Food of course is one of the main factors of life. We must eat to live, and we live to eat. The same goes for your pet. However, you can't just go into the supermarket and buy whatever has a pretty label and a nice price tag. It has been discovered; that one-reason animals have had such short life spans is the utter crap that we feed them in the name of nutrition.
Sure, the foods technically are balanced, but you need to look beyond the label to find out what defines balance.
The first thing I say to people who want a definition of what is in their food is, "By-products". A "by-product" is whatever is scraped off the floor as unfit for human consumption. This is skin, hooves, beaks, legs, cancerous tumors, tails, and such delicious delicious.
The next definition I give is: "Crude Protean". This is such a misleading term, but crude is the right word. Your leather boots count as crude protean, and if they decided to drop it into your dogfood, then it would qualify. SO would your jacket, or the dead deer on the highway.
The next thing I tell them is that rich smell when you open the bag comes from restaurant grease. This one amazed me. I was working at a restaurant and happened to be out back when they picked up the grease. This huge 200gal tub had been sitting out back for a few weeks in the summer. Every couple of days, when they decided to clean the fryers the grease was dumped into this tub. Sometimes it was closed. Then one evening a guy came in a big red truck. He hooked the grease to a wench and it poured out into this dumpster like truck.
I asked what happened to it. "Oh, we take it and render it. Boil it down and clean it up since it's rancid now. Then we sell it to pet food companies who use it for the fat in the food." Later I found that they also spray it across the finished kibble to cover it in a good taste.
Sounds appetizing. Go and grab your bag of dog or cat food. I then want you to scan the ingredients and find them on this list from the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). I doubt you will look at the food the same way again.
When the 'super premium' brands are offered, see what is in them. The first three ingredients should be some type of meat. Meal is better then by-product. Don't pick a food where the first, or even fifth ingredient is corn or wheat. This is nothing but useless filler that goes right trough your pet and offers no nutritional value. In fact, many dogs are allergic to corn, and cats, being carnivores and not omnivores like dogs have a hard time digesting carbohydrates.
The brands that offer no byproducts and no preservatives are worth it. They do increase lifespan. Even small things, such as Stool are affected. I see the remains of dogs smaller then my own on a poorer quality diet. They leave twice as much. My dogs, on a healthy food (Wellness and Innova by my choice) have very small stools with a low order to them. I don't have diarrhea and upset stomachs to contend with every day.
Research on your own. Very few vets know anything about foods, and few are dietitians. Hills Science Diet funds a lot of veterinary colleges. Because of this, they tend to promote what they know. Hills Science Diet has its place in the food world, but that place is not as a normal supplemental food.
If your dog or cat is overweight, and they do not have a thyroid problem, or some other problem other the overfeeding and underexcerise, cut back their food. You are killing your dog by allowing it to eat itself into the ground. Especially as they get older, most animals will eat more then they can burn off. Your Fluffy is not starving to death. Ignore the big brown (or green/yellow/blue) eyes and start cutting back on food.
I've found at my job there are several responses to the pet being over weight.
Not only is it unhealthy, it looks bad. You may be insulted if you have a 30lb toy poodle waddling down your hallway because you allow him to eat all he wants, but I won't apologize. Fat animals look bad, and people comment. People remember large, obese animals, and honestly, they are not cute. I feel sorry for every overweight animal I see, because I know that later, they will suffer if they are not already.
Be kind to your pet. Cut back on its food if it is over eating and you cannot exercise to supplement it.
Another popular, low calorie is pumpkin. You can buy unsweated pumpkin in cans at the store. Not pumpkin pie filling, but just pumpkin. Most critters enjoy the taste and it fills them up without padding on the weight.
Don't let them fool you. When you have large breed dogs, as I do, food is a crucial thing. Large puppies should not grow to quickly. On a high quality food they will still reach their maximum size, just not as quickly. Don't be proud that you pup is gaining 20 to 30lb's a month. You may be damaging their bones and joints with this.
For puppies over 70lbs they are now suggesting that you immediately switch to a high quality adult food. The puppy still gains the same nutrients, but the protean level is lower. The protean levels are what cause the large growth. Do your puppy a favor and put aside your pride at how big he is. Let him grow slowly, with good health. He will still be a monster in the end, but a healthy one.
Puppy food has its place, but it is not often with puppies. Please, please, please, don't fall for the 'Large Breed' puppy food angle! They put MORE protean and les fat in, meaning not only is your puppy growing fast but also it does not have the calories to keep up with that growth. A puppy should be active, don't let the labels fool you. A high quality adult food will give you a wonderful lifetime companion.
Dogs are omnivorous carnivores. They can handle some vegetable product, and do benefit from it. Because of this, they are easier to convert to a vegetarian diet. However, I feel this is wrong for your pet. They hunt meat natural and turn down grass and grazing. Their molars are made for ripping and they are made to eat meat. Don't force your pet to eat vegetables unless you have consulted a dietitian that can completely make sue they are receiving the proper amount of protean needed for their diet.
Please don't turn your cat into a vegetarian. For once, cats have a hard time working with carbohydrates. The bit of vegetable matter they would receive in the wild would be predigested by their prey. Don't ruin your cats diet, and the delicate ph balance of their system for your own reasons. Some won't agree, but it is no more then selfish. If you wish to have the cat, accept the cat for what it is, a carnivorous predator.