6 Things To Consider When Buying Pet Food

As veterinarians, we need to be very careful and picky about what products and services we recommend to our clients for their pets. And today, I’m going to talk about six different things that we need to consider when deciding which pet food is right for a patient.

1. Consider your pet’s stage of life

The first thing we’re going to talk about today is what stage of life your pet is in. It’s a fact that a growing puppy or kitten is going to have different requirements than an adult in the prime of their life. And, as an animal gets older, their nutritional requirements are going to shift again. So, a very important consideration is the life stage.

2. Consider your pet’s lifestyle

The second thing to consider is how active your pet is. An animal sitting at home on the couch most of the time is going to need different nutrition than an animal that’s really active, such as an agility dog, or active household where they’re going for lots of runs and walks. So, we do need to consider how active the patient is.

3. Consider your pet’s special dietary needs

The third point that is really important to consider is does your pet have any special dietary needs? There are lots of conditions that can be influenced by diet. These include diabetes or allergies … food allergies are a big one, or even in cats with urinary issues. So, there are lots of other health considerations other than just their life stage and how active they are.

4. Consider the quality of ingredients and the reputation of the pet food

The fourth thing to consider is a very common concern with people. And that is, what is the quality of the ingredients of the food, where are those ingredients sourced from, and what’s the reputation of the company? We need to be confident in the products that we’re recommending to our clients.

5. Consider the cost per day rather than the cost of the bag

The last thing to consider is price. And that’s an important consideration. A big bag of food can look like it costs a lot. But if you look at it on a daily basis, you’re buying a month or two months’ worth of meals in just one bag. And comparing two different foods can be a challenge. Depending on the animal, they might need four cups a day of one brand, and six cups a day of another. So, if you want to get a really good cost comparison, you should figure out what it’s going to cost per day with each of the foods.

6. Consider and feed your pet’s ideal weight

I just talked about looking at the cost per day, and, another important tip is to feed your pet for their ideal body weight. Over half of dogs and half of all cats are overweight statistically. And, you don’t want to feed the whole body weight if they’re too heavy. You want to feed for their ideal weight. That’ll hopefully help them lose some weight, it will definitely be more healthy for them, and as a bit of a bonus, it’s a little less food so a little easier on the pocketbook.

You can appreciate there’s a lot of things to consider when you’re deciding what food to feed your pet. And that’s why myself and my team down here at Season’s Veterinary Clinic are more than happy to help you out and do what we can to help you decide what’s right for you and your pet. Please contact us here if you have questions about your pet’s needs: Contact Us

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