What's For Dinner For Your Pet?

Yesterday it was pointed out to me by Britt Pearce, one of the proprietors of , that there has been a lot of news lately about how to economically feed your dog. A quick Google search netted literally hundreds of articles on how to feed your pet for cheap. For an economy that is supposed to be recovering, it’s still pretty obvious that people are struggling and need to save money wherever they can. These latest reports are hitting a nerve with pet owners who need to cut corners.

As if the news reports didn’t generate enough, another Google searched produced a massive number of studies on dog food and it’s ingredients. There are reports on the qualifications for what is a protein, what is a fat, where the actual food is produced, what the food is made from - it can make your head spin.

After sifting through a good amount of this information, I have come to the following conclusions:

1- Be wary of what is considered a “study”. Three guys in their basement with $20 between them saying Science Diet is the best food ever is not the basis of a study. Large control groups studied over a period of time is a study in my mind.

2- Be even more wary of the definition of the terms they use. For example, according to 5stardog.com, words like “protein” are thrown pretty liberally in dog food labeling. While many dog foods do contain protein, it’s worth noting that all proteins are not created equal. I’m pretty sure a McDonald’s hamburger claims to have protein but that doesn’t mean it’s good for you, nor should you eat one twice a day.

3- The content of some of the dog food is truly alarming. A brief look at how some of the “premium” dog foods are made turned my stomach. Material discarded from rendering plants, grains coated with highly toxic chemicals, enough fillers to make a dog bloated by just looking at the bag - and that‘s just for starters.

So after a morning of reading through all this material and fighting the churning in my stomach as a result, I did some searches to find out how we can get good food for our dogs. Luckily for consumers, there are many pet companies and retail stores who realize we need to feed our pets better and offer more economical solutions.

For starters, review this site:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/dog-food-vitamin-mineral-standards/. It has the list of what the standards for dog food are in this country. Once you’re armed with this information, it’ll make label reading a lot easier. The full American Association of Feed Control Specialists website is http://www.petfood.aafco.org

. It’s a lot of information but it’s also the “official” website for the volunteer group who keeps an eye on what goes on in the pet food industry.

As with many things doggie related, I like to ask friends, customers and business associates what they feed their dogs and why. Dr. Harvey’s, Wellness, Natural Balance and Evo are huge hits with my customers and staff. None of them are outrageously expensive (ok, maybe compared to Ol’ Roy it is but again - just because Taco Bell is cheap doesn’t mean we ought to eat it twice a day). (As much as I would love to. I digress.) The raw diet has also become user friendly since you can buy pre-made patties that stay frozen until it’s time to eat, with all of the guess work taken out. You may pay a few dollars more for a high quality food but in the long run it’ll save you a ton on vet visits because your dog has food allergies, gastrointestinal distress and who knows what else as a result of inferior food.

One final note - again, this is just a conclusion that I’ve come to in my travels but stay out of the big retail chain pet stores. They push whatever food is on special that month from the corporation who sells it. Smaller retail shop owners are far more educated about the food they sell and are under no obligation from some gigantic company to sell their food. They generally sell it because they believe in the product and believe it really is the best for your pet.