Pet Food Wars: What does 'kcals per cup' mean and why that expensive bag of food is cheaper than you think!

Since our pets can't buy their own food, we have to.  And while a lot of us want to do right by our pets, we are often influenced by brands we see on TV.

Remember my rant on Beneful?  If not, go read it.

I'll wait....

The moral of that story was to not be swayed by TV and to do a little research yourself.  This post is going to address the problem of "Well, I buy _____ because the other brands cost too much."

Yes, Mr. Customer.  Brand B does cost more than Brand A.  But have you looked at cost per feeding?

This is a chart I use when I'm talking about cost-per-feeding to my customers (your pet stores).  If you compare these two brands, Beneful and Premium Edge, you will notice Premium Edge costs $10 more per bag.

Yes, you get almost 4lb more than that bag of Beneful, but at a cost-per-weight basis, Beneful will cost you under $1/lb, and Premium Edge will cost you $1.14/lb.

So the expensive bag will cost me more to feed, right?

WRONG.

A dog needs a certain amount of calories to maintain their body weight.  It varies by energy level, but the guidelines use an 'average' of 32.5 calories per pound of body weight.  To get to that desired level for a 60lb dog, you need 4-5.5 cups of Beneful (depending on energy level) compared to 2.25-3 cups of Premium Edge.

You feed less and get the same result.  This means LESS POOP IN YOUR YARD, but more importantly the bag lasts longer.  26 days for a $30 bag of Beneful, or 50+ days for a bag of Premium Edge.  The 'expensive' bag wins by the tune of $100+ in savings each year.

But can kcal content be misleading?  ABSOLUTELY!

Take Canidae Pet Foods for example, as well as a few comparable brands.  (I pick on Canidae, because they're a well-known 'Independent' brand.  They recently went into Petco, even though I have heard personally from the owners' mouths that would never ever happen.  So now I poke at them.)

I used to sell Canidae long ago, and would show my friends that a bag of Canidae was technically cheaper to feed than the cheapest bags of pet food you can find at Walmart.  I honed my 'cost per feeding' pitch with them, and now use it against them.

You see, a 44lb bag of Canidae now sells for $54-62 in my area.  I sell similar brands that cost way less to feed, and haven't changed their bag, formula or promises in recent times.  Canidae still costs less to feed than Beneful, but let's compare it with other high-end brands, shall we?

Canidae claims to have a whopping 468 kcals per cup in their All Life Stages diet.  I called their office to confirm what 'cup' they use, and they said they get their numbers from an 8oz dry measuring cup, which holds exactly 4.5oz of Canidae kibble.

I tested, they are correct.

But if you do the math (which I did for you on the graphic) it only adds up to 460 kcals per cup.  When you compare to a big brand like Beneful, you will feed less.  But what about other high-end brands?

Taste of the Wild dog food claims to only have 370 kcals per cup, but if you use the same measuring guidelines as Canidae, I get 451 kcals per cup.  That's very similar in feeding rate, and makes me wonder why my math is so different.  I called the company and have not received a response.

Another brand, with ingredients closer to Canidae's, is Hi-Tek Naturals.  Their Chicken Fitness formula has similar ingredients, also comes in a 44lb bag ($50, compared to Canidae's $60) and also has a frequent buyer program (Buy 10 get 1 free, Canidae's is Buy 12 get 1 free).  Their bag shows more kcals per kilogram than Canidae, but less kcals per cup.  When I measured cup to cup, I only saw a 0.13oz difference in weight.  Using my math, Hi-Tek really measures at 465 kcal/cup.  Making it a cheaper bag to buy than Canidae, and a cheaper feeding rate.

For that same 60lb dog used earlier, it would cost you $338 per year to feed Canidae vs $272 with HiTek.  $312 vs $248 if you use a frequent buyer card.  And while both brands are a better value than Beneful ($385/yr) and a much better quality, when you start to compare premium vs premium you want to make sure you get the most bang for your buck.

But the question is:  Which math is correct?  If we use Canidae math, other brands look better than they realize.  But is this the accurate way of measuring calorie content, or does everyone do things a little differently??

In the end, sometimes the expensive bag costs less than you think.  But sometimes, if you look hard enough, you can find even better value out there.  Do some research, don't be afraid to use a calculator, and don't believe everything a business says.  Do YOUR math and don't trust theirs.

Pet Food Recommendations from Lostinidaho.me

I talk about Pet Food from time to time, because I have a passion for pet nutrition.  Hell, it's my day job, and I love what I do.

But most of my posts have been in a negative tone:

I've railed against Science Diet and brainwashed veterinarians.

I've made fun of Beneful and their junk-food in a bag.  (Tortilla chips and vitamins?  NOT food!)

Every time I do a post like that, people ask me:  "Ok, don't feed this.  Don't feed that.  Well, Mr. Nutrition Expert, what SHOULD I feed?"

To be honest, if you go into your local independent pet shop (Not Petco, Not Petsmart.  Joe's Pet Palace, and places like that) you really can't go wrong.  There are a lot of super-premium foods out there and most pet stores are knowledgeable enough to tell you the right fit for your pet.

If you want to feed the best of the best, look into raw pet foods.  They're extremely expensive, but the most natural and bio-available diet for your animal.  However, my recommendation here is going to be for the majority of us that want super-good, but not super-expensive.

If I have to recommend one brand of food above all others, I am going to choose Dr. Tim's Pet Foods.  This is still unknown in some areas and can be hard to find, but a lot of online retailers sell this food.

(Give it another 12-18 months, and it will be everywhere.  It's that good, and I have a feeling it's about to get the industry recognition it deserves.)

Dr. Tim Hunt is a veterinarian and a dog-sledder.  He is a raw food advocate, but it's tough to feed raw meat at 10 below zero.  He designed his own petfood at home, using a cement mixer and a lot of knowledge.  The company is still run by the doc, and he still practices veterinary medicine in Michigan.

Best of all, he interacts with his customers.  Twice a week, you can ask Dr. Tim questions on the company Facebook page.  Instead of dealing with a Marketing or PR person like most food companies, you get the man himself!

There are currently 4 formulations of dog food:  Momentum (the super-high-energy sled dog formula), Pursuit (high-energy, but not as much as Momentum), and Kinesis (all life stages, for most dogs) in both a grain and grain-free formula.  There is also one formulation for cat food, called Chase.  In Dr. Tim's words, he basically ground up a mouse and tried to mimic that in a cat food.  (I love that story)

The ingredients are top-notch.  The vitamin premix he uses was specially designed for his foods.  On average, 87% of the protein in the foods are derived from high-quality, low-ash animal protein (which is AWESOME!  Pets thrive on meat-protein more than plant-based protein, ESPECIALLY CATS).  ALL ingredients are sourced in either North America or Europe.  His standards are insanely high.  Even independent rating websites like dogfoodadvisor and dogfoodchat give this food stellar marks, often times higher than bags of food that can cost $20-30+ more.

Speaking of price, it's not too expensive.  If you feed Kinesis to a medium-sized dog, it'll cost you about $1 a day.  The 'mainstream premium' foods you would find in Petco, Petsmart or Grocery can be 25 to 50 cents more per day, at a MUCH lower quality.  (And unlike other 'top-tier' pet foods at independent pet stores, this bag will not cost you $70/80/90 or higher!)

With a good food at a good price, you also get good service from the top down.  If you email the company or ask a question on Facebook, you get an answer.  Often times from Dr. Tim.  He also does informative videos (example:  Why do dogs eat cat poop?) about nutrition and overall pet health.

I love what I do, and love to help keep pets happy and healthy.  I get that vibe from him.  It's a good company, good food, and a good price.  Currently, I don't sell Dr. Tim's (and he's not paying me to say this), so please treat this as an unbiased opinion, but if it's good enough for the current Iditarod Champion, it's good enough for me.

And now you know.  With luck, this will be at your local pet shop soon enough (if it isn't already).  In the meantime, there are plenty of online retailers to choose from that will deliver directly to your door.  I hope this helps, and as always, please let me know if you have any other questions or feedback.

Pet Nutrition and Veterinarians - Why Science Diet Isn't As Good As You Think

Veterinarians are an essential part of any pet's life, as well as a pet owner's life.

They are there to keep your pet healthy, and there to treat your pet in times of sickness and distress.

They go to school for 8 years to earn the 'Dr' in front of their name, so of course they know what they're talking about, right?

...right?

When it comes to nutrition, I disagree.

During their 4 years of veterinary school, they have one 1-unit course on Small Animal (Dog & Cat, primarily) nutrition.

Those college students/graduates/dropouts know how 'intensive' those 1-unit classes are, right?

*snort*

I speak to countless veterinarians thanks to my day job, and know dozens of others around the country who tell me the same thing:  The nutrition course is essentially a Science Diet brainwashing session.  Which is my most veterinarian practices and animal clinics have a wall (or walls) that look like this:

Now, I'm not here to pick on the prescription diets per se.  They're overused, overpriced and sometimes not necessary, but that's beside the point.  I'm here to pick on the normal 'maintenance' diets you find in vet offices, PetSmart and pet stores around the nation.

In my opinion, shitty foods like this actually cause a lot of the problems these veterinarians eventually try to fix.

For example, gluten in foods have been linked to causing Leaky Gut Syndrome, Diabetes, Celiac (gluten intolerances) and obesity (which leads to heart disease, cancer, etc etc etc).  Glutens are basically sugars and starches found in grains like corn and wheat (this is why your neighbor with celiac can't eat bread...).

So basically, gluten causes a lot of bad shit to go down.  How does this relate to Science Diet?  Let's look at the first few ingredients in their Adult Advanced Fitness formula:

- Chicken (OK, chicken's good, but this is a raw list.  Once you cook this stuff all the moisture goes away and it actually drops a few pegs on the ingredient chart.  But meh... another discussion...)

- Whole Grain Corn (Lots of sugar, lots of gluten, which could lead to lots of problems down the road. It's essentially like feeding your dog tortilla chips as a meal)

- Whole Grain Sorghum (Good carb source, gluten free.  No beefs here)

- Whole Grain Wheat (Bread.  More glutens.  Yay, lets feed fido a loaf of bread to go with their nachos.)

- Chicken by-product meal (More meat, which is better for the dog, but by-products?  These aren't hot dogs we're making...)

So...  meat, grain, grain, grain, meat(ish).  2 of the 3 grains used are gluten heavy...  Rice would have been a better option, since you get the carbs and the binding needed to make the food, but not all this gluten...  (which is why SOOOO MANY pet foods are using rice, especially brown rice, in their diets these days...)

But even then... that's a ton of grain.  Do you ever see a dog doing this?

(Poor photoshopping, I know, but I couldn't stop laughing...)

Nope.  Why is that?  What does a dog want?  Oh yeah, MEAT.

There are a lot of good veterinarians that study nutrition on their own and advocate better foods like raw meat diets or grain/gluten-free diets.  Or at least stray away from garbage like Science Diet.  I have respect for those vets.

But alas, every vet in my town sells swill.  Some are adamant that it's the best out there (remember the brainwashing reference??) and will go LA LA LA if you try to educate them otherwise.

In fact, one had a 'diabetes awareness' poster in their lobby.  The argument between the vet and I got so heated I finally grabbed a bag of their food, went to the poster and said "My problem is THIS (points to the food) can very-well cause THAT (points to the sign) because of all the sugars and junk in it.  You want to fix the problem, yet you could easily be the cause of the problem..."

...I'm not allowed in that store anymore.  (totally worth it, though)

 I am not a veterinarian.  I will never neuter your dog, or help treat your cat's cancer.  HOWEVER, I have been in the pet industry for over 10 years now and have studied nutrition heavily for 8 of those 10 years.

Do I have a 'Dr' title in front of my name?  No.

Am I a DVM?  More of a BSA...

source

But I know pet nutrition.  I know how diet can positively-or-negatively affect a pet's physical condition, and I know a lot of the pet foods out there are the root-cause for some major problems and diseases out there.  Glutens should be a 4-letter-word in the pet industry, but they're not.

Please wake up, veterinarian community.  Talk to nutritionists, both with different pet food companies and independent nutritionists.  Don't believe the brands that are owned by candy bar companies (Purina, Pedigree/Nutro), and don't believe the brands that are owned by toothpaste-and-soap manufacturers (Hills/Science Diet, and Iams/Eukanuba).  Don't listen to the money, don't recommend garbage, and do the pets you serve some justice.

And PLEASE WAKE UP, pet owners.  Veterinarians are smart people, but they don't know everything. Vets are like physicians.  They know the basics.  But if you have a spine issue, you go to a specialist.  If you have a tooth issue, you go to a dentist.  If you have nutritional issues, you go to a nutritionist.

Veterinarians (most of them, anyway) are not nutritionists, which is why the "Veterinarian Recommended" tag on every bag of Science Diet is nothing but a joke to me.