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A chicken and rice meal made by JustFoodForDogs, a Southern California company that uses 100 percent USDA certified ingredients with no preservatives, growth hormones or artificial ingredients. This 7-ounce dish costs $3.45
A chicken and rice meal made by JustFoodForDogs, a Southern California company that uses 100 percent USDA certified ingredients with no preservatives, growth hormones or artificial ingredients. This 7-ounce dish costs $3.45
Jessica Peralta, 2017
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For most people, feeding their dog or cat means grabbing a bag of kibble at the pet store. But a growing number of pet-minded people – including pet owners, pet nutritionists, holistic veterinarians and holistic pet food companies – are saying that’s not sufficient for our pets to thrive.

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a balanced diet is critical to your dog’s overall health. However, the association advises that barring any health problems or special needs, your pet should get sufficient nutrients from “high-quality commercial pet foods, which are specially formulated with these standards in mind.”

But many pet owners want to go above and beyond these guidelines.

Nutrition is key

Dr. Adam Lassin, holistic veterinarian at Hemopet Holistic Care Center in Garden Grove, said nutrition is as important for our pets as it is for us.

“There are many conditions we can correlate with ‘bad’ diets, such as chronic skin and ear infections or gastrointestinal conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease,” he said. “Many pets have food sensitivities and intolerances that perpetuate these conditions. Clinically and anecdotally, I personally have seen diets perpetuate those conditions and others such as chronic joint disease by promoting low-grade inflammatory processes in the body. Many ingredients in grain-based foods (heavy in corn, wheat, white potato and grain byproducts) have pro-inflammatory precursors.”

It makes sense that our pets thrive on a diet of real, whole foods when you consider that humans are also healthier when they avoid heavily processed foods.

“The best comparison I have is if our doctors told us it was OK to eat cereal for every meal,” said Katie Berger, who owns pet health food store Pet Country in Lake Forest.

You can potentially improve a pet’s diet by adding food like lean meats (not just table scraps) and vegetables to an existing diet; switching to a commercial raw frozen diet (which usually comes preground and ready to serve once thawed); switching to a human-grade, freeze-dried or dehydrated diet; home cooking (with the help of a holistic vet or pet nutritionist); and/or adding supplements.

“Ideally, it is best to give pets as many fresh nutrients as possible,” said Orange County-based pet nutritionist Susan Blake Davis. “These are often found in raw frozen diets, or you can add steamed, chopped homemade vegetables and lean meats to your pet’s diet.

“Cost can be an issue for many pet owners, so feeding the best diet shouldn’t be viewed as an all-or-nothing situation. Adding fresh nutrition from a few ounces of a raw frozen diet or homemade ingredients into a pet’s daily meal is better than not using any.”

Unhealthy ingredients

There are definitely pet food ingredients you want to avoid – including meat and poultry byproducts, Davis said. “Byproducts are much less expensive but also less digestible than the muscle meat found in higher quality brands. Ingredients vary from batch to batch but can include heads, feet, bone, etc.”

Sugar should be avoided as well. It’s often used in pet foods to disguise the taste of low-quality ingredients and entice your pet to eat more, Davis said, adding, “Sugar can contribute to inflammation, infections, gum disease and should not be in a pet’s diet.”

Peanut hulls, beet pulp, soybean hulls and soybean mill run are used as inexpensive fillers with little or no nutritional value, and they’re often used in “reduced calorie” pet foods as fiber so that the dog or cat feels satiated, according to Davis. Instead, try green beans, canned pumpkin and other natural sources of fiber, she advised.