If your head is spinning over diet choices for your dog, you’re not alone. First our pooches are meat-loving wolves, but now it’s all about exotic plants and grains. What’s a pooch parent to do?

Remember, it’s all about nutrients and not just ingredients. And the fact is, dogs are omnivores — meaning, they eat both meat and vegetables.

As for veggies, corn and soy are fine. But now you’re more apt to see fancier ingredients, like quinoa and pumpkin, or spinach and sweet potato. That’s all about marketing. We pet parents do the shopping, so it’s no coincidence that pet foods follow our culinary trends.

Bottom line? Look for a “Complete and Balanced” nutritional adequacy statement on the package. That’s based on guidelines from the Association of American Feed Control Officials, or AAFCO. You can take that to the bank.