Pet Food Brands
Making the right choice for your pet starts with reading the label. We’ll show you how!
Nutritionally, a cat is just a small lion and a dog mimics the needs of its wild wolf cousins and ancestors. Needing larger quantities of protein and fat and limited quantities of carbohydrates, they prefer to gorge themselves on one large meal rather than many small ones throughout the day. That being said the most important things about pet food is what’s in it.
Look at the ingredients list
By law, pet food brands must list the ingredients in order of the weight so the first three ingredients are the most important and you will be able to tell by them whether the food is vegetable-based or meat-based. If any of the first three main ingredients include corn, rice, wheat or soybean meal, it is vegetable based. If the first three ingredients include beef, lamb, fish or poultry, it is meat or protein based. For both dogs and cats, you are looking for a meat-based diet.
Next look for a guaranteed analysis
This will be stated as an analysis that is guaranteed by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) and will list the percentages of food types in the food. Since the percentages are not exact it’s hard to know what’s in the food, but this analysis can be helpful in instilling your confidence in the food after you’ve read the ingredient list yourself.
Forget about claims on the label
Beware claims like “nutritionally complete”, “complete and balanced”, or “high protein”. Manufacturers can put whatever claims they want on the packaging unlike human food, which is protected by the FDA. Just because it says it, doesn’t mean it is so. A “high protein” dog food could be filled with cheap feathers, hide or hoofs, all of which are high in protein but are completely indigestible by your pet. Read the ingredient list looking for real food names, not chemicals and not body parts. The least expensive foods on the market will be filled with grain products used a as fillers along with chemicals and colorings to make it seam “meaty”. The more expensive brands will be filled with real meat, grain and vegetables suitable for humans and even organic ingredients.
Moist, semi-moist or dry food?
Depending on its water content, pet food can be categorized into these three types.
- Dry foods: Provide good teeth cleaning fiction and jaw muscle exercise as well as a balanced diet if it is good quality pet food as described by its ingredient list.
- Semi-moist foods: Provide no jaw exercise or teeth-cleaning, generally contain no nutritive benefits and are loaded with colorings and chemicals to make them look “meaty”. These are not necessary to a dog or cat’s diet.
- Moist/Canned Foods: If you read the label, you’ll find the biggest ingredient in these is water. So the largest portion of your purchase price of these foods is for water, which you can and should be giving your pet daily. These foods can be mixed with cheap dry food to boost the nutritional content of the whole meal but it is not necessary.
How about real food and table scraps?
Real food is what animals really need to eat! More and more vets are agreeing with what pet owners already know! If you look on the label and the first five ingredients include lamb, beef, rice, carrots and peas why not mix those real leftovers into his dry food every day with some water or gravy (watch the salt and fat content, though) for a nutritional boost his body can use right away. Forget about table scraps, better yet, make your own pet food stew just for him using the whole week’s leftovers. You can find some great recipes and pet food cookbooks online by searching “homemade pet food”.
Special need foods
Some pets do have special needs, are ill or elderly and there are foods specially formulated to meet those needs. Rely on your vet for a referral to one that is appropriate for your pet. Also, never switch a pet’s food abruptly. Instead add or subtract foods gradually because their digestive systems are more sensitive.
A list of leading Pet Food Brands:
Alpo
Black Gold
Canidae
Eagle Pack
Eukanuba
Flint River
Iams
Innova
IVD
Natural Balance
Nutrience
Nutro
Pinnacle
Purina
Royal Canine
Science Diet
Solid Gold
Wellness
Wysong
Whiskas