Pet Foods Archives - Edie MacKenzie

Health Supplements for Your Dog are Important

October 27, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Lots of people have pets and love them. As a nation we spend billions of dollars every year on dog food, dog training, essential vaccines, and even clothing for them. The question that needs to be asked is if I take a multi-vitamin is there any reason my dog shouldn’t get one?

Of course yoru pet should get vitamins. Most pets would greatly benefit from having a multi-vitamin. While good pet foods have a lot of nutrients and vitamins, they are usually not enough. By giving your dogs a vitamin you can help keep them healthy and help them to live longer.

When purchasing a multi-vitamin for your dog look for supplements that contain vitamins A, C and D. Other important vitamins include B vitamins and minerals like magnesium, calcium, and zinc. Make sure you also consider whether your dog needs something special because large dogs like German Shepherds will need a larger dose.

Fish oil is also beneficial for dogs. As you probably know, omegas are good for people so it makes sense they are good for dogs. Recent studies have shown that omega 3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of kidney and heart disease in dogs.

If your dog is getting older look for vitamins or dog food that contains glucosamine and chondroitin. These supplements are taken by humans to help with arthritis and they can also help your dog. Glucosamine helps your body to create new cartilage while chondroitin neutralizes the enzymes that erode cartilage away.

Many dogs like to eat grass but unfortunately most of grass has been treated with chemicals to keep either weeds or insects away. A better source of nutrients to boost their immune system, reduce allergies, and increase energy would be healthy green foods. Foods that contain green foods like barely grass, spirulina, and any other naturally green food should be loaded with nutrients that most commercial dog food doesn’t have. Also a study done in China showed that giving your dog spirulina when it was undergoing cancer treatment protected the dog from damaged caused by the chemotherapy and radiation.

When you are buying health supplements and vitamins for your pet, sticking with name brands is usually best. The last thing you want to do is buy the cheapest thing. You can, however, look at online sources of vitamins to save money and still get high quality. Also make sure to follow the dosage instructions on the back of the bottle. As mentioned above, larger dogs may need larger doses. Giving your dog a multi-vitamin can not only add time to his life but also make that life more enjoyable.

Dog Health Food – Your German Shepherd Could Be Suffering

April 20, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Your German Shepherd could be suffering from the side effects of commercial dog food, which is why so many owners are turning to dog health food. With so many potentially toxic ingredients being put into dog food these days, it can be hard to know whether you might be actually harming your best friend with every meal.

First you have to wonder how safe your dog food is from chemical contaminants that accidentally got into the food at some point in the production. Maybe basic ingredients were tainted overseas and nobody picked it up. Especially at the moment with companies all around the world looking to get more profit from less cost, we have to wonder if our dogs welfare is at risk.

How safe is your dog’s food really? It’s not uncommon for there to be chemical contaminants in human foods, which have much more strict controls.

In 2007 there was a widespread recall from over 100 dog food manufacturers after it was discovered that there was melamine (a type of plastic) in much of their dog food. It was eventually traced back to a factory in China which manufactured rice protein and wheat gluten (neither of which have any real nutritional value for a dog). So what that means is that it doesn’t matter what standards the US based company may have for their production plants if the ingredients coming into the plant are already contaminated!

Although this happened a couple of years ago, what has changed to ensure that it can’t happen again? Melamine was recently found in milk powder that was produced under human food standards. So what about the lower standards that pet foods are produced under? While it may a completely accidental, even the possibility of having toxic plastics ending up in dogs food is completely unacceptable.

I know I don’t want to pick up the paper and find out that my dog’s food has plastic in it. We are ultimately responsible for our dogs health, not just that they get the right nutrition, but to make sure that their food is free from harmful chemicals too.

Apart from the accidental chemical additives what else is your German Shepherd really eating? Commonly there’s a carcinogenic preservative called ethoxyquin in many factory made dog foods. This preservative has been banned for decades from human food due to it’s toxic side effects. Workers exposed to it exhibit a wide range of symptoms, not dissimilar to agent orange. But this toxic chemical is still being added to our dog’s food!

You won’t find it listed either, no matter how close you look. This is because fish meal when it is made gets treated with ethoxyquin, while it’s still on the boat. What this means is that fish meal might go into the food but the ingredients of the meal won’t be listed.

In some foods they promote the fact that there’s fish in there as a great source of protein and fatty acids, which is true. However if that fish is in the form of meal, then there’s a whole lot more going in than you bargained for. They could suffer from allergic reactions, cancer and liver failure. And this is something that supposed to be healthy!

For the sake of your German Shepherd it’s vital that you learn about dog health food. Commercially produced food is completely out of your control, you never really know what could be If you make your own then you can be absolutely sure that there’s no nasty chemicals and carcinogenic preservatives in your dog’s food. You can treat them to a variety of gourmet tastes and give them the very best nutrition possible.

Our dogs rely on us to provide them with the best possible food and care. To keep your best friend healthy and add years to their life, subscribe to our dog health food newsletter. You’ll find out exactly what goes into commercial dog food and how to make your own at home, cheaply and easily. Click here to subscribe http://www.dog-health-food.com

Article Source: Dog Health Food – Your German Shepherd Could Be Suffering

Dog Food: 5 Types Of Commercial Dog Food You Might Want To Consider

July 14, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Just a few years ago, feeding your dog was so much simpler compared to today’s nutritional advice and dog health necessities. I remember when my parent’s dog ate whatever the whole family would eat, including dessert! In addition to table scraps, he also ate commercial dog food. That dog had a happy life and lived well into his mid-teens without contracting any serious illness or disease.

Picking a commercial dog food was also easy back then. There were only a handful of brands to choose from and these pet foods all had practically the same ingredients, only varying in color and flavor.

Nowadays, there are so many varieties to choose from. Below is a list of some of the popular commercial foods available for your dog:

Organic Dog Food

Most dog food products found in the market today contain pesticides and other chemicals. If you want to give your dog food that is free of these chemicals, consider organic dog food. However, the term “organic” can be misleading, so read the ingredients carefully before making your purchase.

No Preservative or Natural Preservative Dog Food

Most dog foods contain preservatives in the form of artificial chemicals such as ethoxyquin, BHT, and BHA. These are added for two reasons: To prevent the food from spoiling and keep the taste lasting longer. Some dog foods, however, have natural preservatives like vitamin C (often listed as ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (often listed as tocopherols).

Before you buy a dog food with natural preservatives, be sure to read the ingredients first to make sure that the preservatives are actually derived from nature instead of it being artificially synthesized.

You may also buy dog foods that are free of any kind of preservatives. These products must be properly sealed in a cool, dry, bug-free place and used promptly to assure freshness.

Vegetarian Dog Food

Vegetarian dog foods allow vegetarian dog owners to exercise their dietary beliefs with their dogs. These foods contain all of the necessary vitamins and nutrients that your pet needs, so long as they are properly made. A vegetarian diet is also beneficial for dogs that are allergic to meat.

Raw Dog Food

Many dog owners believe that a diet of raw food is the healthiest way to feed their pet because this is the way wolves and other wild dog species ate. This belief has no scientific facts to value its accuracy. However, a diet of raw food can expose both you and your pet to dangerous bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli.

Therapeutic Dog Food

Therapeutic dog foods, along with necessary medical care, have been the growing trend in dog health today. It is only available through a veterinarian and is usually prescribed for cases of preventive treatment, as an after-surgery diet, or for certain health problems like food allergies.

Commercial Dog Food – Is The Recent Pet Food Recall Finally Smartening People Up?

July 3, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Commercial pet (dog) food is a multi-billion-dollar industry that seems to grow in sales each year that goes by, due to rising interest of dog health. What is happening here, are more animals being adopted or are more pet owners being sold on the idea that dogs absolutely must eat dog food in order to be healthy?

Surprisingly, the answer is the latter of the two possibilities. Dog owners seem to sheepishly think that their dogs will be healthier and have more energy by consuming processed commercial dog food.

There was an article written in the New York Times by a woman named Laura Cunningham. The year was 1981 and back then Laura reported that $4 billion dollars was spent yearly on pet food. Recently, when the pet food recall took place, the media reported in March of 2007 that people are now spending over $16 billion annually on pet food.

To further add an interesting statistic to the conversation, back in 1988 the American Pet Products Association ran their very first pet ownership research study and came back with their poll report which claimed that approximately 56% of every household in America had a pet, either a cat or a dog. The most current poll conducted states that approximately 63% of today’s US households maintains a pet in the family.

Not all statistics are accurate, but this only shows a 7% increase of household pets. Surely this 7% increase cannot be consuming the extra $12 billion per year in pet food that was eaten in 1981. In other words, less people bought pet food for their dogs and cats than they do today. With so many people buying commercial dog food and other pet foods, why then were they so surprised about the alarming pet food recall?

People Are Smartening Up

There are many dog and cat owners who can see through the advertising and myths of feeding a cat “cat food” and a dog “dog food”. However, most people seem to just fly through their lives, being busier than ever, and due to convenience, believe everything that corporations are telling them – or should we say “selling” them. However, the recent pet food recall has started to wake up many dog owners, and other pet owners, to the fact that these products may not be as important to dog health as the commercials claim.

Although many dog and pet owners neglect thorough research on nutrition and continue to believe that processed pet food is the best thing to feed their animals, it doesn’t mean that they do not care. We all want our pets to be healthy and have the best possible food that is good for them. And unfortunately, many of these pet owners truly believed they were doing the right things by their pets. Luckily, with tainted food causing many pets to get ill, as well as a few deaths, more and more people are starting to ask questions and find out the truth behind proper dog health for their pets.

Commercial Dog Food – What’s Really In Dog Food

June 29, 2010 by admin 1 Comment

With the recent dog food recall causing all sorts of discussions between dog owners about the quality of the food they feed their dogs and dog health in general, it seems that very little of these conversations are actually asking the important question about whether or not pet food is nutritious enough for their animals.

Most people seem to be unhappy with the fact that the food was tainted, yet has anyone considered going deeper into the situation and really finding out what is in the food to begin with? Do you really want to know what you are feeding your dog or cat?

Peaking Into Pet Food Ingredients

The first question you should be asking yourself is whether or not the ingredients in your pet food is actually quality material. For those of you that have believed for years that the dog and cat food you have been feeding your pets are top-notch products, you may be disappointed to know that the foodstuffs which make up the base of these pet foods is extremely low grade, hardly edible, animal by-products.

These products come from the remains of whatever animals are not deemed suitable for human consumption. There are no special chicken farms, grass fed beef pastures, or anything of the sort, that is specifically utilized for pet food. These companies use whatever they can get their hands on: blood, ligaments, lungs, bones, beaks, heads, feet, etc. All of these items are converted over for several purposes, such as livestock feed, fertilizers, poultry, and of course – ingredients for pet food.

As a consumer, you cannot find this information when you read the labels. You have no idea whether or not the quality of the “beef” or “chicken” which is printed on many pet food packages is actually healthy, nutritious meat. And most people do not know the difference between whole meat and meat meal or meat byproducts.

Advertising At It’s Best

Years ago, it was common practice to feed our cats and dogs whatever food we were eating. Table scraps were considered everyday food for these animals. Somewhere along the line we have been convinced that dog and cat food produced by corporations are the best nutritional products we can feed our pets.

Our thinking today is that “my dog will not get a balanced diet if he just eats what we eat”. Once you think about it, that notion really doesn’t make any sense. How can a human get all of the nutrition they need yet a dog will become nutritionally deficient by eating the same food? Ask yourself the same question and you might just think twice before grabbing process that dog food and feeding it to your cat or dog.

Dog Supplements May Not Be Necessary After All

April 18, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

If you use a good quality meat-meal based food you usually do not have to supplement your dog’s ration. In fact, it is very easy to throw the formulation of some of the specialty foods out
of kilter if you play with supplements. Unfortunately, adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that is a cultural mentality handed down from the time when pet foods weren’t complete
and needed supplementation. Breeders often advocate supplements and many send their clients home with long lists of additives – vitamins, minerals, dairy products, oils and other
lotions and potions. Many breeders will turn an absolutely deaf ear to entreaties from veterinarians or canine nutritionists who suggest a good basic ration and a minimum of supplementation.

Supplement supporters aren’t usually thinking along behavioral lines and, since they themselves rarely have difficulty house-training their dogs, don’t realize that not everyone is so knowledgeable and over-supplementation can easily produce loose stools and make good control difficult for the dog. Coat conditioners, for instance, can easily be withheld from the diet until the puppy is house-trained. The puppy doesn’t need them if he or she is eating a good quality food, and (in most breeds) the puppy coat has to grow out naturally anyway. Oils and people foods, especially those high in fat (like steak trimmings) easily “oil up” the intestines and in many cases cause stools to “slide out” quite unexpectedly.

If your breeder or pet store operator gives you a list of supplements and binds you under pain of mortal sin to use them, start asking some questions. Ask whether these supplements are necessary if you use a high-quality specialty food. Ask how these supplements will affect your house-training progress. Ask if it is absolutely necessary to add the supplements right away or if this can wait until house-training is accomplished. For instance, although the jury is definitely out on the relationship between mega doses of vitamin C and hip dysplasia (a congenital ailment that plagues many larger breeds), many breeders are routinely recommending giving the vitamin. Whether or not the vitamin helps ward off hip dysplasia, we do know that it can have a diarrheic effect on many dogs, complicating the house-training process.

Dairy products are also dangerous additives and produce runny stools in some dogs. People food should be avoided as a matter of good behavioral policy, lest the dog turn to begging at the table, but it should be especially taboo during house-training. Dog treats that are full of preservatives or dyes (often to keep a “meat center” bright red) can also throw many dogs’ innards for a loop and complicate cleanliness. Good general advice is to stay away from supplements during the house-training process and use only minimal or no additives later on, but do use a quality daily ration.

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