Canine companions enjoy some of life’s best pleasures
January 2009
Courtesy of Family Features and Nestlé Alpo
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PAMPERED POOCH: More dog owners have been choosing to feed their dogs like they feed themselves – choosing foods made with gourmet flavors and real, wholesome ingredients.
Family Features
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The expression “It’s a dog’s life” certainly holds true for the millions of four-legged friends who are now enjoying some of life’s best little pleasures, a privilege their owners have appreciated for years.
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More than 75 percent of pet owners consider their dogs to be members of the family, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association 2005 to 2006 National Pet Owners Survey. This means America’s canine companions are now enjoying creature comforts that include sleeping in bed with their owners, traveling on vacations and meeting with their doggie pals for organized play dates. What’s more, recent trends in pet ownership are changing the way dogs eat, with the emergence of dog food that is inspired by entrees more commonly found on the dinner table.
Fancy food
More and more dog owners want to feed their dogs like they feed themselves – choosing foods made with gourmet flavors and real, wholesome ingredients that offer a balance of high-quality nutrition and great taste. According to a Purina survey of 1,000 adult pet owners living in the U.S., 91 percent rank high-quality protein as the most important nutrient to consider when purchasing food for their dogs and cats. This is followed closely by 90 percent who say they want to serve their pets foods rich in antioxidants. Dog owners also place great emphasis on the quality of the food going into their dogs’ bowls.
“Over the past several years, we have seen the emergence of a growing food trend that we call ‘affordable indulgence,’” said Lucien Vendome, executive chef for Nestlé. “Gourmet foods and flavors once considered upscale and limited only to fine-dining establishments are now appearing in mass channels such as grocery stores and even in commercial dog food.”