Mixing or Rotating Proteins in Your Pet’s Diet

We all want to feed the very best to our pets, to keep them happy, healthy and in our lives for as long as possible. But there are so many philosophies surrounding the best way to feed your dog or cat, it’s no wonder pet parents can become confused. One example is the debate over whether to feed just one protein consistently, or to mix or rotate the primary protein source your pet eats. So how does one sift through all the contradicting advice, and make a decision?

Nature

One way is to look to nature for answers. In the wild, dogs and cats are carnivores, with their prey often consisting of plant-eating animals. They eat the entire animal, including hair, bones, entrails, blood, stomach contents, etc. The intestinal contents provide protein from different sources, such as grain and vegetables previously eaten by the prey. This would suggest mixing up the proteins in your pet’s diet, as well as including some organ meat and blood (or plasma). Life does not exist without blood and the nutrients it provides to carnivores.

Science

Another way to consider the option of protein variety or rotation is to look to science. Different meats, poultries, and fish each have different compositions of amino acids, as well as different levels of fats, vitamins, and minerals. By mixing or interchanging different protein sources, pets receive the nutritional benefits of all these essential nutrients. This suggests another reason to include multiple sources of protein in a pet’s diet. Further, some pets appear to have developed allergies to one protein or another and mixing up the protein source may prevent this.

Experience

The experiences of other pet parents are a great source of practical “how-to” information from those who have pondered these same questions. For example, Karen at Shaggy Dog Stories writes about changing her dog’s diet in Dog Food Diaries: Adventures in Rotation (www.shaggydogstories.net). Online forums, such as English Bulldog News (www.englishbulldognews.com) help pet owners sort through many question of pet ownership, including nutrition topics. These sites help pet parents connect with others exploring issues like protein rotation and other nutritional topics.

Research

Finally, researching the pet foods and asking questions of the manufacturers will tell you a great deal about what is in the food and why they recommend certain feeding protocols. There are very few commercial diets, if any, that do not contain proteins from a number of sources. All formulas from Nature’s Logic have one main protein source to make it easy to vary the diet. Other minor protein sources in our products, such as animal plasma and dairy, are safe and natural ingredients. In addition, the whole food ingredients provide essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and trace nutrients with no man-made or chemically-synthesized ingredients of any kind, for a truly natural pet food. For more information about Nature's Logic raw, canned, and dry pet foods, please visit http://www.natureslogic.com/.