healthy pet food: what does that mean?

the article below discusses a popular cat food…and the ingredients that are in this pet food when it is advertised as if there is a lot of fresh seafood within… when there is a lot of other stuff mostly and barely a sliver of seafood.

cigarettes, lies and pet food ads, http://www.naturalnews.com/024​210_food_pet_cat.html, beware, read ingredients in pet food, don’t buy pet food from grocery stores or even regular pet food stores.

I was recently approached by the PR folks for Beneful. They’ve got  some new pet food they’re promoting and wanted to send me a sample so I could tell you all how yummy Cici thought it was. Since there was Healthy in the name of the product, I decided to check out the health of the ingredients. Unfortunately, I was correct in assuming that the ingredients were not at all healthy. The ingredient list was hidden, you have to click to see it. These people are so forthcoming about what a great product they’re offering pet owners NOT.

And of course, the manufacturer is Nestle’ who sends infant formula to the third world with ingredients that are not ok here and gmo-laden chocolate to our shelves. And Purina, these are the same folks.  But we’ve all seen their commercials for Beneful, with the cute dog and his owner playing with Mr. Fuzzy Blue man toy…  must be good food. Not if you think your dog deserves REAL protein, no grains and actual nutrition.

http://www.beneful.com/Dog-Food/Healthy-Fiesta/#shown

INGREDIENTS
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, chicken, soy flour, water, propylene glycol, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, sorbic acid (a preservative), dried carrots, dried tomatoes, avocado, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red, 40, Blue 2, Yellow 6), Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

and this is what they tell you it has, yum, festive accents of avocado and tomato (does not say dried bits because then no one would buy it)…

Healthy Fiesta provides balanced nutrition to help keep your dog happy and healthy, made with wholesome ingredients including festive accents of avocado and tomato.

and golly gee whiz the other two “healthy” products Harvest and Radiance have remarkably similar ingredient lists, with a few variations… and yet this is what they advertise:

Healthy Harvest® dog food supports your dog’s health and happiness with its complete and balanced nutrition, featuring soy and other real, wholesome ingredients.

where? did I miss the real wholesome ingredients????  and soy is not wholesome, and whee is the complete and balance nutrtion, must be written in invisible ink???

and then there is the other product they wanted Cici to try, the prepared dog food that looks just like beef stew, hearty roaster… doesn’t that look and sound delish?

Here’s the ingredients for the so-called Premium dog food:

Water sufficient for processing, beef, wheat gluten, liver, green beans, meat by-products, corn starch-modified, carrots, barley, artificial and natural flavors, salt, calcium phosphate, soy flour, potassium chloride, added color, calcium carbonate, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, choline chloride, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin A supplement, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, sodium selenite.

http://www.beneful.com/Dog-Food/Savory-Beef/#shown

don’t think feeding your pet unhealthy junk food makes for a healthy happy pet, in my humble opinion.

Better to feed your dog a healthy food choice like Canine Health by Dr. Harvey’s… add meat/protein and oil and hot water, cook for 8 minutes and feed…

Canine Health is made from 6 certified organic grains, 9 vegetables and 14 herbs.

Dr. Harvey uses only the finest organic and all-natural human consumption ingredients in Canine Health. Canine Health is made with no dyes, no preservatives, and no chemicals.

what I have noticed with Cici is that she scarfs up all of the food from Dr. Harvey, licking the bowl clean, she loves this food. With a couple of other healthy raw dehydrated foods she eats, she leaves some of it at the bottom of the bowl and has gotten tired of it. With Dr. Harvey’s, I get the 5 pound bag which lasts about a month (less or more depends on the size/weight of your dog) and costs about $40 + the cost of the meat, and shipping the product to my home.  I also get her raw beef soup bones from the grocery store, freeze them and then give them to her. That way, the bones do not splinter and Cici does not choke on them. You can order the food directly from Dr. Harvey (he is really nice, I talked to him on the phone because I had questions and was impressed that he was so accessible) or from Amazon and/or your favorite online pet food company. I would NOT recommend doggiefood.com as it took Two WHOLE weeks to get the food.

Dogs, cats and snakes are carnivores, with sharp, interlocking teeth designed to grasp prey.

Cats and snakes are obligate carnivores, which means they must consume a meat diet to maintain health, whereas dogs are scavenging carnivores, who, in addition to a meat based diet, can consume other types of foods without dire consequences.

By nature’s design, rabbits and horses were never intended to consume meat. Dogs and cats were not designed to eat or digest grains. So, as you would expect, when you feed your dog and cat companions foods they were not designed to eat, you’re asking for trouble.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/05/11/your-pet-s-good-health-begins-in-their-gut.aspx

your pet eats too much dry food

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2009/07/07/pets-protein-dry-food-and-disease.aspx

You could also make homemade food such as the BARF diet (Bones and Raw Food):

In a blender or food processor make about 500 grams of crushed raw fruit and vegetables. The vegetables can include pumpkin, spinach, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, corn, squash, mushrooms, peas, beans, etc. Just about any vegetable you can find. The fruit can include apples, bananas, oranges (peeled), tomatoes, kiwi fruit, etc. Again, anything in season. It is very important that the fruit and vegetables are processed into a fine pulp so the dog can’t pick them out. It is also important that all the ingredients are raw, as many of the nutrients are lost when cooked.

Combine 1/2 kg of processed row fruit and veggie’s and 2 kg of raw lean meat and add bones. To this mix add the following: 5 whole raw eggs

3 table spoons of flax seed oil or Cod Liver Oil

3 tablespoons of brewers yeast

3 tablespoons of kelp powder

3 tablespoons of vitamin C powder

half a tub of plain yogurt or cottage cheese

barf, raw food for dogs

http://petfoodtalk.com/barf-diet-for-dogs-guest-post/

While we were traveling, I could not feed Cici raw dog food. For a time when we were camping up in Mendocino, I gave her raw scraps from the kind folks at the Harvest Market but now that we’re not traveling, well, we went away last weekend, but I have slowly been introducing raw food to her again. Cici LOVES it. She gets really excited and drooling for her food.

Recently, I tried two different brands. I used to feed her Nature’s Variety patties, which were available to us when we lived in Gardnerville, NV.  Here, there is more variety and options.  At Pet Food Express, the gal suggested that I try Stella & Chewy’s, more expensive but organic meats so I did and it was fine. Did not last as long as I would have liked. Gave Cici only two patties a day. I was told to give her 12 a day which was way too costly. I combined kibble and the two patties for her meals.

Then I tried Darwin’s who is having a special on the first order, $15 for several pounds of raw food. Although Cici loved it and BIG PLUS, they deliver the food straight to your home or office, it comes in a 2 lb. bag. When you defrost it, you have to defrost the entire bag. I did not want to feed her all of the food at one time. Plus, it was messy to deal with and I did not enjoy the smell. And the food costs about $100 a month. Nature’s Variety and Stella & Chewy’s cost about $20 for 32-48 patties which last about 2-3 weeks.  The patties can be easily defrosted, are easy to deal with and do not smell.

Some brands offer an amazing variety of meats from bison, elk and venison to duck, lamb and turkey. Many offer organic, free range, 100% Grain and Gluten Free and grass fed meat and some offer fresh tripe (which Cici loves). Along with the meat and bones, the food usually contains organs such as livers, hearts and gizzards and vegetables and fruits such as organic squash, kale, broccoli, carrots, beans, cranberry, celery, beets, apple, probiotics, flax seed, oils and herbs such as parsley and seaweed such as kelp. Sounds tasty, huh.

There are other raw food brands such as PrimalPet and NaturesMenu which can be bought at your local retailer, online and even Amazon.

Some companies also offer freeze dried patties and dehydrated as well as meat jerky treats. Some treats: Organic Bison, Beef, Chicken, Beef Liver, Chicken Liver and Organic Sweet Potato.

I suggest that you speak with your vet about changing your dog’s diet, do research, conduct a cost comparison, adhere to what your own dog’s likes and needs are, and also check out what is available to you locally. It is also wise to find out how many patties of raw food it is recommended that your pet eat a day (which factors into the cost). You can make the best choice once you find out what all of your options are and educate yourself.

People can also make homemade raw food but to me that seems like a very challenging and difficult process to get all of the essential ingredients together plus safety issues. But if you are up for it, that is another way to feed your dog what is called the BARF (Bones and Raw Food) diet.  Never EVER feed raw meat from the regular supermarket/grocery store though. Only use Organic Meat from Whole Foods or somewhere.

Up until the mid 1920’s, dogs and cats ate as nature intended. Cats hunted mice and birds, but dogs, found prey to eat and foraged and ate whatever presented itself.

Dogs are carnivores, eaters of raw meat, by nature. Their systems were designed to extract the maximum benefits from meat in its raw state. Once meat is processed under very hot temperatures during canning or palletizing, amino acids and enzymes are de-activated. Amino acids are crucial in a diet because they are the organic molecules that compose the building blocks of proteins that make up most of the cells of the body. Active enzymes are also absolutely necessary because they are protein substances produced in living cells that help break down food so that it can be digested and absorbed by the body. Without amino acids and active enzymes, food cannot be digested properly and then, no matter what claims the nutritional statements make, the nutritional values are NOT being adequately delivered to the animals’ body.

In a natural setting dogs will fill out their diet with the seasonal consumption of wild food stuffs, everything from vegetables to nuts, berries, and even the occasional cricket. These naturally foraged items all have a place in their natural nutrition, but no one has ever spotted a dog or cat dragging down an ear of corn or a head of wheat in the field and eating it.

Reading List:

http://www.naturesmenu.com/site/493564/page/154332

more info on BARF

http://www.barfworld.com/

there are all kinds of videos on youtube from companies touting their raw dog food, people grinding meat, as well as people letting their dogs eat raw chicken, turkey legs, wings and other meat. Most seem either too boring, complicated, gross or perhaps even unsafe… the one below is easy, fun and provides information about feeding dogs grass fed meat. Watch the dog eat a raw steak, yum.

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