What Does “Complete and Balanced” Mean for Dog Food?

In this article:

• What does “complete and balanced” mean for dog food?
• Why do life stages matter in dog food?
• Who sets the standards for complete and balanced dog food?
• Why is it important for dog food to be complete and balanced?
• How do companies prove their food is complete and balanced?
• Is The Farmer’s Dog food complete and balanced?

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If you’ve seen the words “complete and balanced” on a bag of dog food, perhaps you’ve wondered what it means. The phrase is not just marketing copy—if a dog food is complete and balanced, it meets specific requirements, specified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), that are vital to a dog’s health. And if it doesn’t, it can be dangerous to feed your best friend over the long term as their primary source of nutrition.

“If a diet is not complete and balanced, meaning it does not meet nutrient requirements, there are risks of nutritional deficiencies or toxicities,” said Renee Streeter, DVM, Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Nutrition), senior director of animal nutrition at The Farmer’s Dog and one of our on-staff, board-certified nutritionists.

Not just any dog food can call itself “complete and balanced.” Here, we explain what you need to know about the term, why it’s necessary, and how The Farmer’s Dog goes above and beyond to ensure our human-grade food is 100% complete and balanced.

What does “complete and balanced” mean for dog food?

The term “complete and balanced” means that a food meets all of a dog’s dietary needs and is safe for daily feeding. The two words go hand in hand, covering different necessities of a healthy diet.

Complete

Food is “complete” if it contains all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients a dog requires to maintain good health. 

Balanced

Food is “balanced” if those nutrients are formulated to proper ratios. Too much or too little of certain components—or incorrect ratios of them—can negatively impact nutrient absorption and use, potentially affecting a dog’s health.

Why do life stages matter?

The composition and balance of required nutrients varies depending on what life stage or life stages the dog food is made for. These are the AAFCO-recognized life stages for dogs according to their website:

• Growth (for puppies)
• Maintenance (for healthy adults)
• Gestation/lactation (for pregnant and nursing dogs)
• All life stages (for dogs in any of the above stages)

Who sets the standards for “complete and balanced” food?

AAFCO sets guidelines for the nutritional standards that pet food must meet. Per the AAFCO site, “AAFCO does not regulate, test, approve or certify pet food. It establishes model language that states and other governing bodies may adopt into law.” In practice, most states base their regulations on AAFCO’s guidelines. If a food meets AAFCO’s standards, its packaging will note that it’s complete and balanced. You can find this claim near its nutritional adequacy statement, which is usually on the back or side of a package in small print. Most treats, toppers, and nutritional supplements will not carry a “complete and balanced” claim, because they are not meant to be a dog’s main source of nutrition.

Why is it important for dog food to be complete and balanced?

A complete and balanced diet ensures that your dog gets all the essential nutrients they need, in the proper proportions to maintain good health. Feeding them a diet that isn’t complete and balanced can increase the risk of or lead to poor health outcomes.

A dog whose diet is not complete and balanced, Dr. Streeter said, could experience “bone or joint issues, decreased red blood cell counts, and skin and coat issues.”

The “balance” in “complete and balanced” is necessary because certain elements operate as a team. Take zinc and copper, for example—too much zinc prevents copper absorption, and too little copper fails to support red blood cell and coat health. Iodine and selenium work together, too: Iodine builds thyroid hormones, and selenium provides key enzymes needed to convert them from an inactive form to the active form.

That a food is complete and balanced for a dog’s specific life stage is also crucial. If a food is labeled “for all life stages,” it is formulated to meet the requirements for both the “adult maintenance” and “growth and reproduction” nutrient profiles, providing adequate nutrition for dogs of any age. 

Keeping your dog’s diet balanced is also a reason to stick with the “10% rule,” which dictates that treats and other extras make up no more than 10% of your dog’s daily calories. In addition to helping keep your dog at a healthy weight and body condition, adhering to the 10% rule also means you’re not feeding them too many foods that aren’t complete or balanced.

How do companies prove their food is complete and balanced?

Companies can demonstrate that their food is complete and balanced through formulation or feeding trials.

Formulation

If a package of dog food says that it’s “formulated to meet the nutritional levels” of the intended life stage, that means the diet meets AAFCO’s guidelines for that life stage.

Feeding trials

If a dog food label reads “Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures,”  the company selling the food put it through a standard AAFCO adult maintenance feeding trial. The dog food being tested in this type of trial must keep 75% of the participating dogs healthy for six months. Dogs must not lose more than 15% of their initial body weight during the trial, and the averages of four blood values must fall within acceptable levels. The test fails if dogs show signs of nutritional deficiency or toxicity.

Is The Farmer’s Dog food complete and balanced?

Yes, The Farmer’s Dog offers recipes that are 100% complete and balanced and suitable for dogs in all stages of life.

All of our recipes are formulated by on-staff, board-certified veterinary nutritionists, which ensures that they include all the essential nutrients in the proper proportions.

Does The Farmer’s Dog do AAFCO feeding trials?

We conducted industry-standard AAFCO feeding trials on multiple recipes, showing that our food is nutritionally complete and balanced.

We don’t just meet the AAFCO requirements; we also partnered with the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine on a long-term feeding study. Beginning in August 2023, this study involved even more dogs than a standard feeding trial, and five times as many blood values. Going the extra mile in this way offered even more evidence that our food meets dogs’ dietary needs.

We’ve also conducted studies demonstrating that our fresh food is highly digestible (meaning that dogs can easily absorb the nutrients they need from it), that it’s highly palatable (meaning they love to eat it), that it provides significant hydration, and that it supports healthier aging. 

Does The Farmer’s Dog meet WSAVA guidelines?

Yes. The Farmer’s Dog foods and manufacturing processes meet or exceed all of the guidelines set by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) for selecting pet foods. These guidelines focus on evaluating each company in relation to their nutritional expertise, food safety and quality control practices, and nutrition research.

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