Hi,
relative Newbie here, trying to get a better understanding of what should and should not be in dog food. I do understand some of the basics of label reading, and understand how dry meal as early ingredient vs whole meat (like chicken which contains water - inflates the weighted value), and I understand how many grains are broken up to comprise less of a food...I have many questions and am hoping someone can help:
so many people are going grain free. I know that grains can be a good source of energy, so why are they bad? Can anyone point me in the direction of research so I can figure out what does make a proper dog food?

How much of a dog's diet should be protein? How do I figure out Calories, and once I figure it out, how much of any food is actually available to my dog.

Is there really a difference from one protein to another, from one grain to another, if it all comes down to the type of nutrient, and the calories???

TIA

Try going to the AAFCO web site. On the forum you will find science mixed with fact mixed with old wives' tales mixed with anecdotes mixed with money mixed with anything else and you will be more confused than ever. http://www.aafco.org/

You won't find much on the AAFCO website, I don't know why that link was posted. You can find a list of the most current AAFCO standards here: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2&aid=662

For a more in depth look at the research that went into setting the standards you can buy this book: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10668 but you will need a strong science background to understand it.

Grain free does not mean carbohydrate free and if your dog does not have any sensitivities to grains then they aren't bad for your dog. A lot of dogs have problems with gluten's. Common grains with glutens include wheat, barley (has less) and oats (contaminated from getting processed on equipment that processes glutenous grains). Corn does not have gluten.

Calories might be listed on the bag or website for your food or you will have to contact the manufacturer to find out. Percent of digestible protein is one way to find out how much available protein there is in a food and again, you will have to contact the manufacturer to find this out. Canidae might list the digestible protein percent on their website (look at nutrient analysis) but I'm not sure they do this anymore.

You asked a lot of questions and I'm not sure I've answered them all but hopefully this gets you started.

thanks for the direction - the nutrient chart was very helpful. So, I'm left thinking that the source of the ingredients doesn't matter much, as long as all the elements (amino acids, etc) are present. So, if a dog food says it meets the AAFCO standard, then the proteins meet the amino acid profile? the carbs meet the energy requirement, and vitamins and minerals fall within the accepted value?

So, now I'm stuck trying to figure out which foods have better quality sources of ingredients??? How do you know? Do bigger companies have tighter regulations with stricter production parameters, like most big companies, or do small companies offer better quality ingredients?

If you can get some of the back issues of the Whole Dog Journal they do yearly give a run down of foods. They have alot of the information about the wherewithall of what is in foods and how to calculate what is really in the foods.
For many one of the reasons that they feed the "grain free" isn't necessarily always about avoiding carbs but using carbs that have a lower glycemic index with less oxidative stress so are less likely to fuel cancer or diabetes. In otherwords it's better to eat a salad than a Twinky!

There are positive and negative aspects for all carbs. Grains support a better gut flora than potatoes.

EXCELLENT point. I just never understood why folks are afraid of grains yet have no problems with potatoes and peas.

Putting aside the issue of a dog with real food issues, why would potatoes be better than oats or corn?

If you follow the glycemic index for people...potatoes, corn, peas, wheat...all bad as they digest fast and turn to sugars. I imagine it's the same for dogs.

Potatoes are part of the nightshade family which are a no-no for arthritis issues in people, so I would assume for dogs.

Give me my Pro Plan Chicken/Rice or Performance any day.

How many soften in advance of eating kibble with water! I have had people tell me it helps with digestion?

For me, my litter's kibble is totally soaked before putting into their flying saucer pans and feeding. I know of 2 breeders personally who found a dead pup after a feeding and it had choked to death on it's kibble upon being examined : (

All dogs(except an old rescue and 1 senior here...they are slow eaters) get hot water on their kibble. Their morsels do not float around so not that much water but it slows down my fast eaters and for the most part, labradors inhale their food on the norm! So it makes 'me' feel better when they eat w/ hot water on(of course it's warm by the time I set it down) their food and they aren't gagging on the dry kibble due to eating too quickly.

You should only use slightly warm water, the hot water destroys any live cultures and some vitamins that are sprayed on the food before packaging.

Good Info at
www.dogfoodadvisor.com

This is something that has been brought more to the forefront since the emergence of all the fancy foods that we have to choose from. We are being suckered into thinking that we have to spend $50 for a 30# bag of food or we aren't doing the right thing for our dogs. I really believe that per meal the dogs are more expensive to feed then my husband and myself. We only have 5 adults and 3 -12 week old and they eat us out of house and home. We all ponder what is best and worry until we finally throw our hands up in the air and just pick something that we think has it all. I think I do better with a well balanced food with rice for the grain. I have given up with all the food with added fruit and veggies but do like it to have probiotics. I can give apples, raw sweet potatoes, blueberries and carrots for treats and it is lots less expensive then having it in a bag of dry food, fresher too. I notice that my dogs graze on wild blackberries and grains and grasses in my yard depending on the season. Living in the country has its perks. Every time I turn around there is a new food with a fancy label just begging me to buy it, why do we feel such pressure and feel guilty if we don't buy an out of site price for feeding dogs. As many point out they eat poop for goodness sake.