Pet Food Labels

The most important thing for us as pet parents is to learn to always read ingredients on pet food labels. You can ignore the front of the package.  No matter what it says, flip it over and read the ingredients.  Even if the vet recommends it, read the ingredients!  Some vets are better than others at proper nutrition.

Last week I was asked to help a client read her dog food label. As I was walking through the ingredient list, she was appalled that corn was the first ingredient. Not knowing that Ingredients must be listed in order of predominance by weight. The ingredient that makes up the highest percentage of the total weight as it goes into the product is listed first. 
This was an eye opener for her, she had always assumed that those were just the ingredients. Not knowing they were written in a specific order by weight. Let's talk labels!

PawTree Turkey & Sweet Pea Recipe Label

PawTree Turkey & Sweet Pea Recipe Label

There are many variables of ingredients you should watch for. The 5 top ingredients you never want to see in your pet's food are: 
1) Ethoxyquin
2) Propylene Glycol 
3) BHT/BHA
4) Corn Syrup/Corn
5) “By Product” (meaning Meat or Animal by product)

These ingredients are usually the leading cause of medical issues in pets. Be cautious when finding these ingredients in pet food and treats.

The product should contain the phrase "Complete & Balanced" it is a Nutritional Adequacy Statement, by the AAFCO labeling.

Your pets food should also have a minimum digestibility of at least 80% or more.  This information is usually obtained by calling the pet food company. The digestibility of a pet food measures how much of the diet/ingredients the pet utilizes vs. poops out. 

The higher the digestibility the better. In addition, the dogs are digesting most
of the calories for energy. Pets burn calories while sleeping.. Crazy, but they burn calories from protein and healthy fat in their diet. Adding a probiotic will also help the digestive tract absorb nutrients. On average, our overall digestibility studies show our pawTree recipes have a minimum digestibility of 83%.  They also show that both our protein and fat are highly digestible (on average, 87% and 94% respectively).   

Remember to keep your pets hydrated.  While we can’t very effectively make them drink as much water as they should, adding warm or cold water to their morning and evening meals (about  1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup) everyday will really go a long way to helping them stay healthy.

Preservatives are added to pet food to prevent the fat from rapidly becoming rancid.  Whether or not the preservative is "natural" or "synthetic", or a combination of the two, dry food should contain a preservative.  If opposed to feeding a diet with a preservative of any kind, then the best option would be a canned diet. All natural diets usually use natural preservatives. Natural substances such as such as vitamin E (mixed tocopherols), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), and plant extracts (rosemary). Keeping your pets food stored properly or in a sealed bag will also help it from becoming stale or rancid.

Cost in general- as the quality of the ingredients used to make a pet food increases, so does the cost to the manufacturer, who passes these costs on to the client.  Therefore, a cheap product does not always mean a good deal. This is a very true statement! You get what you pay for! If you purchase McDonald's everyday vs home made food you will feel and see the difference. Don't let "cost" be the factor for your pet thriving in life, budget accordingly :)

Animals require nutrients, not ingredients. The quantity and quality of nutrients in the diet available to the animal is what is important, not the ingredients that provided these nutrients.  For example, there is a perception that certain ingredients are bad and are fillers.  The body breaks down ingredients into amino acid that are absorbed by the intestinal tract. Unless an animal has a known allergy to a certain ingredient, there is no reason to avoid feeding diets that contain them. It is true that animals require nutrients, not ingredients, but different ingredients may provide better nutrients (‘better’ meaning more available).  While it may be true that some ingredients have the same amino acid profiles, not all nutrients have the same bioavailability.  For instance, plant amino acid profiles are very different than animal amino acid profiles.  If the animal can’t utilize the nutrient because it isn’t bio-available, that nutrient does the animal no good. 

Most importantly! How is your pet doing while consuming the diet?  There is no diet that 100% of dogs and cats will do well on.  They are like people in that they can show a variation in their preference and response to a particular diet. 

Don't forget to read the ingredients on your dog treats too!!

**Pictures in this post are of pawTree recipes. pawTree is an amazing diet for pets young and old. They only utilize the highest quality ingredients. Pets feel and look better throughout their life. pawTree diets are also created by a vet advisory counsel and PH.D in animal science and pet nutrition. It is exactly what they need, when they need it.

Click link: Fill out a pawTree pet profile and read our ingredients!

We love comments and feedback! Thank you for stopping by my blog!

What are Hot Spots?

"Hot spots" can result from excessive licking and chewing, usually they are secondary bacterial infections in the raw skin. They can start off looking like a little red area the size of a dime, and quickly spread to become a huge, oozing lesion by the end of the day. Hot spots can be very painful and should get immediate attention.

Work with your veterinarian to identify the underlying cause, whether allergies to fleas, pollen or food, and eliminate it. Many veterinarians prescribe cortisone, an anti-inflammatory steroid, to stop the itch-scratch cycle and antibiotics to fight the infection. But unfortunately, steroids can have serious side effects over an extended period of time. And many topical sprays contain alcohol, lidocaine, hydrocortisone, or other harsh chemical ingredients that can damage, burn or dry out your pet's skin.

A more natural approach is often the most effective. Tea tree oil is a natural healing ingredient that has been used for centuries to protect the skin, reduce inflammation and itching, and clean infected areas. Aloe Vera and Chamomile are soothing ingredients to ease pain and promote healing. 

pawTree's Skin Support Plus is a soothing blend of tea tree oil, aloe vera and chamomile work to treat and ease the discomfort of environmental allergies, hot spots, abrasions and other skin problems in dogs. Skin Support Plus provides gentle, natural and immediate relief of itchy or irritated skin.

The above pictures are from my dog, Cedar. "This is my testimonial for the skin support plus. We went riding Valentines weekend. He ran along side my kids' motorcycles for almost 14-miles and wouldn't stop. Tore his poor legs and paw pads up in the sage brush. I used Skin Support Plus 3x a day for a week and he is all healed! He quit chewing every time I applied it. I will never go without it!" 

For more Testimonials check out this link: pawTree Blog

www.pawTree.com/HealthyPets

Joint Support Plus

Did you know 1 in 5 adult dogs suffer from joint issues. EVERY dog, large and small, needs joint support for everyday activities. It doesn't matter if they are old or young starting a joint supplement is key to preventing joint issues at an early age. 

pawTree Joint Support Plus is a veterinarian-developed, glucosamine-based formula that aids in joint support by maintaining the normal viscosity of joint fluid. This most comprehensive joint support supplement contains the highest levels of active ingredients along with the addition of herbs to support healthy soft tissue, healthy cartilage and thick, viscous joint fluid. 

Product Benefits:

• Glucosamine, Chondroitin Sulfate and Hyaluronic Acid promote thick, viscous joint fluid to absorb concussion within the body or joints
• MSM helps to manage aches and discomfort associated with normal everyday activity
• Yucca, Curcumin, Corydalis and Boswellia are herbs that help to maintain joint, bone and supporting soft tissue health while managing discomfort caused by normal, everyday activities
• Unlike chalky tablets and pills, these are so tasty your dog will LOVE them!
• Developed by a veterinarian
• Made in the U.S.A.

www.pawTree.com/HealthyPets

pawTreats! Dog Tested, Pet Parent Approved!

Now dog ‘treats’ are BIG business – over $2B at retail!  There are many kinds of treats to buy for your dogs that are used for different ‘treating occasions’.  There are different forms – like biscuits or crunchy treats, meat treats, soft & chewy treats, bones or rawhide, jerky and functional treats like dental sticks.  Within these forms there are different ‘types’ like training treats – which are small treats with few calories so you can reward often; and long-lasting treats known as ‘occupiers’, which are the kind you give your dog when you need some “alone” time…or a few minutes to make dinner!  And within each of these “types” of treats there are a multitude of flavor varieties.  Pet parents buy a LOT of treats for their dogs every month.  Research shows that consumers have several bags of treats on hand at any given time – multiple forms for different ‘treating’ occasions.  Because again, we enjoy indulging our furry friends.

So why should a pet parent buy pawTreats?  Why are pawTreats a better option than what you can buy in the grocery store?

We’ll talk about the meat treats first – the freeze dried and dry roasted.  First and foremost, our treats are VERY high quality.  We use the highest quality meat sources as well as fruits and vegetables.  They contain at least 85% to 95% meat, and up to 15% of complementary fruits and vegetables which are blended together.  There are no grains, no meals, no fillers, no corn wheat or soy, and no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives…just ground up meat blended with fruits and vegetables.  Our treats have minimal ingredients so for instance, our Freeze Dried Duck and Orange treats contain literally just ‘duck and oranges’.  That’s it, pure and simple.  And did I mention that they’re all sourced and made in the U.S.?

Our treats are minimally processed so all the nutritional goodness stays in.  They are either freeze dried, which is the closest to real food that you can get in a shelf stable form, or dry roasted – which is similar to jerky treats.  Once the meat is ground and formed, it is put into a dry roaster for at least 15 hours to fully dehydrate the meat.  Our dry-roasted treats are 100% meat for 100% goodness!  All of our treats offer high-density nutrition in a shelf-stable snack.

We offer 3 dry-roasted varieties and 7 freeze-dried varieties, including 2 liver forms.  With these delicious treats on hand, your dog won’t be begging for table scraps!

Remember, many dogs are overweight or obese, so we need to be sure we don’t overfeed them, and that includes over treating.  Everything you give your dog should be nutritious and add value to his diet.

Here are a couple of different ways to feed our pawTreats:

• Many pet parents add some canned food to their dry dog food as a “treat”.  Why not take one or two pawTreats and break them up into smaller pieces and use them as a “topper” on your dog food.
• When training your dog, break them up into smaller pieces so you get 3-5 small “treats” out of one pawTreat, so as not to pack on the calories.

By the way, don’t forget our ‘Treat of the Month’ program!  Every cycle, your dog will receive one of our delicious varieties.  But remember, you can and should order more than one bag!

www.pawTree.com/HealthyPets

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