Positively Green offering pet enrichment products self-serve dog wash stations USA made treats, and locally sourced pet foods More information at PositivelyGreen.com hi and welcome to Pet Life .

>> I'm Emilie Henry and we are so glad you're joining us.

>> We all love our pets and this show will feature various experts each week providing information and tips to best care for our furry friends.

Tonight we're going to look at pet nutrition.

We'll take a closer look at labels, ingredients and some of the latest trends.

I have plenty of questions but we want to hear from you too.

So feel free to give us a call or text your questions during the show and don't forget to give us your name and tell us where you're from.

Oh, and stick around until the end when we'll feature some adoptable pets that are looking for forever homes including one that will be right here in the studio.

>> Before we get to that, let's talk about what's really in your pets food with our guest Angela Gallagher.

>> Angela, thank you so much for being here for the inaugural show.

>> Yeah, I'm excited and I want to know all about these details.

So let's start here when we go to buy our pets food, what should we actually be paying attention to?

There's so much to see on with all the marketing.

>> Yes.

So when you're looking for a pet food you want to flip the bag.

The the front of the bag is meant to attract us.

It's marketing buzz words.

Yep, exactly.

So the information that you really want is on the back of the bag.

>> So so what information on the back of the bag matters the most.

>> What what should I be paying attention to?

So you want to look at the guaranteed analysis and then also the ingredients and then what stage of life the pet is intended or that food is intended for ?

>> OK, the first one the guaranteed analysis guaranteed analysis tell me what that even means.

>> So that's your crude fiber, your crude that your crude protein in the moisture content in the food.

>> OK, we got to break it down.

What so first of all let me ask this does the the order of the ingredients on the list on the label matter.

>> Yes.

OK, tell me why so in the order of the ingredients is by the largest quantity in the food.

OK, so just like a human label whatever's first is what's the primary.

Sure.

And so it's the same with dog it's all governed you by the FDA.

>> So OK now I think the maybe the natural assumption would be that if the first ingredient on our pet food isn't meat that that means it's not good offhand.

No, not good.

Is that true?

Not necessarily.

OK, so it depends on what you're trying to accomplish with your pets diet.

>> OK, so some pets need like a hydrolyzed diet like if they have allergies which just means that the proteins in that diet are broken down into the amino acids and the peptide so that they can absorb it better.

>> OK where so that content might be a little bit later because it's going to have more you know, other products in there to help break that down.

OK, so it doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad.

It just means that it's formulated for a specific purpose.

>> OK, you mentioned crude protein, crude fat, lots of different things but we all know protein is really having a moment in human nutrition right now.

What does it mean to have crude protein on the food label for our pets?

>> What does that what does that actually tell us?

So the word crude is actually an analytical measurement on how they measure the content of the protein.

>> So yeah, Who knew?

>> Yeah, you not me.

OK, so what it's telling you is crude protein is the maximum amount of protein in that food .

OK and the same with fat it's the maximum amount of fat that's in that food OK and then when you get to fiber it's actually a minimum and same with moisture the moisture content, the minimum moisture content so understanding the label helps you understand a little more like OK I need like if my dog needs more protein because they are working more like a working dog then you want to look for , you know, a food that has a higher percentage of protein in it.

>> OK, and so there are things obviously if I have a working dog I might assume that they need more protein.

But really when it comes to what those macronutrients which ones I really need to be paying attention to, that's something that my vet can help me with.

>> Absolutely.

OK, perfect because because some animals too like they need a specialized diet because of an allergy or or whichever.

So your protein is important because you want to avoid the protein that they may be allergic to.

>> OK, so the source does matter but not necessarily because one is better than the other but because of what the dog needs is that's accurate.

OK, let's see what about when it comes to cats versus dogs is that entirely different so oh jeez Angela this is a lot OK so what do I need to know for a cat versus a dog so a cat needs higher moisture content.

OK, so cats are are obligated carnivores which means that they get their moisture in there, their food, their minerals from primarily meat you know, historically.

Sure.

So when you're giving like if you give a cat dry food, for example, you need to add some moisture content to it so that they are getting because they don't drink a lot during the day.

>> OK, so you need to help them get more moisture which then helps with the absorption of what the food is, you know, wanting to provide it and you want to do that with a wet food with a dry food wet food already has a lot of moisture if if you're giving your cat dry food you want to add some wet food to it.

>> You could add wet food, you could add water.

>> You could ask just OK.

Yeah OK.

Well that's that's good to know and let's talk a little bit about fat fat obviously you know I grew up in the nineties when I had a bad reputation so what what role does fat play in in a pet diet?

So what should we be looking for in terms of percentages on the label?

>> So fat plays a very important role.

It provides energy for one in the second part is it helps the the animal absorb all of the vitamins and the minerals and things that are in the food.

So without the fat it has no absorption mechanism, right?

Sure.

Now what are omega fatty acids ?

>> Why do we hear about them so much and are they as important as we are led to believe?

Yeah so omega three fatty acids so there's Magu three and make it six and what they do is they provide the animal with that.

So for for example cats and dogs they need the Omega is to help transition in the amino acids and other things throughout the system.

OK, so I like my German Shepherd for example has itchy skin.

We make sure that we're getting Marine based Omega's into her diet because that really helps with absorption in the skin from being less dry and that's why they talk about a lot with with dog foods and cat foods is because it's an important element for absorption and nutrition.

So can a food be too high in fat for a dog or cat for that matter?

>> Usually I mean unless you're making the food yourself you're going to get if you're buying food it's formulated so that you're not going to have too much fat too much you fiber too much.

It's going to be balanced right.

If you're making your own which is a lot of people don't, you know, make their own dog food.

>> You want to make sure that your fat content and that you're getting the right fats into that diet.

OK, so you could have too much fat.

>> It just depends on how you're formulating it in your kitchen.

So that's why I'm going to leave that to the professionals.

Yeah.

OK, let's talk you mentioned fiber.

Let's talk about fiber and moisture.

What you should pet owners be aware of what what do we care about when it comes to those numbers?

>> So fiber you want to have there's the fiber that helps build bulk which helps with the digestion.

Sure.

And then there's the fiber that helps with absorption.

So you want to make sure that any food that you're giving them has a good fiber content because you want healthy stools and good digestion so that they're benefiting from the food that you're you know, giving them.

>> And when it comes to moisture you mentioned that we could just add water or broth but does that change the nutritional value of the dry food so the nutritional value even if you're like looking at a wet food versus a dry food, it's based upon dry content.

>> So the value on the bag that's what you're giving them adding like moisture to the dry food just helps one give them moisture into their, you know, system.

Exactly.

And then second, you know, like a lot of the foods like the freeze dried products, they need some moisture content.

>> Otherwise it's kind of like chewing on, you know, a piece of wood or something.

Yeah, yeah.

>> It's astronaut food.

Yes.

Yeah exactly.

OK, I don't I don't want to admit this.

I've owned lots of dogs and I have never calculated that their calorie needs I didn't even know that that was like a thing I was supposed to do.

How do you determine how much your individual pet actually needs so that there's actually some formulas and that you can use to calculate it based upon how active your dog is, what stage of life?

>> You know, puppies burn a lot more calories than an older dog so you need to adjust the calorie intake based upon an active dog, a neutered dog if they're pregnant or lactating.

All these things take different forms of , you know, different amount of energy.

So you just want to make sure that you're providing the right amount and there is a calculator in which you can run through.

>> But if if you're questioning either reach out to someone who who knows how to do it or talk to your vet so just depending on again stage of life their activity level so even two dogs who weigh the same amount they might have completely different caloric needs.

Yes, absolutely.

OK, oh that makes me feel bad.

>> I never and I don't really feel like it becomes an issue until you have a dog that's probably obese.

>> Yes.

Or when you're getting sometimes a rescue dog they've been malnourished and underfed and you want to get their you know, get them up to the appropriate weight.

>> Yeah.

So that those are really probably two of the primary reasons why you would be interested in making sure.

>> Yeah.

that makes total sense.

>> OK, let's talk about my Achilles heel hidden calories.

>> Yes.

So what other than their food proper what should we be counting.

>> So if you're giving them table scraps those count any enrichment so like peanut butter for example, people use that on like mats or toys.

Those calories count um Topper's anything that you're adding to to their daily intake it counts towards their calories.

>> Yeah.

My grandma had a basset hound whose food she put peanut oil on and it got to be a real problem could be a real problem as you can imagine.

Yeah.

She was not counting those calories.

Yeah.

OK, so we talked about the front of the package.

The front of the package has always so many buzzwords and they get me every time so premium holistic natural human grade you know all of these things sound like that must be the right choice for me.

>> What should I be paying attention to?

What does it all mean?

So premium for example is a marketing word.

OK, um it doesn't mean that the the food that they're using in it is better than any other brand of food.

Sure.

Holistic is another one that just talks about primarily the type of product in the food.

It doesn't mean that it's organic.

It doesn't mean a lot of people associate organic and holistic.

>> They are not the same.

OK, so it's just the type of process that how they're making it human grade just it's a manufacturing process.

It doesn't mean that we can eat that food.

I mean you can try if you want but I would recommend so there's just it's understanding the terminology that's trending out there and ultimately the food that you choose you know, your dog's going to tell you whether or not works for them so or your cat.

>> Yeah that OK that makes sense and really I mean if we circle back to the very beginning when you said what's on the front is meant to attract us yeah.

It's what's on the back that's important for for our pets.

So I want to talk a little bit about the different types of food because I feel like even since I last had a dog there are additional options.

So we have like our traditional kibbled and there's cande there's fresh, there's raw, there's Freeze-Dried.

>> What are what are the differences and what is there one that's inherently better than the others?

>> I would say no.

OK, I don't feel like any dog food is better than the other.

>> OK you would just need to look at like the different types of for example raw if you're buying it manufactured it's going to have all the content that it needs OK to be and you know nutritional imbalance.

>> And what about the safeguards in because when I hear raw I think oh yeah gosh is that so that is something that people need to taken into consideration.

>> OK, because you have raw food or freeze dried freeze dried raw it's still raw and so there is those potential contamination situations.

So you know when you're picking up food you just want to make sure it's something that you can consistently and safely, you know, provide your pet.

>> OK, so if you're someone who you know, maybe Rozz not the right thing for you and your your pet the pet may like it but if it's something that you can't consistently do safely safely.

>> Yeah.

You don't you want to avoid it and do something that you can because you know like each one of them has their own like a raw you know you have to be once you open it you need to be able to store it safely.

Right.

The correct temperatures processed or canned food like the one I have over here and that's gently cooked.

Gently cooked.

Is that considered a wet yes.

Wet OK and then what's this one?

This one is freeze dried.

OK, this is traditional kibble OK and this one is kibble with freeze dried veg, vegetables and fish so yeah mind blown but I feel I feel comforted knowing that you don't feel like one is inherently better than the other it's going to just depend on what my pet specifically needs right and what you can afford and what you can continue to safely provide.

>> It's like the baby's fed is best yet right?

>> Yep.

Because if you have like gently cooked or a raw you know, storage after you open it if they're not going to consume the whole container.

Yeah.

You have to be able to safely store it because you're putting it in your refrigerator next to your food.

Right.

So you know, being able to safely manage the product, you know, kibble and freeze dried, you know, are great.

>> They don't have the shelf life is longer.

You know, you can keep it in a bag, keep it in separate container.

Right.

Less opportunity for cross contamination with with you or your you know, other people in your household.

>> So yeah.

OK, if you could teach pet owners to look for just one thing on the package before they buy food for their pet what would it be because this is a lot more than I realized.

>> Absolutely.

I would say understand what your pet needs so if you have a pet who is in adult stage, make sure that you buy a food that's for adult stage, OK?

Don't buy a puppy kibble because those tend to have higher carbs.

Inch'Allah, don't you know if you have an older dog maybe losing their teeth you know, just adjust based upon the need because you want the dog to get proper nutrition so you know, adding moisture to it also softens it so it makes it more palatable.

I'm adding Bross or you know, other types of goat milk or whatever not peanut oil probably not.

>> We don't recommend you know, it's oil.

Yes, I think that OK, that makes sense.

So when it comes to what we are choosing we need to talk to our vet and don't worry about the buzzwords on the front except when it comes to and it's not not that it's a buzzword but adult do pay attention to the age it's listed on but just tich it's typically on the back.

>> OK so it'll say formulative for adult dogs if it you're giving it to a puppy it'll say you know adjust the the serving size Yeah.

To fit that the energy level that that puppy needs.

Perfect OK we've got just a tiny bit of time left so we're going to do a speed round OK myth or fact more protein is always better myth OK grain free automatically means healthier myth if the food says natural it's healthier myth daing human grade means it's nutritionally superior myth.

>> OK all myths so far ok oh we we covered this one but if meat isn't the first ingredient the food is bad that is a myth.

>> Fewer ingredients automatically means better food myth.

>> You know I want to I want to get back to that just really quickly because you mentioned that sometimes more ingredients means that it's going to help them absorb the nutrients better and by getting that correct, it means like the example I used was hydrolyzed.

Yeah.

And that means it takes a different process to break down the protein to make it absorbable.

Yeah.

For a pet.

So it looks like there's more ingredients but it's the same yeah it's the same ingredients but they have to break them down which creates a different ingredient list so Angela I know a lot about human nutrition and I've had dogs but this was a total education to me so thank you so much for being with us.

I'm thrilled that you were here we are now going to send Angela on her way because we're going to head to adoption corner as promised and see what PET might be available for you to give a forever home to welcome to Adoption Corner.

>> I'm here with Tina from Fort Wayne Animal Care and Control and the star of the show Joey Arthur.

>> You do your oh my gosh, I'm in love.

Tina, thank you for being here.

Tell us a little bit about Joey Arthur.

>> So he is four years young, very active though so you would probably not know by interacting with him out in the yard he does your really well with his basic training, you know, sit and shake and down but he does pull a little on the leash so he could use a little bit of training but overall he is certified great dog.

>> Right.

OK, what about kids?

Is he is he happy with kids or no.

So we always have them interact with children because we don't necessarily know the history of them.

So you would always want to bring in kids.

He does love other dogs.

We do know that OK, he plays in playgroup really well so he would be likely OK with other dogs but we'll have you bring those in to me as well.

>> I love that.

OK, now we have on the screen a QR code we want to mention it's really important that that's where you go to either the Wing Animal Care and Control website or you can scan that QR code to get more information about potentially adopting Joey Arthur.

>> I love it.

He has two names but yes, I didn't come up with that.

OK, well I love it so so you don't call here to PBS Fort Wayne you call Animal Care and Control and if you're interested in Joey Arthur, be sure that you scan that code or go to the website now because you know it's it's first come first served first come first serve.

>> Yeah.

So what else should we know about this handsome guy?

>> So just going back to the adoption application you can actually fill that out online as well.

>> So if you see him and you're just in love with him yeah.

You can fill out the application ahead of time or you can fill out at the shelter so if you prefer to come and meet him first.

Totally understand that.

Sure.

But like you said it's first come first serve.

>> Right.

And then you mentioned that he he likes other dogs that he as far as you can tell he's good with kids.

What are some of the other considerations?

What should someone who's looking to potentially adopt a dog be thinking through before they start the process?

Adopting a dog is obviously a big commitment.

They're going to live a lot of years.

So keeping that part in mind, he does have all his basics taken care of .

So he's already been neutered.

He's microchip.

>> He's vaccinated up to date at least you're going to have to maintain that though.

Yeah.

And as I mentioned is kind of an active guy.

>> So he's going to need either a fence or maybe people that are runners or dog park subscription, you know, something like that.

>> He does really enjoy playing with the other dogs in the yard so I think that would be a great outlet if you don't have a fence.

>> OK, and is he good with smaller dogs?

So he has been with smaller dogs and larger dogs and as far as we can tell he's OK.

He is very good at showing his cues of I'm not aggressive yet.

>> So as long as you can read that body language then you should be OK.

>> OK, perfect in general maybe not when it comes to Joey Arthur specifically but in general what do you wish people knew before they adopted?

You mentioned that you have to be able to take care of them.

>> Are there things that people just don't think through?

There's definitely a lot of things that people don't think through.

>> One is the expense of owning a pet.

Of course you have you know, the high quality foods you have taking them to a veterinarian for their vaccines and their checkups and things like that.

That's not something that is something you are to go.

>> Yes, he's getting getting bored of but I see it so yeah.

Doing those type of things and then keeping him you at a dog park or visiting with other animals having that time for an animal and then you know you're crate and all the things that comes with owning a pet in general.

So sure it is a lot more work than some people think when I just meet them and they're like Oh I love him and want to take them home.

That's so good to know.

Tina, thank you for being here .

Thank you.

Joey Arthur, we hope you find her forever home and thank you for joining us here on Pet Life .

>> We will see you next week Positively Green offering pet enrichment products self-serve dog wash stations USA made treats, and locally sourced pet foods More information at PositivelyGreen.com