I was over at one of my favorite message boards - www.SavingAdvice.com - when I noticed a discussion going on about saving money on dog food.  The first post was basically a brief mention about how we shouldn’t buy cheap dog food because if we really knew what was put into it, we’d feel really sorry for our dogs.

Well, I do know what’s in the cheap stuff so I had to chime in.  So-called “Dog Food” is somewhat of a hot button for me.  I can’t stand when haughty veterinarians claim that you shouldn’t give your animal “people food” and that the only thing they’re allowed to eat is commercialized pet food (which, conveniently, they then try to sell to you).  Baloney! Commercialized pet food was just invented in this past century.  Dogs have survived many millenia without it!  Good, nutritional REAL people food - vegetables, meats, rice - are the best foods a dog can eat.  I’m not advocating that you should throw bones, french fries, or pizza rinds at Fido and call it a night….I’m just saying that healthy human food (baked, broiled, steamed, raw) is healthy dog food!   Our dogs, and my parent’s dogs, have always eaten a variety of chicken, steak, vegetables, etc, right along with us. (My dad’s daughter…uh..I mean, yorkshire terrier, Prissy gets a Tbone 2-3 times a week).  Now, at our house, we do use a commercial dry dog food as our current budget doesn’t allow for us to feed them enough human food affordably - but I view commercial dog food as “second best” and more out of necessity than of something “they must have to live”.  If I were rich, I’d probably have a cook cooking daily for our dogs.

Come to think of it, if I were rich, I’d have a cook cooking daily for me too. :)  But anywho…

After I finished my reply, I thought I’d just bring the post over here to the blog to point out how to examine your own dog food bag.  So without further ado…here is my reply on that topic…

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RE:  Don’t Buy Cheap Pet Food

I did a large research report one time on the quality of dog food for a college class I had.  Dog food companies are able to use 4D (dead, diseased, dying or disabled) meat in dog food.  These are meats that are, by law, not fit for human consumption.  Bones, blood, bits of feathers, intestines, and all are allowed in too.

You can easily tell what the main ingredient - and if it’s one of these 4D “meats” - by examining your ingredient label on the dog food.  Look for words such as “by-product” and “meal”.   There are many combinations listed on the ingredient list, such as “meal byproduct”, “lamb byproduct”, “chicken meal”, etc.    The first ingredient listed is the main one in the food you are buying.

Another bad thing about “cheap” dog foods are that many of them use a wheat or vegetable as the first main ingredient, such as corn.  Dogs are carnivores - they need meat to stay healthy.  If your dog food bag has corn listed as the first ingredient, you’re essentially giving your dog nothing but non-nutritional filler his entire life. 

So if you are heavily concerned about what you give your dog, watch out for…

1. Anything in the ingredient list with the word “meal” or “byproduct” beside it

2. Food bags that have a wheat or vegetable as the first ingredient

Don’t let the vets “fool” you (they are NOT animal nutritionists) - even expensive dog foods contain byproducts and meal…some of them are even worse than the cheaper ones.

Tagged: dog food, pets

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