The Importance of Proper Pet Nutrition

Our job as your veterinarians is to make sure you pick a diet that is going to provide your pet with the nutrients they need as well as ensure that you aren’t misled by marketing or the misinformation on the Internet. You want a pet food company that has control over all aspects of their product, including research, development, and manufacturing.

Some questions you might want to ask about your pet food manufacturer are:

• Do they manufacture their food in-house?
• Do they employ board-certified veterinary nutritionist(s)?
• Do they publish nutritional research in peer-reviewed vet journals?
• Do they actually feed their food via Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) feeding trials?
• What are their quality control measures?
• Can they provide a complete nutritional analysis of their product?

One of the first and most basic things to consider is feeding a diet appropriate for the life stage of your pet. Commercial diets must state on the label whether they are adequate for a particular life stage and have undergone feeding trials for that stage. For example, a puppy needs to eat a diet appropriate for growth whereas an adult dog should not eat a diet for growth because it could cause them to become overweight.

What about raw foods or home-cooked diets?

Feeding raw diets or bones increases exposure to dangerous bacteria, such as Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, Toxoplasma, and Trichinella. This is a risk for both human health and animal health. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has issued a statement that it does not recommend raw food diets and that there is no proven benefit of such diets.

Home-cooked diets—which aren’t based on a recipe that has been designed specifically for your pet by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist—might contain vitamin, mineral, or nutrient deficiencies or excess that can be dangerous to your pet in the long term. Sean Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist who created Balance IT, which provides custom, balanced, and healthy recipes for your pet.

What about dogs with allergies?

Most clients think that eliminating wheat or grains from the diet is all that’s needed to rule out a food allergy, but patients must avoid any other previously fed protein during the 8- to 10-week diet trial. That includes corn, wheat, eggs, beef, chicken, soy, and dairy.

Do food labels really say what’s in the food?

A recent article reported that 20 of the 52 foods that were Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tested for ingredients showed a discrepancy between labeled ingredients and what was in the actual diet.

How much food should your pet eat?

That depends on your pet’s body condition and muscle condition. At your pet’s physical exam, we evaluate your pet’s condition and will discuss whether more or less calories are needed. It would be helpful if you find out ahead of time how many calories are in a cup of the type of food you are feeding your pet. This information is not often printed on your bag of food, so you might need to call your pet food manufacturer to find out this information.

What do some of the pet food terms mean?

Meat: muscle tissue that does not contain fat or skin. Meat by-product is the organs of the animal (aka gizzards, heart, liver, and kidneys) and is nutritious food.

Meat meal: the product that results from cooking mammal tissue to destroy bacteria and removing water and fat so that what’s left is mostly protein and minerals.

Digests: materials treated with heat, enzymes, and/or acids to form concentrated natural flavors. Often, digests, broths, whey, and stocks are used to flavor pet foods. If an ingredient is in the name of the food (such as Salmon Dog Food), then at least 95% of that product should be that ingredient (and listed as the first ingredient on the label). If a pet food name contains the words “entrée” or “dinner” or “formula” (for example Beef Dinner for Dogs), then only 25% of that product needs to be that ingredient, and it likely will be the 3rd or 4th ingredient on the ingredient label. The word “with” means that only 3% of that ingredient needs to be in the product (for example Cat food with Tuna).

Natural: usually assumed to mean a lack of artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, but it might not contain different ingredients or higher quality ingredients compared to a diet not labeled as natural. Unlike human foods that are labeled “organic,” there are no rules governing how the word “organic” is used on pet food labels (i.e., what portion of the food is really organic and how organic is defined). Similarly, terms such as “holistic” or “human grade” are unregulated and provide no practical value in assessing the nutrition of that food.

What is special about Prescription Foods that we might recommend?

Prescription Foods have undergone a thorough process of research and testing so that we are certain it is appropriate and effective for your pet’s specific medical condition. This includes such diagnoses as pancreatitis, diabetes, urinary stones/crystals, inflammatory bowel disease, and more. These foods play a role in your pet’s treatment much like any medication prescribed for that condition. Therefore, these foods can be purchased only from a veterinary clinic or with a written Rx.

The topic of nutrition for your pets is vast, and although we covered some highlights, it would not be possible to thoroughly address this topic in one blog post. Although many websites are sources of good information, many are sources of bad information. Usually websites that end in .org or .edu are better than .com sources. Look for credentials for the site’s author, and be wary of anecdotal statements. Check the sources of information, such as whether the references are scientifically conducted research studies. We can also provide you with some good sites. A couple to start out with are The World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Global Nutrition Guidelines and the American Animal Hospital Association’s Nutritional Assessment Guidelines. And, of course, the staff at Rainier Veterinary Hospital is always here to help and answer any of your questions. Here’s to good health!