Many pet parents struggle to know the best food, and method to feed their companion animals. Commercial pet food recalls can be scary, as can news about the FDA investigating boutique & grain-free dog food as a potential cause of hidden heart disease.
Veterinarians typically recommend commercial or prescription foods that meet these guidelines developed by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association:
- Food is formulated by full-time, board-certified Ph.D. veterinarian nutritionists.
- Food is manufactured by a company that conducts extensive live feeding trials.
- Company’s R&D team publishes peer-reviewed research.
Yet well-meaning pet food stores often direct pet parents toward heavily marketed boutique brands that do not meet these guidelines.
Add to this the rising popularity of raw feeding or home-prepped meals, and it’s hard to know if our pets are actually getting the nutritional balance they need for optimum health.
This phenomenon is even more amplified in senior pet nutrition, where each individual companion animal may benefit from condition-specific formulation. While there are many good commercial options catering to the most ubiquitous conditions, some pet parents are hesitant to use formulations by the “big 3.”
If you’d like to feed your pet home prepared meals or serve raw, there is a formulation and supplement service available where you can get help creating free, nutritious recipes and getting the exact nutrient profile that meets the AAFCO guidelines through supplementation, which takes the guesswork out of home feeding.
BalanceIt was conceived in 2005 by founder Sean Delaney, DVM, MS, DACVN, a board certified veterinary nutritionist who held an academic faculty position at UC Davis between 2003-2013. Dr. Delaney co-authored a leading textbook on veterinary clinical nutrition.
BalanceIt recipes, formulation software, and products are comprehensive, analyzing more than 40 nutrients in each recipe generated. Pet parents can sign up to use the free recipe generator that allows the user to select ingredients for formulation, then gives the appropriate portions and supplement ratio to use. Supplements can be ordered online.
Your veterinarian can also sign-up for free and use BalanceIt to create a prescription recipe to suit your fur-friend’s unique health needs. You then use your vet’s prescription to access the specific nutrient profiles for your pet.
Check it out and see what you think: BalanceIt.com