We spent a lot of time thinking about how we were going to do pet food reviews on Mo Knows. The typical ranges of pet food guarantees is one section unique to Mo Knows. In our reviews, the protein, fat and fiber of a food are compared against the averages we see in the market. Let’s break it down a littler further.
We knew we wanted to dig deeper and help you understand nutrition and food choices in a new way. And one way was to show how a particular food compared to the average foods on the market. So, we went online and spent way too much time on websites capturing details from over 1,000 dog foods.
What we ended up with (besides the largest Excel file of life) is a lot of great data about the typical amounts of fat, protein and fiber in pet foods. We show this average range below as a green bar in our reviews. And, then you can also see how the food we’re reviewing fits inside that range.
Keep in mind, this is just the typical range for the majority of foods on the market today and may not be exactly what your dog needs.
What If A Food Falls Below or Above That Green Bar?
The green bar is an average. If a food falls above or below, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad food. Some foods provide lower levels because of health concerns (e.g. Kidney disease) where others provide more protein because of a market position.
So, let’s focus on the reasons for fat, protein and fiber.
PROTEIN (aka Crude Protein)
Protein is made up of amino acids some of which are essential in nutrition and health. What happens when protein in the food is:
- Below Average: Dogs who have been diagnosed with kidney disease are often put on lower protein diets. That is because kidneys are responsible for removing the nitrogen found in protein (amino acids). Dogs can do quite well with lower protein levels as long as the quality of the protein is high.
- Above Average: Protein has been the darling of food trends for both pets and humans for several years now. But the fact is, a body actually only needs a certain amount of essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Extra protein isn’t going to hurt your dog in the short-term, but it may not be necessary for long-term health.
FAT (aka Crude Fat)
Fat provides energy and is made up of fatty acids. In fact, it provides 2.25 times the energy that starch and protein does. The higher the energy needs of a pet, the more fat is needed. What happens when the fat in food is:
- Below Average: This is probably a food designed to help your dog lose weight or to help you manage your dog’s healthy weight. Fats and oils are the highest calorie ingredients inside of pet food. The quickest way to reduce calories (and hopefully your dog’s weight) is to reduce the amount of fat.
- Above Average: This is guaranteed to be a higher calorie food designed for dogs that have higher energy needs or spend the day running. Sled dogs pulling a team of scientists to the South Pole had a diet with 45% fat. These dogs expended an incredible amount of energy to do their job every day and maintain their weight. Most pets in the US are more of the couch potato variety so the higher levels of fat are not necessary. Many dogs are overweight in the USA eating way too many calories.
FIBER (aka Crude Fiber)
Fibers are made up four uniquely different components: cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and jelly-like fibers. What happens when fiber in the food is:
- Below Average: Lower levels of fiber are probably due to a high fat/high protein diet. While working dogs need those extra calories and can do great with lower fiber, we still always look for a quality fiber source to be included to support intestinal health. It is not a good when a food has no specific fiber sources.
- Above Average: Chances are diets with above average fiber are designed for weight management to keep calories down. We want our dogs to feel full while eating a food low in calories and still lose weight. Fiber is great for that. As an added bonus, some fibers (not all) help feed the healthy probiotics in your dog’s gut as he loses weight.
Want to Learn Mo?
As you can see, a great way to determine the type of food you’re considering is by looking at the averages from pet food guarantees. The ranges of pet food guarantees allow us to see what’s common in the market and if a product is geared more to a certain type of dog. To learn more about how we look at dog foods, check out our S.N.I.F.F. Test review process. And check out our Reviews section to see the comprehensive reviews completed on all websites.
