Pet Corner

The Dangers of Inferior Quality Food

By Gary L. Ailes, DVM

Considering the state of the economy, this may be a good time to discuss dog and cat food, since many people may try to save money by purchasing lower quality food.

There was a time when generic food was something folks were feeding their pets, and most people thought it was a complete food. However, it didn’t take long before we were seeing problems that ranged from skin conditions to weight gain or loss. Although the food could be considered a complete diet, in order to get all the measured ingredients to a minimum level, some ingredients were markedly elevated. The dog or cat would consume the minimum of one nutrient and too much of another.

As was demonstrated by the Chinese, protein content can be elevated by several different approaches besides good healthy protein. The additives would not necessarily be toxic but could be indigestible proteins from something like shoe leather. That is an example of large adjustments that can be made to the commercial foods.

Smaller adjustments are usually related to the vitamins and minerals and are every bit as important. Too much or too little in the areas of vitamins and/or minerals can cause large problems for your pet. The primary problems occur when the vitamins and minerals are out of balance. The great part about biologic systems is that they can handle being out of balance for quite a while. The tough part of that is the amount of time it takes for a problem to manifest is related to the amount of time it will take for the problem to be resolved when the imbalance is corrected.

If you are feeding an inexpensive dog food, I would supplement with Dog Vites. This will help keep your pet in balance and it contains some ingredients that are only found in super premium foods. Some of the ingredients include flaxseed powder, which helps with skin and coat condition; N-Acetyl l-Carnitine, which helps with cognitive function; and Silymarin, which helps protect the liver.

And even if you are feeding a higher grade of food, I definitely think vitamin supplementation is worthwhile, to provide the nutrients that aren’t always available in even in the highest quality foods.