- The Association of American Feed Control Officials regulations state that any dog food professing to be natural can only consist of animal and plant materials that are unprocessed or processed without chemical means. They cannot include any synthetic materials. For example, the allowed animal materials would include animal parts, such as chicken meat or chicken by-products, but not animal digest, which is chemically created. Allowed plant materials would include ground corn and grains.
- Organic dog foods must be made in compliance with United States Department of Agriculture regulations. These regulations cover how produce is grown and how livestock is raised. Any animals, fruits, vegetables and grains that are grown in accordance with regulations can be used in organic foods.
- Natural and organic foods are part of the holistic health movement, which is the treatment of the whole animal rather than individual symptoms. When the term holistic is used in foods, however, it is not regulated so there is no way to be certain if a food labeled holistic is natural or organic. Because of this, though a food may claim to be holistic, it may contain ingredients that would not be allowed in natural or organic foods.
- Natural dog foods are often chosen by owners wanting their dogs to receive more antioxidants in the hopes that the dog will have less risk for chronic diseases and will be generally healthier. These antioxidants are present because of the higher fruit and vegetable content or because the food is not chemically processed.
- Though vegetarian dog foods can be natural, many veterinarians do not recommend these diets for dogs based on the belief that dogs are healthier on animal protein sources, since animal protein is their source in the wild.
