Sanflorian Cavaliers

To meet AAFCO standards, a dog food must either meet a nutrient profile or pass a feeding trial.

The AAFCO nutrient profile specifies a minimum and maximum percentage for nutrients in the food. (On a
dry-matter basis for comparison purposes.) For example, to meet the AAFCO nutrient profile a food must contain
a minimum of 18 % protein on a dry matter basis. There is no maximum. Foods that support growth and
reproduction have a separate profile requirement.

For a food to pass a feeding trial as meeting the requirements for adult maintenance, these are the criteria:
8 dogs older than 1 yr. must start the test.
At start all dogs must be normal weight & health.
A blood test is to be taken from each dog at the start and finish of the test.
For 6 months, the dogs used must only eat the food being tested.
The dogs finishing the test must not lose more than 15% of their body weight.
During the test, none of the dogs used are to die or be removed because of nutritional causes.
6 of the 8 dogs starting must finish the test.

(My questions: Do 8 dogs constitute an adequate sample? Who decided 15% of body weight over 6 months is an
acceptable weight loss? If my 15 pound dog lost 15 percent of her body weight that would be 2.25 lbs. That is
significant!)

The NRC recommendations are based on thousands of scientific papers published over the past 25 years.
Recommendations are based on an animal's physical activity level and stage in life. The recommended amount of
each nutrient is based on a formula that considers the individual animal's weight, rather than being a percentage of
the food being feed. The formula also accounts for the fact that nutritional needs are not linear with body weight.

My interpretation of this information is that both AAFCO and NRC nutrient profiles will provide at least adequate
nutrition. In many cases, in order to meet the needs of ANY dog in a certain weight range the AAFCO standards
will result in a higher level of many nutrients. This may or may not be a good thing for any given dog. Using the
NRC recommendations allows us to be much more precise in the composition of our diets for our individual dogs
at their specific weights and caloric needs.

My purpose here is simply to summarize for you the differences between the standards. You must decide for
yourself what makes sense for you and your dog.