Dog FAQs: Health:
Are Any Food Safe?

Source: Tres at www.caninecare.com and http://www.5stardog.com/dog-food.asp

A BUSINESS FIRST PHILOSOPHY

Pet food companies are run in the interest of business first, while disregarding the interests of those who consume their products - your pet.

Pet food is produced and marketed with the owner - not the pet - in mind. Cute shapes, different colors, exotic flavors-these are characteristics that people have come to expect in their food. Think about colored ketchup, the staggering array of flavor choices for potato chips, and even pasta shaped like cartoon characters. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish(r) crackers, as an example, are shaped like fishs, complete with eye and smiling mouth. You can buy the regular cheddar ones or get the colored ones that come in purple, red orange, and green. The flavor-blasted crackers come in cheddar, nacho, BBQ, and even a flavor called "Xplosive Pizza."

The pet food industry only uses ingredients that are unfit for human consumption. They make a profit from waste that would otherwise be worthless to them. Pet food companies owned by multinational companies include:

• Nestlé - Alpo, Come 'N Get It, Mighty Dog, Chef's Blend, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Kit 'N Kaboodle, Deli-Cat, and Nestlé Purina products such as Dog Chow, Pro Plan, Beneful and Purina One
• Colgate-Palmolive - Hill's Science Diet Pet Food
• Del Monte - 9-Lives, Kibbles `n Bits, Cycle, Gravy Train, Nature's Recipe, and Reward
• Procter & Gamble - Eukanuba and Iams
• Mars - Pedigree, Advance, Cesar, Whiskas and Sheba
• Another leading pet food, Nutro, is not a multinational company.*

Multinational companies who own dog food manufacturing companies are in the perfect relationship as far as business is concerned. According to the Animal Protection Institute, the benefits of being a multinational company include:

1. Greater buying power
2. Existing customer base
3. Readily available funds
4. Accessibility to cheap ingredients

PET FOOD STANDARDS

Not all pet foods contain poor quality ingredients, but you have to read and understand the labels in order to make an informed decision. Unfortunately, pet food companies use obscure terms to describe the ingredients that go into their products.

One pet food company claims on its web site that "pet foods identified as 100% complete and balanced contain all... required nutrients... in the proper proportions."

While it is true that pet foods must meet certain standards set by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) in order to be labeled as "complete and balanced," there are problems with the quality of the standards themselves.

In "What's Really in Pet Food," the Animal Protection Institute describes how up until the late 1980's, the pet food standards were set by the NRC (National Research Council of the Academy of Science). Their standards, however, required feeding trials for a pet food to be labeled "complete" and "balanced." The pet food industry rejected the feeding methods, claiming that they were "too restrictive and expensive." AAFCO created the "Nutrient Profiles" testing method as an alternative to feeding trials. Some larger companies still use feeding trials, because they are more reliable at determining the nutritional value of a pet food. Most companies, however, perform a chemical analysis of the food to test if it conforms to the "Nutrient Profiles." The Animal Protection Institute explains that testing does not take into account factors such as "palatability, digestibility, or biological availability of nutrients in pet food."

To compensate for the test's faults, AAFCO created a "safety factor," whereby companies add extra nutrients as a guarantee of achieving the requirements. Many nutrients are lost during manufacturing, especially for extruded (puffed and shaped) foods. Companies add additional vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in order to meet the standards for "complete and balanced" labeling. In her book Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food, Ann Martin notes that in some cases the minerals added are unchelated, meaning they do not readily combine with proteins, so they pass through the body practically unused. In other cases, the excessive amounts are absorbed, which can be dangerous and even deadly.

Another issue with AAFCO standards is the designation of one standard feeding profile for all types and breeds of dogs. William D. Cusick - researcher, author, and self-proclaimed "Animal Advocate" - points out that some dogs shed their coats while others don't. Each type of dog requires different nutrients for their fur, not a diet that is designed for an imaginary "average" dog. Some dogs excrete oils from their skin. These dogs do not require the same amounts of fatty acids as other dogs. Activity levels vary between breeds and even among dogs within a breed. Certainly these pets require different nutrients that cannot be met with one standard nutrient profile.

READ THIS FULL ARTICLE INCLUDING INFORMATION ON:

• UNDERSTANDING PET FOOD LABELS
  In addition to these issues with the standards set by AAFCO, there are further problems with the pet food industry's labeling practices. The labels follow a secret code, and consumers do not have the key to decipher it. In fact, most consumers do not even realize that there is a hidden meaning in the label's wording.
• DOG FOOD INGREDIENTS
  The protein in dog food comes from poultry, cattle, fish, lambs, swine, and other animals. Choice cuts are stripped away for human consumption. This leaves approximately 50% of the carcass including bones, blood, intestines, lungs, ligaments and any other portion not usually eaten by humans, according to the Animal Protection Institute.
• ILLNESS & DISEASE
  Low quality ingredients, excessive chemical additives, and poor labeling standards all result in problems for your companion pet, from skin allergies to cancer. The manufacturing processes of rendering and extruding may kill bacteria, but they do nothing to destroy the toxins produced by bacteria.
• FEEDING PROBLEMS
  Another factor that may cause sickness in your dog is how you feed him. The directions for feeding your pet are not always the healthiest feeding practices. Some puppy or kitten foods recommend moistening the food with water or milk. Leaving the wet food at room temperature is a breeding ground for bacteria. Another common feeding instruction is to feed your pet one time a day. It is better to feed two smaller meals than let the food sit, especially if you use canned food. Adjust portions so that your pet eats as much as he needs without leaving any in the bowl. Feeding only one meal a day has been known to cause irritation of the esophagus from stomach acid. Just as smaller more frequent meals are better for humans, they're better for our pets as well.
• FEEDING RECOMMENDATIONS
  Pet owners do have options besides paying the sometimes outlandish prices for sub-par pet food. First: Be sure it does not contain, BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin & propylene glycol, corn syrups, sugar; or menadione aka dimethylprimidinol sulfate by-products or rendered meat and bone meal and corn (corn used in petfood is sprayed with toxins and not allowed in human products). API recommends avoiding special formula foods like those touted as "senior" or "light." These may contain "acidifying agents, excessive fiber, or inadequate fats that can result in skin, coat or other problems."
• FEEDING RECOMMENDATIONS
  Your pet is not just an animal. He's a member of your family. Take the time to protect him. Read the ingredients on his food, or better yet, give him food made with human-grade ingredients or fresh food you've made yourself. Force the pet food industry to realize that sometimes a "business first" philosophy is the worst thing for a business.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT http://www.5stardog.com/dog-food.asp >>

Other interesting reads:
Whole Dog Journal - Great resource for all things good for your dog!
Dirty Pet Food Company Secrets