Pet Food:

I have had folks ask me why I’m not talking about pet nutrition. Considering that pet food is a 20 plus billion dollar a year industry and Wells Brothers sells some of the very top tier pet food, it does seem odd. There are several reasons but the biggest reason is the lack of documentation from studies regarding specific claims. It is easy to find a product that boasts about “a” study to prove a point. I have found it impossible to find double or triple blind studies that give support to a nutritional statement. I kind of understand this since studies cost lots of money and pet food is getting obnoxiously expensive. Besides, shouldn’t test results be in question when the manufacturer is paying for the outcome?

This is not to say that pet food manufactures are not doing their homework when it comes to making pet food. On the contrary, our pets have never had food that is as nutritionally complete as it is right now. I have been saying for a long time “if you want to feed your dog the way he was meant to be fed, toss a live chicken in the backyard and let them chase it and eat it”. This goes for the cats also, but nobody does this and we don’t have to. But you need to think about the genetics that are inside our dogs and cats. Mountain Lions have a territory of 150 square miles, bobcats from 6 to 60 square mile, coyotes just under 5 square miles and the fox is in the 2 to 3 square mile area. So we should feed our pets to make up for the lost habitat that comes from being domestic.

All this led to a call to our Purina Mill representative. I was looking for some (any) independent studies related to pet food. Bob sent me 4. Titles include: “Fatty acid patterns of dog erythrocyte membranes after feeding of a fish-oil based DHA-rich supplement with a base diet low in n-3 fatty acids versus a diet containing added n-3 fatty acids”. Drop me an email and we’ll send them to you. The bottom line is pet food must meet 3 criteria; the animal has to like it, it has to be nutritionally beneficial for the animal and has to be appropriate for your wallet. I hope you will think of Wells Brothers the next time you need pet food. The brands we carry (in no particular order) are:

Exclusive:

Muenster:

Nuti Source:

Victor:

Infina:

Diamond:

Red Flannel: