Pet food manufacturers have made it quite easy for the average dog owner to feed their pets without having to be an expert nutritionist. All of the work has been done by the modern manufacturer.

Since it isn’t possible for manufacturers to list all of the nutrients in dog food and their required percentages as published by the NRC (National Research Council) on their labels, the terms “complete diet”, “nutritionally complete”, “balanced”, and “balanced diet” are used.

————————————————————–

Dog Food Secrets You Need To Know!

“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”

Dog Food Secrets

————————————————————–

This tells the consumer that the dog food inside the can, bag or box, contains all the essential vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats the average dog needs to satisfy his daily requirements.

The nutritional requirement for puppies, however, is somewhat different than that required for adult dogs. The diet of the adult dog is usually referred to as a “maintenance diet” where a puppy diet is referred to as a “growth diet”.

In 1974 a regulation went into effect that required all dog food manufacturers to specify on their labels whether the product is complete and balanced for the adult dog (maintenance), complete and balanced for puppies (growth), or complete and balanced for growth and maintenance both. Since all manufactures comply with this regulation, the only thing left to the consumers is to read the label on the dog food.

Among the varieties of canned, bagged, or semi-moist dog foods, there are certain drawbacks, as well as advantages. This is true even though they are nutritionally identical if advertised as “complete” and/or “balanced”.

Because canned dog food may contain up to 78% moisture, a dog necessarily has to eat a larger quantity of a canned product to get the same volume of food that he would get if fed a dry product. It takes three pounds of commercially prepared canned dog food to be equivalent to one pound of dry food.

But manufactures do not fill a can two-thirds of the way with water, then top it off with a little dab of dog food. The moisture content inside the can is there by the very nature of the ingredients. For example, when a human buys a thick juicy steak, he’s buying well over fifty percent moisture. The butcher didn’t inject that moisture into the steak with a hypodermic needle.

The moisture content in canned dog food serves a definite and useful purpose, both in processing and in the dog’s digestive system. The drawback to the consumer insofar as canned dog food is concerned, is usually one of economics. It can be very expensive due to the large quantities of canned dog food most normal to large sized dogs will need to eat to get in their daily caloric and nutritional needs.

The nutritional guideline standards for dog food, as set forth by the NRC (National Research Council), state that pet food manufacturers must have the minimum amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals.

————————————————————–

Dog Food Secrets You Need To Know!

“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”

Dog Food Secrets

————————————————————–

They include meat, meat by-products, corn, wheat middlings, barley, oats, rice, brewer’s yeast, vegetable and/or animal fats, fish meal, poultry, bone meal, cereals, soybean meal – all of which are rich in the required nutrients.

To meet the palatability requirement so that dogs would enjoy eating this dog food, manufacturers can add tomato puree, bacon, salt, onion powder, garlic and other ingredients to make the food smell and taste good.

The required ease in consumer handling is accomplished by packing dog food in bags with graduated poundage from one to fifty pounds, in twelve to sixteen ounce cans, and in see-through cellophane packs or cans for individual serving.

After the manufacturers have packed their product in a can, bag or box, they have the added the burden of getting the dog owner’s attention to the pet food shelves. They know the family dog isn’t standing there looking over the dog food – a human is.

To get the human to reach out and select one of the many different brands available, the product must please the eye of the consumer. The dog doesn’t give one care in the world what the dog food looks like. The animal is only interested in how it tastes and smells.

Manufacturers today will exhibit their product to look like fresh ground hamburger, choice steaks, chunks of lean beef, even breakfast cereals. Although dog food comes in a variety of styles, it really comes in only three types:

1) The complete/balanced food (everything the dog needs in one container). This pet food type will list the product as containing all of the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals that a canine should have for good health.

2) The supplementary dog food (to be added to the complete food to increase palatability). Such food items for pets are made to get the dog’s appetite stimulated enough to eat all of his main/complete food.

3) Treats and snacks (for training rewards or just plain pampering) which can range from beef jerky for dogs to small cereal biscuits.

If a dog’s diet consisted solely of a supplementary food, he would be deprived of the vitamins and nutrients he needs. The supplementary food and treats and snacks were not intended to be the sole diet of the dog. Most manufacturers will indicate this point on the label of their dog food.

Big cans, little cans, heavy bags and cute packs, soft foods, dry dog food, semi-moist, candies, biscuits, chewies, people-like crackers and gourmet bon-bons…

Today’s dog owner is confronted with a bewildering array of food for his pet.

Years ago, when such a variety of dog food wasn’t available, dogs were fed foods that were most plentiful in the region. In the arctic, dogs were fed mostly fish and whale blubber; in the southern United States, a dog’s diet consisted mainly of cornbread; in Europe, potatoes were the main fare.

These diets led to diseases such as black tongue (pelegra in humans), rickets, and other less commonly known ailments, many of them fatal.

————————————————————–

Dog Food Secrets You Need To Know!

“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”

Dog Food Secrets

————————————————————–

In the wild, the canine did not just restrict himself to eating just the meat of his prey. He ate the entire animal, including the contents of the stomach.

Wild dogs were known to kill each other while fighting over the stomach contents of their prey. Thus, nature provided the wild animal with a diet considered nutritionally complete.

Domesticated dogs were not allowed that luxury, and usually were fed table scraps for their dog food. These poor diets resulted in serious nutritional imbalances and severe nutritional deficiencies.

After years of study, it was determined that even though the canine is considered a carnivorous animal, he requires certain carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to satisfy nutritional requirements just as humans do.

In 1953, the National Research Council compiled and published nutritional requirements for dogs. The NRC is a federally established scientific body whose basic function is gathering research data.

After World War II, the pet food industry in the United States began an enormous expansion. Already a highly competitive business, pet food manufacturers quickly found themselves in neck to neck competition for a piece of this multi-million dollar a year business.

In order to survive and successfully compete in the market, pet food manufacturers knew that they must provide a dog food which was:

A) Nutritionally complete; containing all 26 nutrients that the National Research Council said that does need.

B) Palatable so that the dog would enjoy eating the food.

C) Easy and convenient for the customer to handle.

D) Economically competitive in the market.

Pet food manufacturers have established laboratories and hired nutritionists and dog food technicians to select those ingredients, which, when combined, will provide the sufficient nutrition to meet NRC standards.

All of the work has been done by the modern manufacturer for easy and effective measures to ensure proper dog health.

Since it isn’t possible for manufacturers to list all of the nutrients and their required percentages as published by the NRC (National Research Council) on their labels, the terms “complete diet”, “nutritionally complete”, “balanced”, and “balanced diet” are used.

————————————————————–

Dog Health Secrets You Need To Know!

“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”

Dog Food Secrets

————————————————————–

This tells the consumer that the product inside the can, bag or box, contains all the essential vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats the average dog needs to satisfy his daily requirements.

The nutritional requirement for good dog health puppies, however, is somewhat different than that required for adult dogs. The diet of the adult dog is usually referred to as a “maintenance diet” where a puppy diet is referred to as a “growth diet”.

In 1974 a regulation went into effect that required all dog food manufacturers to specify on their labels whether the product is complete and balanced for the adult dog (maintenance), complete and balanced for puppies (growth), or complete and balanced for growth and maintenance both. Since all manufactures comply with this regulation, the only thing left to the consumers is to read the label.

Among the varieties of canned, bagged, or semi-moist dog foods, there are certain drawbacks, as well as advantages. This is true even though they are nutritionally identical if advertised as “complete” and/or “balanced”.

Because canned dog food may contain up to 78% moisture, a dog necessarily has to eat a larger quantity of a canned product to get the same volume of food that he would get if fed a dry product. It takes three pounds of commercially prepared canned dog food to be equivalent to one pound of dry food.

But manufactures do not fill a can two-thirds of the way with water, then top it off with a little dab of dog food. The moisture content inside the can is there by the very nature of the ingredients. For example, when a human buys a thick juicy steak, he’s buying well over fifty percent moisture. The butcher didn’t inject that moisture into the steak with a hypodermic needle.

The moisture content in canned dog food serves a definite and useful purpose toward dog health, both in processing and in the dog’s digestive system. The drawback to the consumer insofar as canned dog food is concerned, is usually one of economics. It can be very expensive due to the large quantities of canned food most normal to large sized dogs will need to eat to get in their daily caloric and nutritional needs. Keep in mind, proper dog health can be very expensive, but well worth the love and affection!

Pet food manufacturers are not required to list the NRC requirements (National Research Counsel, which helps reside over pet food regulations) on their labels, but they must – by state and federal regulations – list the ingredients contained in the package, whether it is a can, bag or box; which is why paying attention to labels is so important for dog health.

These ingredients show the consumer – among other things – the source from which the required nutrients were derived.

————————————————————–

Dog Health Secrets You Need To Know!

“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”

Dog Food Secrets

————————————————————–

The twenty six nutrients that are required can be derived from many sources. The manufacturer’s source of protein, for example, may be soybean meal, fish, cottage cheese, yeast or other plant or animal protein.

Since meat does not offer all of the energy that dogs need for optimal dog health, and is extremely low in carbohydrates, and carbohydrates supply energy to a dog, some manufacturers will use grains, such as corn and rice, to supply needed carbohydrates.

Liver and brewers yeast are common sources of riboflavin, while niacin can be provided by the inclusion of certain meats, poultry, cereals, and even peanuts and yeast. Wheat germ, egg yolk, fish and whole wheat are sources for vitamin B6, while meat, meat by-products, certain vegetables and cereals supply necessary amounts of pantothenic acid.

When all twenty six nutrients are present in their proper amounts and ratios, it can then be said that the dog food ration is “complete, “balanced”, or “complete and balanced nutritionally”. Nutritional balancing is the responsibility of the manufacturer’s canine nutritionists, technicians, and laboratory scientists.

A sad note in the whole process often occurs when the dog owner finally makes his selection from the grocer’s shelf and takes the product home. He promptly mixes the balanced dog food with table scraps. The manufacturer’s entire research staff of highly paid dietitians and scientists have wasted their time and professional skill as far as that dog and owner are concerned.

By adding to what has already been scientifically prepared, the dog owner upsets the intricate, interrelated balance of nutrients. While many people think they know what is best for their pets, they forget that millions of dollars and thousands of hours of research have went into combining the perfect nutritional balance for your dog, which of course is what pet food manufacturers go by.

This is not to imply that the vitamin and mineral supplementation – if needed – should be ignored. Vitamin and mineral supplements have a very definite and useful place in dog society – just as they do in human society. If it were not for vitamin and mineral supplements, we could have a world full of problems in dog health.

The nutritional guideline standards for dog health, as set forth by the NRC (National Research Council), state that pet food manufacturers must have the minimum amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals.

They include meat, meat by-products, corn, wheat middlings, barley, oats, rice, brewer’s yeast, vegetable and/or animal fats, fish meal, poultry, bone meal, cereals, soybean meal – all of which are rich in the required nutrients for optimal dog health.

————————————————————–

Dog Health Secrets You Need To Know!

“In This Shocking FREE Video Report You Discover Why 87% of Dogs Die Too Early & 3 Easy Things You Can Do Today To Stop It Happening to Your Dog”

Dog Food Secrets

————————————————————–

To meet the palatability requirement so that dogs would enjoy eating this food, manufacturers can add tomato puree, bacon, salt, onion powder, garlic and other ingredients to make the food smell and taste good.

The required ease in consumer handling is accomplished by packing the product in bags with graduated poundage from one to fifty pounds, in twelve to sixteen ounce cans, and in see-through cellophane packs or cans for individual serving.

After the manufacturers have packed their product in a can, bag or box, they have the added the burden of getting the dog owner’s attention to the pet food shelves. They know the family dog isn’t standing there looking over the product – a human is.

To get the human to reach out and select one of the many different brands available, the product must please the eye of the consumer, while dog health is a secondary concern. The dog doesn’t give one care in the world what the product looks like. The animal is only interested in how it tastes and smells.

Manufacturers today will exhibit their product to look like fresh ground hamburger, choice steaks, chunks of lean beef, even breakfast cereals. Although dog food comes in a variety of styles, it really comes in only three types:

1) The complete/balanced food (everything the dog needs in one container). This pet food type will list the product as containing all of the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals that a canine should have for good health.

2) The supplementary food (to be added to the complete food to increase palatability). Such food items for pets are made to get the dog’s appetite stimulated enough to eat all of his main/complete food.

3) Treats and snacks (for training rewards or just plain pampering) which can range from beef jerky for dogs to small cereal biscuits.

If a dog’s diet consisted solely of a supplementary food, he would be deprived of the vitamins and nutrients he needs. The supplementary food and treats and snacks were not intended to be the sole diet of the dog. Most manufacturers concerned with dog health will indicate this point on the label.

Today’s dog owner is confronted with a bewildering array of food for his pet.

Years ago, when such a variety wasn’t available, dogs were fed foods that were most plentiful in the region. In the arctic, dogs were fed mostly fish and whale blubber; in the southern United States, a dog’s diet consisted mainly of cornbread; in Europe, potatoes were the main fare. These diets led to diseases such as black tongue (pelegra in humans), rickets, and other less commonly known ailments, many of them fatal.

In the wild, the canine did not just restrict himself to eating just the meat of his prey. He ate the entire animal, including the contents of the stomach. Wild dogs were known to kill each other while fighting over the stomach contents of their prey. Thus, nature provided the wild animal with a diet considered nutritionally complete.

Domesticated dogs were not allowed that luxury, and usually were fed table scraps. These poor diets resulted in serious nutritional imbalances and severe nutritional deficiencies.

After years of study, it was determined that even though the canine is considered a carnivorous animal, he requires certain carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to satisfy nutritional requirements just as humans do.

In 1953, the National Research Council compiled and published nutritional requirements for dogs. The NRC is a federally established scientific body whose basic function is gathering research data.

After World War II, the pet food industry in the United States began an enormous expansion. Already a highly competitive business, pet food manufacturers quickly found themselves in neck to neck competition for a piece of this multi-million dollar a year business.

In order to survive and successfully compete in the market, pet food manufacturers knew that they must provide a dog food which was:

A) Nutritionally complete; containing all 26 nutrients that the National Research Council said that does need.

B) Palatable so that the dog would enjoy eating the food.

C) Easy and convenient for the customer to handle.

D) Economically competitive in the market.

To ensure good dog health, pet food manufacturers have established laboratories and hired nutritionists and food technicians to select those ingredients, which, when combined, will provide the sufficient nutrition to meet NRC standards.

What do we do when we can no longer trust the food manufacturers who is supposed to provide us with safe and healthy foods for our animals?

When The Food Is Killing Your Pets, Something Has To Change

The widespread recall of pet food has created a scare to all dog and cat owners who rely on commercial brands to feed their pets. All over the country, contaminated pet food has caused many dogs to become severely sick, while a large number of them have died.

In March alone of this year, Menu foods, an Ontario based manufacturing company, recalled more than 90 brands of “cuts and gravy” moist foods (both dog food and cat food) after more than 14 animals died from eating them. A few weeks later, the same company added 20 more varieties of their brand to be taken off store shelves.

It was later discovered that wheat gluten, an ingredient found in the said pet foods, was contaminated with rat poison. The risk of Salmonella contamination has also been the cause of a recall for two brands of pig ear dog treats.

Cases of toxic pet foods go back to December of 2005, when several dogs died and dozens fell ill after eating kibble manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods. It was later found out that the food was contaminated with aflatoxin; a naturally occurring chemical produced from fungus and can be found on crops such as wheat, corn, rice, and beans. This chemical is also toxic to domestic animals, livestock, and even humans. Other pet food recalls during this past decade also involve the risk for Salmonella contamination.

Are These Pet Food Companies Breaking The Law?

FDA regulations state that pet foods should be manufactured similar to the way human foods are manufactured. They should be processed under a sanitary environment, do not contain any harmful ingredients, accurately labeled, and safe to eat.

All pet food manufacturers are expected to comply with these regulations to ensure that the food is safe and healthy. However, due to limited resources, the FDA can only inspect pet food issues after consumer complaints are made or if the FDA has a reason to believe that there is a threat to animal health. A recall is then announced by the FDA or the manufacturer if a defective product is found.