12 Mill Street, Suite
B, Unionville, CT 06085
•
860-675-PACK
(7225)
Store Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 10am-7pm, Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. by appt. and before/after 4pm pack
walk
Delivery available in the Farmington Valley
What are you
really feeding your pet?
Many people are unaware of the dangers in the products they are buying.
Most products on the market contain potentially life threatening
ingredients.Ingredients such as by-products, BHA, BHT,
ethoxyquin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K
activity) and soy products our known to cause severe health problems, even
death. Most foods are also full of fillers with no nutritional value such
as corn and wheat products.When feeding a carnivore, which
both cats and dogs are, the ingredients should be high in meats and fish
such as chicken, turkey, salmon, and buffalo. All food labels have the
ingredients listed by weight in descending order. When picking out a pet
food you should look for at least the first ingredient to be a meat source
either a meal or just the meat.Example: Chicken can be
displayed as the following: chicken, chicken meal, or chicken by-product.
The most abundant source of chicken would actually be the chicken meal
because the water is removed whereas the chicken still has water added so
it is going to weigh more but contains less meat.You never
want any kind of by-product in your pet’s food. By-products are parts of
the animal that are not for human consumption and are usually from spoiled
meat which could include euthanized cats or dogs, and road kill! Another
important factor to consider is distribution. Where the food is made and
where the ingredients come from are very important.Many
well known “high quality” foods are made from low quality ingredients from
China. When a company chooses to outsource the production of its food to
a mass distribution center the quality control is very low.
Most of the recalls that have happened have come from foods made by mass
distribution centers. At Pack Tracks we take pride in only selecting the
best and safest products available so you can shop with confidence! We
do not carry products that are outsourced or have any ingredients from
China.
Switching Your Pet's Food
Your pet may experience some digestive upset during the transition to the
new food. This is what we refer to as detoxing, the body cleansing
itself. This process usually takes one to five days but may continue
longer. Mixing in canned pumpkin into the food can help firm the stool or
using a supplement for digestive aid. This is only needed short term until
your pet has completed the transition period.
Switching to a food with grains It is best to gradually mix the old food
and new food together over a period of one week. On the first and second
day of mixing feed ¾ the amount of old food and ¼ the amount of new
food. On the third and fourth day feed ½ the amount of old food and ½ the
amount of new food. On the fifth and sixth day feed ¼ the amount of old
food and ¾ the amount of the new food. On the seventh day feed 100% new
food! For example if your daily feeding is 1 cup per meal. Each meal would
be as follows:
Day 1 and 2 ¾ cup old and ¼ cup new =
1 cup per meal
Day 3 and 4 ½ cup old and ½ cup new =
1 cup per meal
Day 5 and 6 ¼ cup old and ¾ cup new =
1 cup per meal
Day
7 1 cup new
Switching to a Food Without Grains or Raw Food Dogs and cats are carnivores; therefore grains aren’t utilized
very well. When switching off of grains detoxing is something your pet’s
body will have to go through. Due to this you can’t gradually mix your old
food in especially when switching to raw food. Using supplements or canned
pumpkin can help ease the transition if your pet experiences digestive
upset; most pets do very well with the change on their own. One helpful
way to ease the transition is to stay on the same meat protein when first
switching. For example if you are feeding lamb for a protein now, switch
to a new food with lamb in it that way not everything has changed. Then
the next time you can switch proteins to avoid a nutrition deficiency.
Proper Food Storage There are many different ways to
store pet food, most of which are not safe. Most commonly used are trash
cans or other plastic containers. Though these are convenient, they are
not made out of food grade plastic. This means dangerous toxins are being
released into your pet’s food. One of which is ethoxyquin (used to keep
rubber from oxidizing). This toxic ingredient can cause medical problems,
like liver deterioration as well as behavioral problems.
High quality pet
foods make packaging with natural barriers to protect the food. When
storing pet food you should always keep the food in its original
packaging. Then place the package and its contents into an air tight food
safe storage bin. Once the package is open the food begins to oxidize and
break down the nutrients and its freshness. Similar to a bag of carrots,
they start to rot and lose nutritional value.
High quality dry
food should only be open for 1 month because they don’t contain high
amounts of chemicals and preservatives that are found in low quality
foods.
Canned food should only be open for 48 hours, covered and refrigerated.
Once the air reaches the food bacteria begins to grow (keeping food
refrigerated slows down this process).
Raw food must
always be kept frozen until needed. Thawing should happen in the
refrigerator. All unused portions should stay in the refrigerator for no
longer than 72 hours.
