Tips for Becoming a Savvy Pet Food Shopper

Trying to decipher what the best pet foods to buy for your pets can be a little daunting. The key is to learn how to read the ingredient panel and labels. Learning what the ingredients are exactly, and which ones you want to avoid is the first and most important step.

These days people are becoming more conscious of the ingredients that are in their own foods and we need to be just as diligent with reading the ingredients on the pet foods and treats we buy. Junk foods and treats for pets are plentiful, just like for humans. Our pets however, can't make the decision of which foods are healthier for them, we -- their guardians have to do it. Their only choice of foods and treats are what we give them. It's important for us to understand and look beyond all the marketing ploys and schemes.

Another important key in deciphering pet food labels is by understanding what the name of the pet food means -- the one on the front of the package. Yes, how the food is named can actually tell you how much meat is really in the package. Like for instance, did you know that the word formula in the name means it is only required to have 10% meat (by total product weight)? (Need I remind you these are carnivores we are feeding?) Susan Thixton with Truth About Pet Food did a great job in explaining how to read the labels in a recent article. Don't be fooled by this marketing trick. Become a more savvy pet food consumer by checking it out here.