Oradell Veterinary Group of Fort Lee Talks Nutrition

How does the pet food industry label their ingredients? What’s so important about the percentage of protein in your pet’s food? What does “Light” or “Lite” food really mean? Don’t know the answer? Neither do most pet owners. The pet owners who do know are those who attended ’s pet nutrition seminar on Tuesday.

The speaker was Dr. Laura Eirmann DVM, DACVN, who has been studying veterinary nutrition for almost a decade. Eirmann is the head nutritionist at Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus, NJ.

The seminar was a little over two hours long and packed with useful, up-to-date information. It covered a variety of topics dealing with nutrition, pet food marketing and the dangers of pet obesity.

Eirmann spoke about the importance of selecting a diet for your pet, dog or cat based on factors such as their sex (intact or spayed/neutered), activity level, life stage and more. She also spoke about how there is a difference between organic and “natural” diets for pets, and that “organic is a big gray area” right now in the pet food industry, because more information needs to become available. She even discussed how cooking at home for your pet is a possibility, so long as what you’re preparing fulfills all of their nutritional needs.

Many dog food and cat food myths were dispelled and spoken of. Eirmann carefully explained how the dog food industry is, in fact, a business industry, and that it’s important to keep in mind that what they're saying is always marketing. A large part of the seminar was devoted to how pet food companies label their products.

Eirmann walked the audience through reading the labels and understanding what’s allowed to be there, what isn’t and what it all really means. Shockingly, the seminar guests learned that pet food companies don’t actually need to give an indication of ingredient quality; nor do they need to feed the food to animals before selling it.

Eirmann also touched on the topic she describes as her ultimate passion, “obesity,” and the dangers of overweight pets. There are a variety of health concerns for obese pets. As in people, overweight pets are more subject to diabetes, osteoarthritis and a shortened life span.

Eirmann described herself as a skeptic when it comes to dog food claims many manufacturers put out, but an “equal-opportunity” skeptic. Her general assurance was that with so many choices out there for pet owners, finding a food and diet that meets their nutritional needs and is healthy for them is entirely possible.

“You don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for good quality pet food,” she said, discussing how owner’s preferences are important in making a choice when it comes to a pet’s food.

Eirmann gave several useful handouts to the attendees, which covered everything from caloric information of popular treats for dogs and cats to a huge list of links useful for anyone looking to further educate themselves on their pet’s nutritional needs and the dog food industry.

Claudia Winsauer, office manager of Oradell Veterinary Medical Group of Fort Lee hopes that more pet owners will show an interest in these seminars so that further ones can be scheduled. Like the last, this seminar was free to clients of the hospital.

”We do this really to educate and help owners,” she said.

This was the second seminar the hospital offered in the conference section of its upstairs area; the first was a talk on the importance of pet dental care in February.