pet food – Taste of the Wild Pet Food

The Building Blocks of Your Puppy’s Diet

Posted on October 20, 2022 - 2:30 pm by [email protected]

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a phrase many of us heard growing up. It was our loved ones’ way of saying we needed the right nutrition as our bodies were growing and developing. The same holds true for puppies. Building the right nutrition into their diets now set them up for long and healthy journeys into adulthood.

On one level, your puppy’s nutritional needs are no different than a growing child’s. Like tiny humans, proper nourishment is vital to a puppy’s development, body composition and immune system. However, some of your puppy’s nutritional needs stack up a bit differently than a human’s nutritional needs.

What kind of nutrition does your puppy require? Your pupper needs a mix of fat, protein, fiber, calcium, carbohydrates, minerals and more to keep them growing strong.

The formula you choose should meet all of their nutritional needs. So, let’s start there!

Puppy Food or All Life Stages Food

What’s the difference between small breed puppy food, large breed puppy food and all life stages (ALS) puppy food? First, pet food companies take into consideration the puppy breed’s jaw size and gastrointestinal systems when deciding how big to make their kibbles. Therefore, you’ll notice a difference in kibble size between small breed puppy food and large breed puppy food.

Next, you’ll notice a higher calorie count in small-breed puppy foods compared to larger breeds. This is partly because smaller breeds tend to have a higher metabolism and need more calories to keep up with their higher energy levels.

With larger-breed puppy kibble you’ll also likely notice lower calorie and calcium content. The lower number of calories per cup allows bigger dogs to grow at appropriate rates and to stay lean, so they’re not putting too much stress on developing joints. Too much calcium in their diet can increase the risk of skeletal problems. Attention to these two factors is important for prevention of developmental orthopedic disease.

ALS food provides the right nutritional requirements for growth and reproduction throughout any stage of your pet’s life. Make note though, these foods tend to be higher in calories, so if your pupper is a couch potato you might want to reduce the amount of their daily food intake. Excessive calorie intake over time can lead to obesity and associated medical conditions like osteoarthritis. Reach out to your veterinarian if you have any questions on reducing the amount of daily food intake.

If there’s any doubt about which size breed dog you have — small, medium, large — ask your veterinarian for guidance.

Nutrients Matter in A Puppy’s Diet

So, now what nutrients are you looking for in a good puppy food? Here is a breakdown of some important elements of your puppy’s diet.

Fat

Fat is an energy source for puppies, who expend a lot of it. It also helps keep their skin and hair healthy.

Protein

Protein supports rapid growth and helps build your puppy’s tissues. It provides amino acids necessary to support a healthy immune system and synthesize hormones, antibodies and enzymes.

Fiber

Fiber helps maintain a puppy’s digestive health. Most puppy foods have an appropriate amount of fiber in them already. If your vet feels that your puppy needs a diet with more fiber, they will recommend a different option.

Calcium

Calcium helps your puppy develop strong teeth and bones. Calcium requirements do vary based on their breed size, however. Going back to the differences between small breed puppy food and large breed puppy food, choosing the right puppy food formula for your dog’s breed will be key in making sure they receive the correct amount.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are important for a puppy’s active lifestyle. Carbs get broken down before protein or fat, so they’re your puppy’s first available energy source. In addition to puppy food, healthy sources of carbohydrates include vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

The Right Elements in the Right Amounts

After going through the nutritional information above, you may be wondering about the right portions of food to feed your puppy. Portion size recommendations vary based on age and weight of your puppy.

Refer to the recommended daily feeding amount on your pet food’s label. This will give you a rough idea of how much you should be feeding baby Fido. Some days your puppy may eat less and some days they may eat more. It’s all part of the growing process. If you have any questions about your puppy’s eating patterns though, be sure to reach out to your veterinarian.

Feeding your puppy correctly today will help set them up for good health for their entire life!

A Taste of the Wild Guide to Choosing the Right Pet Food

Posted on March 31, 2021 - 3:00 pm by [email protected]

Choosing the right pet food isn’t easy. Simply walking into the pet food aisle can be daunting. So many choices you need to make, and so many options for each choice. All life stages dog food. Senior cat food. High-protein food. Flavor. Price point. Quantity. Ingredient. Nutrient. Protein source. What’s it all mean?

Anyone who has ever loved a pet knows that it’s not just a matter of picking out the coolest looking bag of food. If you get anything right for your furry family members, it has to be their nutrition. You could argue that choosing the right food is the most important choice you’ll make in the life of your cat or dog.

We’re in the pet nutrition business, and we understand how difficult it can be to wade through the formulas and flavors of pet food to pick exactly the right food. So we’ve assembled some of our best articles below, to help you choose the right food for your pet. We’ve considered everything from the basics of pet nutrition to best practices for pet food storage (because you don’t just buy a bag of food and forget it, right?) to how to understand the difference between “adult” pet food and “senior” food. You’ll always have more questions about how to be best feeding your dog or cat, but the following primer should get you started on the right four feet.

The Basics of Pet Nutrition

You want to do right by your pet. But cat and dog food can be so complicated. What do the ingredients actually do? Does your cat need different nutrients than your dog? If you take vitamins, does that mean your pet should, too? The best way to get a foothold is to start learning some of the basics of pet food. We’ll get you started.

All pets need dietary protein.
Fats are the most concentrated energy source.
Carbohydrates help promote GI health.
Cats are obligate carnivores.
Cats are usually lactose intolerant.
Proteins are the triggers for most food allergies.
Pets typically don’t need extra vitamins.

An interior graphic detailing seven basic facts about pet nutrition.

How to Change Your Pet’s Diet

There are many reasons to consider switching dog food or cat food recipes, types or brands. But how do you actually go about changing their food if there’s an ingredient they don’t agree with, and how do you know it’s really time?

Your dog or cat may eagerly devour a new type of pet food, but his or her digestive tract may not be as enthusiastic if they aren’t eased into the process. Vomiting, diarrhea and gas are just a few of the potential consequences to a sudden food switch. That’s why food transitions should be made gradually, over the course of a week or more, to give your pet’s digestive tract a chance to adjust.

An interior graphic detailing how to slowly introduce new pet food into an animal's diet.

Working Dog Nutrition

Working dogs have unique nutritional needs that must be met in order for them to perform at their best. Just like physical human laborers, working dogs get a workout every day (or they should). And as a result of their active lifestyle, they need more calories to operate at peak performance. Depending on the workload, working dogs need 1.5 to 2.5 times the amount of dog food as a relatively sedentary dog. Does your choice of pet foods work as hard as your dog?

Read Everything You Need to Know About Working Dog Nutrition

All Life Stages Pet Food

Your dog isn’t a puppy. Your cat isn’t a senior. Does that mean that they should be eating an “all life stages” diet? Diets that are designed for all life stages meet the nutritional requirements for both growth and reproduction as well as maintenance diets. But there’s so much more to it. Click to find out exactly what pet food companies mean when they say “all life stages” dog food or cat food. Is it just complete and balanced nutrition, or is it more than that?

Properly Measuring Pet Food

So you spent all this time figuring out what type of dog food or cat food your pet should eat. Why would you undermine your perfect choice by feeding your pet too much or too little? Believe it or not, feeding food in proper amounts is tougher than it seems.

That’s right. According to a study done by University of Guelph veterinary researchers, pet owners need to rethink how they measure dry food. Consistent measurement errors such as those found in the Guelph study could lead to undernourishment, but more likely would result in weight gain or obesity.

Pet Food Storage

How do you store that big bag of dog food after you lug it in from the car? Do you crack the seal and leave it in a corner? Dump the food into an easy-access tote? More importantly, how should you store the food? We have some tips and best practices for all pet owners!

Read Our Do’s and Don’ts of Pet Food Storage

Feeding your dog or cat properly matters

Caring for a pet dog or cat is incredibly rewarding, but it is not always easy for pet owners. Everything from choosing their food to choosing the right pet food storage can be the reason your pet grows healthy and strong. If you have any concerns whatsoever about the nutrition you have chosen for your pet, do not hesitate to contact your veterinarian. Pet care is their top concern, after all.

No guide to the pet food label or pet nutrition can be truly comprehensive because the subject is so vast and so personal. But we hope this guide to choosing the right dog food helps you build a strong nutritional foundation for your pet.

Pet Diet Mistakes: 8 No-Nos When Feeding Your Pet

Posted on April 2, 2020 - 3:00 pm by [email protected]

For pets and their owners, the universal language of love is often spoken with food. A scrambled egg on top of kibble. A bite of your turkey sandwich. These are all ways we tell our pets we love them. And our pets dance on the kitchen floor to show us their love in return.

Harmless fun, right? Well, not always. See if you’re making any of these pet feeding mistakes.

The bottomless bowl. Most pets aren’t known for having self-control. If you leave food out all day, every day, it can lead to overweight pets, although cats are better at self-regulating than dogs. Pets will often eat out of boredom, even if they’re not really hungry. And it’s not just a matter of growing too fat for their collars — obesity can lead to diabetes, joint damage, heart disease and other health problems in pets.

The homemade diet. It sounds so wholesome, doesn’t it? But unless it’s been formulated by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, a home-cooked diet can lack the right balance of protein, energy, vitamins and minerals for your pet. And pets with special nutritional needs, such as pregnant or nursing animals, puppies or kittens can develop serious health problems if they’re not fed a nutritionally balanced diet for their life stage.

The vegetarian diet. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need dietary meat to live. Dogs are able to produce certain amino acids such as taurine and arginine, some of the building blocks of protein, and therefore can be healthy with a meat-free diet. Cats, however, lack the enzymes to do so and need a meat source in their diets to obtain these required nutrients. That said, cats shouldn’t be fed a diet of meat alone. They also need carbohydrates and other nutritional ingredients for a balanced diet.

The dairy fallacy. Everyone knows cats love nothing better than to lick a bowl of cream, right? Not exactly. Most cats are lactose intolerant and dairy products can actually lead to vomiting and diarrhea.

The “I can’t resist those brown eyes” diet. Who can blame you? But feeding your pet table scraps and treats throughout the day can lead to digestive problems, weight gain and begging, which started the cycle in the first place. Remember: what’s on your plate isn’t always safe for your pet. Foods like grapes, raisins, chocolate and onions can be toxic for pets. If you really want to give human food as treats, opt for safe, low-calorie options such as raw apples or carrots. Treats should also account for no more than 10 percent of pet’s total daily calorie intake so you can make sure they get the full nutrition from their regular food.

The real-bone treat. Real bones from the butcher can harbor bacteria such as Salmonella that can sicken pets and people. Bones are also often harder than your dog’s teeth, and chewing on them can result in tooth fractures. Splintered bones, if swallowed, can cause damage to the digestive system that requires emergency surgery.

The follow-the-label diet. Just like people, adult pets have different activity and metabolism levels. That’s why the feeding recommendations on food packages could be too much, or too little, for some pets. It’s best to consult your veterinarian about the right food and amount for your pet. You can also check out the Pet Nutrition Alliance calorie calculator to determine exact calorie counts for your pets. Then, watch for changes in your pet’s body condition score so you can tell if your dog or cat needs to back away from the food bowl.

The single bowl approach. Having multiple pets share one food bowl is asking for trouble. Some pets may be food aggressive, resulting in that pet hogging all the food while the other one is forced into a hunger strike. Plus, changes in appetite can be a sign of a health problem, so it’s important for you to know just how much each of your pets is eating.

If you have any questions about your pet’s diet, always ask your veterinarian. They can help determine the right food — and the right amount — to keep your pet healthy and happy.

Should I Spend the Money on a Breed-Specific Diet?

Posted on May 16, 2019 - 3:00 pm by [email protected]

Last year, owners spent almost $73 billion on their pets, according to the American Pet Products Association. What accounted for the majority of those expenditures? Was it veterinary care or toys? Actually, the single largest expense, accounting for just over $30 billion was — you guessed it — pet food.

As if choosing between dozens of brands and flavors wasn’t overwhelming enough, now there’s another factor in the mix: breed nutrition, or pet foods tailored to specific dog and cat breeds. Designed around the health conditions that may be common to those breeds, these diets may also feature kibble shapes and sizes tailored for your breed’s particular mouth.

Do they help?

First off, a breed-specific diet probably won’t harm your pet. And special kibble design might be helpful. For example, kibble shape and size can be designed to make it easier for flat-nosed pets (think pugs and Persians) to pick up and chew food with their short jaws. And larger, donut-shaped kibble might help a Labrador eat a little slower, rather than inhaling each meal.

But can these diets really help prevent particular health issues?

Currently, we know a lot about disease prevalence among breeds, but there’s very little research available on whether nutrition will prevent those diseases. What’s more, over-the-counter maintenance diets aren’t legally allowed to make claims about preventing, treating or curing a disease. Only therapeutic diets, provided under the guidance of a veterinarian, can do that — and only after demonstrating that the food actually lives up to the claim.

Choose a diet based on your pet’s needs

The truth is, there are plenty of diets on the market that suit your pet’s (and your wallet’s) needs. Your veterinarian can recommend a few diets based on your pet’s size, life stage and health.

For example, large-breed puppies — whether they’re Newfoundlands or mastiffs — can benefit from special diets designed to help them grow slowly so they’re less likely to develop orthopedic conditions such as hip dysplasia.

In terms of life-stage, puppies generally require more protein and calories to meet their higher energy requirements than geriatric dogs who spend most of the day snoozing on the couch.

And nutrition can certainly help manage some health conditions. A high-fiber, low-calorie diet, for example, might help a chubby dog slim down a bit. But a dog that’s just the right weight doesn’t need this kind of diet.

The bottom line is that there may be some benefits to breed-specific diets, but there are also plenty of other diets that are suitable for your pet. And breed-specific diets aren’t a replacement for therapeutic diets specifically designed for a particular health condition. When in doubt, count on your veterinarian who knows your pet’s nutritional needs.

He or she can even recommend what’s best for mixed-breed dogs, or mutts, that make up an estimated 53 percent of dogs in the United States. Because they deserve solid nutrition, too.

Even on Hypoallergenic Food, My Pet’s Still Itching. What’s Wrong?

Posted on November 1, 2018 - 4:37 pm by [email protected]

You’ve plied your pet with one delectable diet after another. But the itching, scratching, licking and gnawing at the skin continue. Despite your best efforts, your pet is still miserable — and now you are, too. How can you get this food allergy under control?

The Facts About Pet Allergies

Pets can have three different kinds of allergies, all of which can lead to paroxysms of itching in dogs and cats.

With a food allergy, the pet’s immune system identifies a protein in the food, such as chicken or pork, as a foreign invader and mounts an immune response against it. This often leads to itchy skin and, for a small percentage of pets, gastrointestinal signs like vomiting or diarrhea.

But food allergies are actually very uncommon in pets. Only 0.2 percent of dogs and 0.1 percent of cats suffer from food allergies, according to the Banfield Pet Hospital 2018 State of Pet Health Report, based on medical data from more than 3 million dogs and cats examined in 2017.

Allergies that are far more common in pets include flea allergies, in which pets mount a reaction to flea saliva and environmental allergies, or reactions to pollen, mold, dust mites and other irritants. In the last decade, there’s been a 12 percent increase in flea allergies in dogs and a 67 percent increase in cats, according to the Banfield report. At the same time, environmental allergies have jumped 30 percent in dogs and 11 percent in cats.

To complicate matters, pets can be allergic to more than one thing. Thirty percent of pets with food allergies, for example, have another type of allergy that impacts the skin. And some breeds, such as Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and cocker spaniels, can be genetically predisposed to allergies.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

The best way to help your pet is to start with a visit to your veterinarian. He or she can provide your pet with medications to help relieve the itch while you work together to determine what’s causing it. Here are diagnostic steps your veterinarian may take:

Check for fleas and mites. You don’t always see fleas on your pet, and mites can only be spotted with a microscope. Your veterinarian may recommend examining your pet with a flea comb, taking a skin scrape to view under the microscope or trying a flea treatment for at least three months. If the itching stops, you have a diagnosis and there’s no need to go further.
Test for bacterial and fungal infections. Both of these can cause itching and usually respond to medications.
Try a food elimination diet To check for a food allergy, your veterinarian may recommend an 8- to 12-week diet trial. While there’s technically no such thing as a hypoallergenic diet, a hydrolyzed diet, in which the proteins have been broken down into pieces small enough to avoid detection by the immune system, is as close as it comes.

During the trial, it’s important that your pet doesn’t eat anything else besides the assigned diet. That means no treats, rawhides or table scraps that might contain the offending protein. If your pet’s itching improves, then gets worse when your pet is fed the original diet, a diagnosis of food allergy is typically made. Your pet will need to stay on the recommended diet for the remainder of life.

Consider environmental allergies, also known as atopic dermatitis. If your pet is still itching despite the special diet, it’s likely that he or she has environmental allergies. While pets with food allergies tend to itch all year long, those with environmental allergies often experience seasonal signs.

At this point, your veterinarian can submit a blood test to determine what, exactly, your pet is allergic to, or refer you to a veterinary dermatologist for the gold standard of allergy testing, a skin test. Based on the findings, special “allergy shots” can be developed to help your pet potentially overcome the allergy. Otherwise, there are several new medications that can help keep your pet more comfortable.

All of which goes to show that if your dog or cat is itching, there may be other things at play besides the pet food.

What does the guaranteed analysis tell me?

Posted on May 20, 2015 - 8:15 pm by [email protected]

The beauty of the guaranteed analysis is that it gives you a lot of information about what is inside a bag of pet food. Once you understand how to read it, you will be better equipped to compare different varieties of pet food.

By AAFCO regulations, the guaranteed analysis is only required to list four nutrients: crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber and moisture. However, many pet food companies list additional guarantees not only to provide you with more information about the food but also as a mark of quality. The more things that are guaranteed, the more things that regulatory agencies can test for and fault a company for if they do not meet the level on the label. Because of variances between different types of laboratory equipment, sometimes foods can be faulted even if they truly are not deficient in one of their guarantees. Added guarantees mean that the company is working hard to manufacture a precise formulation each and every time, and you can be assured that bag to bag, that product is likely to be more consistent than a product that only guarantees the four required nutrients.

The first nutrient listed is crude protein. This is a measurement of the guaranteed minimum level of protein in the food. If the food guarantees a minimum of 21 percent protein, it is not going to contain 32 percent protein. By AAFCO regulations, a diet that states a guarantee of 21 percent protein may have no less than 20.4 percent protein. There is not a specified maximum, but the protein is typically within 2 percent of the target. So a 21 percent protein formula would range from 21 percent to 23 percent, but would most often be right at 21 percent or slightly higher. Your dog will benefit from a food that has protein from animal protein sources. After you check the level of protein, look at the ingredient listing to see where that protein is coming from.

The next listing is crude fat. This is also a minimum guarantee, with a 10 percent allowed variance. So, if the guaranteed minimum fat content is 15 percent, the minimum allowed by AAFCO would be 13.5 percent. Most foods very closely target the fat level, so expect very little variance in this nutrient.

Next comes crude fiber. This is typically pretty low, 2–3 percent, and is a maximum level. In hairball formulas for cats and weight loss formulas, you will usually see a higher level of fiber, usually 6–8 percent. Higher fiber formulas will result in larger stools than low fiber formulas, but this is to be expected.

Finally, you will see the moisture guarantee. In dry formulas, this is typically 8–12 percent maximum, and in canned formulas it is typically 75–85 percent.

Protein and fat will show the widest variance among different types of pet foods. Cat foods have higher protein content than most dog foods. Formulas specifically designed for athletes, puppies, and low carbohydrate formulas for dogs will have high protein content and often high fat content as well.

Virtual Pet Park