Choosing a nutritious pet food for your cat or dog can be very challenging when you walk down the store isle and see dozens if not hundreds of choices. Whichever product you choose, you expect it to be 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition. And why not, it says so on the package.

So what is 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition?

This distinction has more to do with marketing than with nutritional value. It’s merely a representation of the percentage of protein, fat, fiber, and moisture in the Guaranteed Analysis, plus added vitamins and minerals.

100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition and Guaranteed Analysis does not qualify the nutritional value of dog food! To determine the true nutritional value you need to examine the ingredients used.

Price vs. Value

You should question the nutritional value of a 50 lb bag of pet food that sells for $18 at the local supermarket and even less at super stores. Can you really trust it to have 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition as the bag claims?

If price is a fair representation of value, is it reasonable to expect price to increase with better value?

Unlike a Rolls Royce automobile or Cartier diamond, which command premium prices because of the prestige of who sells them, there is no pet food manufacturer who has achieved the prestige to command premium pricing. Therefore, you should expect higher prices and more nutritional value in better dog foods.

Grain Protein vs. Meat Protein

Cheaper pet food ingredients have grain-based proteins like corn, wheat and soy to satisfy the Guaranteed Analysis. Dog food manufacturers will argue that grain protein is just as nutritious as meat protein.

Although grains do provide nutrition, many pet experts agree grains are a poor quality source of protein. Some pet health experts believe grains like corn, wheat and soy, put undue stress on the digestive system resulting in illnesses that normally develop later in a dog’s life.

People vary their diet and meals every day to satisfy their desire for what they want to eat. Dogs are usually fed the same food every day. Knowing the true nutritional value of your dog’s food is critical because they have no option but to eat what you feed them.

A Common Sense Solution for Choosing Pet Food

As you learn more about pet food nutrition, it’s reasonable to expect you to be confused and overwhelmed with all the information that is available.

I believe using the common sense approach that… In the marketplace, value and price work harmoniously together. Thus, we can reasonably conclude a 20 lb bag of $18 pet food has more nutritional value than a 50 lb bag of $18 food.

Cheaper pet foods will list the ingredients corn, wheat, soy, by-products, and meat and bone meal. These ingredients are very inexpensive and thus are of the poorest nutritional quality. Better foods use less of these ingredients and the best will use none.

Dogs deserve the best nutrition possible!

David Johnson works to educate the pet public to the benefits of natural pet food nutrition.