Buying Safe Pet Food

If you are like most people, you probably think that if pet food can be sold at stores, the food is perfectly safe for your pet. But is that really true? 

I was surprised to learn that the FDA doesn’t regulate pet foods—it just makes sure the ingredients are “generally recognized as safe,” (GRAS), and makes sure pet foods are labeled properly. That doesn’t reassure me at all! 

When our little dog began having skin problems which were making her miserable, we took her to the Vet. After taking antibiotics and steroids, her skin cleared up, only to break out again. That’s when I began investigating dog food and what I could try to help heal her naturally without drugs. 

I learned so much and most of it was alarming. For one thing, I learned that chicken is often the culprit when it comes to food allergies in dogs, and guess what the most common protein in dog foods is? Yep. Chicken. When we made that simple switch for our big dog, going from chicken to a fish based food, her problematic ear problem cleared up within weeks and she never had any ear issues again. 

Our little dog took much more experimentation before we found a food that worked for her. It’s organic, and made by a small company who prides itself in making pet foods that are made with quality ingredients. I have never seen a dog like its food as much as she does. No, it’s not cheap—in fact, it’s quite pricey. But when you add up what I was spending every time I took her to the Vet, not to mention how worried I was about what the meds were doing to her insides, the price of her food is worth it to me. 

As with human food, it is important to read the ingredient labels on your pets’ food. If there are lots of fillers (think corn, which is not supposed to be good for pets) and chemicals and other things you have no idea what they are, maybe you should re-think your choice. My advice is to find a good pet store that has knowledgeable staff. I am lucky enough to live in an area that has an excellent, family owned and operated pet store. They are not only knowledgeable, they also truly love and care about animals. They don’t even stock pet foods that contain harmful ingredients. If you don’t live near such a store, do your own research and order food for your pet online if you cannot find it in a store. 

The same goes for pet treats. Remember back in 2007 when so many pets died after eating treats made in another country? One way to avoid that is to make homemade pet treats with human-grade ingredients. Here is an easy recipe for dog treats:

Banana and Peanut Butter Bites

1 banana, mashed

1 cup oat flour

2/3 cup rolled oats

½ cup dried parsley

3 tablespoons peanut butter

1 egg

Preheat oven to 300-degrees. In a bowl, combine mashed bananas, oat flour, rolled oats, dried parsley, peanut butter and egg. Roll into small balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Press each ball a little to flatten it. Bake for 40 minutes. Cool and then store in a plastic container in the refrigerator. 

For most of us, our pets are truly family members. Although it might seem like one more thing to do, check out your pet’s food ingredient label and make sure you know what your pet is consuming. 

What do you feed your pet? Our little dog Indigo absolutely loves Honest Kitchen’s Grain Free Cage Free Turkey food.