Dog Nutrition: What Does My Dog Need & How Do I Know What’s Safe?
Part 1: From Calculating Calories to Reading Nutrition Labels
Post by: The Puppy DogMa - AKA Midas’s Mom
First, how do you know what nutrients your dog needs to thrive? Specifically, I remember wondering, “Do I really need to buy the special “puppy food,” or is it all BS?” Turns out you do! Growing puppies require approximately twice as many calories per pound of body weight compared to an adult dog of the same breed (NRC, 2006).
Some companies have been found to take the same exact adult maintenance formulation and simply make it into smaller pieces to call it “puppy food.” However, this is dangerous because a puppy needs small pieces with high calories, not just small pieces! There isn’t enough calories in the “bite sized” adult maintenance formula, and therefore - the pup doesn’t get the nutrition he or she needs.
SAFETY AND REGULATIONS
The AAFCO and NRC - AKA The FDA of Pets
Most commercially manufactured pet foods are formulated to meet specific nutrient goals set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) (Zicker, 2008). The AAFCO sets these goals based on scientific studies and the National Research Council’s (NRC) guidelines which define minimum requirements or safe upper limits for growing, maintenance and pregnancy/lactation.
It’s important to understand that a minimum requirement is different from a recommendation in that the minimum requirements are based on scientific studies with perfectly lab controlled settings to determine outcomes (Zicker, 2008). This is vastly different from what your dog actually eats and is why the AAFCO is so important. AAFCO takes the hard science from the lab and applies it to the dog bowl (aka commercial pet foods). Without this step, your pet would still likely be missing out on key nutrients and calories!
Finally, pet foods and individual pet food ingredients are regulated by multiple governmental agencies. In the US, the FDA regulates foods and ingredients shipped across state or international boundaries and together with AAFCO establishes approved animal drug levels in feeds annually (Zicker, 2008). The FDA also monitors pet food and individual pet food ingredients for pesticides, mycotoxins, and heavy metals (Van Houweling et al., 1977; Zicker, 2008). In addition to government sanctions, each manufacturing company/plant has its own systems of quality control and storage standards, however these vary significantly which is why it is something to look into when choosing a food for your pup.
The Regulating Process
NRC - National Research Council - designs the studies to determine minimum requirements for pets in different stages of life
AAFCO - Association of America Feed Control Officials - Utilizes data from the NRC’s studies, and applies it to real life
FDA - Food & Drug Administration - regulates and approves animal drug levels, monitors for pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals, etc
Individual Companies - quality control and storage standards vary significantly and are unique to each company
NUTRITION AND CALORIES
Calories, Nutrients, and Vitamins - oh, my!
In addition to minimum energy/calorie requirements, dogs also require certain amounts of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. If you’ve ever looked at a nutrition label on dog food and been confused by “% dry matter,” you’re not alone.
Dry matter: The % of nutrients in dog food, when there is no water left in it.
We’re all familiar with human nutrition labels, and the certain percentage of protein, carbs or fat in any of our foods or snacks. The same concepts apply to dog foods. Dogs need a certain percent of each nutrient in order to obtain a healthy diet.
For example, for a healthy adult dog the minimum recommended concentration for protein in dog food is 18 % dry matter (DM), whereas for growth (puppy) and reproduction the minimum concentration is higher at 22-22.5 % (DM) (AAFCO, 2014).
Don’t worry - you don't need a degree in doggy nutrition to determine if a dog food is the right fit for your dog. What’s most important is that you make sure the food has an AAFCO certified statement. [For more details on how to read dog food labels and choose a food for your individual pup stay tuned for my next blog post!]
Calculating Your Dog’s Caloric Needs
The AAFCO made it mandatory to list calorie information on pet food labeling as of 2014. In general, you can roughly (just an average!) calculate your dog’s daily calorie needs based on the following formula:
Resting energy requirement (RER) = 70 x (weight in kg)^0.75
For example:
Midas is 11 lbs, divide that by 2.2 to get approximately 5 kg.
RER for Midas = 70 x (5kg)^0.75 = 234 kcal/day
However, this does not account for things like activity level, age, breed, neuter status etc. To account for these things you use different modifications to calculate the maintenance energy requirement (MER). This more advanced formula is something that should be done in conversation with your veterinarian. The goal here is to get a basic idea of what your pet should be getting each day. It’s important to note that even with the maintenance need calculation, there can be as much as 20% variability. So, again, it’s important to discuss with a licensed vet to ensure your pet’s needs are fully taken into account.
Caloric Considerations
Dogs require different amounts of each nutrient and calories depending on their physiological state. For example, puppies require more calories than adult dogs as they are using tons of energy not only to play, but to grow! On the other hand (or paw), adult dogs often need less calories to “maintain” their current state (NRC, 2006; AAFCO, 2014). The AAFCO does not have specific nutrient profiles for geriatric or older dogs which is something you may want to discuss with your vet (in general it takes a bit more protein in the diet to support protein stores in older dogs (NRC, 2006).
NUTRITION LABELS
Decoding Label Claims - “Complete and Balanced,” “100% Nutritious,” etc???
Since the 1990s AAFCO has essentially taken over the NRC as the basis for substantiation claims on dog food labels. There are three ways outlined by the AAFCO that can be used by pet food manufacturers to substantiate the claim “complete and balanced,” or “100% nutritious,” etc. on pet food labels (Zicker, 2008). It’s important to note that these requirements are not required for pet foods that are clearly labeled as snacks, treats, or supplements as they are assumed to not be the full and complete nutrition source. Thus, a lot more leeway is given to treat composition and it’s still important to look at ingredients and calories of treats when choosing the best for your doggo.
1. “Meets Nutritional Levels” AKA - Formulation method
In this method, the manufacture calculates the nutrient content of the food using standard information about the ingredients. With this method, they’re only allowed to state, “ (Product name) is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO dog food nutrient profiles for (life stage).” It’s less expensive and not very time intensive, but it doesn’t take into account digestibility of the ingredients.
2. “Complete and Balanced” AKA - Feeding trials method
The feeding trials method is the gold standard method of substantiating claims, but it is very time consuming and expensive. Furthermore, the protocols have very low requirements. For example, the adult maintenance protocol studies 8 animals for 6 months. That sample size is astonishingly low, and 6 months isn’t a very long time (even in dog years!) Companies are allowed to go above and beyond the bare minimum requirements, so it’s a great idea to check out the procedure of the dog food company you’re considering buying from.
Following a successful feeding trial, you can see “ Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (product name) provides complete and balanced nutrition for (specific life stage of dog)” on the label.
If a dog food lacks the “complete and balanced” statement it should say for “supplemental” or “intermittent” use only! Thus you should make sure that your dog’s main food source does not have those words as they may not be getting their minimum nutrient requirements.
3. Combo AKA - Family method
This method is a combo of the above 2 methods. In this method, a product that is nutritionally similar to another product that has already undergone AAFCO feeding tests, can then be adopted into a “family” of foods without rigorous testing. The nutritional statements for the initial “lead product” can then be applied to this new product.
What about my dog’s premium, organic, holistic dog food?!
Unfortunately, when dog foods claim to be things such as “organic,” “holistic,” or “premium” these claims are usually NOT backed up by science and are actually just marketing tools used to get you to buy that brand of food. For more on what to look for in your dog’s food and what to avoid stay tuned for my next article on how to pick a dog food!
Hmm… Maybe I should read the labels a little closer (probably on my food, too!)
So that is the nitty gritty of how dog nutrition guidelines are developed and updated, as well as what is behind the statements put on dog food labels. Why is this important to you? It’s important because now you understand the process and will be able to confidently read dog food labels and know what is behind the fancy words each brand is claiming.
Thus, the only way a dog food can claim nutritional adequacy of “complete and balanced” is via the AAFCO Dog Nutrient profiles (last updated in 2014) and the AAFCO feeding trials. Any food with this statement implies a guarantee that the product contains the minimum concentrations for all nutrients in the profile and not more than any maximum concentration listed for a specific nutrient in the profile (AAFCO, 2014). In the latest AAFCO update, you can find individual nutrient recommendations, caloric recommendations, and percentages for various nutrients such as protein during the growth phase versus adult maintenance. For the sake of everyone’s waning sanity I will not go into detail but feel free to check it out in the sources below.
Now that you know how canine nutrition recommendations and requirements are developed and the safety protocols in place you can feel confident in understanding the specific claims dog food packaging is making, which shows you the kind of testing that has gone into determining whether the food is safe and meets nutritional requirements. Stay tuned for our next blog post on how to pick a dog food that is right for your pup coming soon!
Furever yours,
The Puppy DogMa
Sources:
AAFCO Methods for Substantiating Nutritional Adequacy of Dog and Cat Foods . The Association of American Feed Control Officials > Home. (2014). Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.aafco.org/Portals/0/SiteContent/Regulatory/Committees/Pet-Food/Reports/Pet_Food_Report_2013_Midyear-Proposed_Revisions_to_AAFCO_Nutrient_Profiles.pdf
Beitz, D., Bauer, J., Behnke, K., Dzanis, D., Fahey, G., Hill, R., Kallfelz, F., Kienzle, E., Morris, J., Rogers, Q., & Feuer, D. (2006). Dog nutrition final fix - national academies press. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.nap.edu/resource/10668/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf
Bermingham, E. N., Thomas, D. G., Cave, N. J., Morris, P. J., Butterwick, R. F., & German, A. J. (2014). Energy requirements of Adult Dogs: A meta-analysis. PLoS ONE, 9(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109681
Coates, J. (2017, June 19). How many calories does a dog need? PetMD. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutritionnuggets/jcoates/2013/aug/how-many-calories-does-dog-need-30849
Llera, R., & Yuill, C. (n.d.). Nutrition - general feeding guidelines for dogs. VCA Animal Hospitals. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/nutrition-general-feeding-guidelines-for-dogs
Medicine, C. for V. (2020, February 28). Complete and Balanced Pet Food. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/complete-and-balanced-pet-food
Zicker, S. C. (2008). Evaluating pet foods: How confident are you when you recommend a commercial pet food? Topics in Companion Animal Medicine, 23(3), 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.tcam.2008.04.003
