Unfortunately, carbohydrates aren't required to be listed on the label of your pet's food in Australia, only protein and fat. Some pet foods are surprisingly high in carbohydrates and not the good kind. Click here to read more about carbohydrates in your pets’ food.
Estimating the levels of carbohydrates in your pets food can be difficult. Unless the label states the amounts of protein, fat, moisture and ash, you won’t get an accurate result.
If your pet food does contain this information (yay for transparency!) then you can subtract the values of the listed ingredients from 100 – or you can use our handy calculator instead.
If your pet food label doesn’t contain all of this information, we have provided some averages you can use below.
The more information provided on the label of your pet's food or given by contacting the manufacturer, the more accurate results you will get using this calculator.
The less information you have, the more of a rough guide it will be.
You will receive 2 values, one “Carbohydrate As Fed” meaning the % of carbohydrate of the food exactly as the food is. And another “Carbohydrate Dry Matter” which takes the moisture levels out. Understanding the dry matter values of your pet's food is handy if you’re trying to compare the carbohydrate levels in 2 different types of food (i.e. a raw food diet vs. a tinned pet food product).
This calculator is a guide only and is as accurate as the detail of the information input. If you are concerned about the exact levels and type of carbohydrates in your pets food, we’d encourage you to get in touch with the manufacturer for more information.
Transparency in the pet food industry and in pet food labelling, for the health of pets, is something we’re really passionate about so feel free to get in touch with us anytime for more information at customercare@bigdogpetfoods.com
