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Dog Food Dangers Continued...


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Dog Food Dangers Continued...


Grains

Commercial Dog FoodOther ingredients that carry a mental image of freshness and health are the ingredients listed as corn, wholesome grains and vegetables. In fact a percentage of the wheat content adds to the protein in the food. A fact made public in the recent tragic contamination of wheat gluten by the industrial chemical Melamine leading to sickness and the death of thousands of cats and dogs in America and Canada that has led to the biggest pet food recall in American history.

Often protein in this form is not digestible for dogs. Being largely carnivores, dogs cannot utilise protein in this form. The misguided owner may believe that the dog is receiving 20% protein but if a large part of that protein cannot be digested then the dog is not receiving the nutrition it needs. The grain used in kibble is often not the ‘whole grain’ but more of a by-product of the milling process. Dogs can absorb carbohydrates from grains such as rice but nutrients from wheat, beans and oats have a poor uptake.

At least two of the first five ingredients listed on a sack of dog food are usually grains in various forms. For example, Pedigree Performance Food for Dogs lists: Ground corn, Chicken by product meal, and Corn Gluten as the first three ingredients.

In 1995 Natures Recipe recalled thousands of tons of dog food following complaints that dogs were suffering from lethargy, severe vomiting and loss of appetite. It was discovered that a fungus producing vomitoxin (an aflatoxin or mycotoxin) that is a toxic substance produced by the mould contaminating the wheat.

Again in 1999, Doane Pet Care who manufacture American brands such as Ol’ Roy (Wal-Mart) and over 50 other brands had to recall tons of dog food because of a wheat contamination due to another fungal toxin. This time twenty-five dogs died.

Ann N. Martin, a leading dog health author sums up the nutritional value of commercial dog food in one sentence: “Most commercial pet foods are garbage.”



Preservatives and additives

Responding to the increasing concerns raised by the public as to the use of preservatives and additives, commercial pet food manufacturers now produce products that are ‘preservative and additive free’. This in itself is misleading as manufacturers only have to list any preservatives or additives that THEY have added to the product and NOT any which were added before reaching the manufacturing stage. A study analysing several pet foods claiming to be preservative or chemical free revealed synthetic antioxidants in ALL samples.

Henry Pasternak, a veterinarian and author said:

"Although you won’t see it on the label, since it is often added at the rendering plant and not by the manufacturer, Ethoxyquin (EQ) is used to preserve most dry pet food. EQ is a powerful preservative and may be one of the most toxic."


Factory workers exposed to EQ exhibited side effects similar to those from exposure to Agent Orange! Some of the symptoms were liver/kidney damage, skin cancer, hair loss, and chronic diarrhoea. In animals EQ is linked to immune deficiency syndrome, stomach/liver cancer and allergies.

Almost too barbaric to be believed is that many dead cats, dogs and other animals such as road kills and dead zoo animals end up in commercial pet food. The city of Los Angeles alone is said to send tons of euthanised cats and dogs to a pet food plant every month. Even worse than this horrific form of cannibalism is the fact that animals are euthanised (put to sleep) by the vet who uses a chemical called Sodium Pentobarbitol. These animals are then rendered into dog food and other pet foods, and the killer chemical does not get broken down by the manufacturing process and it is present in Dog Food!


Ann N. Martin, author stated:

"This can be problematic because Sodium Pentobarbital can withstand the heat from rendering."


Ann Martin goes on to say that:

"It is not uncommon for thousands of euthanized dogs and cats to be delivered to rendering plants daily and thrown into the rendering vats – collars, id tags and plastic bags, to become part of this material called meat meal."


Due to questions raised as to whether dead animals were being used for commercial pet food, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held an investigation to look for Sodium Pentobarbital in pet foods. The FDA did find Sodium Pentobarbital but after conducting more tests to recover DNA from cats or dogs in the food the results were negative. Pet food industry workers admit that cats and dogs were used but claim that this is not common practise today.

In America, one rendering plant estimated that it “rendered somewhere between 10,000 – 30,000 pounds of dogs and cats a day out of a total of 250,000 to 500,000 pounds of cattle, poultry and other materials.

California made a law that required rendered cats and dogs to be labelled as “dry tankage” and was not to be used in pet foods. It is of little comfort that pet food manufacturers have (or should have) ceased this quasi-cannabalism as it exposes the despicable lengths which pet food giants will go to in order to maximise profits.

Over a dog’s lifetime the animal may well have ingested a significant amount of antibiotics and lethal drugs.

Chemicals and additives such as emulsifiers, antioxidants and artificial colourings and flavourings are added to the food to improve taste for the dog and appearance for the owner. Dry kibble has an extremely long shelf life to include transportation and storage times. To preserve the product either synthetic or natural preservatives are used. Synthetic preservatives include Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated Hydroxytolvene (BHT) Propyl gallate, Propylene Glycol (a version of anti freeze). Propylene Glycol has been banned from cat food as it was found to cause anaemia. It is still allowed in dog food.

Even though it is widely accepted that Ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT are potential cancer causing agents they are permitted to be used in dog food at low levels. Veterinarians and pet food experts suspect Ethoxyquin to be a major cause of disease, skin conditions and infertility. In 1997 the FDA’s Centre for Veterinarian Medicine asked pet food manufacturers to voluntarily reduce the levels of Ethoxyquin by half!

As many owners feed their dogs the same food throughout their dog’s life, it is thought that Ethoxyquin could build up in the dog’s body and lead to sickness and an early death. Many organs of the body retain tiny doses of chemicals as they have no natural way to excrete them, these can build and build until a point where they become extremely harmful to health. The same is true within the human beauty industry. It has been stated that nuclear energy workers are at the highest levels of risk to cancer. This may not come as a surprise, however something which probably will, is the fact that after nuclear power station workers, the next most likely people to suffer cancer from their daily work is those involved in the beauty industry. Yes, hair dressers and beauticians! The reason is that these harmful chemicals (such as Propylene Glycol and Sodium Laureth Sulphate) are NOT harmless in small doses, as scientists now realise that the body and its organs STORE these substances and over time the body becomes more and more susceptible to their effects. This gives a clear cause for the very high levels of liver cancers, leukaemia, skin cancers and many other cancers found in beauty professionals after many years of having their hands soaked in these chemicals on a daily basis.

Responding to a growing public awareness of the hidden dangers in pet foods, manufacturers began to use natural preservatives such as Ascorbate (Vitamin C) Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E) and various oils from herbs and spices. This has decreased the shelf life of the product but appeals to dog owners worried about their dog’s health.

Beyond the slick packaging and clever advertising the shocking truth is that most of the food we feed our dogs is dangerous and may result in illness and an early death. Shawn Messonnier, DVM, a practising holistic veterinarian and author stated that:


"As a practising hostilic veterinarian, I am constantly amazed that diet is the most neglected part of a pet’s health care. It’s not that most pet owners don’t want to feed their pets properly, it’s just that they think they are doing so simply because they have purchased one of the ‘recommended premium foods’ advertised or promoted by the pet store clerk or even by their own veterinarians."




Dog owners naively believe the veterinarian who endorses (and sells) a certain brand of dog food. Upon registering the new puppy many veterinarian surgeries give a ‘free’ puppy goodie bag containing trial examples of a particular brand of dog food, dog treats and other dog products. Some veterinarians can supplement their income by as much as twenty percent from promoting products for pet food manufacturers.


The Pet Food Industry in the United Kingdom

The UK’s pet food industry is largely influenced by the American giants. The fact that there is a market for commercially prepared dog food is possibly due to the fact that there are more dogs per square mile in the United Kingdom than in any other country in the world. The UK pet market had a retail value in excess of £4.2 billion in 2005 and much of that was swallowed up by the international companies such as Mars Inc. and Procter & Gamble.

Dogs within the UK may suffer the same symptoms from eating commercially prepared dog food as their American cousins. Symptoms such as excessive moulting, a greasy or itchy coat, dental problems and a distinct doggy smell can be linked to the dog’s diet. More serious health issues that relate to an inadequate diet are epilepsy, diabetes, cancers and behavioural problems. Dietary intolerances show as eczema, dermatitis, ear problems, vomiting and other digestive illnesses. The dog’s nervous system may be affected, the skeleton and muscles, and the immune system all can become damaged from an incorrect diet being fed over a long period of time.

The laws dictating the listing of ingredients on pet foods are nowhere near as strict as those for human foods. Pet food listings can be generic by calling ingredients ‘cereals’, ‘animal derivatives’ and ‘vegetable derivatives’. Most pet food manufacturers do not list the exact ingredients or the source of those ingredients because they are aware that the consumer would not buy the product if they did so!

Some owners are put off from feeding their dog a natural home prepared diet as they are confused as to what constitutes a ‘well balanced diet’ for dogs. A dog needs energy supplied by fats, proteins and carbohydrates, nutrients as in water, essential amino acids in protein, essential fatty acids in fats/oils and minerals, and of course vitamins and other nutrients.

The British Veterinary Association stated that there is nothing wrong with home prepared dog food as long as some simple guidelines are followed. Their advice is to avoid small bones or cooked bones but a fresh marrow-filled bone is excellent. Avoid sugary, human type foods such as biscuits, cakes and white bread. Never feed chocolate to your dog. A 500gm bar of chocolate can kill a 25kg dog in a short space of time. As long as the dog is receiving a balance of nutrients, home prepared diets are healthy and nutritious.

‘CO – CO’, who won Best in Show at Crufts is fed on a home-prepared food the majority of the time although owner and breeder, Elisabeth Matell does admit to feeding her dog the occasional meal of commercial dog food.


"I don't believe in feeding packaged rabbit droppings to my dogs. It is not that they have never had a handful of it, but I believe in proper food that’s as natural as possible so that I can see what I am giving the dogs."


It is important that the dog receives the correct nutrients in the fresh home prepared diet but be careful not to put human values onto a dog’s diet. Dogs really do not care what their food looks like, or whether it is served in an old dish or an expensive china one. They do not need spices (or salt) or for their food to be arranged aesthetically. A dog’s tongue has around 1,700 taste receptors whilst a human has 9,000 so lacks the discerning taste buds of the human’s palette. Emphasis should be placed on freshness and quality ingredients with a balance of nutrients to keep the dog fit and healthy.

Our advice is to save kitchen scraps and have a weekly ‘cook up’ to make a thick veggie or meaty stew. All the chunks of fat, gristle, skins, peelings or whatever else you have left over are a hundred times better than commercial dog food, even if they don’t look as nice to your eye. Boil up a large pan of brown rice and keep it stored in the refrigerator. You can then just buy some frozen blocks or bags of tripe, fish, beef, lamb or chicken and each day you can simply defrost the amount needed. Then just add to this a big spoonful of the stew and rice or pasta and you have a canine feast at your fingertips! If you have a friendly butcher, you can ask them to save the large beef, lamb or pork bones which they usually have to dispose of somewhat expensively, and they will often be happy to do so for you. These bones are excellent for a dog. Aside from the nutritional value, they help tone the facial muscles, and the muscles on the head and neck, they help keep their canine instincts alive, and they certainly do wonders for the dogs teeth and breath, something which commercial dog food does not help at all in general.

If you need a quick feed for your dog and it has to be commercial, we would suggest that you look VERY carefully and only buy one of the brands that contain meat and not ‘meal’ and have nothing artificial added.

Scientists have proved beyond any doubt that dogs are naturally and biologically designed to live over twice as long as they do currently, in some cases even longer. So we have no doubt that if everyone stopped using any commercial dog food whatsoever, we would see a massive change in the mortality rates of dogs, not to mention the ill-health and some of the behavioural issues we experience with our dogs today.



Regular breaking news regarding this subject will be posted on our K9 News Blog


Make Your Dog Live Longer - Find out whats in your dog's food.


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