As pet parents, we want what’s best for the health and well-being of our furry family members.
However, shopping for pet food for your dog or cat can feel overwhelming in the ever-growing and changing world of pet products.
Recent debates about the quality of certain pet food brands and potential health concerns associated with some ingredients have left many questioning what’s truly best.
So, what exactly makes pet food ‘good ‘?
What ingredients should we steer clear of? And is there really a ‘right’ choice when it comes to pet food?
This guide will help you navigate the aisles of your local pet store with confidence, ensuring you make the best food choices for your pet’s unique needs and lifestyle.
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Why is Shopping for Pet Food So Challenging?
Whether you’re a seasoned pet parent or recently adopted your first dog or cat, navigating the pet food aisle can sometimes feel like deciphering a foreign language.
With endless brands, conflicting claims, marketing jargon, confirmed recalls, and a recent wave of concerns about the quality of even some of the best-known brands, choosing the right food for your furry family member can be stressful.
I understand! I have spent countless hours researching, reading reports, and speaking with my veterinarian to ensure I give my pets the best possible nutrition.
Even after all that, we can find ourselves questioning established routines and decisions as new information comes to light daily.
Unfortunately, our pets don’t come with a handbook (boy, wouldn’t that make life easier).
The best thing we can do as loving pet parents is to educate ourselves on the pet food basics, keep the lines of communication open with the professionals we trust, and, most importantly, do our best!
But let’s cut to the chase…
What to Consider When Choosing Pet Food
Selecting the best food for your dog or cat involves making many decisions specific to your pet’s nutritional needs.
This is why there are so many pet food options on the market.
The best pet food to support my energetic little boy Lucifer’s lifestyle may differ entirely from the best dog food for your pup.
The same applies to finding the best cat food for your cat.
Here are a few important considerations to help you narrow down your options:
The Age of Your Pet
A common question I am asked when discussing pet foods is whether the age of a pet matters when it comes to buying food.
Like people, your pet’s nutritional needs change as they age.
A highly energetic and playful puppy with its growing body will have different needs than a fully grown adult dog or a senior entering their golden years.
Many pet food brands will market their foods specifically to one life stage.
Others have different feeding recommendations based on your dog’s age.
Your Pet’s Lifestyle
The more active your pet’s lifestyle, the more fuel will be needed to support their favourite activities.
For example, dogs who participate in dog sports like agility, dock diving, or canicross need a diet that will support the higher physical demands.
This could include a higher-calorie or high-protein diet.
On the other end of the spectrum, a dog that leads a calmer, more sedentary lifestyle could face unwanted weight gain if their diet is adjusted to support that.
The same applies to our feline friends – an active, high-energy cat will have different nutritional needs than a quiet, low-key cat.
Medical and Dietary Needs
Dogs and cats can suffer from food allergies or dietary sensitivities, which can range from mild discomfort to more severe allergic reactions.
Some of the most common allergens include:
- Beef
- Chicken
- Fish
- Dairy
- Wheat
- Egg
- Soy
Many of these are the primary protein sources in pet foods, so you will need to search for food free from offending ingredients.
Food can improve or worsen your dog’s medical needs.
Dogs with heart disease are generally recommended a low-sodium diet, while dogs with liver disease often thrive best on a low-protein diet.
Quality of the Ingredients
When deciding on the best food for humans, we focus on ingredient quality. The same approach applies to shopping for pet food.
Read the ingredients and consider what exactly you are feeding your pet.
- Was the food made with high-quality protein sources?
- Is the food made with cost-saving fillers?
- Where were the ingredients sourced?
- How do the ingredients contribute to the overall nutritional quality?
Be cautious about terms like “premium” or “gourmet” as they are unregulated. They sound great but don’t communicate anything verifiable about the food quality.
Budget
While we would love to say that money’s not a factor, finances are tight for many pet parents.
Review your options to find the best possible food within your budget constraints. Know that you don’t have to feed your dog the most expensive food to support their nutritional needs.
When comparing prices, don’t look at overall cost. Instead, compare the cost per meal.
This may take a little work on your end, dividing the total cost of the bag based on the recommended serving size, but it’s worth the effort!
Many higher-quality foods have much smaller serving sizes.
Why? They are nutrient-dense and don’t use as many fillers, meaning your pet gets more of what they need while eating less.
So, a 10 lb bag of high-quality dog food will last longer than a 10 lb bag of lower-quality dog food.
There are also many tips for saving money while shopping for pet food, such as loyalty programs, coupons, bulk discounts, delivery subscriptions, and more.
Canned Food vs Dry Food vs Raw/Whole Foods
This is where many pet parents become incredibly passionate about their choices when feeding their pets.
Most articles will support one side of the commercial foods vs. raw, whole food, or homemade diets debate, but I don’t believe it’s that simple.
As I have mentioned several times, every dog or cat has unique dietary needs.
One pet may thrive on a specific commercial pet food, while another may have more specific needs best met by working with a nutritionist to craft a homemade diet plan.
I have seen the phrase “feed the dog in front of you” frequently used in these debates, and I can’t think of a better way to express it!
Each of these diets has its own benefits and potential complications to consider.
Rather than trying to find one solution that will suit every dog or cat, we need to consider our own pet’s needs specifically.
Here are a few things to consider when exploring your options:
- Canned foods contain higher moisture content, making them an excellent choice for pets who may struggle with proper hydration
- Raw foods and whole foods eliminate additives and preservatives, but they are usually the most costly
- When feeding homemade or raw diets, you will need to carefully balance your pet’s diet to ensure all necessary nutrients are accounted for
- Extra precautions need to be taken when preparing raw diets to avoid cross-contamination in the home
- High-quality commercial kibbles are balanced and nutritionally dense, but they can contribute to dehydration
- Commercially prepared raw diets are available, making it possible to feed raw without the risk of nutritional deficiencies from an unbalanced diet
- Freeze-dried, air-dried, and gently cooked whole-food diets are a convenient alternative to raw
Make the best decision for you and your pet based on their needs, your lifestyle, and your budget.
Tips for Reading Pet Food Labels
It can be overwhelming the first time you look closely at your pet’s food. There is a lot of information to read through and analyze.
To make things even more difficult for the average pet parent, not all this information is spelled out in easy-to-understand terms.
I could write an entire article just breaking down every element of the packaging.
Instead, I will highlight four specific pieces of information that can help you make an informed buying decision.
Product Name
The product name is more than just a creative piece of marketing. It can provide important insight into the amount of the main ingredient in the product.
Pet food naming is required to follow these rules:
- The 100% Rule: A product can claim it is “all” a specified ingredient if it contains 100% that ingredient, with the exception of water, decharacterizing agents, and trace amounts of preservatives and condiments. For example, “All-Beef Freeze-Dried Treats” must contain 100% beef.
- The 95% Rule: To refer to a product as “(Ingredient) Food,” it must contain at least 95% of that ingredient (or ingredients) by weight, not including water. For example, “Fido’s Chicken & Rice Dog Food” must contain 95% chicken and rice.
- The 25% Rule: Pet foods that are labelled as “dinner,” “entrée,” or “platter” must contain at least 25% of the ingredient by weight, not including water. For example, “FiFi’s Lamb Dinner” must contain 25% lamb.
- The “With” Rule: If a product name says it is “with (Ingredient),” it must contain at least 3% of each ingredient named. This differs from the above, where if two ingredients were named, the amount would be determined by the combined amount. For example, “Kitty’s Cat Food with Chicken and Tuna” would have to contain 3% chicken and 3% tuna.
- The “Flavour” Rule: The lowest level on the spectrum, a product stating it is “(Ingredient) Flavoured” would need to contain enough of a listed ingredient to provide a noticeable flavour for your pet. There is no designated total required. For example, “Salmon-Flavoured Cat Food” must taste like salmon.
Guaranteed Analysis
The Guaranteed Analysis, displayed in a box or table, provides a breakdown of the food’s nutritional value.
One important thing to remember is that these values are based on the needs of a healthy dog.
This information is not applicable if your dog has a specific medical condition or dietary requirements to manage an illness or disease.
These percentages also don’t account for the moisture in the food, which could be as high as 70-80% in most canned foods.
They reflect minimum or maximum values, but that leaves room for variation.
For this reason, these numbers can be used as a guideline when comparing but shouldn’t be relied upon to ensure you are meeting your pet’s nutritional needs.
Ingredients List
Don’t forget to read through the ingredients list to better understand what a specific pet food contains.
Ingredients are required to be listed in descending order according to weight.
This is why experts often state that the first ingredient should be a quality protein, as it would be the most predominant ingredient.
For quality foods, look for products with named protein sources, such as chicken, beef, lamb, or fish, at the top of the list.
Nutritional Claims
As I previously mentioned, terms like “premium” or “gourmet” are marketing buzzwords that are completely unregulated.
However, some claims are regulated and carry weight in the industry.
“Natural” foods should display the AAFCO logo. If they have earned this stamp of approval, that means this food is:
- Made entirely from natural ingredients, like plants, animals, or minerals
- Unrefined and whole, with ingredients that haven’t been broken down or altered from their natural state
- Minimally processed without the use of harsh chemicals or synthetics
- Free from artificial additives and fillers
Another label to look out for is “organic.” This means a food product has been produced without synthetic fertilizers, genetic engineering, sewage sludge, or irradiation.
These foods are produced using practices that prioritize the environment and the cycling of resources.
What to Avoid When Buying Dog Food (or Cat Food)
Are there any red flags that you should be on the lookout for when shopping for pet food?
When reading the ingredients list, if you see unspecified ‘meat,’ it’s a potential red flag. This could lead to inconsistent food quality and corner cutting, which might not be ideal for your pet’s health.
Another red flag is grains at the top of the ingredient list, which means that the specified grains are the predominant ingredients.
As is recommended with human nutrition, it is also wise to avoid purchasing foods full of artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives.
Some ingredients to watch out for include:
- Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2, Red 40
- Propylene glycol
- Corn syrup
- Caramel
- Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
- Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
- Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ)
- Ethoxyquin
- Propyl gallate
Not only are these unnecessary ingredients but they can also be used to mask poor food quality by making it artificially look and taste better.
Finally, steer clear of foods that are packed with fillers.
While it is normal to see some fillers in commercially prepared foods, high levels of ingredients like corn, maize, rice, pea bran, and oat hulls (among others) will take away from the nutritional value.
This will mean your dog or cat must eat more food just to get the nutrients they need.
Is There Any Difference Between Buying Cheap Vs. Expensive Pet Food?
One of the biggest myths related to pet food (and pet supplies in general) is that the more a product costs, the better quality it will be.
However, this can be misleading.
Some companies use buzzwords like “premium” or “gourmet” to justify a higher price point.
This is a sign of strategic marketing, not good food quality!
While there is some truth to the idea that you get what you pay for, it shouldn’t be the primary driving force in deciding what to feed your pet.
Take the time to research, as outlined above, to find the best food based on nutritional value within your budget.
What Do I Feed My Pets?
I firmly believe that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. However, you may read all this and wonder what decision we have made for our pets.
In our home, we feed Carna4 Quick Baked-Air Dried Whole Food Nuggets.
This is a convenient alternative to raw feeding, offering the nutrition of whole foods with the convenience of the kibble-like nuggets for our travels.
Carna4 is a Canadian company that creates high-quality foods while prioritizing sustainability and humane farming practices.
They are very transparent with their testing and nutritional information, which gives me greater peace of mind.
We also supplement our pets’ food with toppers such as sardines, pumpkin puree, goat’s milk, bone broth, blueberries, apples, and other whole foods.
Final Thoughts on Shopping for Pet Food
If you’re currently shopping for pet food for your dog or cat, try not to become overwhelmed by the many buzzwords and opinions of others.
Instead, take a step back and look at the nutritional value of the foods you’re considering.
Compare key elements of the packaging, like the guaranteed analysis and ingredients list, to find the best quality food within your budget.
Consider your pet’s unique needs – their age, lifestyle, medical conditions, and dietary needs.
Contact your veterinarian or a certified nutritionist
No two dogs or cats are the same. There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution, just the best option for your pet.
What has been the most challenging part of navigating the world of pet food for you as a pet parent? Do you have any tips for others?
I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments!
Feature Image Credit: TatyanaGl | Canva
