posted October 20, 2012 04:43 PM            

The difference between holistic foods and the dog foods you see at the grocery store is that typical brands, including those involved in the recent recall, commonly use meal rather than meat. Meal more often than not contain things like chicken beaks and other indigestible parts. Cheaper brands also include wheat, corn and soybeans into their foods as fillers. These fillers not only make your dog sick to their stomach but cause allergic reactions due to the fact that dogs by nature are not able to digest them. The reason these cheaper food manufacturers use fillers is because it's much more cost efficient to produce fillers than to use real meat. When feeding your pet with cheaper grocery store foods you will probably find that not only does your dog have regular bouts of vomiting but their stools are also huge, smell bad and are made quite often. These foods fill your dog's tummy for a short while and then must be passed through the system in order to get rid of the indigestible materials and then your dog is hungry once more. Many dogs become overweight because of the need to eat more often when in fact it's really proper nutrition and protein that they are in need of.

Time and time again I come across people who are stunned by the cost of holistic dog foods. They actually become quite irritated at the idea of spending so much money on feeding their pet properly. What they fail to realize is that it's actually cheaper in the long run to pay $45 dollars for a bag of holistic dog food because the dog eats less and has less illnesses. A large bag of holistic food will last twice as long as a bag of cheap dog food such as puppy chow or kibbles n bits. Dogs that are fed a higher quality of food not only age slower but are found to have less allergies and intestinal problems thus leading to less veterinarian visits which we all know cost and arm and a leg. Because holistic foods have no fillers or byproducts it takes 20 to 40 percent less the amount of food to feed than the cheaper counterparts. Food allergies are the number one reason for most visits to the vet's office and can usually be reduced simply by switching to a healthier diet. You can tell if your dog is suffering from an allergic reaction to the ingredients in your food if you find that they have itchy skin and bodily eruptions, inflamed ears, excessive licking of the front feet, digestive upsets that include gurgling, gas and diarrhea, inflammation of the toes and an irritated rear end (anus, genitals) with licking and dragging of the rear on the floor, vomiting yellow foam, hot spots and rashes.

So what's in dog food?

"according to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), an independent group that issues guidelines approved by the Food and Drug Administration, poultry-by-products "must consist of non-rendered clean parts of carcasses of slaughtered poultry such as heads, feet, viscera, free from fecal content and foreign matter except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice." (The Nature of Animal Healing)

The 11 billion dollar per year pet food industry wants pet owners to believe they are buying food that contains wonderfully prepared whole chickens, the best cuts of beef and naturally grown whole grains. What most people don't know is that the pet food industry is a part of the human food and agriculture industries. Grains considered "unfit for human consumption," and similar waste products are used to in order to turn a profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts. The protein used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When animals are slaughtered, the good stuff like lean muscle tissue is trimmed away for human consumption and whatever remains; bones, blood, intestines, lungs, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally consumed by people are used in pet food, animal feed and other products. These other indigestible parts are known as byproducts, meat-and-bone-meal, or similar names. Two of the top three ingredients in dry dog foods usually come from some form of grain.

Pedigree Performance Food for Dogs lists Ground Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, and Corn Gluten Meal as its top three ingredients. 9 Lives Crunchy Meals for cats lists Ground Yellow Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, and Poultry By-Product Meal as its first three ingredients. The reason for such grain fillers is corn is a cheaper energy source than meat. A lot of the meat fillers or meals and byproducts are frequently contaminated with bacteria because their source is not always animals that are killed by slaughter houses. Animals that have died because of diseases or other causes are considered to be a source of meat for byproducts and fillers. The dead animal might not be used for several days after it has died. This has caused contamination with bacteria such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli. Dangerous E. Coli bacteria are estimated to contaminate more than 50% of the byproduct fillers. Other toxins that go into dog food come from mold or fungi. Ingredients that are most likely to be contaminated by these kinds of toxins are grains like wheat, corn, peanut meal, fish meal and soybean meal. Is this really what you want to be feeding your beloved family pet?
http://voices.yahoo.com/the-benefits-holistic-dog-food-270870.html?cat=53

posted November 18, 2012 12:14 PM            

We can prolong our friend's life by being knowledgeable about what we put in their bodies.