How to Calculate the Carbohydrate Levels in Any Dog Food

When assessing various dog foods, determining the carbohydrate levels of each product may prove challenging.

This difficulty arises because dog food manufacturers are not mandated by law to reveal the actual carbohydrate content of their offerings.

Currently, the Food and Drug Administration guidelines only necessitate the disclosure of four essential nutrients…

How to Calculate the Carbohydrate
Content of Any Dog Food

If understanding the carbohydrate content is crucial to you — and it should be — here’s a simple and efficient method to approximate the amount of carbohydrates in any dog food — on your own.

Essentially, all foods consist of the same four primary nutrients — referred to as macronutrients:

Moreover, all foods also include ash — the mineral residue that remains non-combustible after eliminating all the protein, fat, and carbs.

Ash levels can vary — typically ranging between five to eight percent for most dog foods¹ .

Hence, for consistency, we commonly adopt 8 percent as the standard for this crucial factor (ash) across this website.

Understanding the Calculation Process

When performing this calculation, it is crucial to consider the scientific principle that dictates:

The sum of protein, fat, ash, carbohydrate, and water should always total 100 percent of the initial weight of any dog food prior to cooking.

By applying basic arithmetic, one can uncover the missing value for any other component, such as carbohydrates in the context of pet food.

To begin, simply commence with 100 percent and deduct the percentage allocated to each known macronutrient.

Additionally, it is worth noting that fiber content can be disregarded since fiber falls under the category of carbohydrates and is inherently factored into the carbohydrate computation.

See an Illustration

Suppose a specific dog food contains 26% protein, 14% fat, and 10% water. How much carbohydrate is likely present in that particular product?

To gauge the carbohydrate content in this scenario, begin with a total of 100 percent. Then deduct the protein, fat, and moisture percentages accordingly.

Additionally, consider accounting for an ash content of approximately 8 percent.

Therefore, your calculation would appear as follows:

Carbohydrates = 100% – 26% – 14% – 10% – 8% = 42%

Essentially, by subtracting the known nutrients, you’ll unveil the remaining variable—carbohydrates—in this case, approximately 42 percent.

An Important Disclaimer

It is essential to understand that when interpreting the “Guaranteed Analysis” on pet food labels to determine protein and fat content, one is not looking at the actual percentages of these nutrients.

Instead, the values indicated are the minimum amounts that the manufacturer guarantees to be present in the product. For instance, if a label states a minimum fat level of 15%, the actual fat content is usually higher than this stated minimum.

Therefore, due to this fact…

Given that protein and fat levels are typically lower on the label than in reality, the calculated carbohydrate content is also likely to be higher than what is claimed.

The Final Verdict

To determine the approximate carbohydrate percentage in any pet food lacking this information, refer to the uncomplicated formula outlined in this piece for a reasonable approximation.

Nevertheless, it is essential to consider that…

The lower a company discloses the protein or fat levels in a food, the more inflated your estimate of its carbohydrate content is likely to be.

To conclude, if a company publishes the specific quantities of protein, fat, and carbohydrates on its website, it is advisable to rely on those precise figures instead of our estimation.