Tackling Pet Food Problems

Last week, we talked about the growing pet obesity problem. One of the issues we tackled in that post was the way that pet food choices can impact your pet's health and weight.The Sparta Independent ran an article linking a variety of other pet health issues to the ingredients found in many commercial pet foods. The ingredients found in many commercial pet foods. These ingredients include fillers such as soy, wheat corn, and coloring agents.PetMD.com also targets corn as a particularly problematic substance. In this article, Dr. T. J. Dunn, Jr. DVM, cautioned dog owners to shift their pets over to a meat-based diet.

I recommend that a dog owner look at the pet food label. Look at the ingredient list and a meat such as chicken should be listed as the first ingredient. Look at the guaranteed analysis to see that the protein level is at 30% or more. The fat content should be at 18 percent or more. And if there is rather a wide spectrum of ingredients such as omega fatty acids and Vitamin E, that's good, too. There should be NO FOOD COLORING!

Whew! At times, pet nutrition can be just as confusing as human nutrition is! Not so long ago, vets were insisting that too much meat is bad for your pet!In the end, all you can do is continue to educate yourself as new information about pet nutrition comes to light, and continue to work with your vet to make the choices that best support your pet's health. Meanwhile, we'll continue to be great peeps for your pets by digging up information that you might want to consider whenever we might find it!