How do I recognize good wet food?

Many dog ​​owners are looking for good wet food with a high meat content. So-called moist food has the advantage that - as the name suggests - it is not dry and that it can be kept for a very long time without preservatives. Often it also contains much higher quality ingredients and uses fewer fillers and grains than dry food. In contrast to fresh meat, it is very easy to store and feeding is just as uncomplicated as dry food. So it combines the possibility of a quite natural food with the simplicity of dry food. The only disadvantages of moist food are the often higher costs compared to dry food (which is largely due to the higher quality ingredients) and the ecological problem of the higher "amount of waste" due to the type of packaging.

For barers, nasal food is also a good alternative for times of need (forgetting to defrost meat, ordering fresh meat too late) or for holidays with the dog.

Unfortunately, dog food is not of high quality per se just because it comes from a can. Some manufacturers also process inferior ingredients into goulash-like chunks with sauce. So how do you recognize good wet food?

To say it in advance, there is no real guarantee, you can only trust the manufacturer's promises and look at the analysis values.

What should (not) be included?

There are several aspects to consider when feeding dogs. Optimally, the food is based on the natural food of a prey eater, which is mainly composed of prey, but also some vegetable ingredients. A prey, on the other hand, has a certain composition that should be found in the food in a similar way: A prey does not consist purely of lungs, greaves, bones and rind, but also of a large proportion of muscle meat as well as innards rich in vitamins and minerals Fat. This composition enables the animal to be supplied with all essential nutrients.

A) Taking these facts into account, a good wet food should include:

    45% from streaky muscle meat,

    20% from stomachs (e.g. rumen) - this part can also be replaced by muscle meat,

    10% from offal ,

    20% from fruit / vegetables

    5% consist of other ingredients (bone meal, fish oil , herbs, etc.).

 B) Since dogs are very opportune prey-eaters, a good food can also contain a certain amount of broken down grain without the dog suffering any damage from it, even if this does not occur naturally in the prey animal. According to this, wet food can also lead to:

    40% from streaky muscle meat,

    15% from stomachs (e.g. rumen) - this part can also be replaced by muscle meat,

    10% from offal (e.g. liver, kidney, spleen, lungs),

    20% from fruit / vegetables,

    10% from grain,

    5% consist of other ingredients ( additives such as bone meal, fish oil, herbs, etc.).

In order to be able to form an opinion, it is essential that the manufacturer of the cans precisely lists which ingredients are contained in the feed. That is why the way in which the declaration is made is crucial.

The declaration

Knowing the exact composition of the feed allows an assessment of the quality. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with wet food either, because the legislature allows different variants of the declaration.

Example of an open declaration: 40% beef, 16% chicken necks, 12% beef tripe, 8% carrots, 5% spinach, 5% apple, 4% beef liver, 4% beef kidney, 4% beef spleen, 1% salmon oil, 0.8% parsley , 0.1% Ascophyllum nodosum ( seaweed ), 0.1% cod liver oil

In this example, all ingredients are precisely traceable. Here the pet owner can see very well which components have been processed.

Example of a half-open declaration:  64% beef (e.g. lungs, rumen, liver), 16% chicken, 18% vegetables and fruit, 2% oils, herbs and algae

Example of a closed declaration:

Meat and animal by-products (4% beef), grain, minerals, vegetable by-products, oils and fats, meat broth.

The last two forms of declaration are problematic: the buyer does not know exactly how “beef” and “meat and animal by-products” are made up. It is unclear which oils were used, whether there are bones in the feed, whether there are enough offal, which grain was used and whether the nutrients used are always of natural origin. Feed types that are declared in the form should therefore be avoided because it is unclear whether they contain e.g. B. Lots of cheap meat ingredients such as lungs or even animal meal were processed. You also have to make sure that really individual types of meat are listed: z. B. Turkey breast and not just turkey. The former is actually meat, the latter could simply be turkey feathers or turkey feet.

To make matters worse, the manufacturers do not always adhere to the legal requirements. The regulation (No. 68/2013) has been in force since January 16, 2013 . There the term “meat” is very clearly regulated, meaning “only skeletal muscles”. So it can only be called "meat" what really is skeletal muscles. The problem with this regulation is that it does not provide penalties for violations. So there are no penalties if a manufacturer describes something as meat, which is ultimately not meat.

In addition, some manufacturers do not openly declare their cans. The reasons given for this are mostly the secrecy of the recipe or an uncomplicated adaptation of the recipe without the need to adapt the labels and advertising materials every time. Well, creating a recipe for good wet food isn't that incredibly difficult that it would be necessary to protect the recipes. And customer orientation and transparency should be worth more to a manufacturer than flexibility in the composition of the menu. After all, it is about the well-being of our beloved four-legged friends. And since there are manufacturers who declare openly, this does not seem to be an impossibility.

If wet food is declared semi-open or closed, the analysis values ​​provide an orientation (no security) for assessment.

Complete feed or complementary feed

In the feed declaration, a distinction is made between complete feed and supplementary feed. Basically, the terms describe what is meant by it quite well. A supplementary feed cannot be used solely to feed the animal, because it is only a supplement and is therefore not considered in isolation, it covers the needs.

A complete feed should cover the entire needs of the animal. In purely theoretical terms, it covers all requirements and could only be used for nutrient supply for years. The emphasis here, however, is on “theoretical”. A British study examined 177 different complete feeds for dogs and cats. 94% of the wet feed did not comply with the EU ( FEDIAF ) guidelines with regard to the nutrient composition . Nutrient deficiencies or overdoses have been noted.

For this reason, it is very important to look closely at the ingredients of every feed and not to use a complete feed as an exclusive source of food.

The protein content

Since high-quality proteins are important for the dog, this value plays a very important role. If the food consists of the above-mentioned ingredients, the average protein value for variant A is 13-14%, for variant B a value of around 12-13%. If you look at so-called whole meat cans, the value is even 17–24% - depending on the type of meat or fish. The fat content of the meats used also determines the protein content. Fatty meats have less protein than lean meats. However, the aim is not to feed with as little fat as possible, as this can lead to health problems.

If the protein content is below the stated values, this may also be due to the fact that the manufacturer adds water or meat broth to the can, or slaughterhouse waste rich in connective tissue or more offal such as lungs or a relatively large amount of rumen or even grain. These feeds often have a lower protein value. Both approaches are not beneficial. The former has disadvantages for the buyer's wallet, the latter for the dog, because the dog needs high-quality protein.

The protein value of the feed can also be quite high and still disadvantageous for the dog, because some feeds such as z. B. Greaves provide a lot of protein (even more than muscle meat), but the protein is not really valuable for the dog and in large quantities it is even harmful.

In order to be able to really conclusively assess the protein content of a feed, an open declaration of the feed components is essential.

The moisture content

This value is influenced by various factors: on the one hand, it shows whether additional water has been added to the can, on the other hand, the ingredients themselves have an influence on the moisture content of wet food.

Pure muscle meat consists of around 70% water. If the meat is streaky (which would be better for the dog), the value drops to around 60%. The rumen and leaf stomach consist of 70–80% water, offal such as liver and kidneys contain 70–75% water and fruit and vegetables are slightly higher with values ​​around 70–90%. Raw grain alone (oat flakes, rice) contains significantly less moisture and consists of only 10% water.

If a can contains the composition as described in variant A, the moisture value is below 70%, in variant B, of course, due to the grain, it is even slightly lower.

If a can has a significantly higher moisture level, it is most likely that water has been added or a lot of vegetables have been processed. This is not a problem for the dog, but the cost of feeding increases as a larger amount of wet food is required.

The raw ash content

This value shows how much organic matter a feed contains. Every food has a certain proportion of raw ash - so you don't have to worry about the fact that a manufacturer has actually added “ash” to the feed. The proportion of crude ash is determined by burning a food. What remains is the raw ash and it provides information about the mineral content of a feed, among other things.

Muscle meat has only a very low proportion of raw ash. It is around 0.8–1%. Rumen and gizzards have a share of 0.3–1.2%, offal such as liver and kidneys contain 1.2–1.4% raw ash and fruits and vegetables still have values ​​around 0.3–2.0% a little bit higher. Grain (oat flakes, rice) consists of around 1–2.5% raw ash, grain by-products such as wheat bran, on the other hand, have values ​​around 5%. Feed such as horn meal (11%) or bones (30%) have particularly high values. Of course, components such as bone meal or mineral mixtures also provide a great deal of raw ash. Incidentally, an increased moisture content through the addition of broth or water has a mathematically lowering effect on the proportion of crude ash.

Variant A of the above compilation should correspond to a raw ash content of approximately 1.3%, variant B contains approx. 1.4% raw ash.

If a can contains more raw ash, it could be because either significantly more grain (or even grain by-products) has been processed, or it contains animal feed such as horn meal or animal meal. A very high dosage of minerals would also be conceivable, but this is not necessarily beneficial.

The crude fiber content

The crude fiber content basically provides information about the dietary fiber content of the feed. Crude fiber is indigestible for dogs and is mainly contained in fruit (0.5–1.0%), vegetables (0.5–2.0%) and cereals (0.5–11.0%). Muscle meat, fat or offal do not contain any crude fiber. Only green rumen has a raw fiber content of around 1% because it contains leftover food. Dogs need a certain amount of raw fiber in their food to stimulate intestinal peristalsis and keep the intestinal flora healthy. Too much crude fiber, however, is not desirable, as this reduces the digestibility of the feed as a whole.

Variant A of the feed should contain around 0.5% crude fiber - depending on which vegetables are used. Variant B is around 1.0%.

If a can contains a higher proportion of crude fiber, it is usually due to the fact that a lot of vegetables or grains (or worse, grain by-products) have been processed.

The fat content

For dogs, fat is the natural source of energy. In addition to this function, fat naturally also supplies essential fatty acids, which are vital for the organism.

The most natural source of fat for dogs is streaky muscle meat. It can be supplemented with high-quality oils (e.g. fish oil, algae oil, krill oil) to improve the supply of essential fatty acids. This is particularly important for meat from factory farming, because it has a significantly less favorable fatty acid composition than, for example, meat from grazing or game. Typical vegetable oils (e.g. sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil) worsen the fatty acid composition and should therefore not be included in wet food.

Variant A of the feed should contain around 10% fat, variant B provides around 8% fat. In variant B, however, the grain or the carbohydrates it contains serve as a source of energy. You should pay attention to a sufficient fat content in order to supply the dog with energy. If the energy content of the food is too low, it can happen that you have to feed a lot of it, which is detrimental to the dog's wallet and organism. Of course, canned food can also be supplemented with additional fat, for which fresh fats such as z. B. beef tallow, but also processed fats such as butter or lard.

Nutritional physiological additives

Additives in feed

Under this point, substances are identified that, apart from the ingredients mentioned in the declaration, are used in feed and serve to supply nutrients. In the rarest of cases, these additives are vitamins or minerals of natural origin. They are usually synthetic supplements. Unfortunately, synthetic vitamins are suspected of being harmful to health. Some are even carcinogenic, so that they have been banned in humans for decades (e.g. vitamin K3). A well thought-out wet food covers the needs and gets by with a few synthetic additives. All that is needed is heat-sensitive nutrients such as B. B vitamins are supplemented. Overall, when buying canned food, care should be taken to ensure thatthat the nutrients used come from natural sources, as de are usually superior to synthetic ones.

There are also natural vitamins such as B. from oil or plant extracts, but they are much more expensive than the synthetic variant. So you should ask the provider what exactly is used to make sure that it does not contain any synthetic additives.

The price

Who doesn't know grandmother's wisdom like “Quality has its price”? Does this also apply to wet food? Is expensive always the same good and cheap always the same bad? There is no general answer to this. However, the price is definitely an indicator.

Let us assume that a manufacturer sells its wet food for 1.80 euros per kg in the supermarket. The can says: "Meat and animal by-products (4% beef)", advertising speaks of "50% beef in a can". Can that be a food that consists of half meat, rumen, liver and kidney? If you look around the fodder meat market, you will find that fresh beef lean meat z. B. costs 4.00 euros per kg if it is intended for pet supplies (so called category 3 material). Components such as lungs, kidneys, rumen or liver also cost around EUR 3.00. These prices already include taxes and certain surcharges for the seller, including his profit, so you can certainly use them as a basis, even if the manufacturers have significantly lower purchase prices.Now you have to ask yourself whether a can that costs 1.80 euros per kg can actually contain 50% components that are offered in the unprocessed state for 3.00-4.00 euros per kg. After all, processing into wet food and adding any additives and the can itself also cost money. Many providers also invest a lot of money in marketing measures (e.g. TV commercials, sponsoring events are very expensive). Can this be? Are the feed manufacturers so nice to us customers that they give us something for free? That is probably rather unrealistic. This is why the open declaration is so incredibly important. And not every food that is expensive is openly declared and vice versa.But if the price is low and the declaration does not give any indication of the actual composition, then you have to ask yourself what actually ends up in the can.

Find the right can

Which canned food is good?

It is not that easy to find a suitable wet food. There is almost always a fly in the ointment - but sometimes it's just the price, because high-quality wet food is usually quite expensive. Of course there are some manufacturers who offer good complete canned food, but hardly any manufacturer fulfills all of the above criteria. In particular, inexpensive types of food in so-called supermarket quality are problematic in this respect - with them it fails because of the open declaration, which is one of the crucial points to assess whether a wet food is suitable for the four-legged friend.

For those who do not want to make compromises, the only option is probably to look for an overall good canned food and supplement it individually as needed: some cans simply lack a little fat or the right oil. In some cases, there is also a total lack of nutrient sources - even in the case of complete feed. Here, the feed has to be mathematically analyzed and, if necessary, supplemented with vitamin E with fresh ingredients such as egg or some bone meal, cod liver oil or fish oil.

Conclusion

Wet food can be a good and quite natural variant of dog feeding if the ingredients are high quality and complete. You should always study the label and not be blinded by marketing phrases or colorful packaging. If in doubt, you can simply write to the manufacturer and ask about the individual components: If you don't get a detailed answer, you at least know which can you shouldn't feed 😉