To the uneducated consumer, pet food labels with names like “Beef for Dogs,” “Beef Dinner for Dogs,” or “Dog Food with Beef” might all sound like pretty much the same thing.
Recently, Santa Claus made a rather unfortunate announcement. Several of the reindeer have perished due to eating poisonous pet food. Dasher, Comet, and Blitzen are no longer with us and Dancer is in a comatose state, at the local hospital. “The health care costs are enormous, and we’re not sure we can save him.
There are many sites that have attempted to answer some of these questions, but few if any have been successful. For example, most of us have heard time and time again that corn is bad for dogs and cats. The usual justification for this information is that dogs have a difficult time digesting this ingredient. Also, many argue that corn is one of the leading causes of allergies in dogs and cats.
Pet food marketing, in case you haven’t noticed, is fiercely competitive. I was in a Pet Smart just this week and when I found the dog treat section – it looked like a giant glossy wall of advertisements – a 9 foot wall, shouting different claims at me. I just stared in amazement and thought – how do pet owners wade through the wall-o-treats full of pet food marketing mania and decide what to buy.
The product name and packaging are what you first notice when shopping for pet food. They portray a certain quality about the content and likely influence your purchasing decision. When you’re in the grocery store produce section you can easily see bananas in the bin labeled bananas and oranges in the bin labeled oranges.
