Abstract
To investigate the general characteristics including nutritional trends of commercial dog foods as a staple food we purchased 132 products of 24 companies from retail stores in the Tokyo area. We then classified them based on the information shown on their labels. The percentage of dry, wet, and semi-moist foods was 50.8%,42.4%, and 6.8%, respectively. The usage indicated for dry and wet foods was for puppies, adults, aged dogs, and obese dogs, but the semi-moist food was only for adult dogs. The dry and wet type foods were dominated by imports from the United States and Australia, but all semi-moist foods were made in Japan. Crude protein content in the wet type food for adult dogs was 49% and the lowest value was 13% for obese dogs. Crude fat content of the foods, except those for obese dogs, was higher in wet type foods than in dry foods. Crude fiber content of all diets, except those for obese dogs, was less than 3% on a dry matter basis. The food prices per 100g dry matter were higher for all wet type foods than for dry foods.
