| 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 often 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. |
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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 often 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 often 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 reliable 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 often my favorite brands that have performed well for my clients over my twenty years of experience in clinical small animal practice.
| Aflatoxins are toxins produced by certain strains of mold on grains such as peanuts, soybeans and corn, as well as other cereals. Aflatoxin production may occur during pet food storage when high temperatures and moisture allow for mold growth.
Recently and in the past few weeks, there have been 3 pet food recalls by the companies Proctor and Gamble, Cargill, and most recently Advanced Animal Nutrition. |
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The latter recall involves the Dog Power Advanced maintenance formula, the Hunters Formula, and the Dog Power High Pro Performance Formula.
Symptoms of aflatoxin exposure include lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting and/or diarrhea. With progressive liver failure, yellowing of the eyes and/or urine may occur as well. While there have been no reported clinical cases of pets affected at this point, any pets who have consumed these foods and exhibit any of these symptoms should be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible.
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One of the more common questions I get from the 1800PetMeds customers is whether the prescription diet recommended by their veterinarian is absolutely necessary to feed, and/or whether there are any other dietary options available for their pets. It is first important to recognize that if there were any one diet that was a solution for all of our pets’ health issues, that all veterinarians would sell one particular diet. |
In fact, many years ago there was only one prescription diet sold by most veterinarians. Now there are several competing companies touting various diets to treat and prevent urinary problems, digestive problems, skin allergies, as well as joint problems to name just a few. It is also important to recognize that most conventional veterinarians receive very little nutritional training in veterinary school, and many times are simply recommending what pet food sales representatives are telling them, rather than what they learned in veterinary school or from veterinary nutritionists.
I often tell my clients that if a particular antibiotic or particular commercial diet solved urinary crystal problems in cats or dogs, I would be the first in line to recommend only that diet. However, because of my concern about feeding lower quality diets over the life of an animal and the potential negative health consequences, I often stress quality of ingredients rather than specific ingredients found in many of these commercial diets.
Natural pet food companies such as Wysong offer natural alternatives such as Uretic diet for those pets prone to struvite crystals. There are also excellent resources for proper homemade diet recipes including books by Donald Strombeck, PhD, and Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD. No matter which diet one feeds their particular pet with a chronic health problem, it is important to be under the care of a knowledgeable veterinarian.
Has your vet recommended one diet or pet food to help with your pet’s health concerns?
Often times I’m asked whether prescription pet food diets are better than those sold in grocery stores. In most cases your veterinarian will have a wider variety of selection of prescription diets that may help with managing various medical conditions, including bladder problems, digestive issues, joint problems, diabetes, liver and/or kidney issues. Most of the time these diets are not found commonly in grocery stores. Amongst popular prescription diets include those by Hills, Purina, and Royal canine to name just a few commonly carried by veterinarians.
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While these prescription pet food diets are often quite expensive, I have found them at best partially effective, in my experience and opinion. In addition, I’m not a fan of many of the ingredients used in many of these prescription foods.
Instead, I much prefer proper homemade diets that can potentially address many of the above conditions. One of the best resources of these for animal guardians is a book by Donald R. Strombeck PhD on varied recipes for homemade pet food diets.
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Overweight pets are an increasing epidemic today, just as with humans. When pets are overweight, the potential health consequences down the road are many. Back and joint problems, as well as metabolic problems of the liver, kidney pancreas (i.e diabetes), and heart can occur. The two biggest factors involved with the obesity epidemic in pets is the overfeeding of nutrient poor carbohydrate rich foods/excessive treats, and lack of exercise. |
It is important to realize that domesticated dogs and cats still need plenty of exercise, which their wild ancestors have every day. Not only does this keep them healthy but it keeps us healthy as well when pets and people can exercise together. It is important to feed appropriate amounts of a species appropriate diet that is low in processed carbohydrates, and high in good quality protein and ingredients.
If a proper fresh homemade diet is not possible, than a natural diet such as Nature’s Variety or Halo is recommended. I have not found the reduced fat diets sold at many veterinary offices are effective in weight control, as many of these are processed carbohydrate dry food based. I have also not found prescription medicines helpful for weight loss either in pets.
| While commercial diets for our pets have improved over the years, in my opinion they still fall short in promoting optimal health in our pets. In fact, many grocery store foods are barely adequate to maintain even minimal health in my experience and opinion. Not only are most of these foods highly processed, which depletes the foods of many important vitamins and minerals, but they are also often full of nutritional fillers, additives and preservatives that can cause severe chronic disease when consumed over a pet’s life. |
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It is for this reason that I recommend that any pets consuming commercial pet foods, especially those from pet stores or supermarkets, are given a good quality multivitamin supplement. VitaChews and Super VitaChews are excellent vitamins that can enhance the quality of any food fed to our animals. Since our dogs and cats evolved to eat minimally cooked meat, I always also recommend adding digestive tract enzymes to meals as well to help with digestion and absorption of nutrients, such as NaturVet Digestive Enzymes. Omega 3 fatty acids are also important to include in a vitamin/supplement protocol in most pets, such as Super Pure Omega 3, as not only is digestion helped, but Omega 3 fatty acids are also helpful in maintaining proper heart, brain, joint and kidney function as well.
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One of the major problems in veterinary medicine today, as in human medicine, is the growing number of obese pets. Almost one half of dogs and over one half of cats are overweight or obese today. Weight related diseases of the heart, joints, and endocrine system, including diabetes, as well as potentially shorter life span can result. |
For years, veterinarians have recommended prescription reduced calorie diets for such pets. However, in my experience and opinion, many of these diets don’t work very well, as they often focus on only calories, rather than types of nutrients in the food. For example, many dry based foods for cats are carbohydrate based, and so even such reducing diets, can actually lead to weight gain in cats. In this species who has a naturally high protein and fat intake, a more “Catkins” diet consisting of low carbs, and high protein/moderate fat, may be more in line with weight loss than a simply low calorie diet.
Many of the supermarket dry “reduced calorie” brands would fall under the category of high carb diets that could lead to paradoxical weight gain. I always instruct clients to feed pets at set times each day, rather than free feeding, and always stress a minimally processed (preferably homemade) diet based on a balanced recipe. However, if that is not possible then certainly all natural diets such as Nature’s Variety Instincts or Halo Spot’s Stew offer viable alternatives to keeping pets happy, healthy and at an optimal weight.
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As I have written in other blog entries, one of the most important health care decisions an animal guardian can make for their pet is the type of diet they feed their pet from puppy/kitten hood and as they grow up. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, was quoted as saying, “Let food be thy medicine.” Nutritional imbalances, as well as deficiencies and toxic ingredients are major factors in the increase in chronic degenerative, autoimmune, and cancerous diseases in younger pets these days. |
Also, as I have previously stated, veterinarians receive minimal formal training on nutrition in veterinary school. As a result, some veterinarians often make pet food recommendations based on what sales representatives tell them. Fortunately, in recent years, there has been a great expansion of wonderful quality and natural brand commercial pet foods that I have discussed in previous blogs, such as Be Well, Pet Guard and Wysong
However, an alarming trend that I’m noticing in the pet food industry is the process of corporate companies buying out previously reliable and trustworthy pet food companies, who may be more interested in profit over quality, at least from my perspective. Many pet food company giants include companies whose initial business began in various industries including toothpaste, chocolate, and ketchup. Just because these companies have excessively large marketing and sales forces does not mean that they are the healthiest choices for your pets.
And while one must always be vigilant when choosing a smaller pet food company which may make several wonderful claims, I would strongly recommend a consultation with a more holistically oriented veterinarian. For more information, I recommend visiting www.AHVMA.org for any questions you may have regarding which diet you should choose for your pet.
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One of the most common medical problems seen in the clinic is dogs with recurring or chronic skin or ear inflammations/infections. Most of these cases are due to underlying allergies, usually from inhalant/contact allergens, food allergens, or flea allergies. When it comes to food allergies, many of these pets have skin and ear problems that are non-seasonal and often don’t respond as well to medications or good flea control. |
When faced with any chronically allergic dog with skin disease, it is always worthwhile trying a restricted novel protein diet for a period of at least a few months to see if there is any improvement or alleviation of the skin and/or ear symptoms. During the dietary trial with this novel diet, no treats or chewable heartworm medications should be given, as many of these have additional ingredients that pets could be potentially allergic to.
Some of the newer proteins that vets have been trying include diets based on rabbit, venison, kangaroo or duck. While it is ideal to formulate such diets at home with the help of a veterinary nutritional expert, or books such as Dr. Pitcairn’s Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD, there are natural commercial pet foods that are viable options, if home cooking is not possible. Brands such as Wellness, Wysong or Pet Guard often offer such novel protein diets.
As a veterinarian who sees the role that quality ingredients play in long term health and longevity in pets, I strongly urge exploring a proper homemade diet first. However, if homemade diets are not possible, I suggest trying the quality, natural brand diets mentioned above because they are free of toxic byproducts, preservatives and additives which can lead to other health issues down the road, such as cancer or organ failure.
I prefer these to some of the more common larger pet food company formulations, which although often carried by local veterinarians have questionable ingredient quality in my opinion and experience.
As more and more clients are exploring vegetarian life styles, the exploration of vegetarian recipes is becoming more common in both canine and feline guardians. While I’ve seen a few diets out there that can supply all of the nutrients a cat needs in vegetarian format, I certainly question the validity and safety of such diets, as cats are obligate carnivores, meaning that they require meat and certain animal derived amino acids like Taurine in their diets.
| True vegan recipes for cats are almost impossible to make even by researchers, as well as being extremely costly. While dogs are more omnivorous, it is possible for a vegetarian food to reasonably be used. Some excellent home made recipes can be found in the Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats by Richard Pitcairn, DVM, PhD. |
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There are a few vegetarian commercially available pet foods for dogs such as PetGuard, which comes from a very reputable company. If clients insist on following homemade recipes found on the internet for vegetarian recipes, a board certified veterinary nutritionist should be consulted (i.e. www.balanceit.com) to ensure adequate level of nutrients.
