Article about the recent Dog Food issues

[BirdbyBird]

I know that several of you have mentioned the confusing and sometimes worrying information FDA have put out regarding grain free dog foods, etc. Here is a lengthy but informative perspective of how the information and veterinarian and the media spin worked on some of this.

http://www.theoptimaldog.com/2018/08/14 ... rinarians/

[Bethers]

Thanks, Tina. Good article.

[havingfunnow]

That's a really interesting article. I'm always suspicious of diet trends, for humans or dogs. It also worries me that, as far as I know, nobody is asking questions about the quality of the ingredients, which I think is pretty important in this era of factory farming and depleted soil.

[Cudedog]

Thanks, Tina.

It was an interesting article, but I always harbor doubts about what is basically an opinion-piece written by a person who is involved in the manufacture of the type of product under fire. It seems to me a bit of a conflict-of-interest thing.

However, I did find this part of the article particularly interesting:

"Oncologists at the KetoPet Sanctuary, a non-profit treatment center in Georgetown, Texas, claim to have had tremendous success using low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diets to treat canine cancer, arguably the single worst public health problem the pet world has ever seen. And the public seems to think they’re onto something, because the organization has received significant press coverage, massive interest from pet-owners, and abundant financial investment."

Cancer? Hrm. I wonder when - or even if - anyone has ever, or will ever, do a "study" on the negative health affects of feeding a diet solely consisting of round brown balls (kibble), that are impossible by looking at them to tell what they contain, that are laced with so many additives and chemicals and preservatives that the average bag of dry dog food has a shelf life of twenty-five years. A much greater shelf life than the actual life span of any dog.

I can't imagine myself eating such a diet, or feeding such a diet to my family. But I fed this diet to my beloved dogs for around twenty-five years. My bad.

Dogs have been with people, by some estimates, more than one-hundred-thousand-years. They have mostly done very well with their association with people - otherwise, they wouldn't still be with us. It's only in the last seventy-five years or so that "commercial" dog food manufacturers have sprung up, and commercial dog foods have been commonly available. With proponents (dog food manufacturers and the vets that receive education grants, and other type sponsorships, from these manufacturers) stating unequivocally that if you don't feed their favored brand, you are a bad owner and are doing your dog a disservice.

This is not even a blip on the scheme of things, but I will tell you this: I have owned, loved, trained, and shown Staffordshire Bull Terriers for more than forty years. My current Stafford, my Big Joe, is stretched out on the couch here beside me as I write this. Anyway, my dogs would generally live to be ten or eleven, would get cancer and leave me for the Rainbow Bridge. My sweet Little Blaze Boy died suddenly at ten, for no discernible reason, other than that I had had his teeth cleaned a week before he suddenly became acutely ill. His passing broke my heart - as they all do, when they go. Since that time I have always brushed my dog's teeth, difficult at first, but the come not to mind it. I have never had another dog's teeth cleaned by a veterinarian, and never will.

About the time of the story of the melamine dog food additive from China killing dogs, which was about ten years ago, I switched to making my own (unscientific) recipe of dog food. A meal would be (and is) about 50% meat (generally raw beef or cooked chicken - human grade from the grocery store, not meat "by products") about 25% cooked rice, and about 25% raw fruits and cooked vegetables of great variety either chopped or pureed (love my food processor). Sure, it's a lot of work. But worth it.

I started this diet when my one dog was about eight years old, the other two about six years old. Previous to that, they had always eaten commercial food. The older dog had already started in with mast cell tumors. I expected that they would all still go when they each reached the usual age of ten or eleven.

Surprise. Although my older dog continued with the mast cell tumors (having periodic surgeries to remove them) she lived to within two months of her seventeenth birthday. My Rod, her son, lived to be nearly fifteen. My Sweet Girl, her daughter, lived to within a few months of her sixteenth birthday.

You are what you eat.

Anne

[MandysMom]

Really good article. If you come across part two, please let us know.
Velda