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11-04-2008, 02:31 AM | #1 |
Donating YT 11K Club Member | Should i even be feeding commercial food? I came across this horrible Iams testing video and it is so heartbreaking. Those poor lab dogs Does this happen in all brands? I feed California Natural dry food and it is 5 star but i was wondering if i should just try to feed them raw, or what?
__________________ Primrose, Teddy..RIP, Livie..RIP, And can never forget my duo Sophie and London, Run in Peace <3 |
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11-04-2008, 03:10 AM | #3 |
YT Addict Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Posts: 448
| Well... Personally I am switching my dogs as soon as my bag of Orijen finish.. I think raw is a wonderful way to feed, but that is JMO... Many people don't agree... some others are squeamish.. But I am 100% sure that once I switch I will be feeding the species appropriate diet to my babies After I found out how commercial food is made, I really don't think I will feed it willingly to my dogs. I just get so scared thinking that if someone is careless in the factory, they'd probably think "oh it's just for dogs" I really cannot live my life worrying about what's in this particular bag of kibble or can, or if the food's gonna be recalled next.. Or listening to other people say their dogs get a lot of problems from the food I am feeding, and wonder if my dog would develop those problems too. Let me just say, when I was researching for "good" commercial food, I had headaches for a full week. When I do research for the correct diet of raw (still doing it now) I feel enlightened each and every day. It feels like a huge burden is off my shoulders
__________________ Nita Mocha & Lulu |
11-04-2008, 04:20 AM | #4 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member | I saw this video back before all the pet food recalls last year. Anyone that loves their pets (and isn't already aware) should take 5 minutes and watch, it will forever change your opinion of commercial pet foods. What the Iams video shows is absolutely horrible, this video though, is very revealing about what is actually in many commercial pet foods.
__________________ ~Ruby, Reno, Razz, & Jack~ |
11-04-2008, 04:31 AM | #5 |
Twinkle & Wicket's Mum Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kent, England
Posts: 2,197
| OMG!!! Just watched that video - aborted calf foetus!? road kill!? cats and dogs!!!!?????I've been completely ignorant to how some pet foods are made...I'm on my way to research alternatives such as holistic foods, raw, and homecooked diets right now!! Thanks so much for posting it! xxx xxx
__________________ Love from Claire (Me!) mummy to skindaughters Mia and Lucia, furdaughter Twinkleand fursons Wicket and Ozzy 'Treat stressful situations like a dog; pee on them then walk away.' |
11-04-2008, 04:34 AM | #6 |
YT Addict Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Posts: 448
| Yup... that's scary alright.. The thing I'm concerned most is, even with supposedly "high quality food" like Orijen, Solid Gold, Merrick, etc.. We STILL don't know what's in them or HOW they make it.
__________________ Nita Mocha & Lulu |
11-04-2008, 05:07 AM | #7 |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| I think homecooked is a better way to go than commercial food but I would personally feed commercial food over raw. That video is so horrible but even with human foods, animals are abused. It is hard to get away from it completely. I think some websites overstate the horrible things that are happening (not talking about the Iams video here). They say that dogs and cats are used in dog food and road kil is usedl. Has it happened in the past? Probably somewhere. Is it happening now? I wouldn't be too sure, especially with well known brands. Big name companies have too much money invested and if they really did use euthanized dogs and cats and we found out about it, what would happen? They wouldn't be in business too long... I have heard rumors about things like this but is there any solid evidence? If there was, why isn't it being circulated like the Iams video? There are ingredients in pet foods that are just gross but you are pretty safe if all the ingredients are named. For example, I would look for something that says chicken fat instead of animal fat because I know what animal it came from... Then you have the issue of diseased meats going into the food or the left overs that humans don't eat and that is very possible. Even with good brands, we still can't be sure they aren't using these things.
__________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶 |
11-04-2008, 06:46 AM | #8 |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,317
| I had a discussion about commercial pet food with Lady's specialist about a year ago. He said that the rise in pet diabetes in recent years can be blamed on commercial diets. Most are too high in carbohydrates because they are cheaper than meats. Dogs and especially cats aren't able to break down carbs the way humans can and carbohydrates convert to glucose (sugar) in the body. He said that Natures Variety Prairie was one of the few commercial diets he would recommend. The brands you find in the grocery store are the worst as they are made with the waste from the human food industry, the "not fit for human consumption" by-products. In fact, the major brands are owned by well known companies like Del Monte, Proctor &Gamble and Colgate Palmolive. This article is a must read for anyone with a pet: Get The Facts Raw and homemade diets are wonderful as long as your consult your vet and/or a nutritionist to make sure they are appropriate for your dog. Raw, for instance, should only be feed to healthy dogs. Lady can't have it since she is diabetic and her weakened immune system can't handle the bacteria that is normally found in raw. Dogs with liver disease should not be fed raw either according to Dr. Dodds. Homecooked is great as long as you follow a carefully prepared diet developed by a nutritionist which contains the proper supplements to add. Dogs have a much higher calcium requirement than humans. The calcium/phosphorus ratio needs to be correct or your dog could get rickets, have heart irregularities and neurological problems. |
11-04-2008, 06:56 AM | #9 |
Lovin' my R & R Donating Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Middleton, Idaho
Posts: 2,152
| Crystal, are you talking commercial food over commercial raw (pre-made, frozen), or the prey model raw (going to the butcher, etc)?
__________________ Amanda 's Ranger & Ryder |
11-04-2008, 07:12 AM | #10 |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| I would feed a high quality commercial kibble or canned food beforeI would feed premade or prey model raw.
__________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶 |
11-04-2008, 07:13 AM | #11 | |
Donating YT 500 Club Member | Quote:
Also, many of the diseases our pets will get from these foods take years to develop as is the case with most cancers. Just because our pets aren't getting sick immediately from these foods doesn't convince me, there are not long term implications from feeding them.
__________________ ~Ruby, Reno, Razz, & Jack~ | |
11-04-2008, 07:19 AM | #12 | |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| Quote:
I agree that Menu waited way too long to recall the food manufactured there and if it would've been human food, it would've been recalled faster. For that I do not support Menu or any of the foods made there. That included Wellness canned and Nature's Variety canned. Since they took so long to recall last time, if there is a problem, I won't trust them now.
__________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶 Last edited by Ellie May; 11-04-2008 at 07:23 AM. | |
11-04-2008, 07:35 AM | #13 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member | Crystal, I knew you are very knowledgeable and particular with feeding Ellie. From my understanding it's not so much the meats and other items, listed in the ingredients (although, meats can be a problem too, depending upon the source) but is the term "meal". "Meal" can consist of many things, most of which no one would want their dog to eat.
__________________ ~Ruby, Reno, Razz, & Jack~ |
11-04-2008, 07:43 AM | #14 | |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| Quote:
__________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶 | |
11-04-2008, 09:33 AM | #15 |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,317
| "Meal" isn't too bad. It's the "by product meal" that is terrible. These are the AAFCO definitions: Meat Meal - the rendered product from mammal tissues, exclusive of blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Meat By-Products - the non rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low-temperature fatty tissue and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hooves. Poultry By-Product Meal - consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. You can see all the AAFCO definitions here: Dog Foods - Or What In The World Should I Buy? |
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