DOGS

The choice of food should be made according to the age, size and activity 
of your dog.  It is recommended that you start with the amounts shown on
the pet food package and vary the proportions according to your dog`s 
appetite and needs, being careful not to overfeed your pet.  
Dogs with allergies should use a LAMB or RICE formula.  Dogs that are 
overweight should use SELECT LOW FAT formula to lose weight, then 
switch to another blend to maintain their new weight.  Free choice feeding 
is recommended.  Access to fresh drinking water is important.  When starting 
puppies, moisten with one part liquid (water) to one part dry food. Feed three
times daily until six months of age, then twice daily until one year of age.  
Since puppies need to be fed often, free choice feeding is recommended.
Always have fresh drinking water available for your puppy.

Cats:

All recommendations are for average adult sized cats.
The adult cat may be fed the whole amount at once
(cafeteria style) or you may divide the ration in two
and serve half in the morning and half in the evening.
Access to fresh drinking water is important. 
For Kittens, start feeding at 3-4 weeks of age, moistened
with water or broth.  4 times a day in amounts that the
kittens will consume in 10 minutes.  Remove the leftovers
only serve a fresh mixture.  Kittens may be weaned between
6-8 weeks of age.  At four months of age, the young cat may
be fed as an adult.  Free choice feeding is recommended.
Access to fresh drinking water is important.


Switching Pet Foods:

Some pets may be reluctant to give up what has looked, smelled
and tasted familiar to them in the past.  To help make the 
transition easier to a new food, we recommend the following
approach.  When switching from a brand of dry food to one
of our Pet Pantry foods, gradually introduce the new food over a
5 to 10 day period.  Do this before you run out of the old food. 
1. Mix the new food product with the pet`s
former food, gradually increasing the proportions
until it is completely Pet Pantry food.  
2. When switching from canned to dry food, 
we recommend the following approach:  
Add warm water to the dry food, let stand for 10 minutes
then mix thoroughly to make a gravy like consistency.
3. When changing pet foods, the pet may experience some
loose stools and/or gassiness, which is completely normal.
This condition will disappear after the pet has become
accustomed to the new food, which should be in 3 to 7 days.
From our experience, we have found that, not only do pets
readily accept (and LOVE)  the Pet Pantry Premium pet foods,
but actually prefer ours to many other brands.

All Pet Pantry blends are designed according to AAFCO standards.
not do any live animal testing and believe strongly that it is
inhumane and unnecessary
AAFCO stands for?
Association of American Feed Control Officials
Members of AAFCO are made up of State, Federal, (including the FDA) and
Canadian Provincial Officers. You can find out more by going to their
website at www.aafco.org
Essential Amino Acids: When choosing pet food, remember that there is
no magic protein source that contains all the essential amino in adequate
amounts.  All pet food should: contain both animal and plant protein. 


Guaranteed Analysis: 

Rules for what is in a Guaranteed Analysis and how it is displayed are
set by AAFCO.
PROTEIN, FAT, FIBER, MOISTURE are required 
Ingredients are listed in order of heaviest to lightest amounts


AAFCO recommended standards:
Growth and Reproduction Dogs  22% FAT 8% 
Maintenance diet Dogs         18% FAT 5% 


Analysis, we suggest that you do the following:
Look for Protein and Fat Sources
Look for Types of Preservatives used
Look for Ingredient Splitting
Look for Source of Vitamins and Minerals


Here are some simple tips about understanding Guaranteed Analysis: 
PROTEIN:
Major building block of all living organisms, provides the 10
essential amino acids.  Comes from animal and some plant sources.
FAT: 
Concentrated source of energy, helps hormones, skin, coat and
membranes, carries vitamins through the blood stream. Also,
a major source of flavor in the food. 
OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS:
Comes from fish oil and flaxseed.  Should be 1 in every 10 of
volume of makeup of total fat in food.
OMEGA 6 FATTY ACIDS:
Comes from animal sources. Should be 9 in every 10 of volume of
makeup of total fat in food.
FIBER:
For roughage and digestion.  Large quantities found in diet type foods.
MOISTURE:
A by-product of the manufacturing process. It doesn`t help to keep
drying out the kibble.
AAFCO standards allow for some moisture to be left in the food.
MEAL:
An AAFCO processing term that means, Ground down, reduced to
particle size.(Any meat source that has the word MEAL after it
means that the water, which is 75% of the meat, has been removed,
thus the remaining weight is all meat, no water.)
MEAT:
Clean flesh from any mammal or poultry. When a company lists a meat,
without the word MEAL after it, then what they are listing by order
of weight is 75% water which is taken out when making a DRY kibble.
Watch for GLUTEN MEAL in the ingredients to bring the protein up to
 
minimum amounts since there may not be enough in the meat source alone.)
BHA, BHT, ETHOXYQUIN:
Chemical Preservatives, manmade.
MIXED TOCOPHERALS:
Natural Preservatives, a source of natural vitamin E 
INGREDIENT SPLITTING: 
A way to possibly hide the actual order of ingredients listed by weight.
If you combine the two split items together, the combined weight will
bump it up in the order of how much is really in the food.
Wheat Flour and Ground Whole Wheat (Two different sources of wheat,
basically the same)
Corn and Ground Yellow Corn (Two different sources of corn, basically
the same)
DIGEST:
An AAFCO processing term that means, Subject to prolonged heat and/or
enzymes resulting in a physical change in the nature. (Another way of
saying it is TO LIQUIFY.)
ANIMAL FAT:
Obtained from tissues of any mammal or poultry.                          
Pet Pantry does NOT use Animal Fat in any of it`s food.
POULTRY FAT:
Obtained from tissues of the following poultry sources,
Duck, Chicken and Turkey.