Croquettes for dog: make a first sorting by the price
The price of croquettes is the first indicator to take into account when choosing the right croquettes. A price of less than €2 per kilo is a sure sign of poor quality of the raw materials used in the manufacture of kibble: animal meal, cereals in too large quantities These poor quality raw materials provide poorly digestible proteins and quantities of starch which can cause at worst malnutrition or at best digestive disorders in sensitive dogs.
As a first step, you can therefore do a first sorting by immediately eliminating all the "discount" croquettes to reduce the list of possibilities.Be careful, choosing the most expensive croquettes in the store will not guarantee that they will be well suited to your animal. It would be far too simple, you can imagine!
Learn to read dog food labels
To make the right choice of food for your pet, you will therefore need to take a second look at the product labeling, where valuable information is provided.
On the kibble packets, there are therefore two elements to look closely at: the list of ingredients and the analytical composition.
List of ingredients
In the list of ingredients on the label of a pack of croquettes, the ingredients used before cooking in the product are listed in order of importance. The first ingredients mentioned are therefore generally present in greater quantities. This is particularly the case for cereals in the first price croquettes to avoid!
Warning!
" The rule of the first ingredient present in the greatest quantity is not always true. Some titles can be "split" into different sub-headings. This is the case for example of the title cereals which can be split into sub-headings such as corn, wheat, rice so that they do not appear at the top of the list. You must therefore be vigilant and not limit yourself to reading the ingredients that appear first in the list, but read the whole thing carefully."
If fresh meat appears in the first ingredients, be aware that this raw material is rich in water and that it is possible that after cooking, it will no longer be present in very large quantities in the finished product. . To get an idea of its final quantity present in the finished product, divide the quantity indicated before cooking by 4.
Look in the list of ingredients for animal protein sources provided by meat, fish, offal: they are more nutritionally interesting than vegetable proteins provided by cereals (which also provide carbohydrates in the ration ) or soy flours.
As a general rule, the more detailed the name of the ingredients, the more likely you will be dealing with a "high-end" kibble, made with quality raw materials. Manufacturers who use vague and categorical denominations (such as "meat" or "by-products" for example) can legally substitute one raw material for another according to the price of the raw materials in order to reduce manufacturing costs. On the other hand, manufacturers who choose to be more precise in their labeling by mentioning the species of meat used in their products (example: "chicken" , "beef" ) undertake to use this type of raw material correctly. . So orient yourself towards the croquettes for which the lists of ingredients are the most detailed and precise possible.
Protein digestibility: information that does not necessarily appear on the label!
Prefer, if this information is available, croquettes cooked at the lowest possible temperature. In this type of kibble, the proteins are less degraded by cooking and therefore more assimilable by the dog!
Finally, identify any chemical additives that must be indicated in the list of ingredients. These are preservatives with suspected toxicity (BHT, BHA, nitrosamines, ethoxyquin), dyes, texture agents, artificial flavors and synthetic flavor enhancers. Preferably choose kibble formulated with as few additives as possible and with natural preservatives such as ascorbic acid from vitamin C or tocopherols from vitamin E. Be aware, however, that this type of preservative is less effective than synthetic preservatives and that, therefore, kibbles containing them will keep for a shorter time than others
- The kibble brands shown in the following examples are fictitious brands -
An example to understand:
" The list of ingredients for Croquetix is vague and categorical: meat, animal by-products, cereals, vegetables When we read cereals, we don&39;t know if it&39;s rice, corn, wheat .Similarly, when we read meats, we do not know what species these meats come from."
Also note: in the Croquetix, cereals come first in the list of ingredients: it is therefore the ingredient present in the greatest quantity in the croquettes, which is likely to bring too much starch in the ration and not enough protein of good nutritional quality. Animal protein sources come from by-products and dehydrated proteins: they are likely to also provide proteins of mediocre nutritional value.
The list of Carnicroc' ingredients is much more precise and detailed. The Cranicroc' specify in particular the species of meat raw materials used (chicken, pork, duck), the nature of the fruits and vegetables (carrots, apples, pumpkin) and the sources of starch used in the recipe (peas, potato ).
Conclusion: if we only read the list of ingredients, Carnicroc' are of better quality than Croquetix.
Analytical constituents
Analytical constituents can be displayed under the other names "Average analysis" or "Nutritional analysis" . They provide information on the quantities of nutrients present in the food.
Thus, we can read there at least:
- Protein level,
- Lipid (fat) level,
- The fiber/cellulose rate,
- Crude ash content.
Pre-select the croquettes that contain the most protein and the least carbohydrates possible. But be careful, taken as such, these rates do not allow you to know if a kibble is of good nutritional quality. Do not be fooled by sites that announce that the "ideal" kibble must contain 20% carbohydrates, 30% protein, this is a far too simplistic approach to things.
A high protein level is not an absolute guarantee of quality.The proteins in the croquettes can be provided by the bones, the tendons of the by-products used to make the croquettes as well as by more noble pieces of meat. However, proteins in bones and tendons are mainly made up of collagen, poor quality proteins that do not adequately cover the nutritional needs of dogs.
The protein level must then be interpreted by crossing it with the protein sources listed on the label, in the list of ingredients and the ash level. While this rate is generally high in kibble rich in animal protein, a rate above 12% is almost always a sign of poor quality raw materials. He reports that a large amount of bone in the animal meal or animal by-products used - and therefore "bad proteins" - was used to make the kibbles. Be careful, a reduced ash content can be found in kibbles rich in protein but of vegetable origin provided in particular by cereals.These proteins are also of lower nutritional quality for the dog.
Good kibbles are kibbles adapted to the specific nutritional needs of my dog
Now that you know how to differentiate a quality kibble from a low-end kibble, you still have to determine if this kibble is well suited to the specific nutritional needs of your animal.
Making your choice based on the range of croquettes is not enough
The vast kibble market can be segmented in 3 ways, depending on:
- dog breeds (kibble for Yorkshire, kibble for bulldog)
- special dietary needs of dogs (kibbles for diabetic, allergic, cardiac dogs)
- the physiological needs of dogs (adult dog, senior dog, growing puppy, sterilized dog, athletic dog)
Here again, a simplistic approach would boil down to choosing your kibble based on the segmentation of food ranges: according to your race, physiological stage or he alth problem, but in reality this way to choose your croquettes is not enough because:
- a dog's nutritional needs do not depend solely on these criteria alone,
- these segmentations are not regulated. Thus, it is quite possible to find kibbles "for senior dogs" which are not really adapted to the specific nutritional needs of older dogs or kibbles for "large breed" dogs which are not adapted to the specific needs of dogs with specific needs. reduced calories such as the Labrador or the Golden Retriever which are nevertheless part of this category of large breed dogs.
These ranges can therefore make it possible to make a pre-selection of kibbles that could be adapted to the specific needs of your dog, but the final choice of kibbles should not be made solely on the basis of this segmentation.In addition to this, to choose the best croquettes, it is necessary to go through the calculation of the protein-calorie ratio detailed below.
Calculate the protein-calorie ratio of kibbles
Please note that these tips are only valid for an adult dog in good he alth. For puppies, pregnant or nursing bitches and dogs suffering from a pathology, it is imperative to consult a veterinarian to choose the best food for the animal, on a case-by-case basis.To choose the right kibbles that will cover the nutritional needs of a dog, it is necessary to know their protein-calorie ratio (RPC). This ratio evaluates the protein concentration of a food in relation to the calories it provides.
The required protein-calorie ratios (RPCnecessary) for dogs have been established for several decades by French-speaking canine nutrition specialists.These values depend on the animal's ideal weight and on factors that reduce energy needs such as physical inactivity, sterilization or belonging to a breed with a reduced metabolism.
The protein-calorie ratio of the kibbles should ideally be greater than or equal to the required protein-calorie ratio (RPCnecessary) for your animal so that we can say that the kibbles are well suited to their needs. Otherwise, the food will be likely to cause protein deficiencies and muscle wasting. Please note, the protein-calorie ratio is only a theoretical value which provides information on the quantity of proteins present in the kibbles but it does not provide information on the quality of these proteins. It's only an additional indicator that should help you in your choice, but you shouldn't choose kibble based on this criterion alone.
Quickly determine if your croquettes are suitable:
- The kibble brands shown in the following examples are fictitious brands -
Let's take an example to understand:
Tartine is a sterilized and rather sedentary 6-year-old Beagle dog (she takes less than an hour of daily walks and her walks are done on a leash). Its ideal weight to maintain is 13kg. Tartine's master, Vincent, wants to check if the Croquetix" and "Carnicroc'" croquettes spotted in an online store are well suited to the nutritional needs of his dog. He uses the calculator.
Example n°1: case of Croquetix croquettes
Here is the analytical composition that appears on the label of these kibbles:
Vincent uses the calculator which gives him the following results:
Calculated Carbohydrate Rate of Croquetix=49%
Protido-calorie ratio of Croquetix=61 g of protein /1000 Kcal
Conclusion: the RPCrequiredof Tartine is 94 g of protein /1000 Kcal. However, the RPC of Croquetix is 61g of protein / 1000 Kcal: it is lower than the RPCnecessaryof Tartine. In addition, Croquetix are too high in carbohydrates (49%). These kibbles are therefore not suited to Tartine's needs.
Example n°2: case of Carnicroc’ croquettes
Here is the analytical composition that appears on the label of these kibbles:
Vincent uses the calculator which gives him the following results:
Carnicroc's calculated carbohydrate rate=16%
Carnicroc' protein-calorie ratio=107 g of protein/1000 Kcal
Conclusion: the RPCrequiredof Tartine is always 94 g of protein/1000 Kcal. The RPC of Carnicroc' is 107g of protein / 1000 Kcal: it is higher than the RPCnecessary of Tartine: these kibbles are therefore adapted to the needs of Tartine.
Good kibbles are kibbles that work for my dog
You will have understood that the quality of a croquette is based above all on the quality of its ingredients and on the quality of its method of manufacture. In addition to its carbohydrate level and the quantity and quality of its proteins, other elements must be taken into account such as their Omega 3 intake (ideally close to 1%) and the Omega 6/3 ratio (which should ideally tend towards 4/1), on the coverage of vitamin, mineral and fiber needs and on the digestibility of the food by YOUR dog.
And yes, you should also always keep in mind that "good on paper" kibble does not guarantee that it will be sufficient to cover your pet's specific needs. Indeed, each dog is different and it is possible that he has needs higher than the standard recommendations which are stated above.
It is therefore essential to validate your choice by "testing" the selected croquettes on your animal to see if they are suitable for him. To do this, observe:
- the general appearance of your dog: his coat must be full and shiny, his skin must be he althy and free of dandruff and his muscles must be well developed. This aspect will unfortunately only be observable after a few months of feeding with the croquettes in question
- his excrement. A dog that digests its food well must make small well molded droppings. In the opposite case, if your dog has bulky, frequent and/or particularly smelly stools, there is a good chance that his kibbles will not suit him.
In summary
" To select good croquettes, you need:"
- Preliminary sorting of the kibbles by their price and in the segmented ranges according to the physiology of the dog,
- Looking at the information on the label, select the croquettes:
- whose ingredients are as precise and detailed as possible (mention of the animal and/or vegetable species of the ingredients),
- that contain the most protein and the fewest possible carbohydrates AND whose protein comes from good quality animal sources (preferably cooked at low temperature).
- Calculate the RPC of kibbles then check its adequacy with the RPC necessary for your dog,
- Validate the choice of your croquettes by checking that they are suitable for the particular case of your dog. Base yourself on the state of his hair, his skin, his musculature and his excrement.
Sources:
- Croquettes or Pâté? by Dr Charlotte Devaux - Editions du Point Vétérinaire
- Discussions with Dr Sylvia Morand - cabinet Vet'onaturel