foods run the gamut in terms of quality. At the top end of the scale are foods made with highly nutritional, human-grade ingredients and specialized to meet a dog's particular needs. At the low end are those foods that are made with poor sources of protein, lots of filler (which adds quantity to the food but no real nutritional value), and nearly indigestible minerals and vitamins. So, how can you tell if a commercial dog food is nutritious chow or junk food?

Pet food labels can be difficult to decipher, but there are several key points to look for when trying to make sense of what's in a bag. You'll want to read the ingredients list and recognize key words that indicate the quality and quantity of the ingredients. You should also recognize the specific life stage and type of dog for which the food was developed and understand how foods are tested and trialed to meet nutrient profiles.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is an association of state and federal feed officials that serves in an advisory position to state feed officials. Since each state controls its own feed regulations, the AAFCO assists in promoting standard feed regulations throughout the United States with recommended nutritional minimums (and some maximums) for dog foods. The organization also develops methods by which food companies can test their products to prove they have met the AAFCO's nutritional profiles.

Discerning Quality

For starters, when it comes to the dog food ingredient label, you should recognize that there is definitely a difference between “chicken,” “chicken by-product,” and “human-grade chicken.” Obviously, human-grade chicken is the best. It includes meat from the chicken breasts, thighs, organs, or other parts of the chicken that are suitable for human consumption. Additionally, human-grade chicken must meet the standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for feeding, raising, and slaughtering the chickens.

Foods containing chicken by-product may include both digestible and indigestible parts of the chicken, anything from breast meat and organs to chicken bones, claws, feet, and feathers. The amount of indigestible chicken used in the dog food does not have to be identified, which means it is impossible for the consumer to know.

If the ingredient label lists “chicken,” this indicates that chicken meat is used as the primary protein source for the food. The meat does not have to be human-grade, but it must be meat from the animal source specified (such as turkey, beef, lamb, or salmon). Lesser grades of meat will contain some organ meats, such as livers and gizzards, whereas premium grades of meat contain only meat.

Another thing to be aware of is that some pet-food manufacturers change the ingredients and the ratio of these ingredients in their foods. Depending on what is available and the market prices for various ingredients, a manufacturer may vary its pet food ingredients from batch to batch. These foods are said to be “variable formula diets.”

If a food varies from batch to batch, its quality also varies, and this can affect the health of your dog. They're usually a bit more expensive, but fixed formula diets provide consistent quality. Unfortunately, the only way for the consumer to determine if a particular food is a variable or fixed formula diet is to check the ingredients labels on several bags of the food over a period of several months to determine if any changes are being made.

Life Stages

The AAFCO lists nutrition guidelines for only three life stages, two of which are lumped together. The first guideline is for puppies and pregnant or nursing females. The second is for adult dogs. While reading the packaging of a dog food, you will find wording such as, “Complete and balanced nutrition based on AAFCO guidelines for growth and reproduction” or “Complete and balanced nutrition based on AAFCO guidelines for adult maintenance.”

But what about foods that claim to be developed specifically for other life stages, such as the senior dog, the active adult dog, or the less-active mature dog? Are foods developed for large-breed puppies and dogs significantly different than those designed for adult maintenance?

In general, senior foods are more digestible and richer in nutrients to compensate for the senior's decreased abilities to absorb and metabolize foods. Large-breed puppy food tends to be less rich than regular puppy food, to prevent large breeds from growing too quickly and stressing their joints. Large-breed adult dog food usually contains joint supplements to stave off arthritis and may come in larger chunks so it is not accidentally inhaled. Weight-loss foods provide good nutrition with more fill so that a dog can eat the same quantity of food, meet all nutritional needs, and lose weight.

Reputable, quality manufacturers of premium dog foods pour a lot of money into researching the specific nutritional needs of certain subsections of the canine world. The ingredients and supplements involved in a manufacturer's “designer” formulations are proprietary secrets and are not disclosed to the consumer or other manufacturers; however, they are based on available research as well as the manufacturer's own research and feeding trials.

Feeding Trials

Manufacturers can prove that their foods have met the AAFCO's recommended guidelines in one of two ways. The first is to provide a laboratory analysis of the food, showing that it contains the correct amounts of protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. If a food has met the AAFCO's requirements in this way, the packaging will include wording like: “This food meets the AAFCO's nutrient profiles.”

If a food is identified in this way, it has not undergone feeding trials. What this means to you and your shepherd is that the food may have the necessary nutrients; however, they may not be in a highly digestible form and/or the food may not be palatable. (If your dog won't eat it, he can't gain anything from it.)

What you'd like to see on the packaging is a reference to the food being “complete and balanced” and having undergone “animal feeding tests” or “animal feeding trials” using AAFCO procedures. This shows that the dogs in the trial were able to metabolize the nutrients in the food and that the dogs thrived on the food.

Wet, Semimoist, or Dry?

In addition to finding a food with quality ingredients and high digestibility, you'll also need to choose between wet (canned), semimoist (chewy), and dry dog foods. Canned dog foods are very tasty (to dogs). They are also easy to store, and they contain very few, if any, preservatives. As a result, however, these foods cannot be left out in a bowl for more than thirty minutes without risk of turning rancid. They are the most expensive commercial food, and because the food is soft, it doesn't help to keep a dog's teeth clean.

Semimoist foods are chewier than dry dog food. They are stored in bags, have a shorter shelf life than dry foods, and contain more sugars than other foods to keep the morsels soft. These foods often contain food coloring, too, to make them look more like human foods, like T-bone steaks, slices of cheese, and chicken drumsticks. Some dogs have difficulty metabolizing these foods and produce soft stools or more stools as a result.

Dry commercial foods promote healthy teeth and gums. They don't spoil easily and they are the least expensive of the food types. A past complaint about dry foods was that dogs didn't find them too tasty unless they had been fed dry foods as puppies. But due to stiff competition among pet food manufacturers today, palatability seems to be a problem of the past.