Facts About Pet Food

Pet food sales is a multi-million dollar industry with many companies competing for your business. Some of the companies have your pet's health as their main concern and some have their pocket books as their main concern. The laws and common practices related to packaging and advertising pet foods are easily manipulated by companies to confuse the consumer into buying their brand of food.

Feeding your pet the proper food can increase both its quality and longevity of life. The proper diet over a lifetime of feeding can reduce the occurrence and/or the symptoms associated with liver disease, kidney disease, arthritis and some allergic diseases. Consider the following example. Research has shown that the incidence of hip dysplasia can be reduced by 50% by feeding a diet that has the proper amounts of fats, calcium and phosphorus to large breed puppies. Many puppy foods have excessive amounts of these substances. Some forward thinking companies have started producing puppy/growth foods that have the proper amounts of these ingredients. Some foods advertised as "Hi-Protein" have protein levels that are damaging to the kidneys. So how do you know which food to buy? Check out the facts and suggestions listed below.

Fact #1:

You should use life stage appropriate foods. This means that foods with labels that state "Complete Nutrition for all Life Stages" should be avoided. There is no way that one food can have the proper level of nutrients for all ages of animals. These foods have excesses of many nutrients that can be harmful to older pets. Select a food that fits the age of your pet. Young animals and pregnant animals should get a growth and lactation diet, adult animals should get a maintenance diet and senior pets should get a senior diet.

Fact #2:

You should select a food from a company that uses a "fixed formula". Most pet food companies do not use a fixed formula. They use whatever ingredients they can purchase inexpensively. One month they may use chicken as the main protein source and the next they may use corn. Pet food companies can legally change the formulation of their foods without changing the label for up to 6 months. There are a few companies that use a "fixed formula" and guarantee that the ingredients of their diets do not change from batch to batch.

Fact #3:

You should not place any confidence in a pet food label that claims that the food "Meets NRC requirements for pet food". The NRC requirements state the minimum amounts of nutrients needed but do not set maximum limits. A food meeting these requirements can have dangerous excesses of certain nutrients. More is not always better! Furthermore, the NRC requirements are listed only as percentages and do not address quality of ingredients at all. You could make a food that meets the NRC requirements from leather shoes, crankcase oil, coal and water. This would not be a good food to feed your pet but you could advertise that it met the NRC minimums for protein, fat and fiber.

Fact #4:

The list of ingredients in a food can be manipulated to make you think you are getting a better food than you are. Ingredients are listed in order of amount from greatest to least. Most animals need a diet that has an animal protein (i.e. beef, chicken, turkey, fish, etc) as one of its main ingredients. We recommend that one of these animal sources be listed as one of the first 3 ingredients in the ingredient list. The confusion starts when companies start getting creative with the names of the ingredients. Consider the following examples.

Food #1 Ingredients: corn, chicken, soybean ...

Food #2 Ingredients: chicken, whole corn, corn meal, cracked corn, shelled corn ....

Both foods have chicken listed as one of the first 3 ingredients. Food #2 looks better because chicken is listed first but the next 4 ingredients are all corn. They are listed separately so their amounts appear smaller. This is a common way to fool the consumer. You should read the labels and if you see the same ingredient listed multiple ways you should wonder what the company is trying to hide.

Another way companies use labels to fool consumers is by taking advantage of our perceptions and the rules governing the naming of processed ingredients. What sounds better, "whole dressed chicken" or "processed chicken"? On pet food labels, "whole chicken" sounds good but it may mean literally whole chicken carcasses - feet, beak, feathers, bones and all. "Processed chicken" sounds much worse but may actually mean clean, skinned, de-boned chicken breast. Which would you rather eat?

Conclusion

So how do you pick a good pet food for your pet?

1. Use a food that is appropriate for the age of your pet.
2. Use a food with a fixed formula.
3. Use a food produced by a reputable company.
4. Beware of companies using questionable labeling practices.
5. Beware of companies that won't answer all your questions about their food.
6. Remember that in most cases you get what you pay for.
7. Remember that more is not always better when it comes to ingredients.
8. Ask your veterinarian for specific suggestions.