Shopping Tips To Find The Perfect Pet Food

I've been asked more than once - more than a bunch of times - what is the perfect pet food? I wish there was an answer to that - a perfect pet food. I have a food that I like - that I trust - but it might not be what you want for your dog or cat. There are many good manufacturers - many good foods to choose from.

I want to examine the marketing techniques used to sell pet food. Finding the perfect pet food often times means ignoring the advertising or marketing. So…as an example, I've made two different pet food labels - seen below. Don't cheat and scroll below the labels! Look at these two labels as if you were considering them for your own pet. Think about what attracts you or doesn't attract you by what is said on the label.

Kirby's Kibble Super Supper

Made from REAL USDA Proteins Guaranteed Fresh! 100% Complete Nutrition

Next…

Kirby's Kibble Plain Pet Food

Kirby's Kibble is plain pet food for plain 'ol pets!!

Yes, it's obvious which pet food you would consider for your dog or cat. I did that for a reason. The truth about these two pet foods is that they BOTH contain the EXACT same ingredients.

The pet food label that is being completely honest is Kirby's Plain Pet Food. I can guarantee you however - you will never see a dog food or cat food label being this honest. The manufacturer will not provide you with the information they use chicken feet (yes, some use chicken feet) or share with you they import cheap and possibly dangerous ingredients.

Kirby's Super Supper is how the pet food bags and cans look at the pet store - but keep in mind both foods contain the EXACT same ingredients.

Below is what to look out for on pet food labels and in pet food advertising…

1. Pictures of cute pets or healthy looking ingredients. The pictures are provided on my pretend labels - but they are almost always on a pet food bag or can. Don't believe what you see.

2. Super Supper. Who doesn't want to feed their pet a 'super supper'? And - 'supper' implies people food too - another marketing technique - connection to human food. The only way to know if Kirby's Kibble is actually 'super' is to look at the ingredients. Pay no attention to the name of a pet food - it might not reflect the quality of the ingredients of the food.

3. Premium Pet Food for Premium Pets. Again - every pet owner wants to provide their pet with premium food. Kirby's Plain Pet Food isn't going to be a top seller. AND - everyone also believes their pet is something special - a premium pet. Kirby's Kibble attaches itself to that emotion! It's an emotional trigger. Pay no attention to marketing sub-titles of the pet food. Some might be true advertising, some might not - the only way to know for sure is looking at the ingredients.

4. strong>Made with REAL USDA Protein. This is a true but very misleading statement common to pet food and pet treats. Chicken feet - while being close to useless nutritionally - do actually come from USDA facility.

5. strong>Guaranteed Fresh. Pet Food labels do NOT tell you how fresh the food is - they only tell you the 'Best By' date. Unless you know the shelf life per the manufacturer (you have to call and ask them) - you could be purchasing a food that is one or two years old!

6. 100% Complete Nutrition. If a pet food uses approved ingredients of AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) - chicken feet and peanut hulls ARE approved pet food ingredients - they are provided with the 100% Complete Nutrition statement.

Next…The Guaranteed Analysis of both pretend Kirby's Pet Foods is… Crude Protein: 23% Crude Fat: 14% Crude Fiber: 4% Moisture: 10%

And - here is a brief ingredient listing for both foods… Corn, Chicken by-Product Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with BHA/BHT), Corn Gluten Meal, Peanut Hulls (source of fiber), Minerals and Vitamins.

The Kirby's Kibble statement of 'REAL USDA Proteins' - even though the protein is chicken feet - is a truthful statement. Real chicken feet come from real USDA meat processing plants. Pet food manufacturers are allowed to use chicken feet in their foods (and treats) - but on the label you will see by-products listed instead.

Kirby's Kibble purchases corn gluten meal (and it's vitamins and minerals) from a U.S. importer. Since we buy gluten and other ingredients all from the same importer - we get a better price for our purchases. Kirby's Pet Food assumes our importer uses safe suppliers - we test ingredients when we can. Testing of ingredients is only recommended by AAFCO - not mandatory. Do you trust Kirby's Pet Food - either brand - to test their imported ingredients?

I understand this is going to sound absurd…but if I decided to actually make Kirby's Kibble pet food, I would receive AAFCO approval for this food using chicken feet and peanut hulls and other cheap or imported ingredients. I would be provided with the 100% Complete Nutrition statement and I would be allowed to use the Kirby's Super Supper label above stating Premium Pet Food! However…I would NOT be allowed to make this pet food using the same ingredients and use the Kirby's Plain Pet Food bag telling you I used chicken feet in the food. Rules of AAFCO do not allow a pet food manufacturer to tell a potential customer the grade or quality of any ingredients.

As long as I use approved ingredients - chicken feet and corn gluten from China ARE APPROVED AAFCO ingredients and as long as the food analyzes as at least 18% protein for adult dogs and 26% for adult cats - (and with minimum of fat, moisture, fiber, vitamins and minerals) AAFCO would provide me with the '100% complete nutrition' status!!! I could say 'Premium Super Supper' on the label - and 'Made with REAL USDA Protein' - even using chicken feet and no other meat in the food. But I could not say chicken feet on the label. I'm not kidding.

It is unfortunate for all pet owners that all pet food labels don't just tell us the truth about what's inside the bag. To find your perfect pet food, ignore the front of the pet food bag and ignore the advertising - and look at the ingredients. It's not hard, just a new way to find the best food for your pet.

About the Author:

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