Your Pet’s Diet
Your veterinarian has successfully navigated the way through the entire appointment. Answered every question, ran all of the necessary diagnostics, successfully given any vaccines or medications, and if they were feeling particularly bold, maybe even performed a nail trim. Just as things start to wrap up, everyone heads towards the exit, the question that almost guarantees a complete discussion comes up, "Oh, what should I be feeding Daisy?"
Imagine that 90% of your diet comprises one food for life, and yes, your pet is just fine with one diet its entire life. I, for one, could probably get behind a Detroit-style all meat pizza for a majority of my diet. However, your four-legged roommate needs a carefully balanced diet that meets all of their nutritional requirements. Fortunately, there are many, many diets available to choose from. Unfortunately, and without knowing, it is possible to cause harm by selecting the wrong diet.
There are several essential things to keep in mind when choosing a diet.
Cost: Grabbing the cheapest food on the shelf isn't usually the best decision. But as someone with two dogs and two cats, I get it; it gets expensive. The cost of the chiropractor after lugging that 50-pound bag from the back of the store doesn't help either. The most expensive option may not be the best either as many companies spend more money on marketing than on research.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) approved: "AAFCO establishes the nutritional standards for complete and balanced pet foods." While AAFCO does not test or regulate any feed, they set the rules for what is considered balanced. It is up to the companies to test the food (which we will get into later) and the individual states to enforce it. The pizza crusts that your husband slips under the table to Fido are not AAFCO approved, and yes, they are the reason your labrador is a 9 out of 9 on the body condition score.
Food allergies: My parents just celebrated 1 year with their Springador. Immediately after they got him, they realized Rocco got the short end of the genetic stick, was itching, and had ear infections all the time. With diet changes and medications, he has improved dramatically. I will hopefully do a separate post in the future dedicated to allergies. Here are some highlights - animals are allergic to the protein source (chicken, beef, etc.), not the grain in the food except in rare cases. Grain-free food has recently been linked to heart disease and is generally not recommended. Keep the diet simple and stick with the chicken/beef diet. If an allergy develops, that gives us the option to switch to a 'novel protein diet' or a protein that your pet hasn't had before. Switching protein sources makes it difficult to determine what may be causing the allergy.
Testing: Living off one diet for life means a diet should be tested and advised by a well-qualified board-certified veterinary nutritionist, the highest level of specialty training possible. That is about three decades (and who knows how much student debt) worth of schooling. This website breaks down manufacturers and includes who they employ to test their foods with "Employs full-time ACVN diplomates, full-time nutritionists with Ph.D. and MS in animal nutrition" being the highest standard: https://petnutritionalliance.org/chart/index.php/manufacturer-report
Taste: Your pet would happily drink toilet bowl water, pre or post-flush. Fido doesn't care about what the food looks like or if it has 'real chunks of carrot' in them. Almost everything you hear in a commercial is meant to sell the product. "The first ingredient is beef." Nutrition labels are made with the ingredients listed by weight before dehydrating. Protein has a lot of water in it, which is what's measured. They dehydrate the protein, which is what is put in the product. "My Rachel Ray diet only has the best ingredients according to the label" No ma'am, you are just gullible.
Medicated diets: Certain diets may help dissolve urinary stones, manage diabetes, improve allergies, or limit how many times you need to take Fido out at 3 am because he has the runs. Medicated diets are usually more expensive, and most are not intended for long-term use. But, if recommended by a veterinarian, they could significantly improve the quality of life of your pet.
As with all veterinary matters, take our advice, don't take our advice. It is up to you. All we want is what is best for your animal. If you switch diets, make sure you slowly transition between the diets. I do not get any money from pet food companies (yet?), and my $350,000+ student debt hopefully will tell you that the purpose of becoming a veterinarian was not for the money. We are here to help.
