I would not consider feeding a dog food that does not meet AAFCO standards. Except for prescription food/therapeutic diet. Just my opinion.
Excerpt from: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2009/07/pet-food-nutrition-myths/
AAFCO creates guidelines and models but has no regulatory authority. However, their ingredient definitions and nutritional standards are often adopted by the FDA in their regulation of pet foods. A food can be certified as meeting AAFCO standards based on nutrient analysis done by the manufacturer. Or it can be certified as “feeding trial tested” based on trials conducted by the manufacturer. These often last 10weeks (for growth diets) to 6 months (for maintenance diets) and involve regular clinical and laboratory monitoring. Unfortunately, a food can also be certified as “feeding trial tested” without an actual feeding trial if it is ruled by FDA substantively similar (in the same “product family”) to a food that has undergone feeding trial testing. Clearly,, this is less than ideal but without the political will to fund government testing of all pet foods marketed, these standards at least ensure a minimum level of adequacy, and they are certainly preferable to the complete lack of standards that apply to most home-cooked diets or those marketed outside the official regulatory system.
