Do you know what your feeding you dog? have you ever read the back the dog food nutrition label and wonder what it all means? well here is a few tips to help you understand.
The meat content
Meat should be top of the ingredients list to show it’s the main component. Some foods have as little as 4% meat. we would recommend you avoid foods that state they have animal derivatives. Also avoid any foods that mention by products. Animal derivatives are often poor quality food sources. in European law animal derivatives are defined as “All the fleshy parts of slaughtered warm-blooded land animals, fresh or preserved by appropriate treatment, and all products and derivatives of the processing of the carcass or parts of the carcass of warm-blooded land animals”. This gives us little indication to what parts of the animal or in some cases what animal is even being used. We personally at Maisie’s like to know exactly what we are feeding our pets!
Ash level
This shows how much indigestible bone meal is in the food. Try to aim for a low ash level. Diets with high ash levels have larger amounts of indigestible content.
What is a complete dog food?
A complete food contains all that is required to keep your pet fit and healthy. Its a balanced meal nutritionally designed to be your pets main meal. A complimentary food should only be given in smaller amounts or as a treat alongside their complete food.
Carbohydrates
Many dog foods are bulked up by using various grains. Try to keep grains fairly low and ensure other carbohydrates such as vegetables are used. Cats are obligate carnivores so do not require grains at all.
Here at Maisie’s we strongly recommend feeding only dogs food that that we would eat ourselves and are suitable for human consumption. Feeding your pet with good quality ingredients without added colorants or artificial additives. For this reason we only stock the best foods and treats!
see below for links to our selection- (or pop in store for a wider range)
