Premium Nutrition for Your Pet The Benefits of Choosing Holistic Puppy Food
What Is Holistic Dog Food?
Reviewed for accuracy on June24, 2019, by Dr. Natalie Stilwell, DVM
With pet ownership on the rise in the US, the pet industry is seeing an uptick in pet food sales across the board. According to the American Pet Products Association, American pet owners spent an estimated $30.32 billion on pet food in 2018, which represents a 4.3 percent increase over 2017 spending.
Pet owners are not just buying more kibblemany are seeking out healthier, premium-grade pet foods for their four-legged family members. This includes natural and holistic options.
But understanding what constitutes holistic dog food is a tricky matter. If youre considering trying a dog food thats labeled as holistic, heres what you should know about what that term means, how its different from natural dog food, and which ingredients you should look for.
What Does Holistic Mean on Dog Food Labels?
While you may be inclined to think that you can draw parallels between holistic medicine and holistic food, the reality is that the term holistic carries a different weight and meaning with each use.
Currently, within the pet industry, there is no universal or standard definition of what classifies a dog food as holistic, says Dr. Travis Arndt, director of the Animal Medical Center of Mid-America.
Sometimes, says Dr. Arndt, the words on dog food bags and containers are simply used as marketing tactics to entice consumers.
Knowing that pet parents want what is best for their dog, holistic gives them the impression that the food will be nutritious and balanced and will benefit the pets total health and wellness, Dr. Arndt says.
Dr. Angie Krause, DVM, CVA, CCRT, and owner of Boulder Holistic Vet, agrees that the term holistic is not clearly defined in the pet food industry. Holistic pet food is more of a movement towards a less-processed diet with higher-quality ingredients, she says.
Industry Standards for Pet Food Labels
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets quality standards for animal feed and pet food, adding a label to products that the organization deems complete and balanced nutrition for animals.
One of the things AAFCO does is establishes regulations for pet food and sets standards for nutrition, says Dr. Arndt. While they have definitions for words like natural or organic when it comes to pet food, they do not define holistic, he says.
Holistic Dog Food vs. Natural Dog Food
AAFCO defines natural dog food as:
a feed or feed ingredient derived solely from plant, animal or mined sources, either in its unprocessed state or having been subject to physical processing, heat processing, rendering, purification, extraction, hydrolysis, enzymolysis or fermentation, but not having been produced by or subject to a chemically synthetic process and not containing any additives or processing aids that are chemically synthetic except in amounts as might occur in good manufacturing practices.
That means a dog food using the term natural needs to be free from chemically synthesized ingredients, additives and preservatives.
A few examples of chemically synthesized ingredients that are not allowed in natural pet food include:
AAFCO makes an exception for synthetic vitamins and minerals, which can be included in natural pet foods. For these diets, the products label will indicate the diet is natural with added vitamins and minerals.
However, since the label holistic does not have a formal, regulated definition, dog foods labeled as holistic may contain some or all of the above ingredients.
While the terms [natural and holistic] are often used together, they typically arent used interchangeably, says Dr. Arndt. Because of the regulation and oversight, the term natural ensures that ingredients have come from natural sources. It carries more weight than the term holistic, since there is no regulation for those claims.
Holistic Dog Food Ingredients
Because any dog food brand can label their formulas as holistic, its up to pet parents to conduct more research into ingredients and read food labels carefully.
While there is no standard for holistic dog food ingredients, some pet food brands include specific additives or ingredients that are thought to promote overall wellness in dogs. These ingredients might be probiotics, vitamins or minerals, or supplements reported to help with certain conditions, like joint and skin health.
The current and past trend in holistic diets includes grain-free formulations that substitute legumes and potatoes for wheat, corn and soy, says Dr. Krause. Adding superfoods to formulations like fruits and greens is also a popular trend. Raw diets and air-baked kibbles are also largely popular.
But Dr. Arndt says that pet parents shouldnt assume that all ingredients in a holistic dog food are good or beneficial to their pets. Without a standard definition, pet food companies can use any ingredients they choose and claim that the food is holistic, he says.
Choosing the Best Holistic Dog Food
Pet parents can choose from a variety of holistic dog foods. Holistic foods come in the standard kibble and canned, but also come in raw preparations, Dr. Krause explains. Within the raw food category there are dehydrated, freeze-dried and raw patty or chub formulations.
Before you decide which holistic dog food brand is the best for your pup, make sure you do your research first. Here are three steps you can take prior to purchasing a holistic dog food:
1. Talk to Your Veterinarian
Dr. Arndt says that its important for dog owners to talk to their veterinarians to find the best food to fit their dogs individual lifestyles.
Some dogs dont do well on raw or limited-ingredient foods, and home-cooked diets require pet parents to be diligent about making sure nutritional requirements are met, he says. Working with your veterinarian is the best way to ensure your dog is getting the nutrition and diet he or she needs.
2. Do Your Research on Dog Food Brands
In addition to speaking with a veterinarian, pet parents should read the ingredient labels on holistic dog foods carefully. They should also research the company and the brand responsible for creating and manufacturing the food.
Dr. Krause recommends that pet owners consider the following three things when researching holistic dog food options:
Recalls. What is the recall history of the brand? Some brands have had at least one recall due to incorrect labeling, ingredient contamination or another issue related to product quality or safety. Get the details if possible.
Quality Control. Determine what type of quality controls the company has in place to test food quality. These tests can help ensure foods are correctly labeled and free of contaminants.
Formulation. Ensure that the formulas are approved by a veterinary or animal nutritionist and meet AAFCO minimum requirements.
3. Make Sure There Is an AAFCO Label
Since there is no oversight of holistic dog foods, Dr. Arndt says that a label from AAFCO is important for ensuring a baseline of balanced nutrition.
AAFCO sets the minimum standards for pet food nutrition, so look for a statement that says the food provides complete and balanced nutrition, he says.
By: Deidre Grieves
Featured Image: iStock.com/AVAVA
How To Choose the Right Food for Your Puppy
Welcoming a puppy into your home isnt as simple as bringing your new family member homeyou have to puppy-proof your space, start crate training and potty training, and find the best puppy food to help her grow.
Feeding your puppy an appropriate diet that supports her growth and optimizes her health is not as hard as you might think. As long as you keep a few key things in mind when selecting your puppys diet, picking good food for a puppy is simple.
Why Puppy Food?
Growing puppies have different nutritional needs than adult dogs, which is what makes feeding them a puppy food essential. The most important step in choosing a food for your new friend is to select one that is specifically labeled for puppies or one thats formulated for growth. A quality puppy food will provide the following in amounts that will support your pup as she grows:
A puppys digestive tract is still maturing, so a good puppy food should also be highly digestible to reduce gastrointestinal discomfort or upset.
What To Look For in a Good Puppy Food
There are a lot of puppy food brands and formulations on the market, and not all are created equal. When youre choosing the best puppy food, heres what to consider:
1. Expected Adult Size
For large- and giant-breed puppies (those expected to weigh over 50 pounds as an adult), consider using a puppy food formulated especially for large- or giant-breed dogs.
The biggest concern with feeding large- or giant-breed puppies is providing too many calories and nutrients, which can cause your puppy to grow too quickly. This rapid growth causes abnormal bone remodeling and skeletal abnormalities, affecting the dogs ability to walk and exercise normally later in life. Puppy foods specifically formulated for larger dogs provide fewer calories and less calcium than other options, which helps regulate the puppys skeletal and muscle growth.
2. Breed
There are various dog foods that are marketed as breed-specific food. These diets are not truly necessary for your growing puppy, but they can help by offering a preferable kibble size for your puppy and a more specific nutrient profile for your dogs breed. For example:
Breeds with longer coats may benefit from a growth formula with added fat and greater essential fatty acids, to support a healthier haircoat and skin.
Large-breed formulas tend to incorporate more fiber to help improve stool quality/firmness.
Additional ingredients may be added to help combat common breed-related concerns, such as with Eukanubas Boxer formula, which supplies additional omega-3 fatty acids, L-carnitine, and taurineall nutrients beneficial for heart health.
So, while not necessary, a breed-specific puppy food may provide some added nutritional benefit for your dog.
3. Ingredient Profile
There are no specific ingredients to look for when choosing the best puppy food, but pet parents must ensure the food is made by a reputable company and contains high-quality ingredients.
Its not recommended to feed puppies grain-free diets because of their connection to the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The issue may not simply be the lack of grains, but more so the ingredients added in place of the grains that may alter metabolism of nutrients necessary for proper heart development and function.
There also may be some breed-specific differences that precipitate this condition, in relation to the diet. Research on this topic is ongoing and conflicting. But for now, its best to err on the side of caution and avoid grain-free diets, particularly in your growing puppy, whose vital organs are still maturing.
The Best Puppy Food Brands
These days, there are a multitude of dog food brands for you to choose fromso much so, that the selection can be overwhelming. To help narrow down your choices, choose a manufacturing company that is committed to conducting scientific research on the foods it produces via organized feeding trials.
These companies have strict quality control guidelines to ensure the food nutrient concentrations meet their claims on the product label. Look for companies that employ a nutritionist to help formulate their diets; this information might not be readily available, so you may have to call the company or search their website to find the answer. Some of these scientifically driven companies include
All of these companies offer various brand lines that provide options to align with your budget and nutritional values, like Purinas Beyond organic line. Always discuss your choice in puppy food with your veterinarian.
You should feed your new family member puppy food until shes reached about 80% of her anticipated adult size. For small and medium-sized dogs, this is typically when theyre 12 months old. For large- and giant-breed dogs, this could occur between 18-24 months of age. At this point, they should transition to an adult dog food. But theres no harm in feeding a puppy diet into adulthood, as long as the calories and amount of food provided are appropriately adjusted for your dogs body weight and condition.
References
- Larsen J. 2010. Focus on nutrition: Feeding large breed puppies. Compendium: Continuing education for veterinarians; 2010.
Freeman, L. M., Stern, J. A., Fries, R., Adin, D. B., and Rush, J. E. Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs: what do we know?; 2018.
US FDA. FDA Provides Update on Investigation into Potential Connection Between Certain Diets and Cases of Canine Heart Disease; 2019.
US FDA. Vet-LIRN Update on Investigation into Dilated Cardiomyopathy; 2019.
Adin, D., DeFrancesco, T. C., Keene, B., Tou, S., Meurs, K., Atkins, C., et al. Echocardiographic phenotype of canine dilated cardiomyopathy differs based on diet type. J. Vet; 2019.
Quilliam, C., Ren, Y., Morris, T., Ai, Y., and Weber, L. P.. The effects of 7 days of feeding pulse-based diets on digestibility, glycemic response and taurine levels in domestic dogs. Front. Vet. Sci. 8, 408; 2021
Quest BW, Leach WB, Garimella S, et al. Mar 2022. Incidence of canine dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed at referral institutes and grain-free pet food store sales: A retrospective study. Front Anim Sci; 2022.
Featured Image: iStock/Vesnaandjic
- Larsen J. 2010. Focus on nutrition: Feeding large breed puppies. Compendium: Continuing education for veterinarians; 2010.
Freeman, L. M., Stern, J. A., Fries, R., Adin, D. B., and Rush, J. E. Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs: what do we know?; 2018.
US FDA. FDA Provides Update on Investigation into Potential Connection Between Certain Diets and Cases of Canine Heart Disease; 2019.
US FDA. Vet-LIRN Update on Investigation into Dilated Cardiomyopathy; 2019.
Adin, D., DeFrancesco, T. C., Keene, B., Tou, S., Meurs, K., Atkins, C., et al. Echocardiographic phenotype of canine dilated cardiomyopathy differs based on diet type. J. Vet; 2019.
Quilliam, C., Ren, Y., Morris, T., Ai, Y., and Weber, L. P.. The effects of 7 days of feeding pulse-based diets on digestibility, glycemic response and taurine levels in domestic dogs. Front. Vet. Sci. 8, 408; 2021
Quest BW, Leach WB, Garimella S, et al. Mar 2022. Incidence of canine dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed at referral institutes and grain-free pet food store sales: A retrospective study. Front Anim Sci; 2022.
Featured Image: iStock/Vesnaandjic
WRITTEN BY
Amanda Ardente, DVM, PhDVeterinarian
Dr. Amanda Ardente founded Ardente Veterinary Nutrition LLC in August 2017, based on a long-term goal of combining her passion for...
