The Dog Food Comparison Blog

If you are depending on the government to protect your pet from being poisoned you are placing your faith in the wrong hands.  That’s the moral of the story I recently read written by Susan Thixton at http://www.naturalnews.com/023995.html.

You need to take responsibility for your dog’s safety and health because politicians and bureaucrats cannot be depended on to protect the pet food supply.  The story focused on the FDA’s Amendment Act that Congress passed into law in September 2007. “FDAAA was established by Congress to protect all foods, human and pet and requires that the FDA establish pet food ingredient standards and definitions, processing standards for pet food, and provide updated standards for the labeling of pet food that includes nutrition and ingredient information. Briefly, FDAAA asks for a total reform of the existing pet food regulations. These new standards and definitions must be established within two years (September 2007-September 2009).”

You would think that this action would start a new effort towards pet food safety regulations from the FDA, especially considering the last years pet food recall disaster.

According to Ms. Thixton “that’s not what is happening. Instead of working on reform, the FDA is relying on an incomplete five year-old program that is chock full of loopholes and gaps to meet the requirements of FDAAA. In fact, the day before the May 13th pet food safety meeting, the FDA released the latest version of this dated program implying this dusty ill-effective work meets the requirements of FDAAA.  AFSS is a five year-old program that is full of loopholes the FDA refers to as ‘gaps’ and is full of more problems for pet owners.”

Some of the gaps include:

- AFSS is relying solely on pet food manufacturers to determine risks and to provide a solution for these risks.

- the AFSS accepts the AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) ingredient list which sacrifice the public interest for industry desires.

- AFSS has been in the works for five years and the latest version acknowledges 14 significant gaps. There is no end in site.

Her final comment: “It is perplexing how Congress can pass a new bill (FDAAA) which requires the FDA to update and reform pet food safety standards, yet the FDA seems to ignore this. Perhaps they told Congress their patented excuse, “we don’t have the funding or the manpower to get this done” as to why they are using an outdated ineffective system instead of the mandated reform. Sounds similar to a child telling the teacher ‘the dog ate my homework’, except in this case the ‘excuse’ is working.”

The full article can be read at http://www.naturalnews.com/023995.html

My final thought:  You must take responsibility for your pet’s health and welfare and make sure that you are providing quality food for your pet.  This may mean making it yourself or thoroughly researching the dog food manufacturer to make sure they are reputable and acting responsibly.

Additional Resource: Problems with Pet Food Video (Warning, not for the feint-hearted)

Technorati Tags: dog food comparisons, dog food review, pet food recalls, pet food safety

Commercial dog foods that are scientifically formulated are packed with chemical supplements.  This makes the dog food rating process extremely difficult.  These so-called supplements are used to ‘fortify’, i.e. make up for deficiencies in the basic ingredients used to make the dog food, which are typically byproducts (waste material) from slaughter houses, food and beverage companies.  Other chemical additives are used to make the food palletable for the dog, stabilize and preserve the food so that it can sit on shelves and in warehouses for long periods of time and to color and ‘texturize’ the food to make it actually appear edible.

Such supplements, which by the way are also added to processed foods for human consumption, are not subject to any FDA inspection or oversight, and the government has no records as to country of origin of these ‘additives’ and ’supplements’ according to a CNN News report on 20 July, 2007.

More Problems With Commercial Dog Food Ratings

During the manufacturing process many micronutrients are destroyed.  Excessive exposure to heat and/or water denatures proteins, destroying essential amino acids and fatty acids that your dog needs to survive and must get from food.  Vitamins C, thiamine, niacin, riboflavin, are also destroyed according to Dr. Michael W. Fox, B.Vet.Med., Ph.D., D.Sc. M.R.C.V.S.

Acidification is another process that manufacturers use to control struvite crystal formation in the urine that becomes too alkaline when dogs and cats are fed diets that are too high in cereal/grain content. This artificial alteration of the acidity/alkalinity of the food can cause many common ailments in dogs, such as metabolic acidosis, kidney failure, calcium oxalate uroliths/stones and urinary retention. Acidification can also destroy acid-sensitive micronutrients like vitamin K, biotin and B-12. 

The bottom line is that even though the vitamins, amino acids and fatty acids may have been added to the food, they will likely be destroyed during the manufacturing process.  This makes a dog food rating process extremely complex when rating commercial dog foods.

Dr. Fox states: “I have come to believe that dogs and cats should not be fed most manufactured pet foods as their main or only source of nutritional sustenance. I have come to this conclusion because of the dramatic clinical improvement in dogs and cats suffering from a number of chronic, debilitating, and costly health problems once they have been taken off highly processed commercial pet foods and are given naturally formulated, organic whole food diets appropriate for their species, age, physical condition, and activity level.”

For more information on the commercial dog food rating dilemma and ways to improve your dogs diet watch this video: Commercial Dog Food Rating Secrets

Technorati Tags: commercial dog food, Dog Food Comparison, dog food rating

Although not technically dog food there are chew toys that your dog may ingest parts of.  Chew toys are perfect for the dog that likes to chew a lot. Better a nice tough chew toy than your furniture. Dog chew toys are usually made of nylon or latex rubber. The “King Kong Toys” are one of the most popular brands of chew toys. Experiment by stuffing these toys with peanut butter or cheese spread, freeze them and give them to your dog for hours of licking and chewing fun.

Doggie “potato chips” are also a favorite and can last from an hour to a couple of days depending on the dog. They are available in different shapes like pig ears, snouts, cow knuckles, femurs, hooves and bully sticks. Others are bone-shaped made from a variety of vegetables such as carrots.

Another good toy for your dog’s chewing pleasure is the rawhide. These are a non-consumable, mummified skin-like toy that you have to throw away when they get soggy, and give your dog a new one. Some rawhides are basted with a variety of flavorings. The “USA rawhide” with a little flag sticker are best because these do not contain preservative flavorings that are harmful for your dogs.

One chew toy to avoid is the Four Paws Pimple Ball which has been recalled by the manufacturer.  Four Paws executives said a defect in the product’s mold sealed one of the ball’s two holes, creating a vacuum effect that could trap a tongue and has caused injury to some dogs.

Technorati Tags: dog chew toy, dog food review, doggie toy, kong toy, recall

I read an interesting article by Val Cole of the Vancouver Sun about the problems of pet obesity.  Here is a quick summary of the problems that your dog can have by being overweight and some solutions to help get him/her back in trim fit condition.

Obesity in pets can lead to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and other health complications just the same as for their owners.

The reasons seem to be the same too, according to Dr. Diane Frank, Canadian animal behaviourist and president-elect, CVMA.

“It comes down to excessive caloric intake, behavioural issues, improper reward systems and an inactive lifestyle — all which can apply to both pets and humans. The key difference, though, is that pets don’t have control over the choices made for them — that’s the owner’s responsibility and they need to be prepared to recognize and deal with the issue.”

Feeding treats can have startling consequences.

Here are some examples:

One ounce of cheese to a small dog is the same as you eating one and a half hamburgers or one and a half chocolate bars.

For a cat, one ounce of cheese equals three and a half hamburgers for you.

Eight extra pounds on your pet is the same as 30 extra pounds on you (based on 150-pound human and a 40-pound dog).

To determine if your dog is overweight run both hands along each side of your pet, you should see and easily feel the ribs. As your hands pass the ribs, they should then come in slightly for a nice tuck in the waistline.

If the ribs are not visible and you have to press in to find them, your pet is in need of some urgent action.  Action being the key word here.

Your pet will benefit from an activity treat than they will from food.  It’s better to provide positive attention and stimulation through exercise or play rather than food.

Cutting calories is as important as increasing your pet’s exercise level. Measure the food your get is getting and if you do give treats during the day as a reward, reduce the main meal accordingly.

Also make sure to feed your dog food that is rich in nutritional quality so their body has what it needs to be healthy and lose weight more easily.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=2b730047-da25-432a-838e-9083327d23a8

Technorati Tags: Diabetic Dog Food, dog food comparisons, pet obesity

My dog has food allergies amoung other things that she is allergic to. I've switched her to a venison and rice formula about 2 or 3 months ago because its hypoallergenic. Ive been reading up on this for a while, and ive heard some suggestions about a fish formula.. could this possibly be better than the venison?? and if so, is it bad to continue switching her food?? Thanks in advance! =]
if switching her to a grain free formula, would she still get all the nutrients she needs?
she started off allergic to lamb and rice.. now shes on venison and rice

No food is 100% hypoallergenic. It's just that some foods are less likely to trigger allergies than others. For example, one of my dogs is terribly allergic to lamb, a meat that is supposed to be less allergenic than many others. Chicken is fine for him, lamb is not. The fewer ingredients a food has and the less likely those ingredients are to trigger allergies, the better. Wheat and corn and many dyes and additives are highly allergenic for example.

It really depends on what your dog is allergic to. If your dog is doing well on its current food, then stick with it and don't mess around is my advice. If she is still having problems, it may worth trying something else. Also keep in mind that not all allergies are food-related. Fleas and environmental allergies (such as grass pollen) may be part of the equation. My dog is always worse in spring when pollens are in the air.

My dogs eat California Natural which is formulated for allergic dogs and doing great. I have another friend with an allergic dog who is having success with this food.

My dog just became diabetic what are some good brands of diabetic dog food.

Science Diet makes prescription foods for diabetic pets. See the link below for a complete list:

I would like to switch from Natural Balance to either Solid Gold or Life's abundance since the Natural Balance recall. Both of the these dog foods seem nuturional however I would appreciate comments and comparisons from someone who has fed these to their dogs…. I have border collies

SOLID GOLD by far!!! I have fed my Rhodesian Ridgeback Sold Gold wolf king his whole life. It has real Bison (the top ingrediant) and Salmon and is very great for the coat. My sister also has a Chihuahua and I got her to switch to solid gold. Obviously not he wolf king, but you get the idea. It is a very Nutritious food and they only use the best ingrediants and it is packed with protien and no fillers. For Border collies, I can image they are very active and they need that protien for the reason alone. I would suggest the newer food Solid Gold came out with, I think it is called 'Over the Moon'…. It is a teal bag and has a little dog jumping over a moon (who'd have thought??). This is their new food that has more protien that their regular food and is aimed towards dogs with high energy. It packs the dogs full of usabe protien and instead of fat!!!! It may seem alittle more expensive, but since it is so full of protien, you may even end up feeding them alittle less then you have before since all you used to feed them were fillers so it evens out.

Can anybody give me a few health ratings of different types of dog foods…i feed my dog ol’roy….whats thats raiting? (as many as you can please) …………thanks for taking the time

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

Some Great Answers Below…

Week in review…

We’ve found some more great blog posts on holistic dog food you might like to take a look at:

• Dog Food Analysis – Reviews Of Kibble – The concern over food safety has led to the movement of dog owners to make their own home-made dog food. By making their own dog food known as holistic dog food, not only do they save money and are giving their dogs a nutritious and …

• Nothing But The Best For My Best Friend – Unless you are buying natural organic dog food, your best friend is probably eating too many of the same things. Read the label on your brand of dog food and ask yourself, \”How does your dog food brand compare? …

• Natural Foods For Your Dog – Dog food manufactured by these companies is reliable, consistent and safe. A very high standard is used in manufacturing these natural dog foods. These companies are dedicated to manufacture good quality natural dog foods. …

Technorati Tags: Dog Food Comparison, Dog Food Reviews, holistic dog food

We are giving him SuperCoat twice a day with a bowel of Spaggetti, The vet just told me (after they have reccommened giving him spaggetti) that it was no good, the cost of dry dog food is expencive, what else can i give my dog other than dry dog food that will help improve his current state? do you think Brown Rice and chicken is good?
This site contains a lot of info on diabetic diet for dogs and cats, Surf, search and enjoy. http://feline-diabetes.blogspot.com

Technorati Tags: Diabetic Dog Food, dog diabetes, Dog Food Comparison