Valorie Wood

COM 225 Carl Shuh

Section 70352
Pet nutrition
Informative talk outline
Topic: Pet nutrition
Purpose: Inform the audience about the dangers of malnutrition of pets
Thesis: Pet foods are misleading and can cause health issues for your pet.

I.

Introduction [intro slide]

a. [second slide] Do you know what Propylene Glycol is? Does it sound like
something you would eat? NO
b. According to an article on dogfoodadvisor.com Propylene Glycol is an ingredient
often found in soft dog treats to aid in preserving softness. It is also the main
ingredient of [click] antifreeze and coolants. You can also find it in soaps and
lotions.
c. I know you might have glanced at the ingredient list of the food you eat but have
you ever looked at what you feed your dogs and cats?
d. I am here to talk to you about the importance of feeding your pets or if you dont
have any pets maybe in the future or to give you some information to take home
to friends and family that have pets. Most of this information I have learned from
experience and mostly gain through training at a pet food store called Pet Planet.

There they sell holistic pet food and the employees were train extensively through
research done by the founders and vets of the company.
II.

Main Points: what to feed them and how to read labels

a. To choose the right pet food you need pick the right diet for you and your pet
which could be grain free, raw, all dry kibble, or wet and dry then you need to be
able to dephicer the label and ingredients.
b. [next slide] First thing one needs to think about is what would your pets eat in the
wild. An article on vetinfo.com says they would eat mostly red meat, [clicker to
show another picture] however the domestication of dogs today has evolved their
stomachs to be able to digest fruits vegetables for essential vitamins and minerals
they need.
c. A raw diet for cats and dogs are available but most owners arent going to spend
the extra money and time to feed their dogs or cats a raw diet which is
understandable because it can be very expensive and time consuming.
d. So you decide to feed them a dry food, you go to the pet store or the grocery and
you pick up something that looks good maybe that says all natural or real
chicken and beef [next slide] but just because its on the label doesnt mean its
true. [click for next picture]
e. [next slide] Now you turn it over and read the label. Theres two things that
matter the most and thats the ingredient list the guaranteed analysis panel.
i. [show next slide] [pass around example of bad dog food] . Take a look at
the ingredients of the Kibble and Bits. When you look at the ingredients
you want to look for the bad like; by products, soy, corn, dairy, and wheat.

These are used as fillers and sugars could cause your dog to become
diabetic and the food becomes addictive. Also if you prefer not to fed your
dog preservatives like proplyene glycol and dyes look for those.[pass out
my dog food. Here is a very good dry dog food I feed my dog. You should
look food that says natural perservitives and human grade ingredients
ii. If you are interested in the source of meat you can go home and do
research on the specific food. I have done that with Acana and I trust the
source 100%
f. The next is the garuteened analysis panel.
i. This explains the percentage of protein, moisture, fat, and fiber and
sometimes calories in the food which is all very important because too
much or too little can harm your pet.
g. [click for next slide] Now you know what to look for but how do you apply it and
why is it important to look at the label?
III.

Main point #2
a. People love their pets like family and it is very tragic when we lose a pet or they
get sick. By feeding your pet a nutritional diet you can prolong your pets life
span, aid allergies, give them healthy skin and coat, and build their immune
system.
b. There are many things that play into effect to help the health of your pet when it
comes to food but today I will focus on just two main points which are the
importance and purpose of the right amount of Protein, and serving sizes.

i. So lets start with protein. As most of us know protein is of great use to

our bodies. It is essential to building bone, muscle, cartilage, blood, and
skin. However some owners do not know the effects on dogs when they
are feeding a food with too little protein or too much
ii. An Article by Dr. Decker tells the reader about too much protein could
cause kidney problems while too little will cause your animal to become
lazy, dull hair, slow recovery, similar to when a human doesnt get
enough. Cats are completely carnivores and cannot survive without meat
products. Dogs on the other hand can survive but probably shouldnt.
Their bodies have adapted to be able to extract the needed amino acids
from beans and other non-meat products.
c.

The next topic I would like to discuss about pet nutrition is the serving size.
Banfield Pet hospital reports six out of 10 pets are overweight.
i. Obesity in cats and dogs is caused by a combination of misconceptions
and carelessness
ii. Dogs and cats can suffer from diabetes and arthritis, skin fold infections,
heart desise and some breed can develop breathing problems from obesity
iii. To stop this from happening owners must first read the ingredients and
analysis panel then figure out the right serving size which should be
determined by your vet to be sure because the serving size on the food
isnt very accurate.

iv. Next owner need determine if their pet can sel-feed. Some can pace
themselves while other scaroff it down or hog it all. It is recomened by
vets to measure out daily food servings.
v. Just like humans, calories count. When shopping for treats make sure they
arent filled with sugar and carbs because they add up quickly. This goes
for table srcaps as well. A lot of human food actually has much more
sugar and carbs then a whole bag of dog treats. Food does not equal love.
Treat should be used for training.
IV.

Conclusion:
a. To wrap but my talk I would like to share picture of my puppys....[show pictures]
b. I know we are all college students and probably dont have a pet of our own but
someone close to us or maybe in the furture you might be a pet owner so get in
mind what I talked to you today and possible share some of this knowledge to a
friend.
c. Thank you!

Banfield, . "Overfeeding: Do You Spoil Your Cat Or Dog?." banfield.com. N.p.. Web. 16 Oct
2014. <http://www.banfield.com/pet-health-resources/pet-healthconcerns/obesity/loving-our-pets-to-death>.

Decker, . "When Pets Don't Get Enough of the Right Kind of Protein." (2013): n. page. Web. 16
Oct. 2014. <http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/09/25/vegandiet-dangers.asp&xgt;.

Osterweil, Neil, and Charlotte Grayson Mathis. "The Benefits of Protein." n. page. Web. 15 Oct.
2014. <http://www.webmd.com/men/features/benefits-protein>.

Leonardi, Lauren, and Joseph Wakshlag , eds. "Are Soy and Corn in Dog Food
Okay?." Petcarerx.com. N.p., 08 Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Oct 2014.
<http://www.petcarerx.com/article/are-soy-and-corn-in-dog-food-okay/848>.

Foster, , and Smith. "Protein in Pet Food." Pet Education.com. N.p.. Web. 15 Oct 2014.
<http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=2 165

Pet Planet., Petplanethealth.com