First published in 2019. Rewritten in October 2026 as a practical guide to reading dog food labels.
What goes in the bowl matters. But if you want to know how much carbohydrate your dog's food contains, the label won't tell you. In the US, pet food labels follow model rules set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), and those rules don't require carbohydrate to be listed. The good news is that you can work it out yourself in about a minute.
Why carbohydrate is worth knowing
Dogs need protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. They have no set dietary requirement for carbohydrate when they get enough protein and fat. Many dry foods still contain a large share of it, because starch is inexpensive and helps hold kibble together. A diet lower in carbohydrate and higher in protein can make it easier to keep a dog lean and help keep blood sugar steadier. KetoPet's suggestion for most dogs is a low-carbohydrate diet: high in protein, moderate in fat.
Step 1: Find the guaranteed analysis
On the bag or can you'll see a box headed "Guaranteed Analysis". It lists crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber and moisture as percentages. Ash (the mineral content) is often missing; if it is, the manufacturer can usually tell you.
Step 2: Work out the carbohydrate
Add up protein, fat, moisture and ash, then subtract the total from 100. What's left is the total carbohydrate, which includes fiber.
Then subtract the fiber figure. What's left is the net carbohydrate: the starches and sugars your dog actually digests, and the number that matters most for blood sugar.
Example (an imaginary dry food): protein 26%, fat 16%, moisture 10%, ash 7%, fiber 4%.
Total carbohydrate: 100 − (26 + 16 + 10 + 7) = 41%
Net carbohydrate: 41 − 4 = 37%
The figures on the label are minimums and maximums, not exact amounts, so treat your answer as a good estimate rather than a precise number.
Step 3: Compare foods fairly
Wet food is mostly water, which makes every other number look small. To compare a wet food with a dry one, work on a "dry matter" basis: divide the carbohydrate figure by (100 minus the moisture figure), then multiply by 100. In the example above, that's 37 ÷ 90 × 100, or about 41% on a dry matter basis. Do the same for any food you're comparing.
One more thing to check
Look for the nutritional adequacy statement, which says whether the food is "complete and balanced" and for which life stage. This matters most for puppies, who need a food made for growth or for all life stages.
Our free guide, What's Really in the Bowl, goes further into what's in dog food and how to choose well, and our meal calculator can help you plan your dog's meals. If you have questions, the KetoPet community on Facebook is a good place to ask.
This article is general information, not veterinary advice.