Pet food labels are written to comply with regulations, not to make things easy to understand. Once you know how the rules work, the same label that looked confusing starts to tell you quite a lot. This is what we look at when we're deciding whether to stock a new product.

Ingredients are listed by weight before processing

This is the most important rule. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, but that weight is measured before cooking or drying. Fresh chicken is about 70% water, so a food that lists 'fresh chicken' first might actually contain less chicken protein than one that lists 'dried chicken' third. Neither is automatically better, but you need to know this to compare labels fairly. 'Dried' or 'dehydrated' meat sources are more concentrated and their position on the list reflects that.

What 'meat and animal derivatives' actually means

This phrase is legal shorthand for any part of a warm-blooded animal not covered by a more specific term. It can include liver, lung, kidney, and other organ meats, which are nutritionally valuable. It can also include lower-quality material. The problem is that you cannot tell which from the label. A food that names its protein sources specifically (chicken liver, beef heart) is giving you more information, and more information is generally better when you're trying to manage a pet's diet.

Grains are not the enemy

Grain-free became a marketing trend in the 2010s and a lot of owners now avoid grains on principle. The reality is more complicated. Grains like oats and brown rice are digestible by most dogs and provide useful fibre. The concern about grain-free diets is actually the opposite of what most people expect: some research has linked certain grain-free formulations to dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs, possibly because of high legume content. If your dog has a confirmed grain allergy, grain-free makes sense. Otherwise, the presence of grains is not a red flag.

Additives: which ones matter

Synthetic preservatives like BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are worth avoiding if you can. Natural preservatives like mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) and rosemary extract do the same job with fewer concerns. Artificial colours serve no nutritional purpose and are a reasonable thing to avoid. Added vitamins and minerals are normal and necessary in processed food. Their presence is not a sign of poor quality, it is a sign that the manufacturer is meeting nutritional standards.

The short-list rule

As a rough guide: if you can identify every ingredient on the list without needing to look anything up, that is a good sign. It does not guarantee quality, but it means the manufacturer is not hiding things behind technical names. The foods we stock at Paws & Whiskers tend to have between 8 and 15 ingredients. That is not a hard rule, but it is a pattern we've noticed.

If you bring a food label into the shop, we're happy to go through it with you. We do this regularly and it takes about five minutes. No obligation to buy anything.