When it comes to selecting a diet for your pet, the choices are plentiful, but scientifically-backed information on them is difficult to find as a consumer.

As a veterinarian, what is important to me in a diet for my pets, may not be the same things that are important to you. Some families want an ethically-sourced food, some want to cook for their pet, some have ingredient restrictions due to an allergy, some want organic. I want to work together to select a diet that meets the things that you want from a diet for your pet.  I can only make recommendations as a veterinarian on diets that have some scientific evidence behind them. In general, I recommend diets that are:

1. 1. Complete and balanced, meaning this is all your pet needs, no supplements to the diet are required.
2. 2. The diets have undergone feeding trials that ensure they are safe for long-term consumption.
3. 3. The food company employs a board certified veterinary nutritionist to make their diets. This is a veterinarian who has undergone years of additional training in animal nutrition.
4. 4. The diet does not cause harm to the pet.

Surprisingly, most pet food companies do not employ a veterinary nutritionist, do not do feeding trials, and do not ensure the diet is complete and balanced. This is not to say that the company does not have a good food for your pet, I just don't know because there is no solid proof. Below are all diets that have scientific backing (meeting the above 4 listed criterion) and a little bit of info about them. 

Commercially Prepared Diets (widely available, least expensive, easiest)

• Purina: Convenient because it is widely available. Purina's JM diet is the only diet that did a lifetime study. This study showed that dogs in the study lived an average of 2 years longer on this diet exclusively for their adult life when compared to other commercial diet controls.
• Royal Canin: Available at most large pet stores. They make general diets, but also have created breed-specific diets for multiple breeds of dogs and cats to address breed-specific medical concerns.
• Hills/Science Diet: Available at most pet stores. This was the first company to produce pet food that were clinically shown to help with certain diseases

Home-Delivery Fresh Diets (fresh, convenient)

• Farmer's dog: diets are formulated by a nutritionist and have been subject to feeding trials.  The drawback to this diet is that several of the diets are high in legumes and potatoes, which poses potential cardiac risk- The 'chicken', 'chicken and grain', and 'pork and grain' recipes they offer are not legume-rich, but the beef, pork, and turkey recipes are. I would recommend feeding the 'chicken', 'chicken and grain', and 'pork and grain' over the other options.

Home Cooked Diet (labor intensive)

• Consult with a board-certified nutritionist at Blue Pearl, Tufts University, or NCSU to formulate a diet specifically for your pet (this is always recommended).
• Use balanceit.com to order nutritional supplementation for the diet you are making for your pet to make sure it is balanced (slightly riskier than the above choices).

Other things to consider:

• Large breed puppies: (puppies less than 12 months old that will be greater than 40 pounds at adult weight) need to eat a diet that is specially made for large breed dogs.
• Cats: We want to encourage water consumption in this species, so feeding at least part of their diet as a canned or fresh option is usually recommended (vs 100% kibble).
• Certain ingredients: Legume/potato-rich-diets. Veterinarians currently do NOT recommend these diets for dogs. There is a clear link between these diets and a heart disease called "dilated cardiomyopathy" (DCM). Not every dog who eats these diets will develop this disease, but dogs of all ages and sizes have succumbed to heart failure caused by these diets. You should avoid diets that list pea, pea protein, chickpeas, lentils potatoes, sweet potatoes in the first 10 ingredients AND/OR have more than one of these listed in all of the ingredients. Many times 'grain-free' diets meet that criteria, so many veterinarians are currently saying to not feed 'grain-free'. There are some non-grain free diets that meet this criteria as well as grain-free diets that do not. 

I am not a veterinary nutritionist, but if you would like to consult with one, there are several in the area and most veterinary schools offer this service remotely. Generally they do not require a referral, but there is a fee for this service.

I hope this is helpful. I want you to feel comfortable and confident in the diet you are feeding. At our next visit I am happy to show you how to evaluate a pet food bag for some of this information, just save the bag for the appointment.

~Dr. Ashleigh Caplin

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