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What do you feed your dog or cat? Do you prefer wet or dry? Is there a health benefit to one or another? What about grains? Do you prefer one of the many grain-free foods that are now available? Or are you wondering whether there is an advantage to these over other foods?
What Is the Truth About Pet Food and Pet Nutrition?
The honest truth is that pet nutrition is a hotly debated topic and if you ask ten different “experts” about their views on pet nutrition, you’ll likely get ten different answers. Some people believe that wet food is healthier than dry. Others believe that pet foods should be grain free, while still others believe that some grains are “good” and others are “bad”.
Interview with Pet Nutritionist Dr. Marcie Campion
This week on Animal Cafe, Dr. Marcie Campion joined me to add her professional opinion to the mix. Dr. Campion is, by training, a dog and cat nutritionist. She has a PhD in this field and is currently the Scientific Relations Managers for Iams/P&G Pet Care.
Dr. Campion and I spoke about many things during the interview, including the issues of grains and by-products in pet foods. She also spoke a little bit about new lines of dog food that Iams has just released. You’ll find her interview below. I hope you enjoy listening.
What’s the Best Food for Your Pet?
There is no one good answer to that. It depends on many factors, including your pet’s age, his overall health, your expectations, what you prefer in a food, and much more. The best answer is to look for a food that your pet does well with. Look for a shiny coat, clear eyes, a lack of dandruff or any other skin problems, basic signs of a healthy pet. It also helps if your pet likes the food and eats it readily.
No one food will every be appropriate for every single dog or cat. Fortunately, we have lots of choices when it comes to pet food. So, if you prefer to feed your pet a grain-free diet, a diet free of by-products or whatever type of food you prefer, you have lots of different choices that will allow you to do that.
Now it’s your turn. What type of food do you feed your dog or cat? Why? Do you agree or disagree with Dr. Campion when it comes to pet food? Please feel free to share your opinions. All I ask is that all comments remain respectful of the opinions of others regardless of whether you agree or disagree.
Photo Courtesy of laffy4k/Flickr.com
About Lorie Huston, DVM
Lorie Huston is a veterinarian, pet health and pet care expert, professional writer, blogger, social media and blogging consultant, and SEO strategist.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
One thing that came to my mind listening to the interview (no offense meant to Dr. Campion or the products) is that so many vets distrust anybody who is selling anything. They won’t even listen to what they have to say, believing that it will be biased by the fact that they are trying to push a product.
And yet most of them believe what dog food companies, such as Hill’s have to say about nutrition. I find that a curious phenomena.
Personally, I don’t think that everybody who is selling something is twisting the truth, I think that some might actually believe in their product and do it for greater good. The fact that they are selling it is simply because they have to live on something and produce it somehow. It is a type of a red flag though.
Does that mean I trust dog food companies? Well, not so much. I am more likely to trust a small vendor than a big corporation.
What do I feed my dogs? Jasmine is on home-cooked diet, formulated for her specific needs. She’s been on it for over two years now and seems to be doing great on it.
There are a number of things I like about feeding home-cooked, the most important one being having control over the type and quality of the ingredients and minimal processing (everything is minimally cooked).
I am playing with the idea of trying dehydrated raw for JD and perhaps see what Jasmine might think of that, finally I found a brand that doesn’t put either chicken or chicken eggs into everything (nothing against those ingredients as such but Jasmine is allergic to them). Their beef has beef stuff only, lamb has lamb stuff only. If that went well might try the frozen product. So far I was being quite a chicken about that.
I say stuff because I’m perfectly happy feeding organ meets as well. In fact, some of the animal parts most people turn noses on provide awesome nutrition.
I read two books on dog nutrition over the holiday. I found interesting the things they had in common and also the things they disagreed on.
I do believe, deep in my heart, that the closer the food is to its natural form the better it is for my dogs.
As for the grains – I’m not a fan so I’m staying away from them.
Thanks for the very detailed comments, Jana. I think a lot of people are opting for home cooked diets these days. Like you, a lot of pet owners are suspicious of pet food companies because of all the recalls and afraid to feed many (maybe even most) of the commercial diets to their pets. And I can certainly understand that sentiment