What is in that bag of food?
The pet food industry is a confusing one. We can stand in a store looking at all the ingredients on the bag of food and still not really understand what is in the food. There are many misunderstandings or misconceptions regarding ingredients vs. nutrients. We need to feed a commercially prepared diet that is highly digestible and very tasty for our dog or cat.
By-products, meals and corn are among the most unpopular ingredients when it comes to why we choose one diet over another. What is not understood is that these ingredients actually are healthy because the chicken meal for example is meat, skin and bone finely ground into a very highly digestible protein. Another energy source, corn gets a bad rap of being filler in the diet, but it is useful in providing protein, omega fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins to the diet.
We succumb to the effects of marketing and feel that if it is an “all natural diet” and costs more, then it must be good. However, we have to ask ourselves if the company is spending so much money on advertising, are they also spending on research to ensure the quality and consistency of the diet. We are not saying it is not a good diet, but often the protein or energy source is not a high quality one and therefore not broken down naturally by your pet. This means your pet is not absorbing the most it can from the diet. This is why some diets require more volume of food to be fed on a daily basis so that the pet gets the same nutrients as another diet with a higher digestibility of its ingredients.
Veterinary exclusive diets have put a lot of thought, time and money in the research behind their foods. They use high quality, highly digestible ingredients. This means that what your pet eats – they absorb and digest and therefore these diets may end up being more cost effective. Your pet will not need as much of the diet per day which also means a bag of food will last you longer. And when what we put in is highly nutritious and digestible that means that less of it comes out….now who wouldn’t want to clean up less after their pet?
So contact your veterinary team today to find out what diet best suits you and your pet, both financially and nutritionally. Let us aid you in making the best decision you can to help your pet live a long and optimally healthy life.
