Do you know what you put in your dog’s food dish?
Like humans, most dogs will eat practically anything put in front of them.
Know that 46% of all dogs die of cancer, 40% are overweight, and many more suffer daily from allergies, ear infections, skin issues and other ailments?
As soon as you discover the shocking truth about the hazardous components in some conventional dog foods, you’ll want to make an urgent adjustment. If you quit feeding your dog commercial dog food regularly, gradually introduce fresh meats and veggies, and finally stop totally, you’ll save both your dog and yourself a lot of pain and money.
Some facts regarding commercial dog foods and the benefits of feeding a dog a healthy homemade diet…
1. Do you realise that some commercial dog food is “junk” food for dogs? If eating burgers, fried chicken, french fries, etc. regularly can create major health issues in humans, what does it do to dogs? In general, a dog’s genetic makeup and nutritional needs are similar to humans. What happens to our dogs when we feed them “junk” commercial dog food?
2. Reality: Did you know that the same things that humans eat are good for dogs? Despite what you may have heard, wholesome, nutritional foods are great for dogs. However, there are some nutritional distinctions between humans and dogs that you should be aware of if you wish to offer your dog a nutritious diet.
3. Reality: Did you realise that your vet may also offer bad dog food? Veterinarians, like our own doctors, aren’t taught much about nutrition in school. Most of what they learn is taught to them by company reps like vets and sales people (do you believe they advertise their own products?) or through research, publications, and seminars. Your vet is unlikely to know the difference between good and terrible food unless they’ve researched it or tried raw or homemade diets.
He or she may be using outdated info or “old wives tales”. As a result of this, some vets may be biassed against different brands or methods of feeding dogs, such as home made dog food.
Know that some commercially prepared dog diets can be harmful to your dog’s health and cause several medical issues? “4D Meat” is permitted in dog food (“Dead, Dying,Diseased and Disabled” ranch or farm animals). Animals killed by cars, trucks, or disease are often added, as well as euthanized pets, mill floor dust (called “grain”), and pesticide-contaminated “corn” (mostly ground husks). What some pet food manufacturers hide in dog food as “ByProducts” is almost criminal!
It’s the worst recipe we could ever create for our dogs. We do it unintentionally! Remember…cheaper food, cheaper ingredients, less nutrition, more hazardous, even lethal! When feeding a dog, always know what’s in it! More on commercial dog food in my upcoming writings.
Not all commercial dog diets contain low-quality ingredients and by-products. The components in dog food vary widely. My purpose in writing these articles is to present you with as much information as possible so you may make “educated” judgments concerning dog food. Stay tuned for more information on “excellent” dog food suppliers, ingredients, and how to read dog food labels.
5. Do you know that kibble does not clean a dog’s teeth? A study suggested kibble “may” be better than canned dog food (not “is”) for cleaning teeth. What does it mean when practically every dog over three years old with dental issues consumes kibble? That’s easy to find out!
Did you realise that “Complete and Balanced” (as some commercial dog food companies use it) does not indicate “Optimum”? A diet labelled “Complete and Balanced” only meets the “assumed” nutritional needs of an ordinary dog. These meals are often only evaluated for lead or just on a small number of dogs for a short time when they are included in feeding studies.
These items will not include adequate nutrients for our dog’s health. It’s better than “no” full and balanced nutrition, but we should aim for “optimal” levels of balanced nutrition. We’ll cover proper balanced nutrition in a later essay.
Sometimes a quick glance at the label can tell you if the dog food is good or not, but other times it needs more knowledge of the components to tell. Of course, every manufacturer will claim to use only the best ingredients. However, our constitutional right to free expression does not imply truthfulness.
Know what’s in the dog food you feed daily! More on this later…
7. Reality: Do you realise that feeding your dog the same thing every day limits its nutritional intake? Dogs, like humans, require diversity. Imagine living on crushed corn husks, rancid oil, and chicken wing skin and bones (no meat), with a few cheap vitamins and minerals thrown in.
True, some dogs can be initially sensitive to new meals. So, giving a dog a variety of meals can create gastrointestinal difficulties, but only if their diet is unbalanced. Their digestive system is repaired once they are fed a balanced meal. So they can eat a variety of foods at each meal, just like we do.
Introduce new foods gradually to allow your dog’s tummy to adjust.
Truth: Dry dog food is not superior than canned dog food. Consider this: the act of canning keeps the food fresh. Consider how much preservatives dry dog meals require once opened, to stay “fresh” in the original bag or container, or when left out all day for your dog to self-feed. Dry meals are cooked first, then heated to a high temperature, destroying nutrients… canned goods are canned fresh, retaining more nutrients (albeit not perfectly balanced).
Fresh food is always best, raw or cooked, followed by frozen, dehydrated, and freeze dried feeds, all available at good pet stores.
9. Fact: Other components in commercial dog food and some ordinary foods can be hazardous to dogs, even fatal! Fried bones and beef hide chews can cause significant internal complications requiring surgery. Wheat snacks may cause allergies. The artificial sweetener Xylitol (as well as other foods) should never be fed to dogs.
Come back often and read our future articles to learn more about what’s in commercial dog food and other items that are poisonous to dogs.
10. Did you know grain may poison dogs? It’s not the same maize we eat…the it’s cheap remnants fed to cattle…even corn meal dust swept up from the mill floor is allowed in dog food! So if this maize is unsafe for human eating due to pesticide contamination, there is no such limit for pet food. Also, corn is heavy in calories and hence fattening…no wonder so many dogs are overweight and diabetic.