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Hope all is well with you and your dog.

No-no’s For Feeding Your Dog. (Would you buy cheap dog food from this guy?)

It is not enough for dogs to have a full stomach after every meal. Besides a non-sedentary lifestyle, pets need proper nutrition in order to be healthy, happy and their coats soft and glossy. The cost of dog food and its brand is only important if dogs can read or pay for his meal. The easiest and best way to find out which food is best for man’s best friend is to observe how their response is to the chow they take in.

The following are tips that one should remember in feeding dog any kibbles, nibbles or whatever kinds of treats.

Chocolate is lethal to dogs. (Specifically, the dark chocolate kind.)

The major components methylxanthine alkaloids and Theo bromine in regular chocolate is digested & excreted by humans in as little as 3 hours but the same compounds when ingested by dogs stays inside them for 18 hours. This has been proven to be fatal. Symptoms of chocolate dog poisoning include vomiting, excessive urination, hyperactivity, and diarrhea, followed by seizure, coma, and death.

Read the label.

Dogs should have a diet rich in meat protein. When purchasing canned foods, look for chicken, turkey meat, pork or other animal by products as these keep the dog’s coat smooth and healthy. Dogs prefer foods, which contain high vegetable protein levels because these are easily digestible and are a great source of energy.

Don’t give a dog a bone!

Contrary to the popular nursery song, feeding bones to dogs is not a good idea. Small soft bones gnawed and eaten by dogs feel like splinters inside their throat causing them to choke. Remember, dogs have short digestive tracts. They also have no saliva amylase, an enzyme that is used to pre-digest starch.

Dog food supplements are unnecessary only if one is sure that their dog receives a regular intake of complete and balanced food nutrients.

Good sources of carbohydrates include rice, corn, oatmeal, and wheat. However, a highly specialized nutrition is only necessary if dogs do not get enough physical activity or are currently undergoing a stressful routine change.

Raw fish and eggs are a no-no.

Consistent consumption of raw eggs makes a dog’s skin breakout. In canine terms - since eggs diminish the biotin available in their body, dermatitis and hair loss are its usual effects. Raw fish meanwhile results in thiamine-deficiency in a dog. Its effects usually are loss of appetite, abnormal posture, weakness and in some cases death.

Feed your dog a healthy diet and he will return the favor with a beautiful coat and many years of companionship! There are many different recommendations on what diet is best for dogs.

Some people argue that dogs have thrived off of leftovers and scraps from their human owners for thousands of years and that commercial dog foods (which have only been available for the past century) contain poor-quality meats, additives and other ingredients dogs should not ingest, or that commercial dog food is not nutritionally sufficient for their dogs.

Lively discussions abound about what is the best food for dogs. Purists argue that dogs have thrived off of leftovers and scraps from their human owners for thousands of years and that commercial dog foods (which have only been available for the past century) contain poor-quality meats, dead dogs and cats ground up, chemicals and other ingredients dogs should not eat, and that commercial dog food is not nutritionally sufficient for their dogs.

The dog food industry markets to dog owners that they think will buy the food because the package has marketing appeal regardless of ingredients.

What About Home Diets?

Various experts recommend different homemade diets from “natural” diets consisting primarily of raw meat to vegetarian diets consisting only of nutritionally balanced vegetarian ingredients, to mixtures consisting of ingredients such as brown rice, brown pasta, meats, eggs and vegetables.

A problem with homemade diets, frequently argued by veterinarians, is the difficulty to consistently provide the dog with a complete and balanced diet.

Most dogs willingly eat vegetables, particularly if they are cooked, and many kinds of fruit. Again, chocolate coffee onions, macadamia nuts, and bread dough can be poisonous to dogs. Grapes and raisins are also toxic to dogs. Avocados have in two cases been associated with heart failure in dogs.

Dry Dog Food

The average dry food is the cheapest, per pound, when compared to its canned (wet) or semi-moist counterparts. It is usually 6-10% moisture by volume, as compared to up to 78% in canned food. It fights against tartar buildup, as well as being less likely to spoil as quickly than an open can.

However, if cans are opened only at the time of feeding, they will tend to keep longer than dry food. (If dry food packages are sealed properly each time after each use, the content will retain its moisture content.)

Wet Dog Food

Canned, dog food is significantly higher in moisture and price than dry or semi-moist food. Because the food is sterilized after being canned (sometimes it is also cooked in the can), it is often easier to ensure the sterility of wet food. It will often be higher in protein or fat when compared to a similar kibble on a dry matter basis (a measure which ignores moisture). However, because water accounts for so much of the food, the canned food will generally be lower in protein and fat in terms of actual content. After all, water is cheaper than meat isn’t it?

Fresh Dog Food

In Australia a decade ago, fresh dog food was founded. It is a new category of dog food founded and has recently made its way into the American market. Fresh dog food uses the pasteurization method instead of the traditional extrusion method used to process pet food. However, this processing technique makes fresh dog food more vulnerable to bacteria compared to dry and wet dog food. To prevent spoilage, refrigerators are used as storage instead of shelves. Fresh dog foods are highly palatable, contain zero preservatives and use only fresh wholesome ingredients.

Contents

Many commercial dog foods are made from materials unusable or less desirable for human consumption.

These may include:

Meat by products or digests (which may include euthanized animals)

Meat and bone meals

Grain by-products

Horsemeat

Cheap dog foods generally include less meat, and more ground up animals and grain ‘fillers’. Proponents of a more natural diet criticize the use of such ingredients, and point out that regulations allow for packaging that might lead a consumer to believe that they were buying a natural food when, in reality, the food might be comprised mostly of ingredients such as those listed above.

However, several pet foods exist which do not contain any of these ingredients. Many pet stores stock well-known brands that are free of by-products, and run at around the same price as some grocery store brands. More expensive dogs foods may be made of ingredients suitable for human consumption, organic products, or free-range meats. It has been reported that very poor senior citizens have purchased these items for their own consumption.

Dog treats should be given as a reward, not as a staple.

Beware Of Pet Food Contamination

The 2007 pet food recalls involved the massive recall of many brands of cat and dog foods beginning in March 2007. The recalls came in response to reports of kidney failure in pets consuming mostly wet pet foods made with wheat gluten from a single Chinese company, beginning in February 2007.

After more than three weeks of complaints from consumers, the recall began voluntarily with the Canadian company Menu Foods on March 16, 2007, when a company test showed sickness and death in some of the test animals.

Soon after, there were numerous media reports of animal deaths as a result of kidney failure, and several other companies who received the contaminated wheat gluten also voluntarily recalled dozens of pet food brands.

By the end of March, veterinary organizations reported more than 100 pet deaths amongst nearly 500 cases of kidney failure, with one online database self-reporting as many as 3,600 deaths as of April 11. As of April, Menu Foods has confirmed only about 16 deaths. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration refuses to estimate the amount of sick or dead because there is no centralized government records database of animal sickness or death in the United States as there are with humans (such as the Centers for Disease Control.

As a result, many sources speculate that the actual number of affected pets may never be known and experts are concerned that the actual death toll could potentially reach into the thousands.

Overall, several major companies have recalled more than 100 brands of pet foods, with most of the recalled product coming from Menu Foods. Although there are several theories of the source of the agent causing sickness in affected animals, with extensive government and private testing and forensic research, to date, no definitive cause has been isolated.

As of April 11, the most likely cause, according to the FDA, though not yet proven, is indicated by the presence of melamine in wheat gluten in the affected foods. The Chinese company behind the contaminated wheat gluten has initially denied any involvement in the contamination, but is cooperating with Chinese and American investigators.

In the United States, there has been extensive media coverage of the recall. There has been widespread public outrage and calls for Government regulation of pet foods, which had previously been self-regulated by pet food manufacturers.

The United States Senate held an oversight hearing on the matter by April 12. The economic impact on the pet food market has been extensive, with Menu Foods losing roughly $30 Million alone from the recall. The events have caused distrust of most processed pet foods in many consumers.

I know I have scrupulously noted dog food labels and avoided buying any brands with dubious ingredients, especially from China, now that I realize how we have been ripped off.

If I may suggest a reasonable dog food strategy please click here

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