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Originally Posted by 107barney  Ashley I have a question for you....
You said that excess protein is eliminated in the stool. My dog eats a home cooked grain-free meal of 45% protein and 12% fat and 12% fiber. I haven't noticed any stool issues other than they are very small and really don't smell. Personally, I believe that grains fill the toilet for both people and pets so im trying to understand your generalization.
FWIW, I appreciate your disclosure that you work for RC. I think it does put us on notice that your philosophy and delivery of information in that light. I still think it's great to have you here.
I have to agree with Nancy on the cost of byproducts versus muscle meats. Boneless chicken breast at my local big chain grocery store was $3.99/lb (sale price) and a hearts/gizzard mix was $1.60/lb. I frequently buy chicken spines for very cheap for soups and the poultry farm doesn't even charge me for chicken feet. I guess I could buy your explanation more if the price of the formula correspondingly decreased based on the new ingredients of cheap broken rice and byproducts. I don't disagree that the food could still be quality. I don't think chicken backs and necks produce any less quality stock than a bone-in muscle meats, but I will indeed spend less on those items. Did RC drop the price of the food to reflect this? |
Hi @107barney!
Any protein that is not digested and absorbed by the body continues through the digestive tract into the stool. This is called undigested protein. The undigested protein can also be fed on by the bacteria in the colon, pulling excess water into the colon (leading to higher moisture stools), smelly stools and even gas. A less digestible source of protein will lead to more undigested protein winding up in the colon.
When we are talking about protein utilization in the body, that depends on the specific dog's needs. Some dogs, like the Poodle, Yorkie, Shih Tzu, have increased needs for protein because of the high demands for coat formation. Other breeds, like the Boxer, German Shepherd, have higher demands for protein for lean muscle maintenance. Anything above and beyond the demands of protein by the body for tissue formation and bodily processes, will be used as energy.
Grains are beautiful!! Don't turn your back on them for you or your pup
Just because they weren't necessarily part of an ancestral diet for dogs, doesn't mean they can't be extremely beneficial. Look at half the foods we consume as humans! If we were only to consume foods our regions locally produced, how would we be? Fine! Populations in remote areas have learned to adapt to the food found in their close proximity (Think Inuit populations, remote Caribbean islands, or dessert habitats.) But in the new age, thanks to transportation and improved technologies, we can enjoy foods from all over the world! In Canada, we would never have the ability to consume beneficial foods such as avocados, bananas, acai berries etc. because of our climate, but exotic foods like that can enrich our diet with valuable nutrients to support our health... avocados are also extremely tasty and make everything taste better
yumm
I do want to clarify one thing you mentioned. Chicken backs would actually be included in AAFCO’s definition of chicken, not by-products. In fact, backs and necks would make up the majority of chicken and chicken meal, as all the chicken breasts, thighs, wings, etc go to the human food chain.
To obtain the quality and nutritional profile we are looking for, it takes more effort to find a supplier that meets our standards vs. just any supplier who happens to have the ingredients we are looking for. We sort and trim both our chicken meal and chicken by-product meal so that it contains the portions we are looking for, and nothing what we don't want. Portions we don't want include anything indigestible in its current form on the chicken (ie nails and feathers), fat (fat contributes to more weight which could make it appear higher on the ingredient deck, but something we want to carefully control the level of, therefore add Chicken Fat into the formula separately) and also the level of bone (this contributes to the ash content of the formula. Ash is a combination of minerals and elements. We choose to add these important nutrients in separately so we can precisely control their level. This is what is called low ash chicken meal and chicken by-product meal).
To achieve all the quality and nutritional precision we are looking for, we have to source our chicken by-product meal from a supplier that can meet these demands for RC. Even still, once the ingredient reaches our plant(s), we do our own in-house tests and evaluations for quality (make sure there are no microorganisms or contaminants) and nutritional precision (using NIRS, near-infrared spectroscopy). This means that we still hold the power to reject truckloads of ingredients if they arrive at our plant and don't meet our standards (truck drivers are NOT happy with us at that point).
And also I appreciate your honesty. I completely understand; I take what companies say with a grain of salt too (you should see when I walk into a health food store!). I rely on scientific evidence, that is my go-to source for information and my comfort. Any time I am unclear about information provided to me, I examine the all the science.
Hope that helps!
Ashley