| The overwhelming array of choices when it comes to | | | | often find the same things you find in the cheap |
| pet food makes it difficult to determine which foods | | | | grocery store brands. Most veterinarians receive very |
| are best for your pet. In addition, many pet owners | | | | little training in nutrition. Veterinary schools typically offer |
| stopped trusting commercial pet foods after the | | | | only a few weeks of training in nutrition, and the |
| massive pet food recall of 2007. Pet owners began | | | | instruction is often sponsored or provided by the same |
| preparing home-made diets for their pets or jumped on | | | | companies that make these veterinary diets. |
| the raw food bandwagon. How do you know what | | | | Many pet owners are unsure of what makes a food |
| food is best for your pet? | | | | natural, healthy or holistic. The best way to determine |
| I am not a proponent of raw food diets. While I | | | | this is to disregard tags such as "all-natural", "holistic", |
| acknowledge that there are numerous benefits to | | | | "veterinarian approved", "chosen by top breeders". |
| feeding raw, unprocessed foods, I believe that the risks | | | | Ignore the cute photos of happy dogs and cute kittens |
| for animals outweigh the benefits. Unless you can be | | | | and wholesome looking ingredients on the labels, and |
| one hundred percent sure that the meat you're feeding | | | | look at the ingredient listing instead. Manufacturers are |
| your pet is pathogen and parasite free, you should not | | | | required to list ingredients in descending order, i.e., the |
| be feeding raw meat. If you want to feed a | | | | ingredient with the highest amount is listed first, the one |
| homemade diet, feed your pet a cooked diet and | | | | with the smallest amount last. |
| make sure it is properly balanced. provides recipes | | | | Quality Ingredients to Look For: |
| created by veterinary nutritionists for healthy pets as | | | | - Animal proteins - identified by name (e.g., chicken, |
| well as pets with special medical or dietary needs. | | | | beef, lamb). |
| Most pet owners still prefer to feed a commercial diet, | | | | - Organic ingredients - meats, vegetables, grains and |
| but they want to feed something that's "natural" and | | | | fruits - these are certified free of pesticides, hormones, |
| free of preservatives. But how do you know whether | | | | and antibiotics. Check for the USDA Organic seal on |
| the food that's advertised as "natural" really is? Often, | | | | the package. |
| foods are labeled "natural", but once you check the | | | | - Whole unrefined grains like barley, brown rice, or |
| label, you find that the food really isn't so natural after | | | | ground oatmeal for dogs. For cats, it is best to look for |
| all. A look at the ingredients might show that the | | | | grain-free foods. Most cats can't digest grains, and |
| conventional brand's "natural" food is still of pretty poor | | | | grain-free foods also help alleviate or eliminate hairballs. |
| quality. Maybe the primary ingredient was changed | | | | - Human-Grade ingredients - human grade meats tend |
| from poultry by-products to chicken, but the food still | | | | to be better quality. |
| contains corn gluten meal, soy meal, and wheat gluten | | | | - Whole vegetables and fruits - the less processed the |
| meal, ingredients that are high on the list of culprits | | | | better (for example, whole potatoes are much better |
| when it comes to allergies or digestive problems. This | | | | than potato starch). These are important sources of |
| is why it's important to not fall for the marketing hype | | | | natural plant-based nutrients (phyto-nutrients) and |
| of a "natural" label but read the ingredients. | | | | antioxidants. |
| Another common misconception is that veterinary | | | | I recommend the following brands: Wellness, Innova |
| diets are high quality, healthy foods because they | | | | (especially the grain-free EVO line), Merrick, California |
| come from a vet's office. Unfortunately, when you | | | | Natural. |
| look at the ingredient list on the veterinary brands, you | | | | |