Pet owners continue to exercise caution after food recall

In the aftermath of the recent pet food recall, pet owners continue to exercise caution when choosing what to feed their playful pals.

Most of the worry over the safety of certain pet food brands has subsided, as all contaminated brands have been removed from the shelves. Now, the nutritional value of pet food and the growing debate between store-bought food and home-cooked meals has jumped into the spotlight.

Both traditional and holistic veterinarians agree on avoiding dietary choices that include wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, the contaminated ingredients in foods that provoked the mass recall. However, these pet professionals yield opposing views on what foods provide the best nutrients to help keep dogs and cats healthy and happy.

With varying opinions soaring at concerned pet parents left and right, making a conscientious choice just grew even more mind-boggling.
Dr. Alex MacKenzie, a traditional veterinarian at the Foothills Animal Hospital, has been healing sick pets for eight years and claims the brands of dog and cat food he recommends have not changed since before the food recall. MacKenzie mainly suggests Science Diet and Royal Canine to pet owners.

“Home-cooked meals require hard work, take time to prepare and need to be thoroughly researched to include all the vitamins pets need,” MacKenzie said. “It’s harder to provide proper nutrition with a home-cooked meal. And with most pet parents’ busy schedules, it makes sense to pick up a safe, nutritional brand from the pet store instead.”

The other side of the medical spectrum, holistic medicine, presents a different dietary approach to pet owners.

Dr. Thomas Leininger, a holistic veterinarian who makes house calls in Ahwatukee Foothills, practices with both traditional medicines, such as antibiotics, and holistic medicines, such as herbal remedies. He also takes into account pets’ individual personalities and behavioral patterns when recommending treatments and adequate diets to parents.

More than anything, he advises pet owners to scrutinize those food labels before purchasing store brands.

“The first five or six ingredients on the label are the most important,” Leininger said. “Three of those ingredients should be meat or meat meal, not meat by-products. In dry foods, look for whole grains and avoid rice gluten.”

Leininger said pet parents must keep in mind that dogs and cats are primarily carnivores, and therefore require diets high in quality meat protein. Leininger recommends the variety of pet food offered by Bone Appetite Bakery in Ahwatukee Foothills, citing the bakery as a more reliable source for nutrition than large pet store chains. Primarily, Leininger advocates home-cooked meals.

“What better food to feed your pet than the foods we eat ourselves?” he said.
Leininger does, however, advise the addition of a whole food supplement to any home-cooked meal.

Carolyn Shaughnessy, owner of Pretty Paws Pet Salon, also thinks highly of home-cooked meals and feeds her seven dogs only food brewed in her own kitchen.

“Store brands have so much extra, unnecessary additives in them,” she said. “The primary ingredients of corn and rice found in most brands are only fillers and don’t have the proper nutrients pets need. Plus, there are no regulations on pet food brands. For all we know, the 'protein’ on the label could be carcass and the 'minerals’ could be rocks.”

Shaughnessy is a strong proponent of the raw food diet for pets, which she said traditional vets do not condone because of health risks such as salmonella. Raw foods and home-cooked meals, she said, help pets’ maintain a shiny and healthy coat.

“I’m very diligent about what I feed my dogs,” Shaughnessy said. “My husband and I spend eight hours each week preparing the meals for them. I’ll admit it’s tough work, but my dogs are healthier and happier for it, which in turn also makes me happier.”

Those interested in the raw food diet should visit www.rawmeatybones.com for recipes and dietary guidelines. Reach the Foothills Animal Hospital at (480) 759-9721 for dietary inquiries and Dr. Thomas Leininger at (480) 695-3027 for in-home appointments and dietary inquiries. For a complete list of all dog and cat food currently recalled, visit www.aspca.org.

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Lisa Di Pietro was an intern this summer for the AFN. She is a student at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.