Posts Tagged ‘Commercial Dog Food’

A Video presentation on commercial dog food and its effects on dogs

Mass produced dog food is an item of convenience for the human owners of dogs. Even the ultra-premium kibbles and canned foods are still highly processed foods that may contain ingredients or supplements that some dogs do not need nor can tolerate. The prevalence of soy being used in mass produced dog food recipes is causing many owners to report issues of itching, scratching, hair loss and digestive upset. 

There are many dog breeds that have traits inherent to each breed, and within each breed there are idiosyncrasies unique to each animal. Some dogs appear to thrive on commercial dog food while others do not. They may be listless, have dull dry coats, and suffer from recurring ear infections, flatulence, and loose stools. Females may have recurring urinary tract infections too. Not all issues can be traced to diet, but many can. 

The number one benefit of homemade dog food is that the ingredients and cooking are one hundred percent known and controlled by the preparer. The number one drawback is that the food needs to be prepared at home. Making homemade dog food doesn’t have to be time consuming. With just a minimal investment in some plastic freezer containers, a couple of week of meals can quickly be prepared at one time. 

Preparing homemade dog food can be eco-friendly especially if produce from one’s own garden is used. Though dogs should never be fed certain vegetables or fruits such as onions, grapes or raisins, many of the vegetables the rest of the family loves can go into Fido’s meals too. Let’s face it, most of us feed our dogs stuff from the table anyway, and most of it isn’t bad for the dog either. Mostly it is the quantity, not what a dog eats, that is the problem. 

Commercial dog food is a relatively recent success. It was in the fifties when more people started to feed their dogs commercially prepared dog foods. There were commercially prepared dog foods before 1950, but the success in the fifties came with the Purina company. It wasn’t until the late eighties or early nineties that anyone was feeding the so-called premium dog foods then came along the ultra-premium dog foods. Still, it is all processed food. If processed foods are not good for us, how can they be good for our dogs? 

Buying some fresh chicken on sale, adding some vegetables and some rice can make a good meal for many dog breeds. Take a look at the ingredients of the food already being fed. There are many recipes available that promote healthy balanced meals for canines made from fresh ingredients at home. Take a look here for some examples of . Most of us have often wondered how that bag of kibble can really be good for dogs. No need to wonder about homemade meals with the source of all of the ingredients and the preparation method fully known.

Imagine yourself on a road trip from hell. It’s late, you’re tired, and according to the odometer you’ve got 524 more miles to go. You’ve got to drive it straight or you won’t get there on time.

As you race down the highway, you notice the variety of hit and run dead animal carcasses strewn to the side. There’s raccoons, skunks, birds, rats, opossums, and even the occasional dog. Suddenly out of no where, eyes appear shining in the darkness ahead. It’s some kind of animal blinded by your headlights. You can’t stop but you manage to swerve and barely miss. In the rear view mirror, you get a glimpse of a shadowy dark figure crossing the road.

About 100 miles down the road, the monotony of the darkness is broken by another set of glowing eyes that seem to appear out of thin air. You’re coming up on it too quickly and you know in your adrenalin heart there is no way you can steer out of the way and still maintain control of the car. You hear that familiar dreaded “thud” sound. Another armadillo has just bit the dust. You cringe in your seat but you don’t stop.

It’s a stretch of highway where there’s nothing good on the radio so you start pondering on things. What happens to all these dead animals on the road? Do vultures come and eat them all? Does someone come and pick them up? Where do they take them? You ask yourself, where does roadkill go to die?

The real answer to these questions may surprise you.

The next time you open up a bag of dog food, think about the road kill you’ve seen on the highway because if you’re using a commercial dog food, there’s a really good chance there’s some roadkill in that food you’re about to feed your dog.

No, this is not fiction. It’s the disgusting truth.

Now, I know your dog food may be labeled something like “Beef Dinner With Gravy” but if they had labeled it more truthfully as “Roadkill with Gravy,” would you have ever bought it to feed to your beloved dog? Yes, it is legal for them to do this – and that’s just one of the dirty secrets of the multi-billion dollar pet food industry. It is legal for “Beef Dinner with Gravy” to contain many other animals as well including possibly half rotten skunk with maggots.

Roadkill collected by road crews is commonly given to rendering companies who turn the roadkill and other discarded animal carcasses into dog food. They put it in a big vat, chop it up, raise it to very high temperatures, and melt it down into one big rendered soup. The fat rises to the top, some of the rest is then dried and sold to pet food companies to make dry dog food. Some of the amalgamated fat is mixed in with can dog food to make it more appealing to the dog. Have you ever wondered what that top layer of jelly is when you open a can dog food? Now you know and yes it’s yucky.

It doesn’t matter how long the carcasses lie in that sweltering summer heat. It doesn’t matter if the corpses are full of maggots. It doesn’t matter if they are diseased and/or half rotten. The rendering factories use whatever cheap “meat” they can get their hands on and their standards are not very high. There are very little controls on what enters the pet food chain at this point and it is legal for them to use old road kill.

Now, here’s an even more disgusting thought. What if the roadkill included dog? Would you be willing to feed dog to your dog? Guess what, they also use euthanized dogs and cats from animal shelters so that can of dog food you’re about to feed your best canine friend has a higher chance of containing dog than you may realize.

Where does roadkill go to die?

The burial ground is the rendering vat where the dead carcasses are chopped up and melted. The final resting place is often, legally so, in commercial dog food. Besides the gross factor, is this healthy for your dog? Of course not!

The lifespan of most dogs is only 11-13 years. Some say this brief lifespan is because of commercial dog food.

We call Cindy, our “Wonder Dog.” Cindy had a very rough start in life. She was a “flood dog,” a refugee from the flooding that accompanied Hurricane Floyd as it passed through North Carolina. She was rescued by the Coast Guard in the area of Rocky Mount.

Fate brought Cindy into our home. My wife Margie volunteered my pickup truck to drive up to Rocky Mount and pick up pets that had been abandoned during the hurricane. She carted several survivors to the NC Vet School in Raleigh,

A heartbreaking moment

Her first view of Cindy, a three month old German Shepherd mix, was at first heartbreaking.  A number of people came to the vet school to adopt a pet. Margie saw a man approach Cindy. He knelt down and she jumped up putting her front legs around his neck. Obviously she needed love and attention. The man stood up and went on to look at other dogs.

Margie called me on the phone and suggested we get a pet. I said, “Get a small one.”

That’s gonna be a big dog!

When I first saw Cindy, with those long gangly legs I knew we had a big dog in the making.  In a week or so she developed a cloudiness in one eye. The vet school gave us a prescription for the infection but it only got worse. Her left eye had to be removed. Since she was only about three months old, they could not give her a “glass eye.”

Puppies and Berber carpet–a bad mix

Her adaptation to our home was a trial. She destroyed over $3,000 worth of Berber carpet as well as tearing off the trim around chairs and couches.

Cindy is now 11 Years old and still relatively healthy. But we’ve learned that most dogs only last from 11-13 years. I wondered why that is when some dogs live to be 20 years old or more. I found the answer and I’m helpless to reverse the problem.

Cindy the fickle eater

Cindy was always a fickle eater. We tried dry and canned dog foods. She preferred table scraps, sticking her nose up at the commercial stuff we put in her bowl. So for the past several years we have been cooking her daily meals. But were we providing her the proper nutrition—probably not.

Just recently I came across a video while searching the Internet for dog food solutions. It made me sick! I had been under the impression that commercially made dog food was mostly horse meat. It seems that this is only a small part of the ingredients.  I learned from an online video that the one major city sends hundreds of tons of dead dogs and cats to a “rendering plant.” This mostly road-kill isn’t cremated, it is used as “protein content” in dog food!

Where much of the protein in dog food comes from

In fact, the renderer doesn’t always remove flea collars. They just get ground up in the mix. The problem is that pet foods aren’t regulated like the foods we humans eat and the government is doing a lousy job of that too. Many of these pets are euthanized with a powerful drug—but it is not listed on the list of ingredients in the dog food you buy.

I have more information below. If you love your pet like we love Cindy, you will get the facts and learn the recipes you need to keep your pet safe and healthy. The video is just 8-minutes long. It’s a small investment in time to get the facts about commercial pet foods and what you can do to prevent the premature death of your beloved pet.

Get your report and watch the video here ==>

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Feeding your dog can be filled with stress.

Many dog owners take a zealous approach to how they feed their dog and can be judgmental of other dog owners when the issue of a dog’s food comes up.

The reality is that what you feed your dog is a personal decision. It will be guided by how you have always fed your dogs and what you think is right for your current dog or dogs.

A dog’s food is only one part of raising a healthy and happy dog, but it’s a very important part, and worth some careful consideration.

How to Choose a Dog Food

If you go shopping for dog food, you quickly see that there are many options. There’s premium dog food, low-cost dog food and so many dog food brands your head can spin.

Here are some tips for finding the correct dog food:

* Begin your search before you go the store. If you make your choice in the store, it could easily be the incorrect one.
* Ask friends and family for recommendations. If they use a particularly good dog food, consider that as one of your viable choices.
* Ask your vet for a recommendation. Based on your dog’s age and health, your vet may have a specific recommendation for your dog.
* Remember that the best dog food for one dog isn’t necessarily the best for another. Consider your own needs and budget before settling on a dog food choice.
* Read dog food reviews. If they are reputable and published in well-known publications or web sites, you can usually trust them.
* Remember that puppy dog food is a completely different beast than food you feed an older dog. Don’t feed a puppy regular dog food, and don’t feed an adult dog puppy dog food.

When looking at learning more about Dog Food Brands, read as much as you can.

The health of your dog depends on it!

What About Homemade Dog Food?

Recently, the safety of pet food was called into question when many dogs became ill and died after eating commercial dog food. Some of the brands in question were even considered premium dog food brands, so it seemed that no brand was safe.

This safety scare led many people to decide to give their dog a homemade dog food diet. It’s an excellent option if you have the spare time and money. Feeding a dog a homemade dog food diet can be expensive and somewhat time consuming, though it does get easier the longer you do it.

If you are thinking you might skip the dog food brands and go for the homemade dog food, consider these tips:

* Make sure the dog food you make is nutritionally balanced. Dogs need a good amount of carbohydrates, fat and protein. Do some reading ahead of time to make sure that you get just the right proportion of nutrients for your size and breed of dog.
* Be willing to cook animal body parts that you might not consider desirable. Dogs can eat necks.legs and organs. In fact, many believe that one of the main advantages of a homemade dog food diet is that your dog can get more raw meat and bones, which many consider to be the ideal dog food diet.
* Don’t forget that if you start Rover on a homemade dog food diet, it can be hard to switch to a more traditional diet. You can’t just throw down a bowl of kibble just because you are too tired to make your dog’s dinner. To that end, it’s best to do a lot of preparation ahead of time so there are packages in the freezer you can pull out and thaw.

Conclusion

The best dog food diet for your dog is the diet that proves to be best for you. Depending on your budget and time available, you might make a choice that’s different from your neighbor. The key is to find dog food brands that are accessible, affordable and that feed your dog healthfully. Or make your own. It really is your choice.

Further Information

More information about Dog Food or Dog Food Reviews can be found here.

What does chicken heads, road kill, spoiled or moldy grains, cancerous material cut from slaughterhouse animals, tissue high in hormone or pesticide residues, shredded packaging, metal ID tags, and flea collars all have in common. As unbelievable as this may sound each of those items may be found in your pet’s food. Not exactly what you were expecting from your commercial dog food that claimed to offer your pet a “complete and balanced nutrition?”

Most people do not see the horrible things these foods are doing to their pets until it is too late. The fact is the affects of processed commercial foods are not seen in young animals. However, in the past twenty years animals have begun to age quicker and develop diseases that were not seen in years past. A study by the British Journal of Small Animal Practice published a paper stating that commercial dog and cat foods suppress the immune system and leads to liver, kidney, heart, and other diseases. Causing them to age more quickly than normal and also developing chronic degenerative disease symptoms. Within that same study a control group of animals raised on raw foods aged less quickly and were free of disease, adding many years to their lives.

Veterinarians are being over whelmed because of the contamination of so many commercial pet foods. In most pet shops 17 out of every 20 brands have either been recalled or marked with a warning cause of the harm they may cause animals. Most officials will only claim that a dozen or so pets have died, but many vets secretly agree that thousands have died and many more are sick cause of harmful ingredients in the pet food.

After publishing an article online about my dog Joe and his battle with Canine Liver Disease, I was inundated with e-mails from dog owners worldwide whose pets were suffering from diseases of the heart, kidneys and various chronic digestive problems.

In many cases, after simply changing their pets diet I was fascinated to note there were major marked improvements in the health of their dogs across a wide range of canine diseases.

After many hours of research I made a series of shocking discoveries about the commercial dog food that many people feed their much-loved pet……here is just a sample of the information that I was amazed to find

· Meat or Poultry by-products are very common in wet pet foods. The better brands of pet food, such as many “super-premium,” “natural,” and “organic” varieties, do not use by-products. On the label, you’ll see one or more named meats among the first few ingredients, such as “turkey” or “lamb.” These meats are still mainly leftover scraps; in the case of poultry, bones are allowed, so “chicken” consists mainly of backs and frames—the spine and ribs, minus their expensive breast meat. The small amount of meat left on the bones is the meat in the pet food. Even with this less-attractive source, pet food marketers are very tricky when talking about meat

· So-called “4D” animals (dead, dying, diseased, disabled) were only recently banned for human consumption and are still legitimate ingredients for pet food.

· Contrary to the myth propagated by pet food companies, dry food is not good for teeth. Given that the vast majority of pets eat dry food, yet the most common health problem in pets is dental disease, this should be obvious. Humans do not floss with crackers, and dry food does not clean the teeth.

· A claim that a named meat (chicken, lamb, etc.) is the #1 ingredient is generally seen for dry food. Ingredients are listed on the label by weight, and raw chicken weighs a lot, since contains a lot of water. If you look further down the list, you’re likely to see ingredients such as chicken or poultry by-product meal, meat-and-bone meal, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, or other high-protein meal. Meals have had the fat and water removed, and basically consist of a dry, lightweight protein powder. It doesn’t take much raw chicken to weigh more than a great big pile of this powder, so in reality the food is based on the protein meal, with very little “chicken” to be found. This has become a very popular marketing gimmick, even in premium and “health food” type brands

· Feeding recommendations or instructions on the packaging are sometimes inflated so that the consumer will end up feeding — and purchasing — more food. One of the most common health problems in pets, obesity, may also be related to high-carb, high-calorie dry foods. Both dogs and cats respond to low-carb wet food diets. Overweight pets are more prone to arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes.

To find out more about what YOUR dog is REALLY eating and what YOU can do about it please visit:

www.moredogfoodfacts.com

Is commercial dog food bad for your dog?  The answer is yes – most of them are.  It seems more than 95% of the U.S. pets get their nutritional needs from one source, processed pet food.  Pet food is one of the world’s most synthetic edible products.

Most people think that is chicken, good cuts of beef and fresh grains but it usually is what is left from slaughtered cattle, chicken and other animals that aren’t used for human consumption.  This can be intestines, lungs, feet, etc.  Sometimes, diseased carcasses and euthanized animal are included.

Have you heard of the 4 D’s? They are the kind of cattle that are sent to rendering plants.

<ul><li>Dead<br>

<li>Dying<br>

<li>Diseased<br>

<li>Disabled<br></li></ul>

After this material is shredded, cooked, cooled and the grease is skimmed off which makes animal fat. The rest is pressed and dried which results in by-products or bad dog food.

The whole grains have had the starch removed to use for corn starch and other uses.  The grains can also be contaminated and can cause your dog to become sick.  Fat is sprayed on the food so your pet does not smell the rancid odor.  Additives add color and flavors but no nutritional value.

Bad dog food that cause your dog to have diarrhea, vomit and have loss of appetite.

There are certain standards set by AAFCO for pet food but pet companies use obscure terms to describe the ingredients that go into their products. All this makes it impossible to really know what is in your dog’s food.

These chemical additives and low quality ingredients can result in diseases in your pet from skin allergies to cancer. 

There are six deadly chemicals that have been banned as unfit for human consumption that is in commercial dog food. They cause kidney disease, stomach cancer, liver dysfunction, blindness, leukemia skin (fur) loss and skin cancer.

There are other things that may go into your dog’s food like coloring agents, lubricants, drying agents and flavoring agents.

If you dog food says it has no preservatives that is not necessarily right. The manufacturers do not have to list any preservative that they do not put in the food.  Most of the time it is added at the rendering plant before the manufacturer gets it.

One of the most widely used preservative and most toxic is ethoxyqauin.  If humans are exposed to this they can get cancer and other diseases.

There are certain standards set by AAFCO for pet food but pet companies use obscure terms to describe the ingredients that go into their products. All this makes it impossible to really know what is in your dog’s food.

The bottom line is that you need to inform yourself about commercial dog food and decide what you want to feed your dog.

Lots of people love animals. Dogs are the domestic descendents of wolves. There are lots of species of dogs around the world, with heights ranging from a few inches to a few feet, and with various fur colors and lengths. No matter how they look, the dog is still considered to be man’s best friend, because it was and is widely used for work and companion throughout the world.

One of the greatest accomplishments dogs can proud themselves with is space flight, because it was the first animal ever to fly into space. The uses for dogs have been numerous throughout the ages, because, while it was a great companion, it served many people as a protector or other uses.

I don’t think that there was anyone who didn’t know that dogs were the most appreciated pets in the world. However, if you have a dog as a companion, you should try to be well informed about what kind of a dog diet you should submit it to.

The opinions of which dog diet is best are split. It is a popular idea that dogs have been well kept by humans just by being fed leftovers and this has been going on for thousands of years. The same people think that what we find in our stores today is not nutritious enough to feed their beloved companions or that commercial dog food contains lots of harmful substances.

Let’s talk about commercial dog food. There are three major categories based on their water content: moist, semi-moist and dry. The most affordable subcategory is dry dog food, but there are advantages and disadvantages for each of them and it’s up to you to choose which dog diet is best.

Wet food does have a larger concentration of moisture than semi-moist and dry ones. When you compare wet and dry foods, ignoring the water, the wet one can be higher in protein and fat. However, because the water is very high in concentration (about 75%) in wet food, the actual content of the can be even lower than that of dry dog food. You must choose the dog diet depending on what kind of work your pet does.

Another advantage of wet food is that is provides sterility which dry food lacks, but dry food doesn’t spoil as quickly as the food in an open can does. But if one should open a can only when it is time to feed their pets, canned food can be preserved for a longer period of time.

How do you manufacture dog food? Well, canned food is a relatively simple process, the only difference is that some companies cook the food in the can and others don’t. Dry food is obtained by using one of two methods, each with its own pros and cons.

Dry food is also called kibble and the first method used for obtaining it is by extrusion. This implies a large quantity of mixture introduced into an expander with hot water and steam. After the pellets are removed and dried, they are sprayed with vitamins, grease and other ingredients.

The other method for obtaining kibble is baking. Baked food is always a first choice for pet owners seeking a more natural food, and at the same time more digestible. Because of this, the pellets obtained this way usually have a higher price tag.

People tend to think that commercial dog food, especially if it has been recommended by their veterinarian is of good quality and is giving your dog the best chance in life. Right?

Wrong!

While vets should be the best people to advise about dog food, sadly they’re not. Why? Because the top commercial pet food manufacturers now financially contribute to many veterinary schools. They have a foot in the door. They can, and do, influence the students.

After all you generally don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

In most countries of the world, there are, at least some basic laws governing the quality of human food, whether it’s fresh produce, meat or fast food.

In no country are there laws (which are enforced) that insist commercial pet food manufacturers use quality ingredients. That means anything can, and does, go.

After all, if meat is of good quality, wouldn’t you sell it to the highest market – the human market? So, it’s only the poorest quality meat, more often meat by-products (such as hair, intestines and contents, chicken feet, brain, skin, grizzle, fat, etc) that goes for dog food.

This means that the overall nutrient quality is as poor as it gets, as different proteins have different nutritional absorbability.

Pet food is always bulked out with inert (or not as the melamine scam from China testifies) filler. Typically, this filler will be the current cheapest carbohydrate. There’s often a world glut of something, driving down the price. It may be sugar one year, wheat the next.

Do you think the addition of sugar into your dog’s diet will serve to improve his health?

Why do you think that diabetes in dogs is on the increase?

Dogs may bulk out their food in the wild, but it would be on fresh plant matter that’s available, such as fruit or leaves.

Cooking destroys many vitamins and enzymes which are critical to the overall health of your dog.

As most dog food is dried pellets, which keep indefinitely at room temperature, preservatives must be used. Some manufacturers claim they have not added preservatives. Look carefully at the wording. They did not add it. This may be true. But preservatives will always have been added to the meat before it was delivered to the manufacturers.

It’s impossible to keep meat products at room temperature indefinitely without the use of strong preservatives. Preservatives that would never be allowed in human food, because of their poisonous effect.

So your dog may be well fed as far as volume is concerned, but will be starving for quality food. How can your dog remain healthy if he’s fed garbage?

Most people would be appalled at the process that goes into the making of commercial pet food. That would be a really good incentive not to feed it. I’m attempting to give you a glimpse behind the scenes, so you can give your dog the best dog food available within your budget and within your time available.