Question about AAFCO recommendations and calcium contents in large breed dog food

[peterpeter]

So I was reading over the AAFCO recommendations for calcium content in large breed puppy food, and I came across something interesting. They have two different set of reccs based on dry matter and calorie content. With most foods, they are pretty interchangeable, meaning that if a dog food meets the requirements on a dry matter basis, they will meet them on the calorie content side as well.

However, I found a dog food that meets the requirement in on a dry matter basis but not in the calorie content area. For those who don't know AAFCO recommends no more than 1.8% calcium in a large breed puppy food (dry matter) or no more than 4.5 grams per 1000 kcal (calorie content)

https://www.aafco.org/Portals/0/Sit...osed_Revisions_to_AAFCO_Nutrient_Profiles.pdf PG 4-6

The dog food I'm referencing has a dry matter calorie percentage of 1.76%, just under the 1.8% limit. However when you look at the calorie content measure, the amount is 5.3 grams per 1000 kcal, almost a full gram over the recommended AAFCO amount. Keep in mind this dog food proudly displays the "we meet AAFCO recommendations for large breed puppies" statement on their food labels. But is this really true if they don't meet it on a calorie content level?

Is this common? Have you ever seen a food like this differ so much between dry matter and calorie content? I guess I'm confused since I thought these measures were pretty interchangeable when referring to meeting AAFCO recommendations. As I said most foods meet the requirements in both but this one does not. Maybe it has something to do with the density of the food?

As you can see I've gone all in on this food thing lol. I'm slowly losing my mind trying to find this adorable little GR puppy the right food, and I'm just afraid I'm missing something here.

FYI I used DFA and Tufts calcium/calorie calculator and they came out to the same answers, which is where I got the numbers from.

I appreciate any input!

 

[p4m3l4]

@peterpeter If it’s denser in calories that probably means the fat content is higher, not that the food is more dense. Go based on the calcium recommendation for calories instead of dry matter because the calories determines how much food your dog needs. But the really important number with calcium is the calcium to phosphorus ratio.

 

[xavier363]

@peterpeter The only guideline that really matters is the DM percentage here. It's relevant for calories, but that's not where it makes the actual impact for the dog.

Industry standard is on a Dry Matter basis, calorie basis is a little different. That being said, they should be fairly consistent regardless of the basis you're looking at. What food are you referencing? I'd like to look into this a little.

 

[peterpeter]

@xavier363 Victor professional. The purple bag

Yea most brands and formulas are consistent with both so it’s just odd they meet the dry matter % limit (1.76 against a 1.8 limit) but their calorie content is almost a whole gram over the recommended limit (5.3 grams of calcium per 1,000 calories vs the 4.5 recommended limit.

I just wonder what causes those to be so different when most foods are pretty consistent between the two

 

[xavier363]

@peterpeter Ah, so that's not a large breed puppy specific food. That is why it doesn't meet both.

I can almost guarantee the reason that calcium is higher per 1k calories is due to their ingredients. They are almost DEFINITELY using beef and bone meal as a fairly high percentage of the ingredients. It's a great source of calories, but also comes with rather high calcium content which throws it all out of whack.

Aafco explicitly explains that adult large breed dogs and other puppies can handle the higher calcium, so unless the food is explicitly marketed as "large breed puppy", I wouldn't count on it meeting both metrics.

This isn't a big deal if your puppy isn't consuming large amounts of calories, but it's still important to be cognizant of it. My chessies were trained hard all through their puppyhood, which means they were eating tons of calories the whole time, so I had to watch calcium closely.

I really do recommend feeding large breed puppy specific food if you're concerned.

 

[sherrine]

@peterpeter You also have to look at the fat percentage. Large breed puppy and dog food has much lower fat percentages so that the pup/dog grows and puts on weight slower.