If you knew what's in dog food, you would never buy another bag.
Nov 07 '00 (Updated Sep 06 '06)
The Bottom Line Check the ingredients! Protein is key but not at the expense of your dog's longterm health!
I have been a dog lover for as long as I can remember. My childhood dog ate Gaine's Burger and my other dogs ate Science Diet, Iams, and Nutro. I never gave much thought to what was in the dog food, I just bought what they liked.
It wasn't until I started working in pet stores that I became familiar with the ingredients in dog food. We had sales representatives come to the store and tell us how awesome their food was. I would start to ask questions and I got nothing but vague answers on a lot of them.
One of my main concerns was preservatives. There is an ingredient in most dog food called Ethoxyquin that has been under fire for quite some time. It has been proven to cause cancer when given in large amounts. As a result, the FDA asked that pet food manufacturers decrease the amounts of Ethoxyquin voluntarily in their food. There is some speculation that this ingredient really isn't as bad for your dog as once thought....but better safe than sorry.
Another ingredient in dog food is fat. All dog food has it for the same reason. It gets your dog to eat something he/she wouldn't normally eat. Dog food manufacturers spray the fat on the food so dogs are attracted to it. The worst part is this...the dog food makers get the fat from restaurants (most of the time). This is fat that the restaurant has used for cooking. When the fat gets old, they store it in 55 gallon drums and put it outside to be picked up. No telling what temperature differences occur or how long it sits before being gathered up.
Meat, or what dog food makers call protein, used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When an animal is slaughtered, humans get the best parts and whatever remains of the carcass (blood, lungs, ligaments, bones, intestines) is used in pet food. These ingredients are then aptly named by-products. Puppy food should include more protein that adult food but I am amazed as to why we would want to give our dogs more of this. This reminds me of what is in a hot dog...kidding! Pretty sick huh?
How about this for an eye opener? Dog food can contain many contaminants. The cause can be many things but the worst would have to be use of animals that are sick. The animals die and then the carcass is sent to the pet food manufacturer for rendering (boiling the fat off the meat). The problem lies in the amount of time between death and processing. Sometimes the carcass sits for several days and becomes contaminated as a result. E. Coli and other bacterias then create something called an endotoxin. When the carcass is rendered, the bacteria usually dies, but sometimes the endotoxins remain. As of this date, pet food companies are not testing the food for endotoxins.
In my comments on this review, I was given a link to a site that showed how IAMS and HILLS companies treat the animals they use for testing. I, for one, am appalled at their behaviour and will not recommend their dog foods to anyone for any reason as a result. There are many links to substantiate the claims made on the site. Please take a moment to visit http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm if you have the time.
I could go on and on but I think I have covered enough on the bad aspects of dog food. So, my point is this....what food should you feed your new puppy....try your own. There are lots of recipes available online.
If that is not feasible, you should probably go for something that is completely (or as close to) natural if possible. Most dog food companies claim they have natural ingredients but unless you spend research it, you can't be sure. I have found that Science Diet is as much to blame as Ole' Roy (Walmart's brand) when it comes to by-products. The only difference is the amount used. Science Diet uses more meat in their food and less bad stuff.
It only makes sense that a company that charges $10.00 for a 40 pound bag is going to use more junk (corn and by-products) in their food than a company that charges $30.00 for the same amount.
The last time I checked, dogs were carnivores (cats too for that matter) so why are we feeding our dogs corn? I haven't seen a dog shucking corn in a field lately, have you?
As far as treats, well, that's a whole new ballgame. So much to say and so little room to say it. Just one word of advice on treats. Avoid rawhide treats that have not been compressed. Basically, if a treat has not been compressed, it is more likely to cause obstructions in your dog's intestinal tract. A compressed treat breaks down easily and is passed through with little or no consequence. As a result though, the treat is eaten faster than one that is not compressed. You will end up buying more than usual this way, but it is the safest way to go.
So, when choosing a dog food, check the ingredients. If you can afford to buy the 'better stuff', and I use this term LOOSELY, like Nutro, by all means, do it. No bagged dog food is PERFECT but these are a wee bit better than the rest. You probably won't be getting a perfect dog food no matter where you look, but the old adage "the more you pay, the better it is bound to be" does come into play with a small portion of the foods on the market. Your dog will live a much happier and healthier life if you avoid giving him/her a food that was thrown together with ingredients that would gag a maggot.
I have never had a dog die at an early age because he/she ate dog food I purchased from the store...but I can't help but wonder how long they would have lived if I hadn't. Food for thought..hmmm?
I have been encouraged to include a few links so you can read this information for yourselves. Warning: These links are not for the weak stomached individuals.
http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/E/ethoxyquin.html
http://www.iei.net/~ebreeden/kibble.html
http://www.malteseonly.com/food2.html
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/wolfepack/foodcht1.html
http://www.api4animals.org/default.asp?ID=79
http://www.uexplore.com/health/whatsinfood.htm
Thanks to all these websites for providing a portion of the information in this review.
Thanks for reading...and pet your dog...he will lick you for it in the morning!
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
grneyedcwboy
|
|
Member: Teresa Whitaker
Location: LaCygne KS
Reviews written: 107
Trusted by: 101 members
About Me:
I have a tendency to show up here at the strangest times!
|
|
|
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.