[Britster]

I do understand that testing is sometimes a necessary 'evil'. I am not against humane testing. Afterall, it's our own family and our own pets that we'd like to keep safe.

As far as dog food goes though, I'm not real impressed with a food passing an AAFCO feeding trial in the first place. I mean, yeah, I suppose it's "better than nothing". But I'm not sure it will make that much of a difference in the overall scheme of things.

AAFCO feeding trials consist of at least eight dogs being fed the same diet for a mere 26 weeks (approximately six months). During this time, 25% of the dogs (so, two animals) can be removed from the test (without a reason as to why) and the dogs eating the food can lose up to 15% of their weight and condition; the food will still pass the test and be labeled "complete and balanced." All dogs in the trial are given a complete physical examination at the beginning and end of the test. This 'physical examination' can be provided by any veterinarian including the pet food manufacturer veterinarian; a clear opportunity for bias.

I mean, really, the chance of your dog dying or suffering some big illness from eating ANY dog food is probably very slim anyway. I think some of our "fears" (mine included) are overblown. I'm guilty of it. I always talk about Diamond for example, how I wouldn't touch it, etc. A lot of us are now TERRIFIED of Diamond produced foods. But really? our dogs probably have a one in a million chance of anything happening to them because of dog food. They probably have a higher chance of dying from a snake bite, or something crazy, then dying because of eating pet food. And the only reason I know about all this stuff is because of pet forums. If I was just a regular ole' owner, I wouldn't even think twice about this stuff, and I'm sure Jackson would be absolutely fine with whatever I chose to feed.

But of course, we want the best for our dogs. I know I do. I pay attention to every little thing, lol. I'm kind of anal about it actually. So it's slightly disturbing to me to think that dead dogs and cats could possibly be in the food people feed their beloved family pets. With that said, dogs are scavengers, and evolved alongside humans... eating whatever scraps they could find and corn mush and whatever they could catch themselves. Was it the healthiest? Probably not, but they survived. Would I choose to feed a dog food knowing such stuff is in there? Nope, it wouldn't be my first choice.

I do believe in good QC, and think being informed is important. Obviously. Or else I wouldn't research so much. But I just think that other things play so much more into a dog's life and health, like genetics, neutering/spaying, over-vaccination, etc. I do think diet plays a part - I know that I notice little things between different brands, and my dog does better on one over the other. I don't really trust Purina, but I don't really trust most pet foods.