Monday, September 8, 2014

How to Choose a Healthy Food for Your Pet #GetHealthyHappy

As part of the "Healthier Pets, Happier Lives" campaign by Hill's Science Diet, we are sharing tips to keep your pets healthy and happy. Health and happiness go hand in hand, or in this case - paw in paw. The first step to ensuring that your pet is happy is to make sure that they are healthy.

We've already discussed the importance of regular Veterinary care for your pet. Besides taking your pet to the Vet on a regular basis, feeding your pet a healthy diet is very important. There are a few things you should consider and ask yourself when choosing the best food for your pet.


  • Does your pet have any special health conditions? 
  • How old is your pet? What lifestage are they in? (puppy/kitten, senior, etc)
  • Is the food nutritionally balanced? Nutrient excesses and deficiencies can lead to health problems. 

For more advice on choosing the best dog food, click here. For cats, this advice on choosing the best cat food is very useful. 

Did you know that by feeding specially formulated foods to your pet, you can help manage specific health conditions? Hill's Science Diet offers a variety of formulated diets to help with many different health conditions. They have diets for dogs that can help manage weight, oral health, and mobility. For cats, Hill's Science Diet offers food to help manage weight, oral health, and even hairballs


Other than specific health conditions, you should also consider your pet's age. I have a senior dog, so feeding her a senior food is important. I certainly wouldn't want to feed my 11 year old dog a puppy food. By talking with your veterinarian, you should be able to determine which type of diet best fits your pets' special needs. 

After choosing a healthy food for your pet, you'll want to transition them to it safely. Transitioning your pet's food should be done over a period of time. A slow transition to a new food will help your pet avoid any upset stomach or tummy trouble during the switch, and help them get used to it. For more advice on transitioning a dog to a new food, click here. For advice on transitioning a cat to a new food, click here.

Is it time for dinner now?

As a reminder, Hill's Science Diet is giving away $100 towards your pet's next Veterinary check-up every day for 90 days. If you haven't entered this pawsome giveaway yet, just click here!

When choosing a healthy food for your pet, what things do you look for? Let us know what kind of questions you ask yourself when choosing your pets' food in the comments. 

This post is sponsored by Hill’s and the Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s Science Diet, but Pawsitively Pets only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.

19 comments:

  1. Whoa! This is much better than y post. I love how simple and consise you made everything. I’m a fussy eater so TW buys food she knows I’ll eat.

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    1. No way CK! I loved your post!!! You had some fabulous advice for all the cat peeps in it. Seriously.

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  2. Thanks for sharing this important information. :)

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  3. Special foods can make a huge difference- I firmly believe that Emily lived longer because I followed my veterinarians advice about what to feed her!

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  4. That really is important information. The correct food for the dogs or cats can make a big difference. Happy Monday to you.

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  5. You are so right that a healthy diet is important. We weren't always aware of this, or what to look for, but we've learned a lot recently. I try to look at the ingredients and make sure that at least the top ones are meat, and that there are wholesome ingredients and nothing artificial in there. It has to be made in the USA as well.

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    1. I didn't always know these things either Jan. We all learn at some point though.

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  6. High quality food make a huge difference for our health, it's very important. We shared your very good post on Twitter ! Purrs

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  7. It's so amazing how much attention dog food gets now. It's great because when I was growing up so much of it was just whatever was on sale at the supermarket. It was usually Gravy Train or something like that. I'm glad we now have different formulas for the stages of life, allergies, weight loss, etc. Nutrition can be a very personalized choice - it's great we have so many.

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    1. Yes, I remember my childhood dog ate the on sale stuff too. And lots of table scraps! Still, there are lots of dogs and cats out there who eat the same way today. It's simply that their humans don't have the information they need, they don't mean any harm.

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  8. Yummy and healthy is a hard combo to find but it sounds like they did it!

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  9. We prefer wet food for our cats - and quality is KEY for us! Allie's on a very good brand food she's using to help her lose weight - and YAY!! It's working! You are soooo right: transitioning slowly is KEY. (as is losing weight slowly too!!)

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    1. Good point about losing weight slowly. I've noticed that some animals handle transitions better than others. My dog being one that handles them well. It's always better to be safe than sorry though!

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  10. That's some great information, pals! Our cats are on special diets, and we know it helps them be healthier.

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  11. Great great post! Thanks for sharing!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  12. The right food makes all the difference. The more information shared about nutrition the better many pets are taken care of. Great post, wonderful information shared.

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  13. With all the pet food on the market, it is like wandering through a jungle trying to find the right one!

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  14. I agree with Emma. We have settled on PetKind for now, but it's nice to have variety in choosing a healthy food for Bain when we go to the store.

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