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One of the most rapidly growing areas in the veterinary market is the big expansion of the commercial pet food industry. It can be quite confusing for an animal guardian to try and decipher pet food labels, in trying to make informed decisions about what to feed their animal companions. The pet food aisle takes up more space in a supermarket than all other sections, except for the cereal food aisle for people.
Unfortunately most veterinarians get very little training on nutrition in veterinary school, and typically make recommendations to animal guardians based upon what is told to them by pet food sales representatives, rather than what is truly healthier for their pets. one of the most important aspects of making a choice about what to feed our pets is in learning how to understand pet food labels in making that choice.
Whether feeding dry or canned food, I try and counsel clients on what I look for on the labels when choosing a pet food.
While there is typically an extensive list of ingredients, the most important ingredients in the pet food are the first three ingredients, which are those present in highest amounts in the food. given that dogs and cats are mainly carnivores, I recommend that two out of the first three ingredients listed on the label be meat. While I prefer the meat to be whole meat or meat meals, I counsel clients to stay away from those foods which have cryptic labels that are difficult to understand. Meat by-products and meat and bone meal are usually made from questionable quality ingredients and I recommend clients avoid these pet foods if possible.
Many pets have problems digesting soy, corn and wheat, so I will typically recommend avoiding these, as well as those foods with a lot of filler ingredients listed on the labels. Fruits and vegetables are a rich source of vitamins and antioxidants, and are a big plus when listed on pet food labels. I prefer that the pet foods be preserved naturally with vitamin E (tocopherols) and/or Vitamin C, rather than other toxic preservatives such as ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT, which have been incriminated in chronic disease and cancer in our pets.
Given that there are so many choices when choosing even a natural brand pet food, there are those trustworthy and reputable companies who have been doing it the longest, and who have the best track record in my experience and opinion. Pet Guard and Wysong are typically my favorite brands that have performed well for my clients over my twenty years of experience in clinical small animal practice.