I recently experienced a first in my veterinary career: I was invited to tour a pet food manufacturing plant, along with a number of veterinary colleagues. The plant manufactures only dry food and treats using four extrusion lines and three packaging lines. (Manufacturing canned food requires an entirely different plant.) I went with my journalistic
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The COVID-19 pandemic not only increased the number of pets we share our homes with, it also increased the weight of the pets we already had. A recent New York Times article describes the weight gain incurred by a number of pets during the pandemic. The experiences of these pets and their families provide some
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These days, grocery stores are full of food that advertise a health benefit beyond the calories you need to power through your day. These foods are touted as “functional foods.” Common functional foods include probiotic-rich fare, such as yogurt, tempeh, sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha. Functional foods for pets are quite common as well. A quick
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The recent surge in pet food recalls and the ongoing Food and Drug Administration investigation into diet-related heart disease in dogs has made pet owners wary of commercial diets. So why not just serve up some of your dinner to your pet? In this blog post, I’ll look at some of the things you should
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Last week, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an investigation into diet-related heart disease in dogs. I suspect most dog families would be surprised to learn diet may play a role in the development of heart disease in their favorite fur baby. Here is a summary of the FDA announcement. Heart Disease
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