Supplements image of cat and dog

Dog and Cat
pet food

Nutrition is the foundation for great pet health. The food we feed them is the game-changer.

Our mission is to help educate pet parents to make feeding decisions that improve your pet’s overall health and wellness. We believe food is love and you are what you eat. Just as humans need a variety of fruits, vegetables, and proteins to maintain our nutritional value daily, so do our pets.

The foods that we feed our fur babies affect their digestion, energy levels, sleep patterns, immune systems, and overall longevity.The bad news is that most modern pet foods are far from what nature designed dogs and cats to eat. Many of the ingredients in today’s “best selling” and “premium” foods have little or no nutritional value. While the shelf price of these foods may be lower, the effects on your pet’s health and well-being end up costing you more in the long run. Choosing healthier foods will result in improved health and a better quality of life for your pets. The daily cost between healthy food and unhealthy food could be as low as just $.23 more per day or $6.90 per month. Isn’t that worth it to help your pet thrive?

How Do I Choose the Right Food?

  • Carbohydrates – Healthy carbs come from ingredients like peas, beans, potatoes and healthy grains such as rice, oats, and barley in limited amounts. These are a good source of energy.
  • Fruits and Vegetables – A great source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and other micro nutrients.
  • Specified Meat Protein – Ingredients such as chicken, beef, fish and eggs. The most nutritious foods will have meat protein as the first ingredient.
  • Specified Fats and Oils – Provide essential fatty acids, energy and natural flavor. Healthy fats also help maintain a healthy coat and immune system.

What Foods Should I Avoid?

  • Animal Fat – A generic by-product of rendering; includes things such as restaurant grease, slaughterhouse waste, and diseased cattle.
  • Artificial Colors that are only used to make kibble look attractive.
  • By-Product – Dry rendered waste products made from what is left of a slaughtered chicken or cow after all the prime cuts are removed. This can contain almost anything like feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs, etc.. All are low-quality sources of protein.
  • Corn, ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal – These are inexpensive grains and grain by-products with limited nutritional value. They are often primary ingredients in “Economy” and “Premium” pet foods and should be avoided.
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Food nutrition facts image

*Source: CityVet

How Do I Evaluate the Pet Food Quality?

  • Understanding pet food options should be easy, but the pet food industry has not set it up that way.
  • Reading pet food labels and evaluating ingredients can be tricky.
  • Evaluate ingredients and scrutinize the label for the quality of ingredients and the quantity and balance of ingredients (meat vs. grain-based proteins, low/high carbs, etc).
  • Rest-assured your local store is here to help. That’s the Pet Stuff difference.

If You Turn Over Your Pet’s Food and See This…

  • Ingredients: Poultry by-product meal, ground yellow corn, wheat, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, and brewers rice…
  • You have reason to be concerned and should come visit us.
  • This form of labeling is called “splitting.” If corn is listed in only one form, then it may be the most abundant ingredient and would have been the first listed. However, by splitting the corn up into two categories: ground yellow corn and corn gluten, they can put poultry as the first ingredient.
  • At first glance, this makes us believe that real protein is the most abundant ingredient, when in reality, this food is basically a bag of corn and by-products.
  • Bentley’s has guidance and solutions to help.
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If You Turn Over Your Pet’s Food and See This…

  • Ingredients: Fresh De-boned Wild Boar, Fresh De-boned Lamb, Lamb Meal, Russet Potato, Fresh De-boned Pork, Peas…
  • You have reason to believe that you are nourishing your pet in the best way possible.
  • The difference between real protein and protein by-product is that real protein contains essential amino acids that are the building blocks of the muscles and organs.
  • Keeping our pets healthy from the inside will keep them thriving. It’s simply not an option to blindly trust any pet food company.
  • There are so many fancy marketing teams out there crafting the perfect ad or packaging and putting little money into the actual quality of their product.
  • At Bentley’s, we pride ourselves on doing the work for our customers and creating an environment where you can trust the integrity of every product we carry.

KIBBLE

CANNED

DEHYDRATED

FREEZE-DRIED

RAW

NO CORN. NO WHEAT. NO SOY. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Although there are many brands of pet foods out there, we choose to carry only the best for our customers. We know and believe that dogs and cats do not need a high carb/grain-filled diet. We will not carry any food products that are made with CORN, WHEAT or SOY. Why? Aside from the fact that corn, wheat and soy are fillers, they are also the 3 most common food allergens for dogs and cats. We also do not carry any food or treats that are made in China. There have been too many recalls and too many pets getting ill from those recalls. Another requirement we carry foods and treats free of by-products and chemical preservatives.

This too is the Pet Stuff Difference.

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Kibble Pet Food

  • Dry food or kibble has ingredients that vary by brand, but all are required to be balanced and meet the nutritional needs of a dog.
  • Ingredients in kibble are processed together and cooked at high temperatures, this causes loss of nutrients. Required ingredients include: protein sources such as beef, poultry, fish, eggs; grains, cereals, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
  • All dry dog foods need preservatives to prevent the fat from becoming rancid. Some brands are heavy on carbohydrates or have low-quality ingredients and added sugar.
  • Potential benefits can be reduced risk of bacteria, easier storage, less risk of spoilage, and cost-effectiveness.

Canned Pet Food

  • Wet food is typically much more appetizing than kibble.
  • It more closely resembles the fresh meat that pets crave.
  • Wet food is especially good for picky eaters as an alternative or in addition to dry food.
  • Canned food is heavy, it doesn’t last as long as freeze-dried food, and some vitamins may be destroyed by the heat used in canning the food.
  • Many pet parents choose to mix wet and dry food together. This can lower the overall cost of your pet’s food while still giving them some of the flavor and health benefits of wet food.
  • Just make sure that you are feeding the appropriate amount of calories
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Bentley's top picks for anxiety supplements

Dehydrated Pet Food

  • This is the same as air-dried dog food.
  • Essentially, air-drying is a method of dehydrating or removing much of the moisture in the food.
  • Dehydrated dog food undergoes a process where the moisture is removed slowly by evaporation to increase shelf-life. This does not destroy the nutrients since little to no heat is applied.
  • The benefit of dehydrated food is that it doesn’t spoil as quickly as raw food does, and does not need to be refrigerated. A single bag of dehydrated food can last for months, while raw food and kibble spoil much faster.
  • It is recommended to rehydrate this food to feed.

Freeze-Dried Pet Food

  • Made by removing moisture from the food in a freeze dryer.
  • The benefit of freeze-dried is that there’s almost no nutrient loss in freeze-dried foods.
  • The process also preserves the actual color and shape of the original raw material, reassuring consumers they are actually getting real fruits and vegetables in their diets.
  • Bone is really important to your pet as a source of calcium and other minerals. The better freeze-dried dog foods include bone in their foods. Lower quality foods will use synthetic minerals instead.
  • Freeze-dried foods can be a good “gateway” to raw feeding. It is recommended to rehydrate this food to feed.
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Bentley's top picks for anxiety supplements

Raw Pet Food

  • Adding freshness to your pet’s diet is very important. Moisture aids in healthy organ function. Different types of food have different levels of freshness. The level of freshness can be determined by a food’s moisture content plus the food’s ability to retain raw nutrients.
  • A raw diet usually includes organ meats, muscle meat, whole or ground bone, raw eggs, dog-safe fresh fruits and vegetables, and a dairy product such as yogurt.
  • Benefits from feeding raw can include: shinier coats, healthier skin, improved dental health, increased energy, and smaller stools.
  • Raw meat is highly bio-available and contains live bacteria/enzymes that support digestion and help to absorb almost all the immune-boosting nutrients.
  • Compared to the extra time and energy spent on trying to extract any goodness from starch-rich kibble, which promotes inflammation and lacks nutrients.
  • With raw, pets create less waste because most of the food they eat is being fully utilized. Allowing us to focus on gut health which accounts for 70% of the immune system.
  • Feeding a nutrient-dense raw diet is also associated with a lower chance of your pet developing allergies and arthritis later in life due to the fact it’s more biochemically complex and does not contain the MRPs (cooking toxins) that are thought to cause inflammation and degeneration of tissues, possibly worsening allergies, arthritis, and other conditions associated with aging.
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*Source: Well+Good

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EVERY PET is different. But there are benefits for ALL pets in mixing it up. Both from a health perspective to helping excite those picky eaters.

We encourage you to visit your local store to understand what is best for your pet. Don’t be afraid to add variety to your pet’s diet. You can change it up and oh by the way…you should!

What is Mixology®?

Mixology offers a better way of feeding your pets by rotating different types of proteins, vitamins, food and brands.

  • It aims to change the perception of what feeding is.
  • It is the solution for picky eaters.
  • It is the quest for optimal health.
  • It aids in helping our pets live happier, healthier lives and keeps them interested in their meals.

The right food heals.