Choosing the Best Food for Your Best Friend

GUELPH, ON, Sept. 4, 2018 /CNW/ - What's the best food for my pet? There is a bewildering array of choices, compound this with the often conflicting information available and it's no wonder choosing pet food can be overwhelming!

Cut through the confusion by focusing on three simple questions:

To help decide which food is best for your pet, ask yourself the following questions: Is it Safe? Is it Nutritious? Is it right for MY pet? (CNW Group/Canadian Animal Health Institute)

Is it safe?

Contaminated pet food could make your pet sick, and nobody wants that. Unfortunately, just because a food is sold in Canada does not guarantee that it's free from contamination. How can you be sure a pet food is safe to feed? You could ask online, but no one edits the internet, and it's challenging to separate fact from fiction. The best way to determine the safety of a pet food is to contact the pet food manufacturer directly. Ask them how they choose and evaluate their ingredients, and what they do to ensure their food is free from contamination. Ask several companies these questions to see different approaches to pet food safety in Canada.

Is it nutritious?

It's tempting to choose a pet food based on ingredient labels, but what's important to the pet is that they are receiving all of the nutrients they need in the right amounts. Nutrients such as protein and vitamins are distinct from ingredients like kale or chicken.  Blueberry salad and blueberry pie may both have blueberries as the first ingredient, but we can all agree that one is a more nutritious option than the other! And many different ingredients can provide beneficial nutrition as long as they are chosen carefully and processed correctly. By choosing food from companies that have veterinary specialists' formulate their diets your pet can have their very own nutritionist and you can be assured that the diet is complete and balanced.

Is it right for my pet?

Do you want to feed "a" pet, or do you want to feed "YOUR" pet? Every pet is unique, and food that is optimal for one may be unsuited to another. Instead of choosing a food and hoping it's good, consider the nutrition your pet needs based on age, activities, conditions and characteristics and find a food that fits that profile. 

Your best friend deserves the best food. Find it by asking "Is it Safe? Is it Nutritious? Is it right for MY pet?"

SOURCE Canadian Animal Health Institute

Colleen McElwain, Canadian Animal Health Institute, [phone]