Very disturbing :mad:

[Yorkiedaze]

Dogs, cats, farm animals, lab animals, road kill, you name it, goes into the making of most dog food. Buy the book by Ann N. Martin "Food Pets Die For". She had the industry in and out of court for over seven years. She had undercover people inside those rendering plants. If you are sure that there is a dog food company that doesn't use these practices, then call and ask if they give "tours". If they have nothing to hide, then they will show you around inside the rendering plant.

Closer Look At A Rendering Plant

The Dark Side of Recycling

[AprilLove]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

There are no dead dogs and cats in dog food in the US. There are extremely questionable meat products used though. The same goes for human food.

If a company says they make human grade food, that means nothing at all. They need to use specific terminology that is actually defined by law. They ened to be willing to tell you that it is "fit for human consumption." If they won't say that, then I'd question it. Humans still can't eat it though b/c it isn't processed in human food factories.

While I do agree that homecooked food is a great choice if done correctly, my next dog will eat 90% dog food. I'm tired of it after only a few years. It can be time consuming and it's harder to travel. It's more work for people watching your pup and it can get expensive. It isn't easy to get just right and health problems can occur. I'm happy I can do it for Ellie, but after this, that's it unless a medical problem requires it.

And IMO the new holistic companies have some work to do in proving that their products are actually better than older ones. There is a lot hidden there too...

ETA: Most of the food out of the grocery store isn't all that "safe" either.

That is an opinion, not a fact. I don't doubt what kind of garbage goes into some of the "food" made for our pets. I mean, look what is going into human food, so why would pet food be any different?

If food is processed in any way, you can bet there are things in it that are not good for us, or them.

[Rhetts_mama]

Originally Posted by AprilLove

That is an opinion, not a fact. I don't doubt what kind of garbage goes into some of the "food" made for our pets. I mean, look what is going into human food, so why would pet food be any different?

If food is processed in any way, you can bet there are things in it that are not good for us, or them.

It's also an opinion and not a fact that all the other stuff ends up in the dog food. Are there bad companies out there? Without a doubt. But there are also some really good ones. To make a blanket statement that all commercial foods are bad and is poisoning our dogs is reaching a bit. I'm all for doing your research, but I do have a big problem with scare tactics.

[AprilLove]

Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama

It's also an opinion and not a fact that all the other stuff ends up in the dog food. Are there bad companies out there? Without a doubt. But there are also some really good ones. To make a blanket statement that all commercial foods are bad and is poisoning our dogs is reaching a bit. I'm all for doing your research, but I do have a big problem with scare tactics.

I totally agree! That is why I said "..what goes into "some" pet foods
I agree, but I didn't make a blanket statement that all commercial foods are bad , just wanted to clear that up.

There are good foods, and bad foods. But it is good to do research and know that there are bad foods out there, and choices for pet parents. A lot of new pet owners don't know this.

[Rhetts_mama]

Originally Posted by AprilLove

I totally agree! That is why I said "..what goes into "some" pet foods
I agree, but I didn't make a blanket statement that all commercial foods are bad , just wanted to clear that up.

There are good foods, and bad foods. But it is good to do research and know that there are bad foods out there, and choices for pet parents. A lot of new pet owners don't know this.

Sorry- I should have clarified that I was referring to the original site with that comment.

[Ellie May]

I understand there are many sites and books that would want us to believe that there are really dogs and cats in dog food. Where is the proof? A testimony isn't proof. Several testimonies from the same plant would start to be a concern. The thing is with factory farming there are behind the scenes videos. I have seen none from dog food plants. Things do slip through constantly that should not (or are used on purpose). The same goes for human foods. But there are certain allowable ingredients. "Meat" in dog food can be beef, mutton, pork, or goat. I believe it would be against the law to use anything else under that listing. Of course companies could still be doing it, but if someone found out they would lose all credibility.

[Ellie May]

ETA: There are other things all over the internet that aren't true. It is hard to sort fact from myth. The whole vets get kick backs from food companies is somewhat false. Any food they sell they can make money from. I know of a vet office that used to sell Innova. So vets can get "kick backs" on Innova... Food can be expensive to stock and the money made on it isn't much. Some vets would rather not carry it at all. So there is one thing about dog food all over websites that is a myth.

[LDMomma]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I understand there are many sites and books that would want us to believe that there are really dogs and cats in dog food. Where is the proof? A testimony isn't proof. Several testimonies from the same plant would start to be a concern. The thing is with factory farming there are behind the scenes videos. I have seen none from dog food plants. Things do slip through constantly that should not (or are used on purpose). The same goes for human foods. But there are certain allowable ingredients. "Meat" in dog food can be beef, mutton, pork, or goat. I believe it would be against the law to use anything else under that listing. Of course companies could still be doing it, but if someone found out they would lose all credibility.

There are certain terms that can indicate that there are euthanized animals in the dog food. Since I dont use kibble, I forget exactly which ones it is though.

I know I have definitely seen an executive dance around the question and all but admit that there is dead, diseased, and dying animals in their food. I so wish I could find that video again. I want to say it was from one of the supermarket brands of pet food NOT one of the premium brands.

I did find this from the EPA: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch...al/c9s05-3.pdf

paying special attention to the last sentence (of the first paragraph).