What is actually in pet food?

Does anyone know anything about the ingredients in pet food, and which brands contain more dangerous ingredients then others?

 

Look under the ingredients. I try and avoid buying dog food that has ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, or chicken-by product meal as the top ingredients.

 

I always read the ingredients in my pets food b4 i buy it...I try to avoid dog foods that contain a lot of wheat gluten.

 

Check some of these sites out. I was disturebed when I learnt what was really in commercial pet food. I'm thinking of making my own, or putting them on a organic vegan diet.

http://www.eatveg.com/petfood.htm
http://www.homevet.com/petcare/foodbook.html
http://www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=79

 

That sounds like an aweesome idea !!! That's probably the healthiest way to go, organic food...cuz all the other 'natural' claims on pet food are really just marketing scams. Organic food is certified and verifiable and probably the only truly safe food out there for animals.

I actually feed my cat organic food I get on amazon.com. Cat's don't make good vegans but dogs can if you know a lot about nutrition and how to really take care of them. They can be vegetarian fairly easily though !

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HZ89TM?ie=UTF8&tag=myspace0172-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000HZ89TM - Organic Wet Cat Food, A case of 12 big 6 oz cans for only $12.82

Not a bad price really. 6 oz cans are a lot bigger than most cat food cans. I don't feed my cat this all the time, I usually buy free range chicken, but I give him this supplementally since it's fortified with vitamins...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HZ897O?ie=UTF8&tag=myspace0172-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000HZ897O - By Nature Dry Organic Cat food, 3.5 lb for only $7.79 , suuuch a good deal ! I feed my cat organix as a staple and he gets this every now and then for variety.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ML8CA?ie=UTF8&tag=myspace0172-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0002ML8CA - Organic Dog food By Newmans(can't go wrong there), they have veg. dog treats up there too , by petguard.



Really I believe "people food" is ideal for pets. Rancid little cereal nuggets or putrified canned meat is not something any creature should have to live on and it obviously does not create a beautiful picture of health when you look at how many animals get sick pre-maturely now.

You can actually see sickness in a lot of animals today too, with frail hairs, their jumpy animals who are deficient in omega 3 and several other minerals like magensium, and just companion animals who are in really devestating health.

But pre-made organic food is obviously a gazillion times superior to pre-made chicken feather/euthanized animal/genetically modified corn gluten/wheat gluten/29384983 other byproducts food.

Whole foods and organ meats are actually great for animals too, and dirt cheap usually. I also feed my cat raw free range egg yolks, not the whites because of the enzyme inhibitors. He also doesnt mind when I add a good mercury-free fish oil to some of his food and it makes his coat look sooooo good.

 

BTW - If you go to http://www.petguard.com and fill out the contact form and ask for a free sample of organic pet food, they will send you a nice package and some free pet food. I don't know if they would ship it to Canada but it is worth a try !!!

 

I feed my dog a free range organic brand.


Any real decent brand is going to either have to be bought at a specialty store or online....you won't find a good quality food at a grocery store or a commercial pet food store chain like petco.

A couple of good brands.....

canidae
solid gold
wellness

 

Be-careful of anything with "meat meal"

http://www.10tv.com/?story=sites/10tv/content/pool/200705/1603529601.html

 

I'de go further and say to be careful with any type of "blank meal"

 

Awesome!!!

That's so great Elle, I am glad to know someone else actually buys free range organic food for their pets, lol.

That is so true too about good brands generally not being at grocery stores...though to be fair I did see by nature organic cat food in kroger one time, and another grocery store gene walters here sells organic catnip and organic cat treats, but not actually food...

 

I know alot of animals died in the recall but I think the good thing is that it wasn't in vain. It's causing alot of peope to FINALLY wake up and take notice about what these asshole corporations are putting in "pet food". It makes me sick to watch their commercials boasting about the "highest nutrition" for your dog and cat when I know that their food is total crap! It kills me...so many people are so fooled by these companies and their commercials. You wouldn't believe how much I hear "Oh I feed my dog quality food....they eat Iams" or "science diet". That stuff is just as much of a load of crap as anything else you will find at walmart.


But the recall has gotten many people to change their views and really become more aware. Infact, the feed store where I buy my dog/cat food, the guy there just told me that his business that gone way up since the recall....everyone wants to buy their animals quality food now.

 

I cook for my dog. He's like my baby, now that our kids are older. I cooked for them, so why not for him? I read a lot about what nutrition needs he has and I think he is doing really well. He fur is definately more shiny and he doesn't seem to be shedding as much.

 

Tons of things are put in commercial dog food that consumers are unaware of. In LA (US) alone 200,000 euthanized pets are sent to manufaturers to be used in dog food per month. The collars and tags are all left on and the feces is NOT disgarded. The chemical Sodium Pentobarbital which is used to euthanize the dogs and cats is is still active in the bodies. This means that the food our pets eat still has active Sodium Pentobarbital in it. The perservatives that are used cause liver and kidney failer as well as many kinds of cancer. The humans that work work with these perservatives experience side effects related to those of "Agent Orange. It makes me wonder what is in the food that is produced for humans! I cook for my dog as well however I dont' feed her any animal products. She is healthy and has no (vitamin/mineral) deficencies.

 

Dogs need meat for long term health - making them vegetarians is as bad as feeding them poor quality dog food...maybe even worse.

IMO the healthiest diet is not commercial foods at all but a diet of raw meat, bones, eggs, organs and which is quite low in carbs. I don't know of any other diet which naturally keeps dogs teeth clean and tartar free. Dogs (or cats) fed raw diets have small, near odorless stool, good muscle tone, nice coats and are in obvious good health. I think homecooking (using a meat based recipe) is probably second best but doesn't provide all the benefits of feeidng raw.

 

I feed my dog Eagle Holistic dog food... its a human grade dog food.. meaning its up to standards with the FDA.. you could eat it if you wanted... mmm YUM lol... and about this "meal" thing.. actually chicken/turkey meal are extremely high in protein compared to just plain chicken or turkey.. so keep that in mind when thinking whether or not to get something that says "meal".. except maybe meat meal.. because who knows what meat it is.. and most of all stay away from grocery store/commercial dog foods.. nothing but filler and other crap your dog will more than likely not enjoy... just because he eats it dont mean he likes it..

 

Do you mind me asking what you feed your dog? I am wanting to start cooking for my dogs. I've looked up a couple different recipes which is basically brown rice, beef/lamb/chicken, potatoes, carrots, veggie oil. I haven't found out how much I should feed them. I have 1 dogs that weighs about 85lbs and another dog that weighs about 35lbs. Currently, my larger dog is getting fed 2 cups 2Xs a day and the smaller dog is being fed 1cup 2Xs a day. Should I feed relatively the same amount?

 

I just found a funny looking e-book called "68 Dog Food Ingredients to Die For!" which talks about the 68 most dangerous ingredients in dog food - http://gocheck.68dogs.hop.clickbank.net/



BTW , there are 245 whole food homemade dog food recipes here - http://gocheck.shine2.hop.clickbank.net/

Nice Xavier Rudd signature Frieden I think the more nutritious the dog food, the less you will need to feed them. So the healthier recipes you find or create, the less they'll actually need...If you just follow your intuition and feed them each a few times a day then they will be fine...depending on their level of activity too.