FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We recommend a slow transition from your current product to Loyall™ diets. While diets may appear similar from the label, they may contain very different sources of nutrients that your pet will need to adapt slowly to. It is recommended to transition diets over a 1 week period starting with ¾ of the daily amount of your previous diet and ¼ of the daily recommended amount of your selected Loyall™ product. Change these amounts every 2 days by ¼ of the daily allotment until you fully convert to your new Loyall™ product completely on day 7. As with all foods, the recommended amounts listed on your Loyall™ packaging should be adjusted based on your individual pet to maintain a desirable body condition.

Ingredient names listed on petfood labels can be very confusing and can be used to scare or convey questions about quality that are just flat-out wrong. “Poultry by-product meal” and “Chicken meal,” like all names listed on petfood labels, are defined by the “American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)". Neither name defines “nutritional quality” of the ingredient selected. Petfood companies can select very high quality or very low quality product from either ‘poultry by-product meal’ or ‘chicken meal’ suppliers. We take care to select poultry by-product meal that contains the high quality protein, fat and minerals that are mixed with the other nutritious ingredients in the Loyall™ formulas to deliver the package of nutrients needed for your Loyall™ companions.

Each diet within the Loyall™ line is designed to provide the taste and nutrition needed for your pet to give peak performance. Our labeling describes the activity levels and the lifestage of animal for which our diets are designed. 

Some of us keep our pets in a constant state of activity and will find it easy to select one of the Loyall™ products that fits our companion’s needs whether it is a constant state of herding work or a companion that enjoys life in front of the fireplace. Select the diet design and feeding rate for the lifestage and lifestyle of your pet. Remember, your pet will appreciate your help to ensure that his body condition is managed by adjusting amount provided if needed.

Like people, every pet has a different appetite and ability to change eating habits to account for changes in activity levels. You know your companion and are in the best position to decide when to change Loyall™ products to match the level of activity and individual animal appetite to nutrient needs based on activity level. Just remember to anticipate how activity affects your pet and make any needed change to its diet about 2 weeks before a higher activity season such as constant hunting or heavy working seasons. This will allow your pet to adapt fully and be ready to perform and be the companion that he wants to be for you.

Grains are not “bad” for your pet. Some individual animals can have food allergies or sensitivity which may affect how they respond to specific grains. In the Loyall™ lineup of products, you will find selections of different grain sources that will help you select what is right for your companion.

Grains deliver starch and specific fatty acids and fiber to the diet that is important in the overall nutrition package of the diet. It is important that products are “cooked” correctly to get the most out of them. You wouldn't eat corn or rice without cooking it, but you have probably been served corn or rice that has been on the stove too long. You know that cooking can be too much…or too little. Our “Opti-Cook^TM” process was developed to ensure that grains and other ingredients are cooked correctly to help provide a diet for your friend.

“AAFCO” is an acronym for the “American Association of Feed Control Officials”. This is a group of US and Canadian, both state, and federal “feed” regulatory officials. As a group, they publish a book annually known as the “Official Publication” that provides a model regulation for ingredients, nutrients and labeling that may be selected by individual states as law. 

For the most part in the US, petfood labeling defined in AAFCO’s Official Publication governs what appears on petfood labeling. One part of AAFCO’s  labeling for petfoods, is a statement that defines how the diet was designed and for what lifestage of the pet. While the regulatory options are complex, in general terms they define the lifestage of the animal (ie, adult maintenance, growth, or reproduction) along with whether the diet was designed to meet or exceed scientifically proven nutrient requirements or if the diet or diet family was “tested” in a prescribed format to verify that the product meets the lifestage needs of the animal.

Arguments are made by companies trying to defend how they have chosen to design and test diets. AAFCO publishes a listing of nutrients required as a minimum (or in a few cases maximum) to satisfy the nutrient needs of a particular lifestage of pet. These levels are selected by a group of scientists and professionals that are not affiliated with any specific company and which are not influenced by the “costs” of delivering needed nutrients. Our Loyall™ lineup of products are designed to exceed the nutrient levels established by AAFCO for various lifestages to ensure that your companion is able to perform.

Other companies may chose to “test” diets and in some cases they suggest that “testing” is somehow better than formulating to the nutrient profile of AAFCO. The reality is that arguments can be made in both directions regarding the applicability of testing to ensure that the diet is appropriate. “Testing” facilities may or may not be equal to how any individual is housed and certainly activity levels of pets will almost always be different than those used in a testing kennel. We have chosen to utilize the well established benchmarks that have been published after thorough review across many different types of animals and across many different locations as published by AAFCO to be the basis of the nutritional claims on our packaging.

It is important that products are “cooked” correctly to get the most out of them. You probably don’t eat corn or rice without cooking it, but you have also probably been served corn or rice that has been on the stove too long. You know that cooking can be too much…or too little. Our “Opti-Cook™” process was developed to ensure that grains and the whole diet are cooked correctly to help provide a diet for your friend. Proper cooking helps ensure that nutrients such as starch are easily digested by your pet. This process helps ensure that every batch of food is as close as possible to prior batches leading to less digestive upset.

The term “real”  suggests that others use “fake” meat. Sounds kinda like veggie burgers maybe? In reality, the use of “meat” can be used to pull the wool over the customer’s eyes. “Meat” contains a  LOT of water. In fact, most meats contain around 70% water. When petfoods are baked, that water must be harshly cooked to make it evaporate ... otherwise, your petfood would mold. Some companies chose to use “meat” as the first ingredient on the label. In some cases, this may mean that there is about 20% of a formula that is made of meat. After cooking the water off, this “meat” only contributes around 6 to 8% of the final product meaning that its final contribution to the diet is much less than the second, third, fourth, or in some cases the fifth ingredient on the actual label. We won’t do that to you. We use animal proteins that are concentrated into high content proteins, fats, and minerals, meaning that the label is really telling you the order of ingredient that your companion will experience.

Nutrena^® has been a leader in providing premium nutrition for highly competitive animals for over 80 years. We are a leader in pet foods around the world and have provided solid nutrition for pets in the US for years. Loyall™ is the next generation, providing superior nutrition for your companion and lifestyle.

Visit www.nutrenaworld.com to learn more about other premium brands offered by Nutrena^®.

Have you ever struggled with a heat sealed or glued bag that refused to be opened without scissors or a box cutter? With our EZ open sewn bag, you can easily grasp the small plastic strip on the right hand side as it faces you and pull the strip and thread opening the entire bag top. To reclose the bag, simply unfold the wire ends from the bag gusset area, and roll the open top downward to the desired level and bend the wire tabs back closed around the roll. A simple and patent pending innovation to give you a convenient system to store your petfood.

Our packaging experts have worked to identify a bag that will stand up to being transported to the many activities that you take your Loyall™ companions to ... whether it be horse shows or the hunting field. Our EZ close and highly durable bags will go with your friend in a very convenient system.

You may see other products with a zipper close feature on the bag. However, once opened, product fines get trapped in the system making it difficult to close. Our "Fold-n-Roll" system is easy and convenient to use.

In addition, Loyall™ bags are recyclable because Nutrena recognizes the importance of being good stewards of the earth. Read commonly asked questions about recycling plastic feed bags and use our zip code finder to find a recycling location near you.