Disclaimer: What I’m about to write is purely my opinion. It’s not an attempt to give anybody advice, or direction about what to feed their pets. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about, and have recently implemented when feeding my own furkids.

A lot of we pet parents are, for the most part, obsessed with what we feed our pets. According to Fortune Business Insights, “The global pet food market size was valued at USD 120.87 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow from USD 126.66 billion in 2024 to USD 193.65 billion by 2032.” And when asked how many different brands of dog food are out there, Google reports:

“Overview: The 2024 List includes 43 different pet food brands; 30 brands offer cat foods, 42 offer dog foods. Styles of pet foods include cooked (sold frozen and shelf stable), raw, freeze dried, dehydrated, can (one option). 42 brands sell in the US, some regionally.” (This took me by surprise! Surely there are more than 43 pet food brands? When you are in a big box pet store, it seems like you are surrounded by hundreds! — but I digress.)

I’ve shared my life with a lot of pets. When I started volunteering in rescue way way way way back around 1987, I started accumulating animals. They came in all different ages, sizes, and breeds.

My partner and I didn’t make a whole lot of money. She was a laborer by profession, and I was an artist. We had a mortgage. We had credit cards. We had car payments. We were on the American escalator. We also had a houseful of rescue pets. I think the lowest number at one time was five (2 dogs 3 cats) in 1987. The highest number was probably twelve (nine dogs, 3 cats) in 2018. There were many different combinations at any given time, so you might say I have some experience.

Those earliest pets, when we saw some of the financially leanest times, lived incredibly long lives. Our border collie mix, Gypsy, came to us at about 2 years of age and lived to be 18. Dillon, our poodle mix, came to us as a puppy of about 4 months old, and he lived to be 21. Troll, a Heinz 57 if there ever was one, came to us at less than 2 years old and lived to be 19. These dogs spent the longest amount of time with us. Other dogs and cats came and went who joined us at seven, ten, twelve years old — but I am leaving those pets out of this equation because I don’t know what they experienced before they came to live with us. I am going to include Waldo and Rocket, though, who both came to us as puppies toward the end of our multi-pet menagerie, and both only lived to the age of ten.

I have wondered what we did wrong with Waldo and Rocket. . . that their lives were cut so short. It has weighed on me for a long time, because those two were very special to us. They were treated like kings. They had the very best vet care. They ate top shelf food. They got lots of love and exercise.

It was one day while I was lurking around a big box pet store after having read a series of articles about pet food that had given me anxiety, that something suddenly occurred to me. I was looking for something “better” to feed my last remaining dog, Maria, (now fifteen) and I was thinking about Gypsy and Dillon and Troll, and I realized that they had grown up while we were feeding our crew whatever was cheapest. Kibble from Aldi. Cans of Dads, Alpo, and brands whose names I have long forgotten. We didn’t have access to all the information we have at our fingertips now via the internet. We weren’t educated about pet food and nutrition. We were just filling the bellies in whatever way we could with the money we had. Sometimes when they were out of food and there was no money, we fed them oatmeal! You do what you have to.

The thing is, those dogs lived incredibly long (and healthy!) lives. So how come Waldo and Rocket only made it to ten? I know we were feeding them quality food. We’d become educated. We knew how to read the labels. We knew what to avoid. But damn it, they were both gone way too soon.

So I got to thinking . . .

Yeah, quality food. Food that is advertised as being “complete.” Waldo and Rocket ate the same high quality food their entire lives. So maybe that was it! Maybe the other dogs lived so long because they didn’t eat one food exclusively. 

This was a big revelation to me. (I dunno, maybe I’m coming late to the party, but I don’t remember ever reading or hearing anyone suggest that you should switch your pet’s food up–in fact, pet parents are most often told to find a quality food and stick with it, unless a health problem arises and the dog needs prescription food.) I’d just like to point out that humans don’t eat the same exact thing day after day for their entire lives. That wouldn’t be healthy.

I’ve started Maria on a new food plan, where I switch her food up every time I buy it. Yes, I stick to good, quality food, but when she finishes what’s in the cupboard, it’s on to something else. She has always had a sensitive stomach, with frequent bouts of gastritis–but so far, this is working out really well for her. She has a great appetite, good healthy poops, and a cheerful attitude.

I’ll let you know how it pans out, but I think I may be on to something.

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