How to Choose the Right Dog Food: A Practical Guide
Learn how to read a dog food label, what "AAFCO" and "complete and balanced" actually mean, and how to match a food to your dog's age, size, and body condition.
Vol. 1 · Dogs & cats, decided with evidence
Pet food marketing is confident; the science is often more nuanced than a bag's front label suggests. This section explains how to actually read an ingredient list and guaranteed analysis, what's genuinely settled versus still debated in topics like grain-free diets or raw feeding, and where a nutrition question — a food allergy, a prescription diet — needs to go to a veterinarian rather than a general guide.
Learn how to read a dog food label, what "AAFCO" and "complete and balanced" actually mean, and how to match a food to your dog's age, size, and body condition.
A reference list of human foods that are toxic or unsafe for dogs, foods that are fine in moderation, and what to do if your dog eats something dangerous.
A specification-based comparison of over-the-counter and veterinary sensitive-stomach dog foods — ingredients, protein/fat/fiber levels, and price per pound.
There's no single "right" cup amount for every dog. Here's how vets estimate calorie needs by weight and age, and how to translate that into an actual portion.
Raw dog food is a real debate, not a settled question. Here's what the FDA, AVMA, and independent research say about the benefits and bacterial risks.
A practical framework for choosing cat food — what AAFCO "complete and balanced" actually means, wet vs. dry, and the nutrients cats specifically need.
How to actually read a dog or cat food label — the guaranteed analysis, ingredient list order, and AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement explained.
A research-based comparison of cat foods formulated for sensitive stomachs, by ingredients and formulation rather than marketing claims.
How vets estimate a cat's daily calorie needs by weight and life stage, and how to translate that into an actual portion at each feeding.
What the FDA and veterinary cardiology research actually shows about grain-free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy — and what's still unresolved.