Between pet insurance, grooming costs, and meeting everyday needs, it's expensive to be a pet owner. However, most pet owners adore their dogs, cats, rabbits, and other non-human family members and care about what they eat. It's not always easy to know if they're getting it right, though.
How is someone supposed to know when a pet food company is lying? We've identified some of the most obvious fibs.
1. “We list ingredients with the greatest amounts first”
American consumers have been taught that the first ingredient listed on a bag or can of pet food is the “main” ingredient. And pet food companies know pet owners want that main ingredient to be meat. Some companies have found a clever way to get around the issue. Take a look at this example:
Ingredients: Beef (25%), Rice (20%), Corn (15%), Ground yellow corn (10%), Corn gluten meal (10%), Pea protein (10%), Potato (5%), Potato starch (5%)
At first glance, it appears that beef is the primary ingredient in the pet food. However, if you look closely, you'll notice that the main ingredient is actually corn. The pet food company knows that if it breaks the corn products down into different categories, it can list each of those categories lower on the list. In this example, if you add up the three different types of corn, you see that corn makes up 35% of the total ingredients.
Instead, do this: Look for the same word repeated in a different form. In this example, corn is listed in three different ways.
2. “Here's how much protein this pet food offers”
If you're looking for a protein-rich diet for your pet, you might be swayed by pet food packaging that reads, “60% protein!”
It's fair to guess that most consumers would believe the entire 60% of protein comes from meat, but that's often not the case. There may be meat or eggs in the pet food, but it's just as likely that the company has added less digestible plant protein, like wheat gluten meal or pea protein. Adding plant proteins is cheaper for the manufacturer and allows them to claim the food is rich in a nutrient shoppers are looking for, even if it's not good for pets.
Instead, do this: Don't take the manufacturer's word for it. Look for the percentage of meat or egg-based protein.
3. “This food is 100% grain free”
This is not so much a lie as a partial truth. Often, when a pet food manufacturer decides to go grain free, it looks for other ways to keep its costs low and profits high. What some companies land on is including larger portions of peas, potatoes, and tapioca — simple carbohydrates that do little to improve a pet's health.
Instead, do this: Rather than take the pet food company's word for it, go through the entire list of ingredients to identify how many simple carbohydrates the food contains. Cats and dogs need very few carbohydrates in their diets. For cats, it's 10% to 15%, and for dogs, it's around 7% to 14%. Run through the ingredients listed on the packaging. If it's carb-heavy, you know the manufacturer has replaced grain with carbohydrates.
4. “It's 100% hypoallergenic”
While animals have probably always had allergies, they're being diagnosed more widely now than ever before. Pet food companies have stepped into the niche of selling food they call hypoallergenic to worried pet families. Here's the rub: There is no such thing as a “hypoallergenic” pet food. A pet can develop an allergy to any food it's exposed to.
The only way to find hypoallergenic food is to locate a food that does not contain any of the ingredients a particular pet is allergic to. There is no way for a pet food manufacturer to create food that addresses every potential allergen.
Instead, do this: If your veterinarian tells you your pet has developed an allergy, ask them to identify the specific allergen. Once you know what the pet is allergic to, shop for foods that don't contain the allergen. If your vet recommends a prescription diet, see if your pet insurance policy can defray some of your costs. This isn't a given, but some insurance plans may.
5. “Diet pet food will cause your pet to drop weight”
Like many popular human diets, pet diets often consist of reduced-fat meals. However, when dog food manufacturers cut fat from their formulas, they tend to add more carbohydrates to their recipes. There's a good chance that a low-fat, high-carb diet will do little to help your pet lose weight. What it will shrink is the size of your checking account.
Do this instead: Rather than invest in expensive diet pet food, consider cutting the amount of your pet's regular food and supplementing it with high-quality meat. The protein will give your pet energy and help them drop pounds.
Misleading advertising appears to be the way of the world, at least for now. Until better consumer protections are in place, you'll have to be vigilant about investigating which claims to believe and which to discard.
