Facts and Myths about Your Dogs Food and Treats

Myth: The dog food I am using will help my dog live a long and healthy life.

FACT: Most commercial dog foods don't contain enough quality proteins, good fats, and proper carbohydrate sources. Instead they contain fillers, sugars, spoiled or rancid grains, toxic chemicals, preservatives, slaughterhouse waste, artificial colors and flavors, feces, and pesticides. The AAFCO allows bird beaks, feet and feathers to be used as a protein source, listed as poultry meals and by products. The average dog consumes 35-40 lbs. of artificial preservatives a year. With cancer rates in dogs increasing, as well as starting at earlier ages then ever before, the average life expectancy of our dogs is decreasing at an alarming rate.

Myth: I can manage any pet food allergy myself by switching their food.

FACT: Unfortunately for pets with food allergies, most pet food diets contain some sort of mixture of beef, dairy, wheat, lamb, fish, and chicken. Even worse, some contain corn or soy. Just changing foods is bound to lead to exposure to the same allergens. There are two ways to address food allergies: feeding a diet based on high quality or exotic protein sources (this usually means venison, duck, kangaroo, rabbit or even alligator) OR feeding a diet where the proteins have been predigested into units too small to interest their immune system.

Myth: My dog can't have a food allergy because I've been feeding them the same food for years.

FACT: It can take months or even years to develop a food allergy. The immune system must be repeatedly exposed to food in question, and must develop enough antibodies to trigger an allergic reaction. A reaction to a food that occurs on the first exposure is not an allergic reaction, but rather a "food intolerance" and usually involves toxins within the food.

Myth: My dog food has 100% of the nutritional needs for my dog.

FACT: Most proteins, amino acids, and nutritional value is cooked out of the food during the baking process. Most commercial dog foods are cooked twice, once during the extrusion, and a second time to harden the food. Most commercial dog foods have such low quality proteins, from sources that are indigestible, they often will eat twice as much food to get the same nutritional value as they would from a single serving of a higher quality food.

Myth: My dog food is a quality dog food, containing only the freshest ingredients, and choice cuts of meat.

FACT: Most dog foods contain inferior ingredients, unsuitable for human consumption. By-products, meat meals, animal digest, old or rancid grains, bird feathers, even dead, diseased, and deformed animals all make up the ingredient list in many commercial dog foods.

Myth: Human food is bad for dogs.

FACT: Table scraps have been what domesticated dogs have eaten since they were domesticated. It wasn't until within the last 100 years, that large pet food manufacturers have begun marketing prepared dog food that we began to believe table scraps were bad for them. Human food is often made with sauces, salts, and seasonings, and it's these ingredients that makes our food unfit for our pets. Meats, vegetables, grains, yogurt, and cheese are all suitable ingredients for our dogs.

Myth: Vitamin C is the new cure-all wonder vitamin for dogs.

FACT: Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, which means excess is flushed from the body in the urine. While this means it is impossible to overdose on vitamin C, it also means feeding more isn't going to do anything because excess will be flushed from the body. Their are reports of vitamin C reducing kidney stone and aiding in relief of pain from hip dysplasia, however feeding large amount of C may cause diarrhea as it is a natural laxative.

Myth: All doggy treats are healthy.

FACT: Most dog treats contain large amounts of chemicals and preservatives. Think about how long most treats have been sitting on store shelves. These chemicals and preservatives contribute to poor health, especially over the long term.