Have you ever looked at the ingredients in your dog food (or cat food for that matter)?  You should consider how you feed your family, you don’t take the least expensive, most chemically enhanced foods and toss them in a dish. You carefully choose good quality, natural ingredients for the meals you prepare, and you should do the same for your dog!  Unfortunately a lot of people grab whatever dog food is handy, inexpensive and convenient without even realizing what they are putting into their dog’s system!

Large grocery chains aren’t interested in the health of your dog, they only care about their profitability and few, if any, carry any of the “better” dog foods.  They know consumers are always trying to save money and that is what they focus on, big bags of food at cheap prices.  Unfortunately in choosing those types of food you save nothing, and in some cases could even cost yourself a lot of money in vet bills!

The average (poor quality) pet foods normally contain high percentages of (not necessarily in this order):

- Ground yellow corn (filler)                                    - meat (un-described source)

- Corn or corn gluten (inexpensive protein)            - chicken by-products (can be anything chicken related)

- Salt (flavouring)                                                    - Yellow 5 & 6 (colouring)

followed by a wide assortment of minerals and vitamins in very small quantities.  Ingredients in pet foods must be listed in order of quantity,  Over time you will may have saved some money on the cost of food for your dog but over a year you saved NOTHING!  High quality dog foods generally cost twice as much as the grocery store brands but you feed approximately half as much of a high quality food!  Not only that but your dog’s body absorbs and uses more of the good things in the food which results in less “after effects” for you to clean up!

Health benefits of high quality food include such things as less vet bills; obesity, hip dysplasia, tumors, heart disease, allergies are all serious problems that have less chance of developing.  I’m sure you read almost daily about “new thoughts” on the above diseases in humans and how good nutrition can help control disease, why would you expect it to be different for your dog?  I hear of many dogs that have problems with “allergies”, scratching uncontrollably, constant licking or biting at their paws, runny or teary eyes, sores in their ears, hotspots, dandruff, dermatitis reactions, are just a few of the things I hear people (especially at work) complaining about.  A good quality food will generally (not always) clear up those problems without medication of any kind.

Another thing to watch for in your choice of dog food is the “preservative” used.  Ethoxyquin is used in low quality food, it also is the main preservative used in RUBBER.

I’m sitting writing this in May 2007.  Since March 16, more than 5,600 pet food items have been recalled after the discovery that the chemical melamine found in imported raw materials.  The past few months have been extremely scary for a lot of pet owners.  Thousands have lost their well loved companion to kidney and/or liver failure caused by the melamine contamination in the wheat and/or corn glueten used in some dog and cat foods.  Most recently a rice protein was found to be contaminated with melamine which has caused even more pet food recalls.  The list of recalled foods grows longer by the day.  Below are a just a couple of the many available websites about pet food recalls:

Pet Connection . com has the most up to date information that I’ve found – see their website at http://www.petconnection.com

The American Food & Drug Administration has a list also though it seems to be less up-to-date http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecall/ 

What symptoms to watch for in your pet

Signs of kidney failure include:

- Loss of appetite                                                    - Vomiting

- Diarrhea                                                               - Changes in water consumption and urination

- Lethargy                                                              

If your pet exhibits any of these symptoms, consult a veterinarian immediately.

Here at Mikatura we feed Acana Adult Premium and we have noticed a huge difference in our dog’s coats, teeth (lack of tartar), and the “after effects” they leave behind for us, and all that in just a few weeks!  The following is taken from the Acana website:

“Acana Adult Premium is made with human-grade chicken meat ingredients (50%) that are rich in essential amino acids to support tissue repair and lean muscle mass.  Moderate dietary fat and reduced carbohydrate (28%) help promote a healthy body weight, and L-carnitine helps to convert body fat into useable energy.  Premium herring and flax oils supply essential fatty acids (including DHA and EPA) to support immune functions and nourish the skin and coat, while ocean-source glucosamine and chondroitin promote healthy joints.  Easily digested oatmeal is supplemented with probiotics (MOS, FOS) to nourish intestinal flora and enhance digestive health. Steamed fruits and vegetables with organic minerals and botanicals supply antioxidants in the healthiest possible way.”

The Acana website also states:  “Dogs and cats are best fed as carnivores, which is why ACANA diets are meat concentrated, boasting a chicken or lamb inclusion rate between 40% and 60 percent -- one of the highest rates in the petfood industry.  Whether hormone-free chicken or lamb, or wild-caught salmon, all meat ingredients are from federally-inspected meats that are declared fit for human consumption. These superior ingredients provide total food safety, outstanding palatability, and optimum nutritional value and digestibility.

ACANA is also defined by what it is not. ACANA does not contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or trend ingredients like blueberries or peas that appeal to people rather than pets. And because dogs and cats cannot easily digest vegetable proteins or high-starch foods, all ACANA diets are low-starch and wheat-and-gluten-free. True to our formulation philosophy, we believe that vegetable-based proteins do not belong in premium petfoods – and we refuse to compromise these values.”

We also have many friends who have chosen Orijen for their dogs.  Every one of them is extremely happy with the results after just a few weeks of being on Orijen!

Click here for a pdf document listing ingredients found in dog food and explanations of what they do!