Honest KitchenWholemade Limited Ingredient Chicken

The most common protein in pet food, and for dogs one of the most common food allergens, with beef and dairy. If chicken is what your pet reacts to, it hides everywhere: chicken fat, chicken broth, chicken meal, natural flavor. On a label, chicken listed first is weighed with its water still in, so a food leading with fresh chicken often has less chicken protein than one leading with chicken meal. Neither is better; they are different measures.

A root vegetable used as a carbohydrate source, especially in grain-free foods. It supplies energy, fiber and beta carotene and is well digested by dogs. There is no good evidence it beats rice or oats nutritionally, though it is a reasonable choice for pets that do poorly on grains. Like any starch, a food that lists it high is a starch-heavy food.

A leafy green added in small amounts for vitamins, minerals and color. Spinach is high in oxalate, which binds calcium and in large quantities is a concern for pets prone to calcium oxalate bladder stones. The amounts in a complete food are tiny, often a fraction of a percent, so for most pets it is a token vegetable with no nutritional or safety weight.

A culinary herb added in tiny amounts, usually with a claim about fresh breath. Parsley does contain chlorophyll and some vitamins, but there is no evidence that the fraction of a percent in a pet food changes breath or anything else. It is safe at these levels. It appears on some toxic-plant lists because very large amounts can cause light sensitivity; the pinch in a pet food is nowhere near that.

Oil pressed from whole fish, usually menhaden, herring or sardine, added as the source of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. Those fats support skin, coat, joints and brain development, and a food that names fish oil is delivering them in the form pets use directly. It goes rancid quickly, so look for a preservative named alongside it, usually mixed tocopherols. The species is rarely stated, which matters only if your pet reacts to fish.