Hi SaltiDawg,
The NRC is the National Research Council of the National Academies. AAFCO is an interpretation of the NRC recommendations. AAFCO minimums for Na are .3% for puppies and .06 % for adults with an energy density of 3500 kcals/kg diet. The proposed AAFCO.. I don’t think yet adopted, mins for sodium are .3% puppies and .08% adults with an energy density of 4000 kcals/kg. AAFCO doesn’t specify a maximum allowed sodium content in dog food.
NRC doesn’t report a min or SUL for sodium for puppies indicating that there is insufficient data. They do report an adequate and recommended sodium level for puppies of 2.2 grams/kg DM with an energy density of 4000 kcal/kg diet.
NRC reports a min sodium for adult dogs as .3 grams per kg DM and a recommended amount as .8 grams/kg diet with an energy density of 4000 kcals/kg.
Hope this helps
