Level 1 Awesome Foods: Contain no common food allergens and are highly digestible. Typically contain Probiotics added to food though not a requirement. A probiotic is living beneficial bacteria (as in yogurt) that are added after the cooking process too aid digestion. They provide the meat carnivores need without the Byproducts commonly found in other commercial foods. We sell many top level 1 brands in our store. (For a complete listing of foods go to www.whole-dog-journal.com)
Level 2 Good Foods: Contain no common food allergens and byproducts but not as digestible as a Level 1. May contain extra grain sources but will not include brewers rice. We have a great selection of Level 2 foods at value pricing.
Level 3 OK Foods: Contain 1 or possible 2 food allergens, but still moderately digestible.
Level 4 Bad Foods: Avoid May contain by-products, many potential food allergens, and preservatives also may contain artificial binding agents that harden stools.
Level 5 Terrible Foods: Avoid Long term possibly harmful to animal and may reduce pets life span. Food meets minimum AAFCO requirements. Packaging is flashy and often misleading. May use ultra poor protein sources: 4D (Dead, Dying, Diseased, Disabled), contain many food allergens, Use of Preservatives, May add sugar, salt and artificial colors. May contain Meat Meal/ Bone Meal and add propylene glycol.
What’s in your pet’s Food?
Many people read the ingredients on the foods they buy for themselves but rarley do they read what is in their pet’s food. Here are some imporant things to consider when purchasing your next bag of pet food.
Common food allergens: Include but are not limited too: Soy, corn, wheat, and sorghum.
By-Products: Consists of the ground rendered, clean parts of slaughtered animals, such as necks, feet, beaks, tails, eyeballs, and organs.
Meal – examples Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal and Lamb Meal: Dry and 50%-60% meat protein! In processing these meals do not shrink below the grain weight, producing a true meat based formula for your carnivores.
Animal Digest: Materials which result from chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animals.
Meat Meal/Bone Meal: Parts from mammals that are rejected for human consumption. To prevent the condemned meat from being used for human consumption, government regulations require that meat must be sent to a rendering facility. Carcasses are denatured using toxic chemicals such as carbolic acid or creosote. According to federal meat inspection regulations, fuel oil, kerosene, crude carbolic acid and citronella are the approved denaturing materials. Rendering facilities are not government controlled. Any animal carcasses can be rendered for the pet food industry including those of cats and dogs.
Preservatives: The most common are BHT and BHA. Animal tests have shown adverse kidney, liver, reproductive, brain, behavioral, and allergic reactions to these chemicals. Most commercial pet diets use chemical preservatives. Two of the most used are BHA and BHT for the preservation of fat. These two compounds can cause liver and kidney damage, yet for years these products were incorporated into baby foods. Many countries have banned their use and importation. BHA and BHT used to be on the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) list because there were no known negative effects to the body for humans and animals. In 1991 these two chemicals were removed from the GRAS list, but some pet food companies are still using them in their products. Some European countries ban the use of these preservatives.
Propylene Glycol: (first cousin to antifreeze ethylene glycol)
Mostly in canned dog food allow cans to be preserved almost indefinitely.
Inhibit bacteria including growth of friendly flora in the digestive tract which aids in the assimilation of nutrients. Helps produce small hard dry stools we love by pulling moisture from the digestive tract. A non normal stool shows that more waste product (toxins) are not being properly eliminated. Kills red blood cells.
Salt: Heavily used to help increase palatability can cause hypertension, kidney stress, colon irritation. A balance is vital excessive amounts can hurt your pet.
Ascorbic acid: A source of vitamin C. This is an acid and can cause an allergic skin reaction.
What is the best diet for a dog?
The Raw Diet. There are many anatomical and physical differences between humans and their pets. A dog or cat has a much higher ability to tolerate, neutralize and digest raw meat than we do. Bacteria that would make us deathly ill does not have the same affect on our pets. so their bodies are designed to eat and process raw meat. Carnivores also produce digestive enzymes in their stomachs which, with the high acidic level, give them the ability to digest raw meat and even bones. Our pets can eat things that would make us all very sick. The real danger comes from commercial pet food. Some common symptoms include Diarrhea, increased flatulence, dull hair coat, intermittent vomiting or dry scratchy skin.
What is rendering or denaturing?
To prevent condemned meat from being used for human consumption, government regulations require meat must be denatured, before removal to the slaughter house. The denatured carcasses and other waste can then be sent to a rendering facility.
We denature with carbolic acid ( phenol, a potentially corrosive disinfectant) and or creosote (used to preserve wood or as a disinfectant). Phenol is derived from the distillation of coal tar, creosote from the distillation of wood. Both substances are very toxic. Creosote was used for many years as a preservative for wood power poles. Its effect on the environment proved to be so negative that it is no longer used for that purpose. According to federal meat inspection regulations, fuel oil, kerosene, crude carbolic acid, and citronella are the approved denaturing materials.
Sodium pentobarbital Used by vets to put animals to sleep. University of Minnesota warned this chemical survived rendering without undergoing degradation but they concluded that the residue amount would be too small to cause problems. But what about the cumulative effect over time no research has been done. You are providing a chemical feast to your pet when you feed meat/bone meal. Don’t feed anything to your pet you would not eat yourself.
The most common condition to treat in small animals is skin allergies.
The professional approach to these problems is to treat the symptoms: the persistent scratching, inflamed skin, loss of hair. To accomplish this end the vet will administer steroids, antibiotics, tranquilizers, and antihistamines. The administration of these drugs will usually give temporary relief, but prolonged use can create other more serious problems such as Cushing’s syndrome, Addison’s disease, liver and kidney disease.
There is a long list of causes of skin allergies in both dogs and cats.
First we must look at the diets of these animals.
Most allergies are food related. According to veterinary allergists, animal protein can be the allergen. One of the most common protein allergen problems is beef. The animal protein dogs seem to do well on is lamb, Venison, Duck and Trout. To determine the substances to which our pets are allergic a series of expensive allergy tests can be administered. Some patients when tested will test positive for nearly every substance tested for. This is an indication that these animals are immunologically deficient and these animals have no defense against those specific agents or allergens.
Multi-vitamin
Just like for people a daily multi-vitamin is very helpful for dogs and cats. Antioxidants, Vitamins E and A, and Selenium, in proportions which will aid in preventing oxidation of adrenal gland cells and regenerate new ones. This increased the production of essential hormones.
