| Choosing a nutritious pet food for your cat or dog | | | | Guaranteed Analysis. Pet food manufacturers will |
| can be very challenging when you walk down the | | | | argue that grain protein is just as nutritious as meat |
| store isle and see dozens if not hundreds of choices. | | | | protein. |
| Whichever product you choose, you expect it to be | | | | Although grains do provide nutrition, many pet |
| 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition. And why not, | | | | experts agree grains are a poor quality source of |
| it says so on the package. | | | | protein. Some pet health experts believe grains like |
| So what is 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition? | | | | corn, wheat and soy, put undue stress on the |
| This distinction has more to do with marketing than | | | | digestive system resulting in illnesses that normally |
| with nutritional value. It's merely a representation of | | | | develop later in a pet's life. |
| the percentage of protein, fat, fiber, and moisture in | | | | Cats and dogs are meat eaters. Their digestive |
| the Guaranteed Analysis, plus added vitamins and | | | | systems are designed for meat, not grains. Consider |
| minerals. | | | | this, on the TV program Animal Planet, have you |
| 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition and | | | | ever seen the big cats or wolves... hunt, stalk and kill... |
| Guaranteed Analysis does not qualify the nutritional | | | | corn, wheat, or soy fields. |
| value of pet food! To determine the true nutritional | | | | People vary their diet and meals every day to satisfy |
| value you need to examine the ingredients used. | | | | their desire for what they want to eat. Pets are |
| Price vs. Value | | | | usually fed the same food every day. Knowing the |
| You should question the nutritional value of a 50 lb | | | | true nutritional value of your pet's food is critical |
| bag of pet food that sells for $18 at the local | | | | because they have no option but to eat what you |
| supermarket and even less at super stores. Can you | | | | feed them. |
| really trust it to have 100% Complete and Balanced | | | | A Common Sense Solution for Choosing Pet Food |
| Nutrition as the bag claims? | | | | As you learn more about pet food nutrition, it's |
| If price is a fair representation of value, is it | | | | reasonable to expect you to be confused and |
| reasonable to expect price to increase with better | | | | overwhelmed with all the information that is available. |
| value? | | | | I believe using the common sense approach that... In |
| Unlike a Rolls Royce automobile or Cartier diamond, | | | | the marketplace, value and price work harmoniously |
| which command premium prices because of the | | | | together. Thus, we can reasonably conclude a 20 lb |
| prestige of who sells them, there is no pet food | | | | bag of $18 pet food has more nutritional value than a |
| manufacturer who has achieved the prestige to | | | | 50 lb bag of $18 food. |
| command premium pricing. Therefore, you should | | | | Cheaper pet foods will list the ingredients corn, |
| expect higher prices and more nutritional value in | | | | wheat, soy, by-products, and meat and bone meal. |
| better pet foods. | | | | These ingredients are very inexpensive and thus are |
| Grain Protein vs. Meat Protein | | | | of the poorest nutritional quality. Better foods use |
| Cheaper pet food ingredients have grain-based | | | | less of these ingredients and the best will use none. |
| proteins like corn, wheat and soy to satisfy the | | | | Pets deserve the best nutrition possible! |