Pet News
Pet Food Options ... Are they all the same
Today’s pet owner faces a bewildering array of pet food choices. Pet foods are sold through grocery stores, pet stores, pet food stores, veterinarians and over the internet. The pet food industry is huge with annual sales in the billions. Unfortunately for the consumer, there is no government regulation of pet food in the Canadian marketplace and some pet food manufacturers routinely make fantastic claims about their foods. Some of these claims are backed by research – many are not.
Consumers are treated to a dizzying amount of advice regarding what to feed their pet. High fiber, high protein, no grain, raw (uncooked); the list goes on. References to the ancestry of cats and dogs form the basis of many recommendations. While cats are true carnivores and have evolved eating diets high in protein, dogs are actually omnivores (like humans and pigs) and are designed to eat lower levels of protein and more carbohydrate.
Everyone wants a piece of the action: From consumer product giants like Proctor and Gamble, Colgate Palmolive and the Mars Corporation to boutique pet food manufacturers. Even actors like Dick Van Patton (the patriarch of the TV show Eight is Enough) claim to know something about making pet food and produce their own brand. In spite of the large number of pet food brands, there are far fewer pet food manufacturers and many of the different competing brands are produced at the same factory.
Feeding nutritionally balanced food is one of the most important contributors to maintaining our pet’s health. The food our pets eat plays a role in their preventive health care and is also important in their treatment should they get sick. Feeding a balanced and tested commercial diet is the simplest method of meeting our pets’ nutritional requirements. Choosing the right food which is appropriate to their health condition will help our pets thrive and live long, healthy lives. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) establishes standards on which most manufacturers base their food recipes, but this association itself, has no regulatory authority. In Canada, some manufacturers participated in the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) Pet Food Certification Program, which involved a feeding trial, and their products may have carried a CVMA label on packaging similar to the dental seal we see on our toothpaste brands. The AAFCO standard is fairly achievable for most foods and therefore a minimum standard. To consider it another way, yes your child could survive on a sugar based breakfast cereal like Fruit Loops for every meal, but would you really feel comfortable feeding it to them every meal? Now consider if you had a very nutritious meal that was fully balanced and made with high quality meat, vegetables and grains; more of us would feel comfortable if our child ate that every day. That is the difference between certain foods available for our pets.
In recent years, obesity has become a major concern in our pets making it necessary to select a food that is appropriate to their stage of life as well as any concurrent health conditions they may be experiencing.
In future articles, we’ll look at pet food labels which list the various components of pet food. We’ll share how best to compare foods based on their labels and the importance of each nutritional component on growth and body development.
For now if you are unsure, speak with your local veterinarian, have a conversation with a qualified pet store associate. Yes research on the internet can help, but make sure you use a critical eye to what you read, as with labels, many articles also make fantastic claims and you need to prepare yourself to see through these false or misleading statements. Remember it’s up to you to provide the love and care for your pet, and we know you take that responsibility very seriously.
