The Importance of Pet Nutrition

Ever hear of a family that says, "He's not a pet.. He's a part of the family!" That's because to most pet owners, the pet is just more than that. It's a child, a brother/sister. They will show you sympathy when you are sad, jump up when you are happy. Depending on how they are raised they will be fierce, frightning, lovable, social, attention loving, silent and mysterious. Animals and pets can have many shapes and forms, but for the sake of a mediocre sized article, we'll focus on the love of cats and dogs.

Pets will comfort you, excite you, beg, they can even save your life. The greatest thing about a pet is how they adapt to their owners personalities. They have their own outlook and personality on life, but they learn and mirror from their owners just as well. If the owner is a lazy person, the dog or cat may also lay on the couch, beg for food, and mostly stay still.

On the other hand if the owner is very energetic, has friends around, lives a moment-to-moment life then the dog or cat may also feel the need to get up early, exercise and play, move around and enjoy different aspects of life. The great thing is that it makes for a variety of different types of personalities for each one that they become familiar with.

The foundation of keeping a healthy pet, is to study up on them, and to be physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy yourself. Unfortunately for our pets who cannot make decisions about what they will eat, there are products being presented to them. Ingredients such as meat and bone meal that are so highly processed they have questionable nutritional value, and preservatives to allow a long "shelf life" at the grocery store. This is a sorry state of affairs for our pets; and often the consumer believes they are providing good food for their dog or cat!

The marketing/advertising of pet foods can be colored with misconceptions, misleading advertising and an overall lack of commitment to be honest with pet owners. On the other hand, recent realization by pet owners that high quality meat-based foods for dogs and cats really makes a remarkable difference in the health of their pets when compared to feeding grain based pet foods, has led to the availability of some excellent commercial pet nutrition products.

I have learned through observation and hands-on experience, the absolute need for optimal nutritional intake for dogs and cats if we expect them to maintain a high quality of life. To the responsible guardians of our dogs and cats, some of the most important aspects of pet nutrition, are some of the easiest.