I've pretty much given up on this page: Put 2 nutrition experts in a room; you get 3 opinions!
Arguing about nutrition is like politics and religion. It sure isn't just science.
I don't know which brand or type of pet foods are the best for your pets.
And I don't beleive anyone else knows either.
So, this page is just a rant on the subject and some comments.
AND
a directory to our other pages on pet nutrition:
Coming Soon:
Diets I recommend for aged pets.
Vitamin and other nutritional supplements
More Comments:
At our shelter we feed Iams to the dogs because they thrive on it and have nice solid stools.
We feed the cats Hills Science Diet cat food because it minimizes the odor of the stool.
Other than that I don't have any recommendations on specific brands.
But here's what I've heard listening to 20-30 clients a day for the last 25 years:
When a client tries to tell me how excited they are about a particular special diet, how it's so superior to other diets ... blah blah blah ... I just wait until the next time I see her .... 9 times out of 10 she will be all excited about some other diet.
Except for those pets with obvious allergies or sensitivities to certain foods and except for the few occasions when there have been national outbreaks of sick pets traced back to some contaminant in a commercial pet food, I haven't seen any obvious disease in pets being fed national brand name pet foods.
Many specialty pet food companies and people make claims or suggestions that more and more pets ... like people... are getting cancer, obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease and that it's due to "un-natural diets!"
They could be right. So could all the people that claim to see UFO's, or claim that living near electrical wires causes brain cancer, or that eating Rhino horn will cure impotence.
I suspect that what's really going on is that because more and more pets are being treated like family members and getting regular veterinary check ups, parasite control, vaccinations, and healthy diets, they're living a lot, lot longer life spans: cancer, diabetes, and kidney diseases are common in old age.
Back when most pets weren't getting regular health care and lived off scraps and left overs, and were full of parasites, and roamed the towns .... they didn't live long enough to get cancer or kidney disease.
And if pets did live long enough to get old age diseases, nobody knew for sure because they weren't taken to a vet for a diagnosis and treatment ... they were "put down" often with a firearm "so they wouldn't suffer".
Introduction
Over the last 25 years I've examined tens of thousands of healthy and sick pets.
Part of the exam process is to discuss the pet's diet. I often get an earful from clients who are super enthusiastic about some special diet that they have "discovered" that is so much superior than all the other diets. I also get quite a few quilty confessions about all the "human" foods, tablet scraps, treats, and snacks many dogs con their "masters" into getting.
There are now hundreds and hundreds of different pet food brands available. And each brand typically has ten or so different formulas such as "Original" "Light", "Active", "Indoor" (a euphemism for less active"), "Senior" and so forth.
The vast majority of these hundreds and hundreds of brands are owned by the just a few major companies. (Proctor & Gamble, Nestle, Mars,
Here are my general impressions about pet food diets after seeing so many pets:
- Those pets getting extra expensive "natural diets", "whole foods diets", diets with sea-salt, kelp, free range meats, soy free diets, and all the diets that claim to be super premium because of added anti-oxidants, Omega Fatty Acids from salmon or sharks, or whatever: Yes; pets on these diets seem to do well and often have beautiful coats, healthy gums, and shiny eyes. These pets tend to be well loved and cared for as well.
- Those pets getting mid priced or expensive National "Name Brand" diets like Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams, Purina premium priced diets, or any other premium priced major diet ... most have jumped on the band wagon of adding things that have proven to be helpful such as fish oils, and anti-oxidants as well ...:
Yes; pets on these diets seem to do well and often have beautiful coats, healthy gums, and shiny eyes. These pets too, tend to be well loved and cared for.
- Those pets getting mid priced National Name Brand diets like Purina Dog or Cat Chow, Gravy Train, Meow Mix, Kibbles & Bits, and hundreds of similar priced foods:
Yes; pets on these diets may eat a little more filler, fart a little more, poop a little more, and may shed a little more ... but other than that any difference in health compared to those pets on super premium brands is not obvious.
- Those pets getting the very lowest priced generic diets OFTEN ...but not always... have noticable health problems, increased shedding, increased gas, other signs of bowel irritation, and skin problems that are improved when the the diet is upgraded.
(regardless of the percent protein which so many people seem to be hung up on) : No; many pets getting the cheapest diets make noticable improvements in their general health, coats, skin ,and disease resistance when upgraded. It's a little hard to be sure because so many of the pets being fed the cheapest foods often belong to kennels, hunters, and in our area; red necks with 7 or 8 dogs and even more cats hanging around their place and "they're eat up with worms and fleas", and don't enjoy high standards of care.
Now; I'm implying that I haven't seen a lot of general health differences in dogs getting typical "National Brand" pet foods and those getting premium quality brands, regardless of whether they are being marketed as pet "health" food, "back to nature' foods, or just as being PREMIUM. I stand by that. I haven't.
But I do notice that some pets seem to thrive or do better when you move up to the premium brands. And I certainly have patients with various problems and diseases that are vastly improved with an appropriate diet change.
And for certain diseases, recommending a special diet is the most important part of the treatment. Examples include:
And for other problems and diseases, diet is NOT the most important part of the treatment, but it can be a very helpful supplement to treatment. Examples include:
Pets with Liver Disease
Hair ball problems
Thanks. I'll try to organize and get to the nitty gritty on this subject soon.
Vitamins & Supplements
I'll get to this subject soon. I certainly want to discuss glucosamine, MSM, anti-oxidants, Duralactin, and omega fatty acids.
For now, consider going to VetriScience's website. They do a great job of explaining their various supplements and they're a super reputable company.
