MANUFACTURED DOG FOOD A COMPLETE AND BALANCED DIET? Written by Ellen Todd

Natural diet Commercial manufactured diet

 Dogs rely on us as their owners on what we feed them  If they had freedom of choice to go to the supermarket and choose their food, they wouldn’t be going down the dog food aisle  They rely on us to give them food that is not going to cause disease or illness  Most of the ingredients that are in commercial dog food are not fit for human consumption  We love our dogs don’t we? So why not give them the nutrition they deserve like we give ourselves Introduction

 What is in commercial dog food?  Is it really complete and balanced for our dogs?  Is it good for the digestive system and all the other vital organs a dog has?

By- products! What are these? Poultry by-products are left over animal parts not fit for human consumption, such as: Heads, necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines Meat by-products can be noses, heads, hooves, diseased animal tissue Many pet food experts claim that commercial pet food have remains of dead zoo animals, diseased animals, road kill, euthanized dogs and cats.

Holistic Veterinarian’s point of view:  By natural feeding, dog’s develop less diseases, which means less vet visits, and a happier healthier dog  If your dog were to get injured, being on a natural diet would help them heal faster  Dog’s teeth won’t get as much tartar build up, so less toxins leaching into their system from having rotten teeth  Less likely to become overweight and satisfy their hunger for longer  Holistic vets say that commercial dog food is made with waste from human food outlets, or food unfit for human consumption  When a commercial dog food says it contains meat, the meat used is from the obscure parts of the carcase, and the rest fillers such as cereals and grains that are hard to digest.

Veterinarian’s point of view:  Veterinarians believe the prescription food they sell in their clinic will take care of all life stages of your dog, and help cure some diseases that have developed.  The commercial dog food you buy in a supermarket is not as high quality as the premium food sold in a clinic.  Veterinarian clinics selling premium dog food is profitable, and have excellent training programmes available for staff from leading manufacturers.

Conclusion  The cost in making you own pet food and buying a commercial pet food works out to be relatively the same, but the food you buy at a veterinary clinic and making your own, it would work out cheaper to make your own.  Making your own dog food, you know exactly what is going into the food  I would highly recommend consulting with a holistic Veterinarian if you were to make your own dog food, to make sure they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need.  From what I have read and researched, I don’t think I could feed my dog commercial dog food, it’s hard to trust what manufacturers say when there is a lot of information against them, and that it is a very profitable business manufacturing dog food.

Notes Intro: How many people in this have a dog and feed it commercially manufactured dog food? Do you feed it because you think it’s good for them, or because it’s cheap and convenient? What would you really rather feed your dog? Natural homemade diet or stay with the commercial food? What our dog’s are eating could be the cause of the health problems that pop up as they get older, such as: Itchy skin, eczema, digestive upsets, kidney and liver problems. We have the choice to feed ourselves, we can choose to make ourselves healthy or unhealthy. Dog’s don’t get that choice to pick what’s healthy for them and what’s going to lengthen their life. The food that commercial packaging show on them, like fresh meat and vegies is not what is really in the food, and even if it was by the time they cooked that food it would have lost all of it’s nutritional value, so then in go all the preservatives, additives and colouring to give it the minimal standard of nutrition a dog needs. I think that the more processed food’s we eat, the more health problem’s we get later on in life, it’s the same with animals.

Notes Slide 2 I’ve got a list of ingredients from a purina dog chow total care nutrition for adult dogs. I have looked up what the ingredients mean. Whole grain corn : Not easy to digest, can cause allergens, has a high chance of being contaminated before use with storage mites and their droppings, low in minerals and vitamins, low protein, supplies cheap calories and carbohydrates. Meat and bone meal : Rendered meat, intentionally overcooked, the meat used for this process is slaughter house waste, expired supermarket meat, diseased or dying cattle, dead zoo animals. Corn gluten meal : Can be used as a natural herbicide to prevent weed growth in lawn. Animal fats preserved with mixed tocopherols : To cover up poor quality fat used adding in a vit E Soybean meal : Crude protein, amino acids, increase flatulence, moisture in feaces and volume, allergic reactions. Poultry by-product meal : Slaughter house waste – necks, heads, feet, underdeveloped eggs, gizzards, intestines, culled laying hens. Egg and chicken flavour : made from chicken digest. Whole grain wheat : Nutritive grain, protein and fibre. Animal digest : Hair, horns, teeth, hooves, feathers for palatability. Then the rest are the added minerals and vitamins they needed to add because not much of the above has any.

Notes Conclusion I think that dog food manufacturers are making the food for the money it produces, not for the dogs health itself. If dogs were on a good healthy diet where we knew what really went into the food, they would probably be living longer lives than what they do.

References: About.com pet shops. (2014). What are by-products in pet foods?. Retrieved from: Products-In-Pet-Foods.htmhttp://petshops.about.com/od/petfood/g/By- Products-In-Pet-Foods.htm Drakeford, J. Elliott, M. (2005). Essential care for dogs. UK: Swan hill press. Hayek, C. Raasch, D. (2011). Canine and feline nutrition, a resource for companion animal professionals. USA: Linda Duncan. Jevring, C. Catanzaro, T. (1999). Healthcare of the well pet. London: Harcourt Brace and Company Limited. Kidd, R. (2000). Dr. Kidd’s guide to Herbal dog care. USA: Versa press. Land of the holistic pets. (2011). Holistic nutrition for pets- A brief explanation. Retrieved from: Number 1 reason not to use commercial pet food for your best friend. (2013). Commercial pet food is not a pets best friend. Retrieved from: friend/ friend/ Stilwell, V. (2007). It’s me or the dog, fat dog slim. London: Collins What is really in your dogs food. (2012). Commercial dog food dirty secrets-meat and bone meal and animal by-products. Retrieved from.