What type of protein does a dog really need?
Dogs are carnivores.
For a long and healthy life, they need protein of animal origin: meat, chicken, or fish.
Although they have lived alongside humans for many years, their physiology has not changed.
Their digestive system is still primarily adapted to processing animal protein and shows clear differences compared to omnivores and herbivores.
Animal protein: the foundation of a dog’s diet
Animal-based proteins are the foundation of a healthy diet for dogs.
In commercial foods (dry kibble or wet food), these proteins can come from:
meat π₯©
chicken π
fish π
animal by-products
Not all sources are of the same quality, and this is where the real difference between products begins.
Plant proteins: cheaper, less suitable
Plant-based proteins are a more economical alternative that many manufacturers use to reduce the cost of the product.
The main sources are:
- cereals (especially corn)
- plant derivatives
- industrially processed hydrolysates
From our point of view, ingredients such as corn or vegetables, even of good quality, cannot compete nutritionally with animal sources like chicken or salmon.
A common trick on labels
Some manufacturers use a strategy to make the composition look better than it really is.
For example, instead of listing:
π “corn”
they split it into several ingredients:
- corn
- corn gluten
- corn flour
This way, they appear separately on the list and seem less significant, when in reality, combined, they may represent a large portion of the product.
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What to look for on the label
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How much animal protein the food contains
It’s not enough to look at images on the packaging.
What matters is checking how much animal protein is actually in the composition.
2.The quality of that protein
Not all ingredients are the same.
We are cautious with generic terms such as:
“meat”
“meat and derivatives”
“fish”
“chicken”
These are vague descriptions, and their composition may vary depending on the cost of raw materials.
We prefer more specific ingredients, such as:
“dehydrated chicken meat”
“meat meal”
“fresh pork liver”
The more precise the name, the more transparent the product usually is.
Digestion: not everything that goes in is absorbed
There is no point in feeding a dog something it cannot digest properly.
Digestion is the process of breaking down food so it can be absorbed and enter the bloodstream.
π High-quality animal proteins are absorbed better than plant proteins.
That’s why meat, fish, and poultry are more suitable components in a dog’s diet.
Limitations of dry kibble
The manufacturing process of kibble (extrusion) has its own limitations.
For the process to work properly, the amount of fresh meat is usually limited (approximately up to 35% of the total ingredients).
π This means it is not possible to produce dry kibble based exclusively on fresh meat.
The first 5 ingredients say it all
Ingredients on the label are listed in descending order by weight at the time of production.
Although manufacturers are not required to indicate the exact percentage of each ingredient, there is a very useful rule:
π the first 5 ingredients represent the real foundation of the food
You can also use as a reference all the ingredients listed before the first source of fat.
Wet food Kibble
Meat content between 90 and 100%
Almo Nature mono (100), Alpha Spirit (92), Amanova puppy (92), Alpha Spirit, Orijen puppy (91)
Belcando mono (100), Belcando pouch (91), Belcando junior (97.5)
Brit sausage (95), Brit pâté-meat (99.5), Brit for puppy (98.5)
Concept for Life (97.4), Equilibria (99), Forza10 (94)
Isegrim Junior (92), Kippy large can (97)
Marty (100), Natures Menu (100), Optima Nova (92)
PuraNatura (92), Rocco Sensitiv (95), Tobias (100)
Wellness Core (95), Wolf of Wilderness (94.5)
Zooplus Junior Selection (96.5)
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Meat content between 80 and 90%
Dr. Clauder (83.5), Fish4Dog (89.7), Mhims (83), Monge (80)
Platinum (83), Zooplus Selection (85), Yum Diet (80)
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Meat content between 70 and 80%
Criadores sausage (74), Forthglade (75), GimDog (77), Applaws grain free breed (76.5), Belcando puppy (80)
Hantu sausage (72), Lenda (76), Mac’s Mono (70), Monge (76), Go grain free (74), Platinum puppy (73)
Nature’s Protection (70), Rocco Classic (70), Vitake (70), Zoolove (70) True Origins Wild puppy (74)
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Meat content between 60 and 70%
Animonda (62–68), Criadores cans (66), Criadores Grain Free (66), Acana puppy small breed (68), Acana puppy junior (68)
Concept for Life (66), Dibaq Sense (60), BARF Diet (~65), Bab'in mini junior (64), Fitmin mini (66.1)
Dog Select (64), Dogzilla (65), Hantu (65), Instinct (66), Isegrim Junior (64) Hantu chicken (65), Optima Nova adult mini (65)
LIFEdog (60), Lukullus (65), Natural Greatness (65), Natur Dog (63), Primordial grain free puppy (70)
Naturo (60), Nuevo (65), Nutro Wild Frontier (68), Wolf of Wilderness mini kibbles (61.3)
Optima Nova Adult Mini (65), Picart Select (62), Profine (65)
Rosie’s Farm (60), Stuzzy (65), True Orijen Wild (67)
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Meat content between 50 and 60%
Almo Nature HFC (55), Almo Nature Daily (50), AltuDog (57), Belcando starter (57.5), Brit Premium small breeds (57)
Big Paw (50), Edgard Cooper (50), Era adult small breed (60), Dogzilla daily food for minis (53)
Gosbi (55), Retorn (59), Unik (59), Crave lamb adult (60), Criadores grain free mini (54.9), Hill’s puppy 1 (51)
Zooplus Classic (57.8) Instinct original mini adult (59.5), Wellness Core puppy (52)
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Meat content between 40 and 50%
Cesar (45), Herrmann’s Classic (50) Beco chicken (50), Brit Care small breed (42), Euro Premium small puppy (43)
puppy(43), Evoque puppy mini(45), Concept for life mini adult(45),
Lenda mini adult(46), Monge mini Starter(40), Ownat Ultra mini adult(47), Prospera mini
junior(49),Summum beef(42)
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Meat content between 30 and 40%
Almo Nature Classic (35), Breed Up tetra (40), Arion Titanium (38), Bewi Dog mini (35), Braveness puppy (30), Crockex mini
Criadores organic (30), Criadores tray puppy (34), adult (40), Dr. Clauder’s mini adult (32), GreenCare mini adult (33), Lily’s Kitchen
Dr. Clauder’s Junior (31.9), GimDog (38.5), Ontario (30) puppy (38), Lukullus adult (32), MamyNat puppy (32), NutraGold (30), Porta21 for
Zooplus Classic (30) small dogs (36.2), Il Tartufo daily small breeds (34), Triple Crown toy mini adult (36)
adult(36), Uno de Famiglia puppy(30), Vitake Puppy(39)
Meat content between 20 and 30%
Criadores tray beef/apple (30) Advance mini puppy (20), Almo Nature Holistic (27), Arquivet adult mini (22)
Criadores tray beef (30), Banters adult mini (20), BreedUp adult small breed (27), Dican Up small breed (27)
Gosbi Exclusive lamb mini(29), Kome perros mini(28), MioCane adult mini ,
Natura Diet Mini(28), Natural Choice adult mini(27), NF mini adult(22)
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Meat content between 10 and 20%
Bewi Dog (16), Carrefour tray adult (14), Criadores Dream small breeds (18), Canun premium puppy (20)
tray (14), Criadores tray chicken/potato (14), Compy supreme puppies (20), Purina One mini (14)
Criadores tray lamb/carrot (14), Satisfaction puppy mini (20), Ultima Nature mini (17)
Dibaq Perrynat large can (16), Purina Beyond (16)
Vitality pâté (14)
Amigo (4), Applaws (4), Carrefour pâté (4), Vitality adult small breeds, Libra mini adult
Dibaq Perrynat (4), Ultima Affinity (4), Vitality pouches (4)
Edgard Cooper, Fish4Dog, Happy Dog, Royal Canin, Virbac Baby small toy, Canine Caviar, Canun Starter, Criadores
Purina Beyond, Specific, Taste of the Wild, Ziwi maintenance small breeds, Dell Plus small breeds, Dingo toy daily
puppy, Mastery puppy, Nature`s Protection, Now small breeds puppy, Rex puppy,
Royal Canin Poodle, Royal Canin puppy mini, Royal Canin Starter small dog,
Specific adult small breed, Tiempo de Profesionales Starter puppy, Yarrah
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