It’s important you know the truth about what is the best dog food. Because whether you shop online, at your local supermarket or from a specialist pet food shop there’s an alarming reason to be concerned about.
The protein in your dogs dinner comes from many sources, not all created equal, in fact what you may not know is that meat, poultry and fish or meat and poultry meal or meat by-products mean entirely different things. Let me explain.
Only half of any animal used as food in the food industry is allowed for human consumption. The waste half which is essentially the by-products contains the following:
- Fat
- Organs
- Blood
- Unborn fetuses
- Feathers
- Feet
- Bone
- Intestines
- Scraps
- Heads
- Hooves
- Horns
- Hair
- A percentage of floor sweepings and dirt is allowed
The Pet Food Institute, the trade association of the pet food manufacturers has this to say regarding the by-products used in pet food.
“The growth of the pet food industry not only provided pet owners with better food for their pets, but also created profitable additional markets for American farm products and for the byproducts of the meat packing, poultry, and other food industries which prepare food for human consumption.”
What this means is, the human food industry can dispose of all its waste for profit by offloading it onto the pet food industry to create your dogs dinner in cans and packets. And here’s where the story of what’s actually in your dogs dinner, the very dinner you’ll feed your dog today gets started.
Whats Really in Dog Food?
Pet food contains meat meals, which includes poultry meal, by-product meals and meat-and-bone meal. Meal means the ingredients are not fresh as they’ve been rendered down from waste food.
Rendering is the process of collecting huge vats full of food waste and boiling it at high temperature for several hours. The temperatures are so high that the delicate proteins and enzymes in the meats are damaged or destroyed. And it’s these de-natured proteins that lead to your dogs food allergies, intolerances and IBD or inflammatory bowel disease.
So asking the question; what is the best dog food for my dog is better served by knowing what is the best diet for your dog.
And this is only part of a bigger more unsettling picture, because rendering by law may also include non animal waste. Think of the big box brand name supermarket shelves full of expired Styrofoam packed chickens that go to waste. The cellophane wrapping and the tray are simply thrown in whole. And then there’s road kill, the 4-D’s (dead, diseased, dying and disabled) feedlot livestock, even euthanized zoo, ranch and small animal practice pets simply added to the rendering vats by the thousands of tons.
Now pet food companies claim they no longer process dead pets but results of testing by the FDA have found the residue from pentobarbital, the most common euthanasia drug, in rendered meat-and-bone-meal and animal fat.
What is the Best Dog Food Brand?
If the label on the can or packet pet food you’re buying has names like chicken or beef, they’re not by-products. But they’re still only the waste parts including bones which count as protein and not the quality meats. After that its by-product, animal digest and styrofoam laced with chemicals-not something your precious dog deserves.
If the label does not state that the contents are safe for human consumption then you now know the contents are of poor quality and with fillers, toxic chemicals and who knows what else in there you are risking your dog’s life to very poor nutrition.
Watch the short video below to hear my take on the healthiest dog food in the world.
Instead of looking at what is the best brand of dog food because they pretty much use the same processing procedures which ends up de-naturing the food and causing health problems to your dog, think about your dogs actual diet. Which dog food diet is best for your dog will help you to help your dog thrive in life not simply survive on sub optimal dog food.
- Canned dog food diet
- Dry dog food diet
- Homemade cooked food diet
- Homemade raw food diet
- Commercial raw food diet
Five diets your dog could eat with very different outcomes for your dogs long term health. Discover what dog food is the best for a long term healthy diet and why by getting my free report below.
About Dan
This is yet another injustice that is being done to animals by humans, all in the name of profit. Animals are the ones suffering the most in this world, which is why the Bible has a scripture which says that soon, God will (bring to ruin) put an end to those who are ruining the Earth. This includes those being cruel to animals.
I can say what they put in manufactured dog food is really gross and stinks when they are making it, when I was hauling meat over the road you couldn’t believe the stench from some of the packing houses we went to and we were told by them that is when they were burning of the hooves and stuff so they could make dry dog food out of it.
Sharon I agree with you to a point, that we were put here to take care of the animals but I don’t agree that this will be why God brings this earth to an end. This is a very interesting point if view however and I will have to do some reading to see if I can back that up with scripture to teach to the youth in my class. Thank you for the comment.
Thanks for commenting Patricia. I agree Sharon has a point, my take is that if we continue to take from the earth without incorporating some sort of self sustaining system it will eventually all be gone and potentially us along with it. Sounds a bit like Lovelocks, Revenge of Gaiya.
We don’t take enough care of the animals. But first lets start with our dogs and their diet, that alone helps us get closer to nature and understanding the wild animal living in our homes.
Hi Debra, sounds pretty gross, I too have have witnessed some operations and if dog owners had to see it first hand they would soon change their dogs diet. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for giving me confidence, as my 3 yr 2 months old golden retriever, female, intact, has what they call allergy problems. I know it’s because of vaccines given when she was already protected. Our veterinary system here on Oahu, or 80% of them are BS.,as I’ve been banned from 4 different veterinary practices. I didn’t know what I learned in the last 2 yrs, so akc Brandy 2 suffers from itching. I did switch her to a raw diet a year and a half ago, but there are times when I give her kibble, the better ones, as Steve Brown, author says that you can. I don’t like him. I buy all these books and it’s hard to understand. It’s hard to find organ meats, especially grass fed. There must be a demand for it. I even thought about buying a meat grinder, $800, but if I cannot understand these minerals and what makes a BALANCED DIET, then what’s the sense? Brandy doesn’t care for Primal or Natures Logic, only 2 raw frozen sold here in a few stores. Raw Dog Hi. just recently, about 2 yrs ago , is now available and Brandy likes it, much better than others. Brandy’s ITCHING sometimes drives me nuts and nothing is her fault. I did learn, Dan Scott from Dr. Jean Dodds that chicken and venison, in Chinese Medicine, are hot foods or pro inflammatory and she told me not to give Brandy chicken, raw or cooked. So, I am not as she has been a veterinary pathologist for over 50 yrs. She lectures worldwide on clinical pathology, blood banking, hematology, endocrinology, and other areas of veterinary specialties, including Canine Nutrigenomics.True specialist with thyroid as only she does thyroid testing, breed, age, case specific, as no other lab does it like her. Dan Scott, can you look into this NUTRIGENOMICS and tell me if we need it? Thanks, from Gary and Brandy 2 Rokuta of Kaneohe, HI
Hi Gary, my philosophy is to try and keep things real simple. IF-you can keep your dog whole, do NOT vaccinate, feed a mixture or raw foods, add in a few supplements to help balance the diet, then you are good to go. NUTRIGENOMICS is great for further study, but in the real world of the every day, we can make our dogs genetically stronger just by using the above basics over successive generations and you’ll get dogs averaging 20+ years consistently.
Keeping your dog away from sugars, carbohydrates, additives, environmental toxins (including household cleaners etc), processed foods and stress free as much as possible which includes you as the owners inner emotional stress, your dog will be living an optimal life experience.