The Dirty Dozen of Dog Foods
Here is a link for a great site with some of the worst dog food offenders out there. You may even see some brands that your vet sells or your vet has even convinced you to feed your dog. Please read and check it out, you may be surprised!
Why are we so passionate about what you feed your dog? Aren't the dog foods regulated by the FDA and other organizations? My vet is a trained professional, he wouldn't tell me to give my dog something that could possibly hurt him would he?
It basically boils down to that the majority of the commercially produced dog foods are made cheaper by using ingredients that would have been thrown away anyway, ingredients that aren't fit for human consummation. If you see "Chicken by-product" on the label, it's probably feces that have not left it's body yet. Gross, but true. Big dog food manufactures use things like beaks, feet and other parts that they can not sell in any other manner. These ingredients are not healthy for your dog. Not only are they not healthy, they will cause many, many health problems. Usually if someone comes to us and says their dog is having hot spots (gooey abrasions in the skin that are normally covered in pus) or ear problems like constant ear infections and yeast in the ears, the first thing we ask them is "What kind of dog food do you feed". Typically either switching to a high quality "super premium" food or cooking for your dog, will generally clear those problems right up. What about the vet that is pushing brands like Science Diet and Iams, and Eukanuba? Well, as it turns out, there is only one vet school in the country that offers any sort of nutrition class and that class is optional. While vets get a whole lot of training and knowledge in school, they do not learn about the dangers of these foods and how they negatively affect your pets. Plus, it is widely known that if the vet sells Science Diet, they get it to feed to their pets for free or at a greatly reduced rate (about $3 a bag!) and Science Diet pays them for general office items such as paper and other things that promote their foods. It boils down to that the vets own their practices and it is in fact, a business and they do what they need to in order to keep their business afloat.
So what is a dog owner to do? Do your own research and don't allow your vet to sell you something that you know is not healthy for your dog. If you are not sure, tell them you will come back after you've had time to research it. Check back here often for our updates on the brands and items we are suggesting. Remember, our recommendations are what we feed and give our own dogs and we expect our dogs to live well into a ripe old age and be healthy along the way!
"Koda"
Photo by Liz Luzietti
Photo by Liz Luzietti