Walking down a pet food aisle, an owner can become overwhelmed trying to pick the best food for his or her pet.
From chicken flavor to fresh lamb, digestive care or natural balance, the options are endless and knowing what the terms mean can be difficult.
“There are so many choices. That’s what makes it hard,” said Euless resident Joy Sheppard.
Sheppard said her main goal is to keep her four-year-old Schnauzer-mix, Jack, healthy.
“Well I’m single – this is my love,” she laughed. “I say, love me, love my dog!”
Dr. Heather Frankfurt, a veterinarian at Hillside Veterinary Clinic in Dallas, said pet food doesn’t have to be expensive to be good for your animal.
“I'm not a food snob, first of all. I think a pet can do very well on a myriad of different brands. As long as a dog is eating, drinking normally, a healthy weight, not having any diarrhea or vomiting issues, then they're probably on a good food,” said Frankfurt.
However, she said there are things you should look for, specifically on the pet food bag.
“The first thing to look at is the guaranteed analysis. That's the manufacturers guarantee there’s a certain percentage of fat, fiber, vitamins in minerals in there that are necessary to keep your pet healthy,” she said.
Frankfurt also said to pay close attention to the ingredient list.
“Another thing would be to look for, is to look for what is the first ingredient in that pet food. Ideally I want it to be a protein – chicken, liver, fish – any of those things. But I want it to be the first ingredient on the bag,” she said.
Also, watch out for terms that don’t carry much meaning.
“The thing about it is labels can be very misleading. The term holistic doesn't really mean anything. So when you see holistic or human grade, that really has no weight on dog food. The term natural does carry some weight. So if you see the term natural that is worth choosing,” she said.
Frankfurt said your pet can also be allergic to certain ingredients.
“So dogs can definitely get food allergies. When we think of food allergies we think of dogs that are very itchy,” she said.
Frankfurt said the most common allergies are chicken and beef.
If pet owners notice their dog or pet is itching, licking or biting excessively they should contact their vet to see if food could be the problem.
