Dog Community

Canned food vs. dry food: Protien

Posted : 10/24/2006 11:56:30 PM

Okay, I know someone has explained this to me before, but...

Why is the percentage of protien lower in canned food vs. dry food?

I have a client ask me this. I know it's not that canned food is "low" in protien, but I really didn't know how to explain this to her.

kennel_keeper

Posted : 10/25/2006 4:47:44 AM

The reason that canned food *appears* lower in protein is because of the moisture content.
Comparisons must be made on a dry matter basis.
To convert from a wet matter to dry matter:
(example)
canned food CP=9% Moisture=75%
Use this equation
Protein X (100 divided by the difference of moisture from 100)
The actual math problem would look like this
9 X (100/25) = 36% CP

So this "food" would have 36% CP on a dry matter basis.

ron2

Posted : 10/25/2006 7:24:12 AM

I thought it was the other way around.

9 * (25/100) = 9 * .25 = 9/4 = 2.25.

So, if a canned claimed 50 % c.p. then it would be 50 * (25/100) = 50 / 4 = 12.5 in a can of 75 % moisture.

jessies_mom

Posted : 10/25/2006 7:48:46 AM

I thought it was the other way around

[linkhttp://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html]http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html[/link];

The formula for calculating the DM percentages of nutrients in pet foods is determined by... Nutrient percent divided by Reciprocal of the Moisture percent

Go to the GUARANTEED ANALYSIS listing on the pet food label Look at the percentage stated for the nutrient you are interested in... for example, Protein. Now, take that percent and divide it by the reciprocal of of the moisture percent listed. The reciprocal of the moisture content is simply the percent of the pet food that isn't water. So if a moisture content of a food is stated in the guaranteed analysis is 10% Moisture, the reciprocal percent is 90%. Another example... if a canned food states 74% moisture in the can, the reciprocal is 26%.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein 9%
Fat 6%
Fiber 1.5%
Moisture 80 %

TO calculate the amount of Protein on a DM basis ...
9 (the percent of the product as fed) divided by 20 (the reciprocal of the moisture percent) = 45 percent.
So on a DM basis the amount of protein in Sunny Bunz Canned Food is 45 percent

ron2

Posted : 10/25/2006 8:00:51 AM

I'm sorry. I messed up. It happens once in a while, more often than I'd like.

dogslife

Posted : 10/25/2006 8:16:21 AM

One of my vets told me that the dry food is all the dogs need. Also, the teeth will be cleaner for it. Other thoughts?

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 10/25/2006 9:05:17 AM

i have read a few articles stating that the notion of dry food keeping a dogs teeth cleaner is a myth. i have been looking for some of the articles i read in the past and have not found them yet though. here is one i did run across, but it doesnt go into as great of detail as some others i have read.....

http://www.allourpets.com/holistic/dental-care.shtml

jessies_mom

Posted : 10/25/2006 12:36:47 PM

I'm sorry. I messed up. It happens once in a while, more often than I'd like.

Actually that's somewhat confusing; I don't think I could have explained it as well as Renee, so I pasted it from the site. [

]

jessies_mom

Posted : 10/25/2006 12:43:30 PM

One of my vets told me that the dry food is all the dogs need. Also, the teeth will be cleaner for it. Other thoughts

A vet I used to go to said the same thing, but I don't think Jessie chews kibble enough to clean her teeth so she gets C.E.T. chews and an occasional RMB. She has a lot less tartar than when she was only getting dry food. I think a good brand of canned food that lists meat first instead of water or broth may be better than dry food because it has more meat; for example, E.P. canned food is over 65% meat, and more protein on a DMB.

Margaret Tyler

Posted : 10/25/2006 1:09:44 PM

Thank you everyone.

I faxed the web page Jessie sent me to my client. She was very happy to hear a response. Thank you again.

On the topic of dry food being better than canned: I think that if you brush your dogs teeth and give him something to chew on, then it doesn't matter. I give my dog dry, canned, and raw. His teeth are clean, because I brush them weekly and also because his dry contains lots of probiotics.

I do think that canned food is by far better for cats than dry. I've had too many cats with UTI problems to tell me otherwise. I hate when vets say "Canned food is bad for your cat's teeth." I want to respond with "Dry food is bad for my cat's kidneys." Hmm...teeth or kidneys?