A Beginner's guide to unraveling the mystery of what is in your pet's food.
What's the difference between "Animal Protein" & "Animal Protein Meal"
There has been some confusion regarding the difference between animal protein and its "meal" counterpart.
The Animal Protein (Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Lamb, Pork, Fish, etc.) is the clean combination of flesh and skin of the animal. It can contain up to 70% moisture, and includes both protein and fats. The Animal Protein Meal, on the other hand, is the same protein cooked down to remove most of the moisture and some fat, leaving only the protein.
Both of these ingredients are free of hair, feet, internal organs, or other by-products.
The difference is in moisture content. Ingredients on a label are listed by weight. Weighing the animal protein before extracting the moisture could appear to be a more prevalent ingredient than is actually present. This is because dry dog food contains less than 10% moisture and any moisture in the animal protein must be extracted, thus lowering the usable weight of actual protein and fat.
What ingredients should NOT be in my pets food and Why?
BY-PRODUCTS!!!!
By-Products are the parts of the animal not generally intended for human consumption. These include (but are not limited to): feet, hooves, feathers, beaks, udders, snouts, hair, intestines, etc.
Though some ingredients listed as by-products, such as liver, hearts, or lungs for example, can be considered very nutritionally beneficial to your pet, there is no distinction on an ingredient label between these "good by-products" and the undesirable by-products previously mentioned. Due to the labeling ambiguity, it is best to stay away altogether.
MYSTERY "MEAT"
Products which list "meat", "meat meal", or "meat and bone meal" should be avoided. It could come from ANY MAMAL - pigs, goats, rendered animals from shelters and roadkill (yes, animals unalive on the side of the road!) It can also contain parts and animals not fit for human consumption, including "4D' Animals - dead, diseased, dying, or disabled. It can include pus, cancerous tissue, and decomposed tissue (yuck!).
A similar term to watch for is "poultry", which can be parts of any kind of bird.
CORN, WHEAT & SOY
Vegetable proteins should be avoided simply because they are not easily digestible. Up to 50% of vegetable protein is passed through an animal and is unused.
In Short... Study this photo! & Try your hardest to Avoid all of these!
Curious about your pets current foods nutritional value?
The Pet Food Industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and it gets very overwhelming very quickly trying to find the "perfect" food for your pets.
We at Oily Drop Bullies always try to encourage people that reach out about food recommendations for their pets to check out DOGFOODREVIEW.COM (Not to be confused with "Dog Food Advisor" that site is run by a HUMAN Dentist with zero veterinarian or canine nutritionist background at all. We DO NOT support or recommend that website)
You may also check out TruthAboutPetFood.Com which is also a fantastic site to guide you and learn from
Should Animals be fed one Brand & Type of food, for their whole lives?
It is often beneficial to change protein sources occasionally, or to chose a food that contains multiple animal protein sources. No matter what protein source you choose. Due to health concerns, allergies, and differences in your pets' tastes, consumers now have a multitude of protein sources to choose from, including (but not limited to) Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Lamb, Beef, Venison, Bison, Rabbit, Kangaroo, Fish, etc.
They are all highly digestible sources of protein for your pet. Choosing a protein source is dependent on your pets individual needs. Though each protein source can be considered "complete nutrition", each has its own secondary benefits.
However, if your animal has a severely sensitive stomach you should consult with your veterinarian and a (professional & verifiable) canine nutritionist.
We at Oily Drop Bullies do "Rotational Feeding" (Meaning we switch protein sources roughly every 3 months) as this helps to keep the dogs in the home happy and excited for meal time while also offering us the opportunity to avoid them becoming intolerant or developing any type of allergies and also knowing I personally wouldn't want to eat the same thing every single day for my whole life, so its a good way to give them a little variety.
How Do I Transition My Pet to a new food?
A sudden change to a different diet has the risk of causing your pet some gastrointestinal upset which include loose stools or vomiting.
While this upset usually disappears in a matter of days, it can often be avoided by following easy transition guidelines.
The smoothest transition from one dog food to another is to mix the foods together. This process should usually take about seven to ten days (typically), but you should increase the pets transition time if your pet is particularly sensitive.
Day 1-3: Mix 25% of the new food with 75% of the old food.
Day 4-7: Mix 50% of the new food with 50% of the old food.
Day 7-10: Mix 75% of the new food with 25% of the old food
Day 11+: You SHOULD be fully transitioned to the new food choice at this point and can begin feeding this new food solely as recommended per body weight/ energy level by the supplier.
*Remember: This is just a guideline, If at any point your pet has loose stools, vomiting, etc. remain at the level you are at until the pets stools, vomiting, etc. is back to normal.
What we Think and Why We are Here.
Our pets have become members of our families. They provide love and support and of course companionship.
Their health and well being is just as important as our own. A pet's diet is crucial to their well-being while also being the biggest variable that we as Pet Owners have control over.
Our world is full of choices. There are many pet food options available. Picking the right food can be a difficult and overwhelming task. Besides basic nutritional considerations, an individual pets lifestyle, likes and dislikes, allergies, health concerns and breed pay a big role in determining what food is best for them, While every pet is different with individual needs, a few guidelines will help in the task of picking the right food for your pet.
Find a Food with Only ingredients you feel comfortable eating yourself. If its not good enough for you, its probably NOT good enough for them.
A Food Should use whole ingredients that are nutrient-rich and unaltered. Mother nature has done a pretty great job with creating nutritious ingredients. Why try to second guess that.
Animal Protein or Animal Meal should be the first ingredient and it should be named. (Refer to the top of this page about protein sources)
A food should have no artificial colors or preservatives. Dogs do not care what color their food is so the dyes and colors are only there for YOU! There are other natural preservative options that have been shown to work better than their chemical (lab created) counterparts. These are just not necessary.
Buy Food from a company you trust. Pet Food recalls have shown that pet food companies sometimes make decision based on the bottom line, and that is not always good for your pet. Understand who your pet food company is, where and how they make the food and where they source (get) their ingredients from.
Hope This Helps! Thanks for Reading!
(Oily Drop Bullies feeds all dogs in our home Freeze Dried or Frozen Balanced Pre-Packaged Raw (not kibble recipes)- these are a few of our honorable mentions for pet food shopping (in no particular order): Small Batch, Primal, Dr. Marty's, Stella & Chewy, Oma's, Northwest Naturals, State of Nature, Steve's Real Food, Vital Essentials, BJ's Raw, We Feed Raw, Viva Raw, Big Country Raw, Rawsome, RawEnergy)
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