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Dog Food Ingredients: What Kind Of Meat Is That?

There are literally hundreds of different types of dog food in the market, and almost all of them boast that they are a healthy dog food full of fresh meats. But are they? Only the dog food ingredients label can tell you how what kind of meat is actually in there – if you know how to read them.

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.

What is the difference between a Meat, Meal, and By-Product? An identified animal meat, chicken for example, means the clean flesh from a chicken. Meal is simply the ingredient that has be dehydrated and ground. So chicken meal is dehydrated, ground up chicken meat. By-product is what is left over after all the usable meat has been removed (like the neck, feet, intestines, etc.) Chicken by-product would be processed and ground up chicken necks, feet, and who really knows what else.

Which is Better – Meat or Meal? Now you look at your dog food ingredients list. Naturally, most people would assume seeing the meat listed as the first ingredient would mean the best food. But in actuality, you want to see the meat in the meal form.

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 many more factors that come into play when determining what is a healthy dog food for your dog. Learn more about how to read your dog food ingredients list at the Healthy Dog Food Blog – helping you determine what makes the healthiest food for your dog.