Pet food is a very complex topic. It is confusing for owners and veterinarians alike. Lets start with some basic building blocks. The FDA is the regulating body that requires foods to be safe, made under proper sanitary conditions and have a truthful label . AAFCO (Association of American Food Control Officials) is the group that ensures pet diets are balanced and has requirements for the proper nutrients. Pet foods with an AAFCO statement mean they have undergone rigorous standards to be acceptable for your pet. It is a way we know the food is safe and nutritious.
The FDA requires all ingredients must be on the label, including every vitamin and mineral. The list can get long quickly and look confusing. Having a long label is not a bad thing. Labels have to list everything by the scientific name. They may look odd to you, but that is ok. An example would be thiamine scientifically, but it is commonly called vitamin B.
Yes, dogs are omnivores and cats are carnivores, so they both need meat. However, that doesn’t mean other food types are bad for them. They need a balanced diet, which encompasses many nutrient types. Grains are actually a good thing to have in your pets diet. Grains provide essential amino acids and carbohydrates that our animals need to sustain themselves. Just eating meat won’t provide these and be balanced. When we think of meat, that is actually striated muscle. You may be thinking, wild dogs only eat meat. However, they eat the whole carcass, which has all kinds of grains and vegetables in the intestines from the herbivore they are consuming. Wild canids also supplement their diet with berries and roots. Most of our cats and dogs are NOT allergic to the grain in their diets, they are allergic to the protein (meats) in the foods. Science has shown recently the new “grain free diets” are suspected of leading to heart disease in our pets. Our pets need grain!
“By products” are not bad! “By products” are organs, bone and blood. They are created when other parts of the animal are harvested. These are good sources of protein for our pets, they are often vilified which is inaccurate.
So, as you are looking for pet foods, look for the AAFCO seal of approval on the bag, know the ingredient list is confusing, grain is good, and by products are excellent sources of nutrition for our pets. We recommend the large food companies because they have better quality control, have better sanitation, their ingredients are sourced by reputable suppliers and they do food trials with research. The specific brands we stand by are Royal Canin, Hills Science Diet, and Purina Pro Plan. If you have questions about this complicated topic please call or schedule an appointment to discuss this with us!
