AVOIDING HARMFUL FILLERS: CARBS IN DOG FOOD

Does your dog need carbs in their diet?
I bet you guessed right. The answer is no. Starches/carbs are unnecessary fillers added to many pet foods to lower cost and increase shelf stability. Unfortunately, they are added to benefit manufacturers, not your dog. This is something you will never have to worry about with our food, whereas many dry foods (even high-protein expensive brands) have up to 60% added starches.

Why does this matter?
Think about a wolf or a wild dog in mother nature – would they have access to corn, grain or peas? Nope! Biologically, canines need fats and protein in their diet – not tapioca or lentils. This is key for dog health because diets high in starches can lead to high blood glucose levels and insulin spikes, which can lead to obesity, cancer, diabetes and more.

But my dry food is "high protein" so I don't have to worry, right?!
You're close! And bravo on being aware of your dog's health, while trying to feed him/her the best diet! We need to take this one level deeper to learn about the “hidden” carbs/starches in dry food. Even if the first few ingredients are "protein" sources, you will be surprised at the total number of carbs in a "premium" dry food.

So now what?!
Don't fret my friend! This isn't on you, it's the highly biased industry. Pet nutrition is confusing, and that has been done on purpose. But we have your back, and we're here to make it easy!

You have two options: One is to feed a low produce raw food to avoid unnecessary, potentially harmful, carbs. Or two, find a dry food that has the least number of carbs possible. Check out our carb calculator below!
 

Calculate Carbs in Kibble:

1. Review "guaranteed analysis" on the back of dry dog food bag (PS: the GA is the minimum amounts of the specified nutrient in the bag)

2. Find the fat, protein, ash and moisture %'s (ash = minerals!)

3. Add those values together to get one total percentage

4. Subtract that number from 100 to get your carb total!

Your turn!:
Below is Bones & Co. Guaranteed Analysis for our duck patties. Send us your calculation on Facebook or Instagram @thebonesandco to see if you got it right! Note that as with most any raw food, this formula represents a rough calculation for carbs as there are natural variations when using whole foods. This serves as a great directional guide.

Bones & Co. Duck Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein: 14.5% (min) Crude Fiber: 2% (max)
Crude Fat: 14% (min) Moisture: 68% (max)

(Hint: the answer is ~1.5% carbs! Most kibble (even premium brands) are 30%-50% carbs (yuck!).

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Thanks for the support!

Dogs Always and Furry Regards,
Rachel @ The Bones & Co.