Have you looked at the variety of dog food in the markets lately? Browsing over all the bags, they all brag about the great quality of meat they have inside and how healthy the dog food is. But how do you know? You have to learn to decipher the dog food ingredients label to find out.

How do you know what is a healthy dog food though? In reality, what is healthy for one pet isn’t necessarily healthy for another. Certain dogs may have different levels of activity or be in different stages of their life. Others may have a food intolerance or be diabetic. Take all of these into consideration when determining the type of dog food best for your pet.

Now you must figure out the quality of the ingredients used. The proteins are a very important part of a good, quality dog food. They are also a good source of confusion when looking at the ingredients list. Animal proteins can be stated in different ways. Meat, meal, and by-product are the three main categories.

Meat, Meal, or By-product? Meat is the clean flesh derived from an animal. Meal is an ingredient that has been dehydrated and ground. A by-product is what is left after all meat is removed (necks, feet, intestines, undeveloped eggs, etc).

Animal vs. Animal Meal? Which one first? Although most people think that having an animal meat as the first ingredient is a good indicator of a quality dog food, it is very misleading. Yes, you want an identified meat in the first ingredient, but listing a specific meat meal is the best.

Ingredients must be listed in order of weight. Meat still has water in it, meat meal has been dehydrated. Therefore, one pound of meat meal will have more protein and nutrients in it than one pound of meat. When actually making the dog food, the meat will be dehydrated. If they listed the meat after this dehydration, it would fall much lower down the ingredient list.

What Does a Generic ‘Meat’ Mean? All animal meats must be identified on the label. If the food is from a specific animal, such as salmon, it will be stated as ’salmon’. If the food is from an animal class, like fish, then more than one type of that animal could be in the meat – like salmon, tuna, cod – and will labeled as ‘fish’. A generic ‘meat’ or ‘meat meal’ is the absolute worse – it means the actual animal meat cannot be even identified. You could have some cow, goat, fish, geese, etc.

The bottom line is that if a specific animal source cannot be identified, the dog food manufacturer is probably more concerned about their bottom line than the health and well-being of your pet.

There are lots of things to take into consideration when determining what is the healthiest dog food for your dog. Learn more about how to read your dog food ingredients label at the Healthy Dog Food Blog: assisting you in figuring out what makes a healthy dog food.