New pet food pledge asks owners to ‘Dump the Junk’

Have your customers taken the Pet Food Pledge? The newly launched national awareness campaign reminds pet owners to critically assess their animals' diets. Pet parents are encouraged to check their four legged family member doesn't have ‘nasties’ in their food. The campaign follows on from research conducted by OnePoll in 2016. Of the 2000 UK dog owners surveyed, 85 percent were unsure of the ingredients in today’s dog food. Less than a fifth (19 percent), actually stopping to read the ingredients in their pet’s food. Forthglade, a Devon-based natural dog food company established in 1971, is behind the ‘Dump the Junk’ initiative, along with support from famous farmer, and dog owner, Adam Henson. Dump the Junk aims to educate dog owners about the nasties that can be a hidden part of pet’s diets and the potential effects these can have on pet health and behaviour. The campaign will see pet owners pledge to improve their own dog’s nutrition and help spread the word across the UK to ‘dump the junk’. By arming dog owners with the knowledge, the campaign hopes they’ll be able to spot a nutritionally balanced dog food from a poor quality counterpart. Adam Henson explains: “We all want what’s best for our dogs, but we lead such busy lives, we often don’t have the time to stop and decipher confusing dog food labels. We put too much trust in what we see on packs and tins; clever packaging and vague phrasing make it all too easy to assume you’re getting something you’re not. “Dump the Junk is an important campaign set to lift the lid on the real contents of poor quality dog food and help pet owners make informed decisions about what they feed their canine companions. "Good nutrition is at the heart of what makes a happy, healthy dog, which is why I am asking UK pet owners to make their pledge today for the benefit of dogs nationwide.” The campaign has published a Dog Food Nasties Watch-List, which identifies exactly what the campaign feels pet owners should be watching out for and why, as well as advice on what consumers should look out for when searching for a nourishing dog food. Gerard Lovell, Joint Managing Director of Forthglade explains more: “In the 46 years that Forthglade has been creating natural dog food, the serious negative impacts of low quality and unsuitable food ingredients come up time and time again; common issues include digestive problems, hyperactivity and other behavioural issues." The Pet Food Pledge The campaign urges pet owners to take the #DumpTheJunk Pet Food Pledge at www.forthglade.com/dump-the-junk for a chance to win six months’ worth of Forthglade natural pet food plus a 2-night stay at the luxury Deer Park Country House Hotel in Devon (prize worth over £1,200, T&Cs apply).