As we choose pet food for our companions, we look at the label for guidance, for content information and for the balance of nutrients that are necessary for our pet’s diet.

The label we see on dog foods stating that they are ‘complete and balanced’ may make the consumer feel as though they are doing the best for their pet.

In order to be labeled as a complete and balanced diet, the feed must meet standards established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The food is determined to be complete and balanced by undergoing a nutrient profile analysis or by passing a feeding trial. The established standards include recommendations on the content of the food regarding fat soluble vitamins, fat, water soluble vitamins, protein and the mineral content of the pet food.

According to Dr. Ian Billinghurst’s book, Give Your Dog a Bone, the current legal standards for the nutritional makeup of pet food are such that “It is possible to produce a pet food based on shoe leather, sump oil, coal and water which is analyzed will be found to meet the legal requirements necessary for it to be sold as pet food,” (Billinghurst, pg. 40.)

Dr. Billinghurst’s assertation is not only disturbing, it shows the danger of trusting the government organizations whose goals are to establish feed standards for our pets.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has released a regulation on pet food in the wake of the recall crisis.

Click here to read it in its entirety.

To summarize, the regulation calls for “pet foods, like human foods, be pure and wholesome, contain no harmful or deleterious substances.”

Instead, much of the scrap material from the human food industry is being used for pet foods. How can the leftovers determined not for use in human grade products live up to the FDA’s claim that pet food should be pure and wholesome?

Back to the pet food label - the ingredients listed at the top are the ‘heaviest’ ingredients, meaning that these are the ingredients that comprise the largest percentage of the feed.

If those ingredients are biologically inappropriate (items like meat by-product meal, corn, soybean meal and animal fat often top the ingredients list), you can imagine the internal damage we are doing to our companions.

Look for foods that have ingredients that are wholesome, biologically appropriate, human grade and organic. Born Free USA - Animal Protection Institute has assembled a ‘how to’ guide in selecting commercial pet foods. I advise all pet owners to click here, read the article and adhere to higher standards then that which the United States government organizations claim as complete and balanced nutrition.

image of Dr. Billighurst via www.drianbillinghurst.com, image of pet food via Born Free USA, United with Animal Protection Institute.

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by Michelle Thomas

Your veterinarian recommends it, even sells it at their office, so it must be what is best for your pet. Right?

Millions of pet owners blindly assume that this is true. Aren’t our veterinarians the ones we are supposed to rely on to keep our pets healthy and answer all of our pet care questions?

Hills, the manufacturer of Science Diet, sends out complimentary puppy and kitten kits to veterinary offices. Each time a new puppy or kitten visits that office they are given a complimentary bag of food, coupons for their next visit and informational packets emphasizing the importance of good nutrition, achieved through their products.

If trusting pet owners took the time to read the label on that puppy food, they would find the top ingredients listed as follows, ground whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal and animal fat. Yikes!

Having working in the pet industry and as a pet owner for for some time, I struggle to count on one hand veterinarians I have encountered who recommend and emphasize the importance of true, high quality nutrition. How can this be?

Veterinary schools are infiltrated by the major pet food companies looking to peddle their products to the next generation of veterinarians. I attended Michigan State University, and earned a Bachelors Degree in Veterinary Technology. A veterinarian with a PhD in nutrition taught my nutrition course. This vet also worked as a food developer at Purina for many years.

During an exam I was required to write “The ingredients in the food do not matter the only thing to consider when analyzing a diet for your patients is the nutritional analysis such as the % protein and fat.”

If I was to answer differently, I would be marked wrong. It was painful for me to placate this irrational line of thought. Our teacher explained that when formulating a pet diet, ingredients are entered into a computer system which analyzes the content to reach a specific ratio and meet the requirements set by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials).

This translates into the use of the least expensive and, more often then not, biologically inappropriate food sources being utilized. Ingredients such as corn gluten are used as a protein source.

During my time as a student, Hills gave special nutritional seminars and even had a special program that provided all students with up to 100 pounds of free food monthly. I must say I preferred to pay top dollar for my dog’s food, even as a poor student than receive their free ‘food’.

It baffles me that highly educated and intelligent veterinarians and veterinary students are not using common sense to question the legitimacy of the information being pumped into them by large corporations.

I urge you, as pet owners to do your research. Don’t be afraid to question and communicate your concerns with your veterinarian. If your vet is offended or unwilling to discuss or research options with you, then find one who will!

Shouldn’t your veterinarian be passionate about your animal’s health?

Michelle Thomas holds a degree in Veterinary Technology from Michigan State University. Michelle lives with her French Bulldog rescue Mojito and her kitten Tyson. She is currently studying acupuncture and Oriental medicine at the Acupuncture and Massage College in Miami, Florida and is incorporating these modalities into her pet’s care.

image of Science Diet Puppy Formula via www.hillspet.com

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While this is kind of embarrassing to admit, I was trolling around on Facebook this morning, (I am a total Facebook addict) and I came across a pretty interesting group called People Against Bad Dog Food. I wanted to mention it because the site does a really good job of concisely describing many of the problems I have previously addressed regarding commercially prepared dog food.

The mission of the PABDF, a non-profit organization, is to ensure that dogs throughout the United States receive the highest quality nutrition and care. Their goals include educating the public about the food choices they make for their pups and lobbying the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) to raise their currently ineffective standards for manufacturing practices in the US.

It is great that there are a growing number people out there doing their best to educate the public about the realities of the pet food industry and trying to make a difference beyond their own kitchens and their own dogs.The site has a useful tool where you can look up various brands of dog foods and compare ingredients. Find out what the top three ingredients are in your pet’s food. This makes it easier to avoid getting sucked in by the romantic images we are served up by clever advertising in the pet food industry.

On a side note, that commercial with the extra cute puppies and the “We’re for dogs” and “Dog’s Rule!” narration is sooo seductive! It’s hard to believe what that company puts in their food. A quick search on their website revealed the first three ingredients in one of their featured products to be Ground Whole Corn, Meat and Bone Meal, Corn Gluten Meal. Yikes!

Anyway, back to People Against Bad Dog Food. Their site also hosts a comprehensive news area where you can read up on the latest happenings in the world of pet food recalls and other canine health related issues.

Becoming a member is as simple as filling out a quick online form.Since I think most people are against bad dog food, its a great cause to get behind and a great site to easily access information about the pet food industry and what’s really going into your dog’s bowl every day.

Visit www.pabdf.org and check it out.

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This has been a poopy week so far - hence the second post on this stinky topic. Not a bad couple days, just literally filled with dog crap. Louis has an exceptionally sensitive stomach. I know dogs have sensitive digestive systems and Lou is not my first pup, so I can confidently say that this dog consistently gets diarrhea with even the slightest upset to his schedule.

After a three month hiatus, I rejoined the world of the working yesterday and it was Louis and my first full day apart in some time. It was enough to throw everything out of whack resulting in some serious carpet stains. Smart to be a renter while Louis is working on being house trained. Anyway, we clearly have some work to do as far as separation anxiety, but that’s another topic for another day.

At the fantastic Dog Bar, mentioned in a previous post it was recommended that we try Pet-Flora. Since using this supplement, we have really been able to relieve Louis’ digestive issues. Its not yet perfect, but as I said, this is partly behavioral rather then a dietary issue.We have struggled with dietary issues since getting Louis. He was on a breeder and veterinarian recommended diet of a premium commercially prepared dog food when we received him from the breeder. I am not informed enough to know what exactly disagreed with Louis from this food, suffice to say, the first four months of his life with us we were constantly struggling with diarrhea and dry flaky skin around his neck. He was really uncomfortable from the diarrhea and quite itchy. I was uncomfortable with each vet we saw suggesting antibiotics as a solution to his stomach issues.

I started to do some research on my own and spoke to a holistic vet, breeders and read some books on the subject. After much consideration, we switched Louis’ food to Nature’s Variety Chicken Meal Formula which is a prepared food that mimics a raw food diet. We added a few drops of Cod Liver oil to his dinner and a bi-weekly dose of the afore-mentioned Pet-Flora pro-biotic.In spite of the past two days, Louis really has improved radically. His previously flaky, itchy neck is completely normal, his coat has never been shinier and he has even more energy then before. This food has an exceptionally high protein content, so it is extremely important not to overfeed your pet. In addition, this brand was unaffected by the pet food recalls, is produced in the United States using only human grade ingredients. I cannot emphasize enough that if we are going to feed our pets prepared food, we must be conscious of supporting companies that are producing human grade products that fulfill our pet’s nutritional needs above and beyond the basic standards implemented by the Association of American Feed Controls, Inc. More on that later….Wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah and easy digestion!!All products mentioned in this post are available for purchase at The Dog Bar.

Available at Louis favorite store in Miami!

The DogBar, Inc.

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