Full MoonEssential Duck Savory Sticks

A poultry protein, fattier and richer in iron than chicken. As with other fresh meats, the wet weight pushes it up the list; duck meal is the dried form. Duck is a different family of bird from chicken and turkey, which is why it is used as a novel protein, though pets that react to chicken sometimes react to duck as well.

A poultry protein, similar to chicken in nutrition and usually a little leaner. Fresh or deboned turkey is mostly water and ranks higher on the label than its dry contribution; turkey meal is the concentrated form. Turkey is often used as an alternative for pets that react to chicken, but the two are related birds and some pets react to both, so it is not a guaranteed swap.

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.

Starch from the cassava root, used to bind kibble and as a carbohydrate source, especially in grain-free foods. It is nearly pure starch with little protein, fiber or micronutrients, and it is one of the least likely ingredients to trigger an allergy. A food that leans on tapioca for carbohydrate is getting easy digestibility and little else from it, which is fine as long as the rest of the recipe carries the nutrition.

A vegetable added in small amounts for fiber and a little flavor, and in fresh or raw recipes for its water content. It is safe for dogs and cats and appears well down the list, often alongside other vegetables in a blend. It brings almost no calories and only trace nutrients at these levels, so it changes nothing about the food either way.

Almost always rosemary extract, used as a natural antioxidant to keep fats fresh, usually alongside mixed tocopherols. The amounts are tiny. A persistent internet claim links rosemary to seizures in dogs; there is no published evidence for it at food levels. If your dog has epilepsy, ask your neurologist rather than avoiding foods on this basis alone.