4,000 Pet Food Options and Counting

Choosing the Most Appropriate Diet for Your Pet

With over 4,000 pet food options on the market, pet owners need a sensible way to weed through all the crazy amount of information out there.  Pet food companies use marketing ploys to convince consumers to buy a product.  Unfortunately, advertising is not always truthful, and most commercial diets out there are not safe for our pets.  Diet related health issues may not show up immediately, but they can become very serious over time.

Most of the 4,000 foods are ‘AAFCO approved’ (Association of American Feed Control Officials) by following AAFCO guidelines and passing stringent testing.  This may sound good, but they are actually very basic guidelines.  The stringent testing is required to be performed on only 8 animals over a 6 month period.  The guidelines require that “the animal must not die of nutritional related causes or lose more than 15% of their body weight”.  As long as 6 of the 8 animals did not die they pass or finish the study, the food is ‘AAFCO approved’.  Sadly, this is a pretty arbitrary test for a food that you feed your pet every day for the rest of it’s life.  The pet food industry standards do not watch out for your pet’s overall health and well-being.

However, without this testing we actually do know what has worked for hundreds of years of evolutionary trial and error for many similar species.  Dogs, cats and their close relatives have been eating carnivore/scavenger food for hundreds of years.  Over time, we have not bred our domesticated pets to become wheat or corn-eating animals.  We need to remember that their ancestors and current wild relatives live well on carnivorous diets and that they have essentially the same inner workings and gastrointestinal tracts that our domesticated pets have.

In most pet foods, there are too many grains and many unhealthy ingredients, including onions and garlic that are known to be toxic to dogs and cats.  Instead of meat-based proteins, many foods have inappropriate protein sources, such as soy. In most maintenance dry foods, 70% of ingredients in the non-protein portion are all carbohydrates.  It is true that dogs, cats and other carnivores can eat other foods; they can survive, but they can not thrive on inadequate foods.  Animals are suffering from the same maladies as people – obesity, diabetes, arthritis, allergies, and seizures.  Our own bad habits of supersized, processed foods and foods high in carbohydrates are creating the same problems in our pets.  Just like us, their lives are shortened by the foods they are eating.

In conclusion, carnivore, grain free to low grain diets make animals healthier.

 CARNIVORE FOODS FOR DOGS & CATS

·        NO Corn, NO Wheat, NO Soy

·        Read ALL the ingredients on the label of pet food, treats, and anything that goes in your pet’s mouth

·        No wheat or corn in ANY form in food or treats = glutens, spelt, maize, high fructose corn syrup, pasta, etc.

·        AVOID white potato, garlic and onion, molasses and sugars, alfalfa, and sorghum

·        Peas, sweet potatoes, beets and other vegetables are good carbs

·        Try to avoid preservatives, especially BHA/BHT and Ethoxyquin that have been shown to have detrimental health effects and possibly cause cancer in people

·        Avoid foods with large amounts of additives, food colorings, etc.

·        Avoid foods made in CHINA

·        Foods with higher protein percentages and GRAIN FREE labels are ideal*

·        Good options include Wellness, Natural Balance, California Naturals, Evo, Call of the Wild, Solid Gold, Wysong, Merrick, Orijen, Newman’s Own and many others.  *Read the labels.

Try Canned Foods:

·        Prefer wet or canned food over dry food, if tolerated by your pets

·        Easier to eat and digest

·        Include an appropriate amount of water already in the food

·        Beneficial in pets with kidney or other chronic diseases that would benefit from increased hydration

·        Many canned foods are available without corn or wheat

Treat Guidelines:

·        Avoid baked and other treats with corn, wheat, and sugars in them

·        Protein content is not as crucial, unless there are a large number of treats in the diet

·        Consider freeze-dried chicken, beef, liver, or other meats

·        Avoid treats made in China

·        Plain rice cakes and low salt canned or frozen green beans are great low calorie and fun treats

Useful Supplements:

·        Omega 3 Fatty Acids (high concentrations of DHA & EPA)

o    From Algae (Algal-source) or purified fish oil to remove Mercury and other heavy metals

o   Excellent anti-inflammatory functions that can help the skin, liver, kidneys, joints, and heart

·        Unsweetened canned pumpkin and Metamucil are terrific ‘stool regulators’

o       Good for constipation & diarrhea

o       Pumpkin – use 1 Tbsp per 30 pounds 1-2 times a day in food or as a treat

o       Metamucil – use 1 tsp per meal per 50 pounds

Dental Information:

·        Dry food is not better for the teeth – it does not ‘chip off tartar’ and can actually contribute to tartar production by sticking to the teeth.

·        Canned food is not worse for the teeth – animals lick their teeth clean after eating canned food.

·        Foods & treats low in sticky carbs are best – avoid wheat, corn, soy, and peanut butter.

·        Brushing the teeth at least 3 times a week, (even with a piece of gauze with pet toothpaste) will help prevent tartar build-up. Daily is best if possible.

Diet Change Recommendations:

·        When changing foods, be sure to do it SLOWLY – over 10-14 days, a little at a time

o       i.e. 1st day 10% new food with 90% old food and by the 10th day 90% new food with 10% old food

·        Unsweetened canned pumpkin (1 Tbsp per 30 pounds) can help to keep stools firm.

·        Over-cooked white rice (not Minute Rice) that is gloppy (extra water added while cooking) can help firm up stools and encourage eating.

·        Probiotic to maintain normal/’good’ bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract during the food transition.

o       We carry Prostora for dogs that contains dehydrated intestinal bacteria in a ‘treat’ form and Forti-Flora for Cats that is in a powder form to mix with the food

·        Monitor for vomiting, diarrhea, or other GI signs

o       If a new diet is not working for your pet, go to a bland diet (boiled meat, meat baby food, or overcooked gloppy rice for a few feedings to help to get stools back to normal).

If you have any questions or concerns about choosing the most appropriate diet for your pet, or any of this information please do not hesitate to call.

480-820-2822