Whats really in dog food!!!!!!!!!! - Page 1

Here is the begining of an investigative report that I use to choose my dogs food. If you want to continue reading follow the link below..........



"Plump whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains, and all the wholesome nutrition your dog or cat will ever need."

These are the images pet food manufacturers promulgate through the media and advertising. This is what the $11 billion per year U.S. pet food industry wants consumers to believe they are buying when they purchase their products.

This report explores the differences between what consumers think they are buying and what they are actually getting. It focuses in very general terms on the most visible name brands -- the pet food labels that are mass-distributed to supermarkets and discount stores -- but there are many highly respected brands that may be guilty of the same offenses.

What most consumers don't know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a market for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered "unfit for human consumption," and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts.
Three of the five major pet food companies in the United States are subsidiaries of major multinational companies:

1. Nestlé (Alpo, Fancy Feast, Friskies, Mighty Dog, and Ralston Purina products such as Dog Chow, ProPlan, and Purina One)
2. Heinz (9 Lives, Amore, Gravy Train, Kibbles n Bits, Nature's Recipe, Vets)
3. Colgate-Palmolive (Hill's Science Diet Pet Food).

Other leading companies are:

1. Procter & Gamble (Eukanuba and Iams)
2. Mars (Kal Kan, Mealtime, Pedigree, Sheba, Waltham's)
3. Nutro

From a business standpoint, multinational companies owning pet food manufacturing companies is an ideal relationship. The multinationals have increased bulk-purchasing power; those that make human food products have a captive market in which to capitalize on their waste products, and pet food divisions have a more reliable capital base and, in many cases, a convenient source of ingredients.

There are hundreds of different pet foods available in this country. And while many of the foods on the market are similar, not all of the pet food manufacturing companies use poor quality and potentially dangerous ingredients.

INGREDIENTS - Although the purchase price of pet food does not always determine whether a pet food is good or bad, the price is often a good indicator of quality. It would be impossible for a company that sells a generic brand of dog food at $9.95 for a 40-lb. bag to use quality protein and grain in its food. The cost of purchasing quality ingredients would be much higher than the selling price.

BY-PRODUCTS - The protein used in pet food comes from a variety of sources. When cattle, swine, chickens, lambs, or any number of other animals are slaughtered, the choice cuts such as lean muscle tissue are trimmed away from the carcass for human consumption. However, about 50% of every food-producing animal does not get used in human foods. Whatever remains of the carcass -- bones, blood, intestines, lungs, ligaments, and almost all the other parts not generally consumed by humans -- is used in pet food, animal feed, and other products. These "other parts" are known as "by-products," "meat-and-bone-meal," or similar names on pet food labels.

Continue reading at
AN API INVESTIGATIVE REPORT
by the Animal Protection Institute.
http:www.api4animals.org

I'd vouch to say a lot of people on this board do not feed any of those low end foods.  Some may, but there are numerous foods far better than any listed.

Yes - I only use certain foods or even HOME-Cooking because of my Fear of the Ingredients.

You can go here for a free dog food review -service: 
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dog-Food-Canine-3799/indexExp_96050.htm

What did you think was in dog food?
And don't forget the preservatives and artificial supplements.
My brand is good enough, I add to that what's lacking and the price is something I can live with.

The things I have seen dogs eat would make some people gag.
I don't worry too much about by-products, only whats lacking and that I can add myself.

Our human food supply is not all that great sometimes either, or totally safe.

I'm semi-careless about dog food brands, bcos with an above-rudimentary knowledge of "nutrition" and say, a little ingeneuity n observance, one can always provide a dog with 75-80% balanced diet. I feed my dogs 30% kibble or canned food, the rest is home made, added with codliver oil, calcium n multy-vitamin supplement, and it has proved wonderful on my dogs.-just like any nation with good sizeable physicists n just "above-average" knowledge of chemistry can develope a low-grade but potetially lethal nuke(atom bomb). Try your own recipe n observe. From NigerDeltaMann.

I'm semi-careless about dog food brands, bcos with an above-rudimentary knowledge of "nutrition" and say, a little ingeneuity n observance, one can always provide a dog with 75-80% balanced diet. I feed my dogs 30% kibble or canned food, the rest is home made, added with codliver oil, calcium n multy-vitamin supplement, and it has proved wonderful on my dogs.-just like any nation with good sizeable physicists n just "above-average" knowledge of chemistry can develope a low-grade but potetially lethal nuke(atom bomb). Try your own recipe n observe. From NigerDeltaMann.

What a curious fellow.

 "just like any nation with good sizeable physicists n just "above-average" knowledge of chemistry can develope a low-grade but potetially lethal nuke(atom bomb)."

What about the smaller physicists?  Why can only the sizable physicists make nukes?

 It really should go without saying that if you are paying $1 per pound, you are buying garbage.

Unfortunately, if you are paying twice that, there are still no guarantees.  You really MUST diversify your dogs' diet or you will almost surely create deficiencies that will cause long term sickness and ill health.  When we have a craving for a missing vitamin, mineral, nutrient, protein, etc., we can seek it out, but our dogs cannot.  

Only a variety of healthy foods for our dogs can work.

I would never think to feed a dog commercial kibble as an exclusive source of nutrition.  

In most dog foods you get rubbish some are good but you do not get it cheap It is just the same with the food a lot of humans eat Some Beef Burgers etc contain Rubbish but people eat them Cheap Sausages contain rubbish but people still eat them. Only when you pay a good fair price for Quality do you get anything worth having even then we get sucked in
So in other words you pays your money and takes a chance
Steve1