Pet Food: Does the Highest Price Mean the Highest Quality?

There's one way in which pet food is exactly like human food.....it's highly marketed.

But buy pet food based on ingredients, not marketing.

You’ve seen the commercials…your best friends’ health and happiness depends on whether their food is full of quality cuts of meat! (I always imagine a bag stuffed with pork chops and sirloin steak whenever I hear this pitch.) Plus delicious vegetables! (A few pounds worth of peas, carrots and arugula scattered amongst the quality meat, yes?)

Forget all that. Commercials for pet food, just like commercials for human food, are designed to make things seem much better than they often actually are. So when you're buying pet food, don't think about the commercial with the bouncing, bright-eyed dog or the gorgeous kitty. Don't look at all the yummy lamb chops and salad fixings plastered all over the packaging.

Examine the ingredients list on the package. You need to buy pet food based on what's actually in the food.

Ingredients are listed in descending order based on quantity. So, after a quick check of some labels, you may find that dog or cat foods that cost much less have nearly the same ingredients, in the same proportions, as the high priced stuff. Chicken by-products, bone meal, corn meal, wheat meal, soy meal…you’ll find them in a variety of brands.

Compare ingredient list to ingredient list to find brands that are truly comparable. You may find that the most highly marketed brands have more grain and meat by-products (and less actual meat) than some of the cheaper brands….and that, in most cases, vegetables come far down on the list.

If your dog or cat has allergies for certain kinds of food--soy, gluten or wheat, for example-- check for those ingredients, too. And look for pet foods that are “complete and balanced” as defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO.) These foods have been tested to make sure they provide all the nutrients your pet needs. (You can check for pet food recalls at the AAFCO site as well.)

And, please, for the sake of your pocketbook, stay away from tiny packs of food marketed for tiny dogs. Many of them have exactly the same ingredients, but a much higher price tag, than larger cans or packages.

For example, you’ll find almost no difference--other than the obvious difference in packaging-- in the two sizes of food shown at the top of this article, both from the same pet food company.

The small envelope of food is almost the same recipe as the much larger can (I put the can up in the envelope display so I could get a shot of both of them together.) But the food in the can costs 6 cents per ounce, while the food in the envelope costs 23 cents per ounce.

“But Poopsy is such a little biddy doggy,” you wail. “She’ll take three days to eat all the food in that can, and it will stink up the fridge and get all dried out and icky!”

Uh-huh. Scoop the food out of the big can and put it in an airtight container, then refrigerate it. The food will stay moist and fresh. No odor in the fridge. And you just might be able to afford Poopsy's weekly manicure if you pay one-quarter the price for her food.

Finally, no matter what dog or cat food you buy, don’t overfeed your pet. It makes no sense to waste your hard-earned dollars to pack unnecessary and unhealthy pounds on your cat or dog. A reasonably lean (not bony!) pet that’s got bright eyes, a shiny coat and plenty of energy is the best proof of a good diet. As for food scraps from your table? Not usually a good idea. Maybe a tiny piece of meat, now and then, but be careful....some human foods, such as chocolate and raisins can actually make your animals very sick.

When it comes to feeding your pet, go with common sense, not high-powered persuasion from marketing experts....and when in doubt, ask your vet.

Have You Ever Paid $100 a Pound for Something You Didn't Want?

This is Snark, in my opinion the ugliest cat in the world. I didn't buy him, I found him, ten days ago, in the dusty weeds along the side of the narrow rural road that runs along my property. I just wish I could also find who "owned" him, because I would first beat the ever-living tar out of that jerk, then take every dime I found on him.

I saw this kitten as I drove by, sighed, pulled into my driveway, parked the car and headed back up the road on foot. Snark made no attempt to hide or run away, which suggests that he was not from the litter of a feral cat. Such kittens tend to be much more skittish. (Yes, this is not the first kitten I've found by the side of the road, and let me tell you, it is not fun shoving your way through snake-infested tangles of brambles trying to catch them.) The second I picked him up, I had a good idea of why he'd been dumped. His eyes and nose were coated with discharge--if you look at the photo, that odd lump on the left side of his nose is actually a big knot of dried snot--and he was sneezing and wheezing. It's more than likely that someone who couldn't--or wouldn't--pay for vet care had gotten rid of the problem by dumping this young kitten on the nearest country road. "Don't worry, kids, Kitty will find plenty to eat out in the country."

Oh, really? This kitten was so dehydrated and bony that he looked like a combination of starved spider monkey and vampire bat. I practically pricked my fingers on his sharp little hip bones, and his eyes were so gummed up by discharge, he could barely keep them open. Had I driven by a few seconds earlier or later, I wouldn't have seen him and I have no doubt that in a day or two at most he would have died.

I took him down to my house, soaked off the encrusted discharge (this involved a bit of a battle) fed him a little milk and canned dog food, then put him in one of my dog crates. He curled up and went to sleep, while I explained to Emma, my Corgi, that she was still my best buddy and she could not chase or chomp the new arrival.

I took this picture when I first got this creature...he's slightly less hideous now, since he's been eating 18 hours a day and I've been wiping the muck from his eyes and nose every five minutes. Since he was otherwise pretty alert and chipper, I was hoping that decent food and a warm place to sleep might clear up the steady flow of goop, but that, of course, would have been too easy.

The steady flow continued, so a few days ago I took him up to my vet. Since I also need to worm him, I had them weigh Snark and he tipped the scale at a hefty nine-tenths of a pound. (This, remember, after a solid week of steady meals.)

The vet bill, including exam, oral antibiotics and some other stuff I was told to get down him twice a day, was $94.23, or approximately $100 per pound.

Which brings me to the reason I'm relating this little cat's saga on my blog.

In my two articles, Cheap Love and Cheap Love II, I made the point that even "free" animals can cost you, especially if you have a pet that ends up needing vet care. If you can allow for that in your budget, well and good. Sadly, some people don't, or their financial situation changes and they end up facing a grim choice...what to do with an animal they can't afford to keep.

Right now, there are a lot of people in financial trouble in this country, and for awhile, that number is likely to increase. Already, humane societies and animal shelters across the country are reporting animals abandoned by people who've lost their homes to foreclosure, the animals often left locked inside houses or yards or chained to trees while their owners simply walk away. Or, like Snark, they are dumped on a road somewhere to fend for themselves.

I'm not going to condemn anyone who can't keep a pet because of money problems. But I can and will condemn those who don't handle the problem responsibly.

If financial troubles force you to give up a pet, and you can't find it a new home, don't leave it behind in an empty house and don't toss it out of your car. Take it to your nearest animal shelter or humane society. Most shelters will even take pets with treatable illnesses. But if your pet is too old or too sick to have any chance at adoption, take it to your vet and have it humanely put down.

You heard me. Have your pet put down. And please don't email me with wails about how dumping it or abandoning it is better because "any chance at life is better than death!"

It's dark outside now, and the local coyote pack is out hunting. I can usually tell when they've found prey...their wails rise to a screeching chorus of gleeful yelps. This area is full of predators, from hawks perfectly capable of carrying off a kitten, to skunks, buzzards and snakes. Food is scarce, even for those skilled at hunting and most of the time, water is nowhere to be found.

For those who survive predators, there are other dangers. Not a week goes by that I don't see at least one car-struck corpse along the road. For a dog or cat dumped into this world, death can be slow or quick... and always, it is cruel. City streets are hardly better, with cars to dodge and little but garbage and oil-slicked puddles for sustenance. Millions of animals starve or die of injuries in such situations.

I prefer a different kind of death, a quiet, gentle, painless death. Having your vet put down a pet is terribly sad (if you have any love for that animal at all, you will end up weeping) but it involves no horror. I have five dogs and one cat buried on my property and I dug all the graves. A few months ago, I buried my big dog, Loki. Old and crippled, he was in constant low-grade pain. His back legs were gone--I'd been supporting him with a sling whenever I took him outside for weeks--and he was slowly losing the use of his front legs as well.

So I called my vet clinic, and as I usually do, asked if the vet would come out to my van. Most animals are frightened by vet clinics--shots, examines and other treatments do not make for happy memories--and I didn't want Loki's last moments to be fearful. I parked as far away as possible from the front entrance, to spare anyone else the sight of what was going to happen and I already had Loki lying in the back of the van on the blanket I would wrap him in to bury him. He was calm, relaxed and happy; when the needle was gently slipped into his leg, I was stroking his head and telling him what a good dog he was. An instant later, he was gone, quietly and painlessly.

A skilled and sympathetic vet can make this hard choice much easier. A good pet owner will take it. Cowards will lock their "problem" in an abandoned home, or dump it along the nearest empty lane. Just don't make it my lane, because if I see you, and can catch you, I will beat the ever-loving tar out of you.

Snark--and Loki-- would approve.

Pets: Cheap Love - Part II

In the first part of this article, I talked about the pros and cons of buying purebred dogs or adopting "mutts" from your local animal shelter.

But there's another way to get a good dog at a thriftmaster price...check with rescue organizations.

Many breed clubs establish these to help place pure or partbred dogs of their breed with new families when their current owners can't keep them any longer. Illness, divorce, moving or just plain disinterest can cause people to want a new home for their dogs. Rescue organizations will typically place such dogs temporarily with one of their members, then offer the dog for adoption.

The best place to find such organizations is on the internet. By going to Google and typing in "welsh corgi"+rescue+dallas, for example, I got ten pages worth of Texas Welsh Corgi rescue organizations, including links to rescue groups in other states. You will need to have some patience while doing such a search, though, since it can take time to find the exactly the age, sex and type of dog you want. And any reputable rescue organization is going to ask a lot of questions to make sure you'll be a good adoptive "parent," plus charge enough to cover vaccinations and neutering. Read the policies of any such group carefully before you contact them about a dog.

What About Breeding Your Dog?

A lot of people breed their dogs. Their reasons range from "We want the kids to see the miracle of birth" to "Puppies are so cute!" to "I paid good money for this dog and I want to get that back!"

Sounds reasonable, if you don't know what's involved. But take it from me (I've done it twice) raising a litter of puppies is labor-intensive, messy and expensive.

First, I'm going to assume you have a purebred female. If you plan to sell the pups, you'd better be sure she's a good example of her breed. It can be hard to sell pups from less-than-stellar parents for enough to break even. (If you have a mutt, be aware that you'll probably have trouble giving the puppies away, much less selling them. Animals shelters are full of mixed-breed puppies.)

Second, unless you have a male dog, you'll probably have to pay a stud fee, and a stud fee for a well-bred male can be surprisingly expensive. And if the male is not in your area, you'll also have to pay to ship your bitch to and from his location.

Then, provided there are no problems with your dog's pregnancy, you'll need to be around when she whelps. It's a bad idea to assume that a bitch can have her pups all by herself. Large puppies, too many puppies, puppies who are in the wrong position....these can all cause problems, sometimes serious enough to require an immediate trip to the vet for a Caesarian section. Also, whelping is not necessarily a fast process. I had one Corgi bitch who popped puppies out so fast I could hardly dry one off before another arrived. Her daughter, though, took 13 hours to have all her pups...and I had to help with the last two. (I won't go into the embarassing details.) You'll also have to clean up afterward. Ever dealt with multiple placentas?

Even if all the pups are born alive and healthy, you'll need to keep a careful eye on them. Puppies can sicken and die from chills, infections and lack of sufficient milk, plus an inexperienced bitch can kill a puppy by simply lying on it. Puppies also need a series of vaccinations. With a large litter, this cost can run into the hundreds of dollars.

There's also what one can call the "poop" factor. When the puppies start eating solid food, you'd better have a lot of newspaper ready. A six-pup, small-breed litter can easily go through the equivilent of a Sunday paper each day. With large-breed pups, you'd better have multiple stacks of newspaper handy before they ever arrive.

You'll also need some kind of enclosure for the pups, since letting them run free will fill your house with "accidents." (Forget cardboard boxes. They're too small, and puppies will chew through them or climb out of them. I've had a five week old pup clamber out of boxes that had two-foot-high sides.) Puppies also love to chew everything in sight, including magazines, book, shoes, clothes, furniture, rugs and upholstery, and such "meals" can also mean a trip to the vet.

If you manage to raise the puppies to ten weeks old without losing your sanity, you now must sell them. Top breeders often have waiting lists for their pups, but it takes years of breeding, showing and advertising to build the kind of reputation that makes your dogs that much in demand. You'll probably have to do some newspaper advertising, at the very least, to sell your pups and that ain't cheap.

So....in terms of labor, cost and aggravation, is it worth it to raise a littler of cute, cuddly puppies? In my humble opinion, the answer is...No. That's why, much as I adore Corgi pups, I don't do it anymore.

This is a decision you should make with your head as much as your heart. Talk to breeders first. Ask them about the negatives as well as the positives. And find some other way to show your kids the miracle of birth. The world is overrun with unwanted animals, many of them purebreds that started out as cuddly puppies and kittens that became less adorable and more of a chore as they grew. If you want a pet, check with your local humane society, city-run shelter or area rescue organization. It's not only the smart thing to do, it's also the right thing to do.

Pets: Cheap Love

Do you have to spend a lot of money to buy a beautiful, healthy pet? Actually, you don't have to buy a pet at all. This is "Smudge." I found him and his mother living in my driveway culvert. Each of them had dazzling, velvet-soft white fur, one blue eye and one gold eye. How much more exotic can you get? I think Smudge's mother was probably dumped along my stretch of country road because she was pregnant; and, sadly, Smudge seems to be the only survivor of her litter. You can find such wonderful cats, and equally terrific dogs, at your local animal shelter for very little cost, a much better way to get a pet than buying from "puppy mill" breeders or fly-by-night sellers.

The other day I watched a story on CNN that illustrates a very bad and very sad way to try to save money.

The story was about puppy smuggling. Criminals buy purebred puppies down in Mexico for almost nothing, then smuggle them across the border and sell them on street corners and through classified ads at prices up to ten times the original cost. Often these puppies are as young as four to five weeks old, much too young to leave their dams. Also, because the "breeders" rarely bother with vaccinations or hygiene, the puppies are often sick or quickly become sick. Many die soon after being sold in the U.S., often after the new owners have racked up sizeable vet bills trying to keep them alive. It's a hard way to learn that pets, especially purebred dogs or cats, can be expensive to buy. They also require a certain minimum amount of care to be healthy and happy.

So...please, please, please. Before you get a pet, any kind of pet, go to a vet's office and find out how much it costs to take care of one properly. Far too many people don't.

I live out in the country. In the last year, I've taken in a cat, three kittens and a young dog that were literally dumped out on the road in front of my house. I took one cat to my county animal shelter, kept one of the kittens and found a home for the other, after I had paid nearly $70 to get her vaccinated and have her neutered. I also found a home for the young dog—a sweet, playful setter mix—after paying almost $120 to have her vaccinated and spayed.

Pets get sick. They get hurt. A custom-made wheel-chair I bought a few years ago for a Corgi of mine, Soldier (he had creeping paralysis that started with his back legs) cost almost $300. To fix another dog's injured knee a few months ago cost $1,700.

And as for my ponies....well, they're the reason I can only afford to eat steak maybe once or twice a year.

A few days ago, I and a lady I know had a frightening experience with one of her dogs, an elderly bitch who began to "bloat." This is a potentially fatal condition where an animal eats too much and gets gas pressure and subsequent pain in its belly. If something isn't done, the animal can twist an intenstine and require immediate surgery.

This happened late at night on a Sunday. (Trust me. Animals always pick late nights and weekends to get sick.) The only veterinary care available was a hugely expensive 24/7 vet clinic in Fort Worth, a good 45 minutes away.

This lady was looking at a vet bill in the hundreds of dollars. Luckily, she'd experienced this condition before with this dog, and had a stomach tube handy. She knew how to insert it, I was willing to suck on it, and between us, we managed to get a cupful of food out of the dog's stomach and relieve the pressure. (Ah, yes. How many people do you know who have literally sucked food out of a Bassett Hound's stomach? Trust me, it ain't fun.)

"Mary" and I were lucky. Without that tube, she would have had two choices: racking up a vet bill she might not be able to pay, or letting her dog die.

Am I saying that only rich people should have pets? No. But I am saying that you should think long and hard before taking on the responsibility. This includes deciding if you have the guts to have a pet humanely put down if you can't afford medical care.

Want specifics? Let's start with the cost of obtaining a pet.

It always astounds me that people will pay hundreds of dollars for a "purebred" dog they have no intention of showing, and should have no intention of breeding. (More about breeding later.) And buying a purebred dog can be a procedure full of pitfalls.

To begin with, the fact that a dog is "registered" as a purebred means nothing when it comes to the dog's health, quality or temperament. Registration papers simply mean that a dog is the produce of two registered dogs. The world is full of "puppy mill" operators who breed inferior dogs together to produce even more inferior puppies that would be laughed out of a show ring. Spindly or crooked-legged, with overbites or mismarks, terrible body structure and often less than terrific temperaments, such dogs can often be bought cheap, but it's not money well spent. Like smuggled puppies, they are often sickly to begin with and prone to genetic flaws and illnesses. (And far too often, the bitches who bear these puppies are literally bred to death, forced to have litters again and again, under awful conditions, until they sicken and die.)

Creating a quality purebred dog takes time, effort and money. Such breeders study the "standard" of their breed-a written description of an ideal Borzoi or Golden Retriever or Pug—then do their best to produce an animal that's as close to that ideal as possible. They study pedigrees, select mates for their dogs with care, and are careful to make sure that any puppies they produce are given a full range of vaccinations and health care. Those breeders who produce and sell champion dogs also take on the very considerable costs of showing.

All that care, effort and expense is why such breeders can often sell their dogs for hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars and, with luck, just break even. Such breeders raise dogs because they love the breed, not as a for-profit venture.

So how do you tell the difference between a concienctious breeder and someone whose main goal is making a buck?

First, reputable breeders usually specialize in only one or two breeds. Buying from them is like adopting a child; they're going very interested in making sure you'll be a good, knowledgeable dog owner. Their dogs will be kept either inside their home or in clean, secure kennels. They'll be proud of their dogs and will be willing to answer any questions you may have about the breed, and the sire and dam of the litter of puppies they are offering. They will want to know a lot about you and your family, to see if you and the puppy will be a good match—and they'll tell you if the answer is "No." They'll want to know if you have a fenced yard or the time to walk the dog, a knowledgeable vet, children old enough to handle a puppy safely, and enough experience and time to take proper care of a dog. They'll produce detailed vaccination records. They'll tell you both the pros and cons of owning their kind of dog. And they'll tell you if a puppy is show quality or pet quality. (More about this later.)

Quick-buck operators, on the other hand, often sell pups on street corners or at swap meets, frequently offering a smorgasbord of breeds to tempt a wide range of buyers. They won't ask you much more than if you have the price in cash. All their puppies are "perfect" for whatever your situation is. It doesn't matter if you're young, old, have kids, live in an apartment or out in the country, their dog will fit your lifestyle. And aren't their puppies cute? How can you resist? Take one home now!

Then good luck finding the seller later, when the puppy proves a bad fit with your family, or worse, gets sick or dies. (Everything I've just said also applies to purebred cats.)

So how, you might wonder, can you get a good dog (or cat) if you can't afford the high prices of a reputable breeder?

One answer just licked my elbow. It is 6:35pm, and Loki, who has a sense of time Rolex can't match, is in his own gentle way reminding me that his dinner is past due. Back in a moment....

Loki looks like a big and very furry gold wolf. When I first met him, he was a tiny, fluffy puppy, but if you probed down past the fur, you could feel every bone of his emaciated little body. He and his sister had been dumped on the streets of Fort Worth, Texas to starve, but were lucky enough to be found and taken to the North Texas Humane Society. He cost me all of $65, which included his initial series of puppy shots and having him neutered.

I have no idea what mixture of breeds Loki represents. Some people speculate that he's part Chow, others think him a mixture of Golden Retriever, German Shepherd and Collie. Frankly, I don't care about his ancestry. To me, he's the best kind of dog there is....100% All American Mutt.

All across this country there are hundreds of humane societies, pet shelters and city pounds full of wonderful dogs and cats, most of them pre-screened for health and temperament problems. Big dogs, small dogs, energetic dogs, mellow dogs, cute dogs, elegant dogs....dogs of every type imaginable, waiting and hoping for a home and a family of their own.

It's the best bargain around for any family looking for a pet, especially since shelters will spay or neuter and vaccinate your choice at a discount. (You'd need to have this done even if you buy a purebred.)

The one disadvantage of buying a "mutt" puppy is it may be a little hard to figure out what the dog will be like when it's grown. If you buy a purebred, you have at least some idea how large it will grow, how much hair it will shed, what kind of care it will need, and what kind of temperament it will have. (A high-energy dog like a Husky will need a lot more exercise, for example, than a laid-back breed like a Bassett.) If you want to buy a mutt, in such a case, it might be better to adopt an adolescent dog, one old enough to display its size and temperment.

But if you just must have a purebred, you can still save money by buying a "pet quality" dog. As the name implies, this is an animal that, for some reason, doesn't match its breed standard closely enough to win in the show ring. I happen to like Welsh Corgis, for example, and Loki's best buddy is a female Corgi who is a lovely, well-conformed dog who happens to have been born with "high white"; in other words, the two or three white streaks on Emma's side and back disqualify her from ever winning in a show ring. Other than this, she's a smart, well-conformed, healthy little dog. I bought her from a very reputable breeder for about 60% of the "show quality" price.

A coat texture that isn't quite right, a dog that's a tad too small or too large, ears that fold over when they should stand up (or stand up when they should fold over)... almost all breeders will produce "pet quality" animals at some time or another, and will sell such a dog at a discount. Since such a puppy is "flawed"—though still a good dog in terms of it's health and temperament—the breeder will sell it for less, but any reputable breeder will insist that you get the dog spayed or neutered, since they don't want these "incorrect" genes passed on.

Beware, though, of flaws that could affect any dog's health: grossly overshot or undershot jaws, knock knees, badly angled hips, etc. And if you buy a purebred, check first for any serious genetic flaws particular to the breed: breathing problems in short-muzzled dogs such as Pugs and Bulldogs, for example, or hip problems in large breeds such as German Shepherds.

On second thought, just go down to the local shelter and find a healthy, happy, loving teenage mutt. I guarantee that a few visits will turn up a dog that's perfect for you.