Time To Repost Dog Food Ingredients

[anthony mazzeri]

I posted this last year when I was researching food for my new pup. Now that Orijen's out of the game, time to go through it again. Thought it may be helpful to others in the same situation.

This list is based purely on the order of the main ingredients only being those listed only up to the first named fat or oil, in descending order of 'card hands' as best I could. It does not address at all any of the minor ingredients which may also affect any decision, ie grains, preservatives, flavours etc.

Animal beats vegetable (animal protein beats vegetable protein).

'Dehydrated animal meat' beats 'animal meal' which beats 'animal by-product meal'.

'Animal meat' loses a lot of it's volume when processed, so should be placed further along any ingredient list.

Barley and/or rice beats corn and/or wheat.

NOTE 1: These are puppy kibble, or suitable for puppies. Adult formulas may differ.

NOTE 2: A kibble may have grain as a minor ingredient not listed here as a main ingredient.

THE LIST:

ROYAL CANIN Medium Junior

Dehydrated poultry meat, animal fats, other

NATURE'S GIFT Tasty Beef and Rice *100% AUSTRALIAN*

Fresh Beef, Beef Liver, Australian Meat Meals, Whole Grain Wheat, Sucrose, Rice, Food Acid (338), Glycerine, Sea Salt, Canola Oil, other

I'm placing this one second despite the wheat because it doesn't properly follow the 'first fat/oil' rule, eg food acid and salt are listed before the canola oil. Thanks to a call to the company by JulesP, we're informed the first three meats and meal make up 70% of the total which makes all other ingredients minor. Like Royal Canin and Great Barko, the wheat is just used as a binding agent. So re-writing the main ingredients to match the fat/oil rule so as to better compare to the rest of the kibbles in this list, it beats Great Barko into second place with the main ingredients written this way:

Fresh Beef, Beef Liver, Australian Meat Meals, Canola Oil, other

GREAT BARKO Tasty Beef and Lamb *100% AUSTRALIAN*

Cooked meat or meat by-products derived from beef, lamb, chicken, pork, cooked fish or fish by-products, fat, other

Must be less strict rules for ingredients in Australia - eg, the use of the word 'or' in Great Barko's ingredient list, ie meat 'or' meat by-products. UPDATE: After a phone call by JulesP, they say their ingredients are actually meal, which keeps Great Barko in third place with the main ingredients written this way:

Meat Meal, Fish Meal, Fat(unknown, assume animal fat), other

ORIJEN Puppy NO GRAIN **DEFUNCT**

Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, other

INNOVA EVO Small Bites NO GRAIN

Turkey, Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Herring Meal, Chicken Fat, other

ARTEMIS Fresh Mix Medium / Large Breed Puppy

Chicken, Turkey, Chicken Meal, Salmon Meal, Pearled Barley, Whole Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Millet, Potatoes, Dried Egg, Tomato Pomace, Chicken Fat, other

INNOVA Puppy

Turkey, Chicken, Chicken Meal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Cottage Cheese, Tomatoes, Sunflower Oil, Chicken Fat, other

DICK VAN PATTEN'S NATURAL BALANCE Ultra Premium

Chicken, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Barley, Duck Meal, Potatoes, Carrots, Chicken Fat, other

ARTEMIS Maximal Dog NO GRAIN

Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Chicken Fat, other

CANIDAE All Life Stages - Chicken & Rice - NOT YET AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA

Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Chicken Fat, other

EAGLE PACK Holistic Select - Chicken Meal & Rice

Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat, other

NUTRO CHOICE Puppy Lamb & Rice **DEFUNCT**

Lamb Meal, Rice Flour, Rice Bran, Rice Gluten, Ground Rice, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, other

NUTRIENCE

Chicken meal, brewers rice, ground corn, chicken fat, other

OMNIPRO Puppy Formula

Chicken Meal, Rice, Ground Yellow Corn, Corn Flour, Chicken Fat, other

EAGLE PACK Premium Small/Medium Puppy

Chicken Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken Fat, other

PURINA PROPLAN Puppy Chicken and Rice

Chicken, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, animal fat, other

ADVANCE Puppy Growth

Chicken and chicken by-products, corn, sorghum, rice, chicken tallow, other

SUPERCOAT Puppy

Meat and meat by-products (from chicken and beef), wholegrain cereals (wheat and/or sorghum, rice), wheat bran, beet pulp, whole linseeds, other

EUKANUBA Puppy Medium Growth Formula

Chicken, Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Fish Meal, Chicken Fat, other

NATURAL BALANCE (NOT Dick Van Patten's) *100% AUSTRALIAN*

Rice, Australian lamb, corn gluten meal, tallow, other

PEDIGREE Puppy

Corn, rice, vegetable protein, meat and meat by-products derived from beef, mutton and chicken, tallow, other

HILL'S SCIENCE DIET Puppy Original

Ground Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Pork Fat, other

_________

Non-kibble dry foods:

ZIWIPEAK Cuisine: Venison and Fish

Venison-Meat, Liver, Tripe, Heart and Kidney, Fish, Chicory Syrup, Green-lipped and Blue Mussel, Hoki Fish Oil, other

Edited December 5, 2008 by anthony mazzeri

[anthony mazzeri]

I've added ARTEMIS Fresh Mix and ARTEMIS Maximal Dog to the above list.

Also decided to add Orijen to show how it compares. Compared.

Edited November 27, 2008 by anthony mazzeri

[Tintin Jac]

And I thought I was the research nut!

Well done, that is very helpful :provoke:

[Cockerlover]

Anthony,as Ive said b4 ,u certainly do your research !!!!!great information .

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Can't understand why you are posting the ingredients of Nutro when it is no longer avail in Aust and hasn't been for some months?.

[Bouledogue Français]

Some may also find this Site useful. This may have been posted before.

[Guest belgian.blue]

Omnipro .. has anyone used this? Can you get it in Aust?

[JulesP]

Petstock sell Omnipro. The ingredients didn't really excite me but I did get some when it was on special. Didn't cause problems.

I really recommend calling the feed companies and asking about their foods.

[anniek]

Omnipro .. has anyone used this? Can you get it in Aust?

It is from the Eagle Pack people - a lesser grade food than eagle pack for the lesser market (they told me)

They gave me a large breeders bag to try - gave it to a few fosters but they didn't do well on it at all - a couple had the runs - most likely the corn.

[anthony mazzeri]

Can't understand why you are posting the ingredients of Nutro when it is no longer avail in Aust and hasn't been for some months?.

I simply wasn't aware of that, thanks. I'll leave it in the list like Orijen for those who were using it before to still see the comparison.

NB. I've also moved Dick Van Patten's above Artemis Maximal as 'meat' beats 'meal' as one of the first ingredients.

[lucylotto]

Can't understand why you are posting the ingredients of Nutro when it is no longer avail in Aust and hasn't been for some months?.

I simply wasn't aware of that, thanks. I'll leave it in the list like Orijen for those who were using it before to still see the comparison.

NB. I've also moved Dick Van Patten's above Artemis Maximal as 'meat' beats 'meal' as one of the first ingredients.

thanks anthony! I have been looking and looking and getting soo confused.

[Tzu_lover]

NB. I've also moved Dick Van Patten's above Artemis Maximal as 'meat' beats 'meal' as one of the first ingredients.

Umm where did you hear that?

'Meal' is definitely superior to 'meat'.

Meat is made up of mostly water,whereas meal is the dehydrated and much more concentrated form of meat.

I have some links which i will try to find which explains this more clearly.

[anthony mazzeri]

About.com AAFCO Definition: Chicken Meal

Chicken Meal: chicken which has been ground or otherwise reduced in particle size.

Examples: Chicken meal is often used in dry cat food. The quality of the protein will depend on the type and amount of chicken meat in the mixture, as well as the amount of bone and connective tissue processed with the meat. Although better than chicken by-product meal, chicken meal is generally a lesser quality of protein source than chicken meat.

Yes, quantity-wise meal is better as the meat's water volume gives it a misleading place in the ingredients list by pre-cooked weight as the water is lost during cooking so it's not as major an ingredient as it's label placement would have it. But quality-wise it's not superior to meat. The same as the petfood itself, the quality of the meal is dependent on the percentage of meat in it.

By human standards at any rate. There's an argument that by-products like lungs, spleens, liver, kidneys, brain, and other unsightly innards I wouldn't want to see on my own plate actually make for a superior diet for dogs and cats than an actual meat (muscle tissue) diet, especially in the amino acid content.

[anthony mazzeri]

Meat is made up of mostly water,whereas meal is the dehydrated and much more concentrated form of meat.

PS. Only two of the foods out of all those listed use dehydrated meat, which are Royal Canin and Ziwipeak. For sake of definition, dehydrated meat is a different thing to animal meal.

[hamish-n-andy]

Which one is the highest protien and lowest carbs?

[BigBen]

Since Great Barko is Australian made, wouldn't it be possible to get an accurate ingredients list.. I mean, they must have something to go by when they make the food...???

[BigBen]

I sent them an email:

Hi...

I would like to know the ingredients you put into Great Barko and Uncle Alberts dogfood...

The 2 foods have different levels of protein, but the ingredients list looks pretty much the same.

“Cooked meat or meat by-products derived from beef, lamb, chicken, pork, cooked fish or fish by-products” – Great Barko

“Cooked meat or meat by-products derived from beef, lamb, poultry or pork. Cooked fish or fish by-products” – Uncle Alberts

The ingredients list sounds GREAT, if it wasn’t for the “or”.

Looking forward to your reply.

Thank you

[poocow]

Thats a good idea BigBen - also would like to know what cereals they have as well. For example wheat and corn would be classed as bad fillers whereas brown rice and barley would be better fillers (if such a thing really...) - if you get what I mean?

[anthony mazzeri]

Excellent stuff, Lene. Let me know as soon as they reply and I'll adjust the list accordingly.

Poocow, being Australia, I'd hazard a guess it'd most likely be wheat or sorghum.

Which one is the highest protien and lowest carbs?

It *was* Orijen by a country mile at 40% protein or something like that, followed by Royal Canin if I recall from memory. Ziwipeak is up there as well I think. Great Barko with all it's meat content is 22% protein which is similar to most of the rest which range from around 18% to 24%.

It's also the type of protein you should look at, ie, is it the vegetable protein in the corn?

[hamish-n-andy]

It *was* Orijen by a country mile at 40% protein or something like that, followed by Royal Canin if I recall from memory. Ziwipeak is up there as well I think. Great Barko with all it's meat content is 22% protein which is similar to most of the rest which range from around 18% to 24%.

It's also the type of protein you should look at, ie, is it the vegetable protein in the corn?

Well im just looking for something to put on weight and have been told that higher the protein and lower the carbs, the better.

Edited November 30, 2008 by hamish-n-andy