| What you don't know could be bad for your dog, | | | | little to no meaning. All that those words mean, in |
| causing illness and even death. Most of us don't | | | | a legal sense, is that those foods contain a |
| pay a lot of attention to what we feed our pets, | | | | particular percentage of fat, protein, and added |
| trusting manufacturer labeling to be accurate and | | | | minerals and vitamins. |
| regulations to be followed. The truth is that there | | | | Additives |
| really aren't very many rules about what can and | | | | We've all heard of recent pet food recalls caused |
| can't go into dog food. | | | | by wheat gluten poisoned with melamine from |
| Unfit For Consumption | | | | China. However, that's not the only additive that's |
| Did you know that the average dog food could | | | | in pet food, and plenty of them are extremely |
| contain meat from diseased animals, bones, | | | | dangerous as well. Preservatives that aren't |
| nervous tissues, skin, organs, hair, ligaments, and | | | | allowed in human food and cause serious illness in |
| even spoiled meat and the bodies of other pets? | | | | workers exposed to them are extremely |
| Most of the "good" meat that makes its way into | | | | common in dog food. Over time, they can cause |
| dog and cat food has long since been processed | | | | cancer, illness, liver and kidney failure and many |
| so heavily that all its nutritive value is gone. If you | | | | other problems. The food you give to your pet |
| see ingredients on your dog's food bag like "animal | | | | could be causing him or her to become sick. |
| meal" or "poultry broth", you shouldn't imagine the | | | | Not Just Cheap Foods |
| sort of thing you'd eat. | | | | It's not just cheap pet food that's the problem, |
| Animal meals are what's left after all the meat | | | | either. There's no regulation on high end or organic |
| and fat have been processed out of a carcass - | | | | foods, as well. While these pet food may be of |
| any carcass at all. The remainder is ground and | | | | higher quality, we have no way of knowing |
| dried, producing a "meal" that's similar in texture | | | | whether they use the same ingredients as their |
| to ground grains. The broths in dog food are | | | | cheaper relatives or not. That can make it hard to |
| similarly unpleasant, made up of processed | | | | find a food that's good for your dog, even if it's |
| carcasses from all kinds of animals, in all kinds of | | | | one recommended by your vet. |
| condition. | | | | What Can You Do? |
| Not Illegal | | | | There are a number of options. The first is to |
| Unfortunately, none of this is against the law. | | | | learn to read your dog's food labels. Ingredients |
| We're used to fairly good rules about what can | | | | higher on the label are present in greater |
| and can't go into human food, and we're used to | | | | quantities, so look for named meats high on the |
| those laws being reasonably well enforced. The | | | | list - not meals or broths, and not generic words |
| regulations about what can be put into pet food | | | | like "poultry" "meat" or "fish", but named species |
| are much looser, and may not be enforced at all. | | | | and types. |
| That means that almost anything could end up in | | | | Learn the preservatives and additives that can |
| your dog's food, and that the labels on the | | | | hurt your dog's health, and avoid foods that are |
| package that claim it's "healthy and balanced" have | | | | heavy on grains. |