WHY IS THERE ASH IN MY DOG'S FOOD?

WHAT'S ASH IN DOG FOOD?

Ash in dog food? Really? You’ve likely seen the words ‘crude ash’ on your dogs food and wondered, why? You may already be thinking about the same stuff you see in a fireplace, or on a bonfire! Why would anyone add ash to dog food? Our nutrition team here at Hunters Natural hope to answer all of your questions. When it comes to dog food, ash is not just as it may first appear. Some people even believe that ash in dog food is a filler – but this is just not true. Ash or crude ash in dog food simply refers to the cumulative total of all the minerals found in that specific food. Take our Field Performance Chicken as an example. It contains 7.5% crude ash, made up of a number of different minerals that are essential to your dogs diet.

Crude ash is not used as a filler in feeds

Crude ash in dog food is made up of natural minerals that are essential to meeting your dogs dietary requirements

There are a number of minerals that make up crude ash in dog food, however typically ash consists of calcium, zinc, phosphorous and iron along with many others. Now we’ve answered what crude ash is in dog food, we need to expand on why your dog should be consuming an appropriate amount of it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ASH IN DOG FOOD

Ash in dog food provides your dog with a number of essential vitamins that are critical to healthy development and maintenance. Whether your dog is working or not is irrelevant as all dogs require these minerals. Crude ash in dog food however is especially important when feeding puppies or dogs that suffer from kidney disease. A small amount of crude ash comes from the vegetables and botanicals that are found in our feeds, such as the potato in our Field Supreme Keepers Mix, however the vast majority comes from the animal proteins found in dog food, whether that be duck, chicken, venison etc. In any case however, knowing the crude ash amount is not very helpful as information on each mineral is much more useful. At Hunters Natural, we provide both so you can see for yourself why switching to our feeds may be the better option for your dog.

…CRUDE ASH IN DOG FOOD IS IMPORTANT. THE VALUE OF CRUDE ASH REPRESENTS THE CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF ALL THE MINERALS FOUND IN THAT FEED

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Still confusing? Along with this question and any others you may have, we offer free nutritional advice online. To get advice, simply complete our nutrition advice request form online and our team will respond with advice and recommendations tailored to your dog.

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