Table 1.
Chemical composition and true macronutrient digestibility of dog foods made with human-grade ingredients using the precision-fed cecectomized rooster assay1
| Item | BRP2 | CWR3 | FSP4 | LBR5 | TWM6 | VSR7 | SEM | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical composition | ||||||||
| DM8, % | 92.89 | 93.92 | 90.82 | 95.18 | 97.38 | 93.88 | — | — |
| --------------------Dry matter basis -------------------- | ||||||||
| Ash, % | 4.16 | 3.82 | 7.39 | 3.99 | 3.92 | 6.61 | — | — |
| CP, % | 31.14 | 29.10 | 38.89 | 24.08 | 34.54 | 47.58 | —- | — |
| AHF, % | 46.40 | 17.27 | 17.43 | 27.02 | 17.98 | 16.50 | — | — |
| TDF, % | 4.22 | 5.92 | 10.12 | 7.16 | 12.48 | 14.54 | — | — |
| TIF,% | 3.91 | 4.45 | 7.96 | 4.05 | 8.76 | 9.31 | — | — |
| TSF,% | 0.30 | 1.47 | 2.16 | 3.11 | 3.72 | 5.23 | — | — |
| NFE, %9 | 14.09 | 43.90 | 26.18 | 37.74 | 31.07 | 14.77 | — | — |
| GE, kcal/g | 6.69 | 5.19 | 5.37 | 5.63 | 5.40 | 5.44 | — | — |
| Nutrient digestibility | ||||||||
| DM, % | 74.0ab | 82.3a | 67.2b | 81.0a | 78.0a | 67.6b | 2.210 | 0.0002 |
| OM, % | 81.9bc | 89.2a | 76.4cd | 87.3ab | 81.9bc | 74.1d | 1.404 | <0.0001 |
| AHF, % | 87.9b | 94.6a | 92.7a | 85.0b | 93.1a | 93.1a | 0.829 | <0.0001 |
| GE, % | 86.9bc | 93.7a | 83.8c | 89.1b | 86.6bcd | 82.3d | 0.911 | <0.0001 |
| Metabolizable energy estimates | ||||||||
| TMEn, kcal/g | 5.83a | 4.75b | 4.71b | 4.89b | 4.71b | 4.62b | 0.088 | <0.0001 |
| ME (Atwater values)10, kcal/g | 5.99 | 4.47 | 4.17 | 4.90 | 4.24 | 3.98 | — | — |
| ME (modified Atwater values)11, kcal/g | 5.53 | 4.02 | 3.76 | 4.46 | 3.83 | 3.58 | — | — |
| ME (NRC equation)12, kcal/g | 5.83 | 4.37 | 4.06 | 4.63 | 3.96 | 3.80 | — | — |
| TMEn/GE, % | 87.1 | 91.5 | 87.8 | 86.8 | 87.2 | 84.9 | 1.547 | 0.1350 |
1 n = 4 roosters per treatment.
2BRP = Beef & Russet Potato (ingredients: ground beef, russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, safflower oil, beef liver, green peas, apples, Icelandic premium EPA and DHA, natural calcium, phosphorus amino acid chelate, magnesium bisglycinate chelate, taurine, choline chloride, natural kelp, vitamin E, biotin, selenium amino acid chelate, manganese bisglycinate chelate, zinc oxide, vitamin D3, vitamin B1, riboflavin).
3CWR = Chicken & White Rice (ingredients: chicken thigh, long grain white rice, spinach, carrots, apples, chicken gizzard, chicken liver, Icelandic premium EPA and DHA, calcium pyrophosphate, natural calcium, choline bitartrate, natural kelp, magnesium bisglycinate chelate, iron bisglycinate chelate, copper bisglycinate chelate, vitamin D3, vitamin B12, riboflavin).
4FSP = Fish & Sweet Potato (ingredients: Pacific cod, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, green beans, broccoli, safflower oil, natural calcium, phosphorus amino acid chelate, natural kelp, choline chloride, vitamin E, iron bisglycinate chelate, zinc oxide, biotin, copper citrate, riboflavin, vitamin B12).
5LBR = Lamb & Brown Rice (ingredients: ground lamb, long grain brown rice, cauliflower, carrots, lamb liver, spinach, blueberries, safflower oil, Icelandic premium EPA and DHA, natural calcium, phosphorus amino acid chelate, choline bitartrate, potassium chloride, natural kelp, sodium chloride, vitamin E, iron citrate, selenium amino acid chelate, zinc oxide, vitamin D3, riboflavin).
6TWM = Turkey & Whole Wheat Macaroni (ingredients: ground turkey, whole wheat macaroni, broccoli, zucchini, carrots, turkey liver, cranberries, premium EPA and DHA, natural calcium, phosphorus amino acid chelate, choline bitartrate, potassium chloride, natural kelp, sodium chloride, taurine, vitamin E, magnesium bisglycinate chelate, zinc oxide, copper bisglycinate chelate, manganese gluconate, vitamin D3, riboflavin, vitamin B12, vitamin B1).
7VSR = Venison & Squash (ingredients: venison, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberries, safflower oil, premium EPA and DHA, natural calcium, phosphorus amino acid chelate, choline bitartrate, potassium chloride, natural kelp, sodium chloride, taurine, vitamin E, magnesium bisglycinate chelate, zinc oxide, copper bisglycinate chelate, manganese gluconate, vitamin D3, riboflavin, vitamin B12, vitamin B1).
8DM = dry matter, OM = organic matter, CP = crude protein, AHF = acid-hydrolyzed fat, TDF = total dietary fiber, TIF = total insoluble fiber, TSF = total soluble fiber, NFE = nitrogen-free extract, GE = gross energy, N = nitrogen, TMEn = nitrogen-corrected true metabolizable energy, ME = metabolizable energy.
9NFE = 100% − (% CP in DM + % AHF in DM + % TDF in DM + % Ash in DM).
10ME (Atwater values; kcal/g) = [(4 × CP in DM) + (9 × AHF in DM) + (4 × NFE in DM)]/100.
11ME (modified Atwater values; kcal/g) = [(3.5 × CP in DM) + (8.5 × AHF in DM) + (3.5 × NFE in DM)]/100.
12ME (NRC, 2006 equation):
-Gross energy (GE) (kcal) = (5.7 × % CP in DM) + (9.4 × % AHF in DM) + [4.1 × (% NFE + % TDF in DM)]
-Energy digestibility (ED) (%): 91.2 – (1.43 × % TDF in DM)
-Digestible energy (DE): (kcal GE × ED)/100
-ME (NRC) (kcal/g) = [kcal DE – (1.04 × % CP in DM)]/100
a–dWithin a row, means lacking a common superscript differ (P < 0.05); n = 4 roosters per treatment.