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Veterinary Practice News Editorial Blog:
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Truth and Lies in The Dog Food Aisle
By Marilyn Iturri
Editor of VeterinaryPracticeNews.com and Veterinary Practice News
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There I was in my local Petsmart, perusing the dog food aisles. The store doesn’t carry the brand I normally buy, but I thought I’d look around to see what’s new.
At first I thought the woman who approached me was a Petsmart employee, but it turns out that she represented one of the dog food lines the store carries. She asked about my pet and inevitably steered me toward her product.
Having worked for a pet publisher for eight years, including several years on our pet retailer trade magazine, I probably have a better handle than most consumers on what’s available for dogs and how it’s pitched. I’m also fairly well attuned to the kinds of claims companies are not supposed to be making, claims that too often go beyond “supporting” health.
And, I’m aware of some animosity aimed at the big pet-food companies, although I’ve never fully understood it. These companies have revolutionized the feeding and the care of our pets.
Even a veterinarian who works with a newer boutique food company told me last month at AVMA in Seattle, Wash., that we all owe these companies a debt of gratitude for what they’ve done to improve the nutrition and thus the lives and longevity of our pets.
So, I was eager to hear this representative’s pitch about her brand.
The last thing I expected from a company representative was that old saw about other premium foods – other than her company’s, of course – containing rendered cats and dogs.
The FDA has long since debunked that accusation in a report that found no dog or cat DNA in rendered byproducts used in making pet food.
I asked where she obtained her information, but she couldn’t name a source. But she insisted it was true.
I’m fine with a pet-food representative telling me all about her company’s products—how they are made, what ingredients are used, why its products are special, how they’ve been tested, how veterinary nutritionists have been involved in the formulation of its products.
The more information, the better, as far as I’m concerned.
But bad-mouthing other companies’ products? That’s classless, and it suggests that the representative doesn’t think her product can compete on its own merits. Why else bash the competition?
Does the company she represents condone or, worse yet, encourage this behavior? Even if it does not, her conduct does not speak well of its business practices. Perhaps it should train its employees about slander.
This rep succeeded in making me acutely aware of her product, and I won’t be buying it anytime soon.
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