Pet food Labeling: sorting out the facts, PART 1

While attending a continuing education meeting in Nashville, Tennessee this weekend, I took some time to visit the Country Music Museum  and enjoy some good "eats".

It was interesting to see a convertible with pistols for door openers, a machine gun on the trunk, and long horn ornament on front of car for Web Pierce.  Elvis Presley’s 1960 Cadillac Limo with gold plating of mirrors and portable TV was a MUST See.  

Clients frequently express their frustrating experience sorting through the maze of selecting a diet for pets. The average time spent in the pet food aisle is approximately 5 minutes.  However, there are hundreds of choices out there to cater to every dog owner’s taste – organic kibbles to generic nuggets. Therefore, the marketing appeal of the “front of the bag” often is in contrast with the flaws detected on the back panel. In fact, for many packages or cans, it is a challenge to interpret the ingredients or the actual calories.  More telling is the emotional fervor, like political or religious affiliation, that some clients are adamant about feeding commercial, home cooked, or raw diets. For those reasons, I have skirted this issue in prior blogs. In an honest discussion to separate some fact from fiction, I will present some of the pearls discussed.

Since dogs are descendants of wolves and evolved in the wild, should they not eat a predominately meat diet? What about cats?

Dogs, unlike wolves, as they became more social actually evolved around garbage dumps adapting to the starchy, plant based diets of people. Thus, their digestive tract adapted to eating carbohydrates found in grains and vegetables. Compared to wolves, these ancestral dogs had higher survival rates and were the parent stock of dogs of today. This is a key difference from wolves as they lack many of the key glucose transporters so they are less efficient in digesting carbohydrates. Dogs are omnivores (eat meat and plants), while cats are carnivores and thus must have a meat based diet.  

Are there any quick formulas to analyzing protein & fat  pet food labels to compare wet to dry food with extreme differences in moisture content(as fed) to a dry matter basis to compare “apples to apples”?

Although not fool proof, a multiplier of wet food by 1.1 and dry food by 4x’s will get the protein and fat content pretty close.

I have read on the Internet that grain-free is better. Yet I read on many grain free package ingredients such as oats and flax seed. Aren't those grains? What is the truth about grain free?

The body does not treat grains differently from potatoes, peas, tapioca, or other starch sources; rather the body simply recognizes the nutrients it contains. Contrary to marketing claims, dogs and cats have the enzymes to effectively digest the grain starches that are highly digestible in most breeds. In addition, grains are not fillers; rather they contain protein and many important vitamins and minerals. While some grain free diets provide excellent nutrition, they have no inherent nutritional advantages over diets that have grains.

Are grains a common cause of food allergies?

Since food allergies are a reaction of the immune system to certain proteins, they are actually quite rare to grain. Food intolerance demonstrated by intestinal signs (vomiting or diarrhea) are more likely related to meat (beef, dairy, chicken, egg) in the diet or excessive fat. There are 2 breeds – Irish Setters and soft coated Wheaton terriers – that seem to have some wheat sensitivity.  

What concerns are noted about weight gain with grain free diets?

Many are low in fiber and high in and fats. They are easy to overfeed as the low fiber does not tend to “fill up animals”. Many of the highest calorie pet foods are labeled as grain free. Note: The jury is still out on what is “grain free” as many contain oats and barley that are considered grains by independent thinkers. Any diet high in calories can lead to obesity.

A GOOD REFERENCE OF ANSWERING PET FOOD QUESTIONS IS DR. LISA FREEMAN, A VETERINARY NUTRITIONIST AT TUFTS AND HER ARTICLEWWW.DCAVM.ORG/11MAYNOTES.PDF

It was a cold weekend so My dog Taco Belle headed for the blankets!

Betsy Sigmon DVM, Diplomate ABVP, Canine & Feline

Creature Comforts Animal Hospital

Cary, NC