Tuesday, December 1, 2015

CONFUSING LABELING OR IS IT DECEITFUL?





















These lovely jarred stews for dogs caught my attention while I was in a pet store today. I thought they looked appetizing and I'm sure many people would think the same thing. My big question: how many pet owners believe this is a complete and balanced meal for their pets? How many people are making the mistake of feeding this food by itself? There are so many nutritional deficiencies I can't begin to list them all. (One jar contains venison and yams. Nothing else.) The label is not complete and does not come close to AAFCO and FDA standards (not that I'm a big fan of those guys, but the standards are there for a reason). Amount to feed is left up to the pet owner. Calories are listed per 100 grams, but the food is 32 ounces. Who is going to do the math?
The directions state "feed alone OR WITH your favorite kibble for a COMPLETE MEAL. This is so ambiguous I wonder how many pet owners will not realize that this needs to be fed with a complete diet to supply the necessary nutrients. No mention of calcium and phosphorous content. Do I need to add a mineral supplement? (The answer is yes, but that's only because I know this diet is way off in calcium/phosphorous balance based on ingredients.)
Website for this company? Useless. They also sell dog coats. There is more information on the coats than there is on the food. Yet this product is available nationwide. While they may be using good ingredients, there is a lot of confusion for how much to feed and the fact that this is not meant to be fed as a complete diet.
If the commercial diet you are feeding does not say "complete and balanced" and name the life stage it is meant for (all life stages, growth, mature, senior, puppy, etc), it is meant to be used as a supplement, not as a complete diet. Don't be fooled into feeding your pet an incomplete diet.

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