Every pet needs quality nutrition to thrive. Maintaining optimum health starts with excellent foods. All pets need proteins, carbohydrates, fats, water, vitamins and minerals to live long healthy lives. The balance of these ingredients should be customized for the age, type and health condition of each individual pet.
We recommend feeding a super premium pet food designed to suit your pet’s special needs. Super premium foods meet the following criteria:
- Provide a variety of diets for each life stage and lifestyle
- Every package includes a list of ingredients and a nutritional analysis
- Ingredients are high quality
- Diets are scientifically tested under rigorous standards to assure quality
- Packaging includes the name, address and telephone number of the manufacturer (* the telephone number is not required by law as the address is)
- Every diet meets AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) guidelines
- Every diet is provided with a full money-back satisfaction guarantee
There are many pet foods available these days – ranging from inexpensive grocery store foods all the way to high priced formulas only available by direct shipment. Pet foods are a hotly debated topic, particularly the use of certain preservatives, cooking methods and ingredients.
Of the great number of foods available, many foods offer high quality nutrition for optimal health. However, just because a food is high quality does not mean it is the right food for every pet. Wheat and corn are commonly debated ingredients – there is nothing wrong with wheat or corn, but they should not be fed to pets who are sensitive to them. Sometimes pet owners need to offer a few different foods before finding the right food for a specific pet. This does not mean the other foods are lesser in quality, it simply means those foods were not the proper match for that pet.
Another hotly debated topic is raw food and bones. We would encourage pet owners interested in feeding raw foods to thoroughly investigate all aspects of this diet before feeding. A few common concerns with feeding a raw food diet include:
- Family members must handle raw meat
- Salmonella organisms shed by the pet can spread to immunocompromised family members
- Stomach upset
- Feeding bones carries health risks according to the FDA. Click here to see their statement
- Broken teeth from chewing bones that are too hard
- Gastrointestinal obstruction from eating bones without chewing them adequately
- Time investment, food storage and cost comparison
In summary, choose a food you are comfortable with which is also recommended by your veterinarian. Choose a food which has been tested under controlled scientific conditions and approved by AAFCO. Choose a pet food with minimal chemical preservatives and high quality ingredients. Monitor your pet on any new pet food and choose the food on which he thrives the most. Lastly, remember any diet change should always be done gradually over 7 days. Sudden diet changes can lead to vomiting and diarrhea – so take it slow, and always call the office if you have questions.
