When Dog Food Gets Confusing, Who Do You Trust?

Dog food has changed enormously since we began Betty & Butch in 2010.

Back then, there was already plenty of choice, plenty of opinion and plenty of confusion. Today, that has multiplied. We have ingredient lists, nutritional analysis, independent ratings, manufacturer websites, social media, forums, influencers, videos and thousands of people telling us what they believe is the right way to feed a dog.

You would think that having more information would make things easier. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it makes it much harder.

Over the past 16 years, we have spent a huge amount of time talking to people about what goes into their dog's bowl. We have watched feeding trends come and go. We have seen ingredients become popular, fall out of favour and sometimes return again. We have also seen how quickly one opinion can become accepted as fact simply because it is repeated often enough. And that is where we think a little bit of perspective matters.

Being confident does not always mean being correct

Dog food can become surprisingly tribal. There are people who will tell you raw feeding is the only way to feed a dog. Others will tell you dry food is the better option. More recently, fresh food has developed an equally passionate following.

We understand why. When someone finds something that works well for their dog, they naturally want to tell other people about it. But what works brilliantly for one dog does not automatically become the right answer for every dog.

Strong opinions travel very quickly online. Sometimes the loudest opinion becomes the one people remember, but confidence and repetition are not the same thing as evidence. After 16 years, one of the biggest things we have learnt is that there simply is not one universally correct way to feed every dog.

There is no single best bowl

Even our own dogs do not all eat the same food. At the moment, our dogs are eating three different foods from the ranges we stock at Betty & Butch.

Why? Because they are different dogs. They are different ages. They have different needs, different preferences and different lifestyles. What suits one of them is not necessarily what we would choose for another.

And that is exactly how we approach feeding advice in our stores. We are not trying to recruit people to Team Raw, Team Fresh or Team Dry. We are trying to find the food that works for the dog in front of us.

Sometimes that is raw. Sometimes it is fresh. Sometimes it is dry. Sometimes a combination works better. The right bowl is the one that works for the dog and the person standing beside them.

Budget matters too

This is something we feel very strongly about. Good feeding advice has to work in the real world.

If somebody comes into Betty & Butch with a certain amount they can comfortably spend each month, then that is part of the conversation. There is no point recommending something that makes them anxious every time they reach the till. Our job is to help them find the best food we can within the budget they actually have.

People should not be made to feel that they are somehow less deserving of having a dog in their life because they cannot afford whichever food is currently being described online as the best. Nor does spending the most automatically make somebody a better dog owner.

A dog can be deeply loved, brilliantly cared for, exercised, understood and given a wonderful life without having the most expensive food on the shelf. There is almost always a sensible feeding option available at different price points, and helping somebody find that option is far more useful than making them feel guilty.

A score can be useful, but it is not your dog

We have nothing against dog food ratings, nutritional analysis websites or independent reviews. They can all be useful sources of information, and we look at information from many different places ourselves.

But no single score, website or opinion can tell you everything you need to know about your individual dog. We have seen foods that look exceptional on paper that simply have not suited a particular dog. We have also seen dogs do extremely well on foods their owners had previously overlooked.

Age matters. Activity matters. Weight matters. Digestion matters. Ingredients matter. Nutritional composition matters. Budget matters. And, ultimately, the dog standing in front of us matters most.

That is why we have never believed that good nutritional advice starts by pointing at the highest number on a screen or the most expensive bag on a shelf. It starts with a conversation.

Sixteen years of asking questions

We have been dedicated to dogs since 2010, but that does not mean we pretend to know everything. In fact, we think experience often teaches you the opposite.

The longer you work with dog food, the more you understand that good advice is not about always having an instant answer. Sometimes it is about knowing which questions need asking.

We ask suppliers about ingredients. We have some of the best dog nutritionists on speed dial. We look at compositions and analytical constituents. We ask where products are made. We ask whether something is suitable for a particular type of dog. We ask for more information when something does not make sense.

And if we do not know the answer, we will say so and go and find out. There should never be anything embarrassing about saying, "We don't know yet." Sometimes that is the most responsible answer anybody can give.

You should ask us questions too

We do not expect anybody to blindly trust Betty & Butch simply because we have been here for 16 years. Please ask us why we are recommending something. Ask what is in it. Ask whether there is another option. Ask whether there is something that fits your budget better.

And if your dog is not getting on with something we have suggested, come back and tell us. We would much rather have that conversation than have somebody sitting at home feeling they have somehow failed because a food that was supposed to be "the best" did not work for their dog.

Dogs are individuals, and feeding them should be individual too.

When the information gets noisy

There are weeks when dog nutrition becomes particularly noisy. Something gets shared. An ingredient is questioned. A theory gathers momentum. New information appears. Opinions change. People understandably become worried about what they should or should not be putting in their dog's bowl.

When that happens, our advice is always the same: read beyond the headline. Ask where the information has come from. Understand the difference between something being investigated and something being established. Give reliable evidence time to catch up with the conversation.

And if you are confused, ask. That is what we are here for.

You do not need to know every nutritional term. You do not need to follow every debate. You do not need to feel guilty because somebody online feeds their dog differently from you.

You just need to keep asking the question that really matters: Why is this the right food for my dog?

That is the conversation we have been having with dog owners for 16 years, and it is one we will always have time for.

If you ever want to talk through what your dog is eating, what you are spending, what is working or what is not, come and speak to us. There is no judgement. Just a conversation about your dog, your circumstances and finding the best bowl we can together.

Betty & Butch. Dedicated to Dogs Since 2010.
Wellness Begins in the Bowl.