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How to Read Pet Food Ingredients Panels

When you try to compare dog and cat foods, there are a few things to know to make your comparison shopping easier.

For a normal, healthy dog or cat, you’ll be interested in basically the first four or five ingredients in the pet food. Generally, everything after the fifth ingredient will be vitamins, supplements, or ingredients in such small amounts that they won’t make a huge difference under normal circumstances.

Here are some things to look for in the pet food main ingredients:

• Animal Protein “Meal” as the first ingredient -  A protein “meal” is simply meat with the water removed (which it needs to be in order to make a dry, brown, crunchy thing.) You WANT meal as the first ingredient.
• Avoid “By-Products” – A by-product is simply, anything other than meat. And by anything… I mean any thing! Beaks and feet are what many people describe by-products as, but anything is possible with by-products.
• Avoid Glutens – Glutens are used in pet food as an artificial source of protein, and as a binding agent used to hold the food together. Glutens are basically what is left over after the starch is removed from cereal grains such as corn, wheat, and rice. Glutens, primarily imported glutens, were the source of the recent pet food recalls of the past couple of years. Manufacturers use glutens to artificially inflate protein levels so their food looks more nutritious than it really is. Glutens have little, if any, nutritional value, so I recommend staying away fron pet foods with glutens, as they are not worth the risk.

Two Things to Remember When Choosing a Cat Food…

• Cats were bred to be desert dwellers and depend on getting at least some of their liquid nutrition from their food.
  Sure, we’ve domesticated cats to where they will drink water, but it bucks against instinct. Simply put, a cat’s digestive system is not set up to process a dry kibble, no matter how good the kibble is.
• Like dogs, cats are carnivores, or meat eaters. (Actually, they are even more-so carnivores than dogs.) Sure, some grains and veggies are ok, but all that is really required for a happy, healthy cat is a good source of protein with moisture.

If you’ve ever cat a cat die of kidney failure at a young age, chances are pretty good that it was caused by feeding a lifetime of only dry kibble. Cats must get some liquid nutrition through their food.

If you feel that you absolutely must feed your cat a dry kibble, please consider supplementing their diet with at least some canned or raw food. Even a little bit, (a teaspoon a day,) helps immensely.

You should also consider a water fountain for your cat. Cats like running water, and are much more likely to drink appropriate amounts of water with one.

Allergens in Dog Food

Most healthy dogs do just fine on any of the better brands of dog food. There are some ingredients that are used in some dog foods that dogs can be allergic to, so therefore they should be avoided with your pet.

3 Most Common Allergens in Dog Foods:

• Corn – is usually fine for most dogs, especially if it has been cooked before processing, and is used in whole-grain form. Some dogs can be allergic to corn though, especially when corn gluten is used. I personally avoid foods with any glutens as an ingredient.
• Wheat – is not used too much any more in the better dog foods, but it is a source of allergens for some dogs.
• Soy – again, you don’t see this much in the better brands of dog food… for a reason.

If you are feeding your dog food that was bought from a grocery store, and your dog is not reacting well to that food, check the ingredient panel of the food to check for these ingredients. Also be aware that these allergens may be used in different forms such as cracked, bran, or gluten.

How to Tell if Your Dog is Having Food Allergies

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How to Transition Your Cat or Dog to a New Food

When you are changing pet foods, particularly when you are changing brands of food, you’ll want to transition, or slowly introduce, your pet to the new food.

I’ve talk to some people that take literally months to transition their pet to a new food. I’m not a big believer in that. I figure if you’re going to change foods, then do it. Chances are, if you’re trying to get your pet off of a particular food, then there’s a reason for it, so I believe in transitioning the pet to the new food as quickly as possible so your pet can reap the benefits of the new food faster.

How I Transition Pet Foods

Like I said, I like to transition pet foods rather quickly, a week.

• 2/3 old food, and 1/3 new food for 3 days
• 2/3 new food, and 1/3 old food for 3 days
• Done!

Transition Aids

Chances are, if you are transitioning foods, you are transitioning your pet to a better food. Therefore, your pet will be getting better, and somewhat more intense nutrition. This could show up with your dog or cat being a little “gassy, or they may have a little bit of the “runs.” This is actually pretty normal, the symptoms should go away within a day or two, but here are a couple things you can use to help in the transition…

• Since you are transitioning to a food with better nutrition, cut back on the portion size. Try easing back about 25% from what you were feeding. If you were feeding a cup of the old food, try 3/4 cup of the new food.
• Try more, but smaller meals.
• Add a tablespoon or so of either plain (not flavored) yogurt, or canned pumpkin. Either one will help firm things up in the back yard, and settle the stomach, though the pumpkin will turn things bright orange in the yard! : )
• Add a spoonful of Holistic Transition. It’s a great probiotic powder you sprinkle over your pet’s food.

Hope this helps!

What is THE BEST Pet Food?

That’s probably the question I get asked most often… and generally the people that ask that question want to feed an exclusively dry kibble diet.

If you are feeding your pet only dry kibble, then the “best pet food” is the one that your pet does the best on. Some pets will do absolutely fine on grocery store food that cost $7 for a 40 pound bag, and others will look and feel terrible on foods that cost $100 a bag.

Feeding your pet a dry diet is really an unnatural way to feed your pet. Heck, most dry foods (even the expensive ones) spray chicken fat on the kibble… why? … because that’s the only way kibble is identifiable as food to dogs. To be honest with you, letting your dog eat out of the neighbor’s garbage can is a more natural way of feeding a pet than dry kibble.

Ok, so we’re not going to feed our dogs out of the garbage can. So…

How do you Choose the Best Food for Your Pet?

• Sometimes, simpler is better. Choose a good quality chicken and rice, or lamb and rice. All your pet really needs from a diet is a good source of meat protein, and some fiber. Don’t worry about fruits, veggies,etc. The more ingredients, the greater chance of stomach upset.
• Picky eaters usually like dry kibbles with multiple protein sources.
• If you are switching dog food brands, start with chicken based foods, they are easier on the stomach, and will help with cleanup in the back yard or litterbox.
• If you need help with skin and coat issues, try lamb or fish based formulas.

How do You Know if You are Feeding the Best Pet Food?

I don’t want to be gross, but the best indication that your pet is eating the best pet food for him is by… stool volume… and smell. Excessive, smelly stool is an indication that your pet is not getting what it needs from his food.

Finding the best food for your pet will probably take some trial and error, and some experimentation. You’ll want to transition foods over a week or so, and to begin to see benefits from a new food will take about six weeks.

I’ll talk more about transitioning foods in my next post.