AAFCO (Association o fAmerican Feed Control Officials) has been guiding state, federal and international feed regulators with ingredient definitions, label standards and laboratory standards for more than 110 years, while supporting the health and safety of people and animals. It is an organization that provides pet owners with practical, real-world information for answering questions about pet food. Feeding the wrong product to your dog can have minor to devastating effects. The best defense we have is understanding what we are feeding them in the first place, how to handle pet food products safely and how to use them correctly in feeding our dogs.

https://www.aafco.org/

There are several foods they do not recommend, as they have been linked to cases of canine heart failure by the FDA. When grain-free diets became popular, pet food companies began replacing grain with the following, which have all been linked to canine heart failure:

• Lentils
• Legumes
• Potatoes and/or Sweet Potatoes

Three companies that EXCEED the AAFCO guidelines are:

• Royal Canin
• Hill's Science Diet
• Purina

 We feed our pregnant females and puppies Royal Canin and switch them to Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice small bites when they become adults (or when not pregnant).

This link provides instructions on reading a label to determine if the food meets the guidelines: