2 Reasons You Should Consider Expensive Pet Food

If you have a pet, or are considering adopting one, there's one really important thing you have to think about every single day of their lives: feeding them. When you feed them and how much you feed them is incredibly important -- but so is what you feed them.

There are plenty of decent pet foods out there, and some really good ones, but it's hard to know what to choose if you've never had a pet before. Let's walk through two really important reasons why you should choose expensive pet food, and one reason to avoid it.

Reason No. 1: Expensive pet foods perform AAFCO feeding trials

When I was looking for a new pet food for my dogs, who are now all between 9 and 14 years old, I asked my veterinarian what to buy. I wasn't going to skimp on their care, and since he was seeing them almost as much as I was, it just seemed like a good idea to get his input.

This was the conversation where I learned about AAFCO feeding trials.

Pet food is formulated in different ways. Some rely on AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) guidelines to make a formula that roughly follows the requirements, but without any testing, and others make the food following said guidelines, and then test it over and over again.

It costs a lot of money to do AAFCO feeding trials, which generally include feeding a bunch of random animals the food in question for up to six months, weighing and measuring them, taking blood samples, analyzing what comes out at the end of the day and comparing it to what went in. That's the only real way to know if a food is doing what it's supposed to do.

Just because all the right raw ingredients are there doesn't guarantee they'll work or interact in the way you expect they should. For formulated pet foods, it's very important to actually know what they're doing to ensure your pet is nutritionally supported for the stage of life they're in.

Reason No. 2: Expensive foods can prevent, treat, or support specific medical needs

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how many special diets are currently going on in my house, but elderly pets have specific needs. Sometimes younger pets do, too. For example, I had a friend who had a male cat who had a problem with urinary crystals. If you know anything about this condition, you know that it can often be fatal.

My friend's cat was on an expensive food formulated just for urinary crystals that helped him live a better and more pain-free life. He's no longer with us, but for years, that cat ate a urinary-focused diet that wasn't cheap, but did treat his condition.

In the same way, my dogs have expensive foods that are formulated for their specific needs as they've gotten older. Even our non-prescription diets are not cheap because I only want to feed foods that have undergone AAFCO feeding trials so we can eliminate potential sources of health problems that may exacerbate their existing medical conditions.

If you check with your vet, you'll find both prescription and over-the-counter foods by brands that do AAFCO feeding trials that can also be used to support your pet's condition, or treat it, depending on the issue at hand.

One reason to avoid expensive pet foods

There's one reason -- and just one reason -- to avoid expensive pet foods that people don't often talk about. And that's because sometimes, expensive pet foods aren't made to appeal to a pet's needs, but to their owner's lack of understanding of those needs.

One of the biggest offenders is dog food made using "human-grade ingredients." Dogs, as it turns out, aren't humans, and they don't have the same needs as humans. That doesn't mean that quality doesn't matter, but remember that your dog is just as likely to try to eat eggshells out of the garbage as he is to gobble your filet mignon.

Brands that make this claim do not undergo AAFCO feeding trials, and you can always tell from their marketing that the real customer is you, and not your dog. I won't name names here, but if there's a lot of color, appeal to "the first ingredient," or other kind of dodgy-sounding marketing, it's probably exactly that.

You can go broke feeding your pet these foods and still not be providing them a nutritionally sound diet. Always ask your vet before starting a new diet, because ultimately, they're the ones best trained to rule on your animal's health and welfare.

A pet's life is short; feed it well

There's always a lot of juggling to be done in this life, but one thing that you shouldn't skimp on -- for yourself, your dog, or your cat -- is proper nutrition. Sure, we all like a pizza and a mound of chili fries now and then, but there has to be room for broccoli and lean proteins, too.

Something else to consider, if cost is an issue, is that some pet insurance policies will cover some of the expenses of prescription pet food. But you won't have coverage if you don't ask (or if you don't have a policy), so aim to find out before you start your pet on a new diet.