Veterinarian, Dr. Karen Becker, dispels the long-held myth that “table food” is bad for your pets.

Animals Like People Benefit From Live Foods

Veterinarian, Dr. Karen Becker, dispels the long-held myth that “table food” is bad for your pets.

Human, edible foods can be very healthy for your pets. Throw away the concept of “cat” food and “dog” food, and just think “food” — food that grows in the ground or comes from animal products.

A whole generation of pet owners is afraid to feed anything but over processed rendered food to their pets. But there’s no way you can create abundant health in an animal by providing only the minimum nutrients it needs for survival. Dogs and cats have a living food requirement, just like you do.

The food you feed your pet should be biologically suited to meet your dog’s or cat’s needs. Dog and cat chow may be nutritionally “complete,” but it is akin to your drinking a meal replacement shake three times a day for the rest of your life … or giving them to your kids in lieu of fresh foods.

Yet, many veterinarians will often recommend you feed your pets kibble or canned food for the rest of their lives. Some will go so far as to say that feeding your pet anything that doesn’t come from a bag or can will be harming your pet!

This is a paradigm problem, and one that can be very confusing for pet owners.

In reality, there’s no way you can give your pet the food it needs to thrive if you do not feed it a biologically appropriate diet that includes a variety of fresh foods.

In fact, a growing number of holistic-minded veterinarians state that processed pet food (kibbled and canned food) is the number one cause of illness and premature death in modern dogs and cats.

So how did conventional veterinary nutrition positions get so skewed?

Well, major dog and cat food manufacturers provide much of the veterinary nutrition information to veterinary students. It becomes engrained in many new vets’ minds that it’s wrong to feed pets “living” fresh foods.

This is a myth!

Your Pets Need Living Foods

Veterinarians tell you to never offer living foods to your pet. But your pets need living foods on a consistent basis to achieve optimal health.

So, yes, you can and should offer your pets some of the very same foods that you enjoy. And since those foods are at a much higher grade nutritionally than typical dog or cat foods, they may be the healthiest foods your pets have ever consumed.

As you know, I recommend you feed your dogs and cats an all raw, nutritionally balanced living food diet. In my opinion, the only viable excuse to not to feed your pets a species appropriate diet is cost. Feeding raw food cost more than dry food .However, raw fed animals have fewer health problems, which mean lower vet bills over a lifetime. If you cannot afford to feed your pet an all raw diet, don’t deny your pet’s access to living foods throughout the day, in the form of treats. Remember, treats (even really healthy treats) should not constitute more than 15 percent of your pet’s daily food intake.

Berries are one of the best treats you can offer. Bite size and packed with antioxidants. Many cats enjoy zucchini and cantaloupe. . My favorite training treats for dogs include peas, raw nuts (remember, the only nuts you should never feed your pets are macadamia nuts).

A salad without dressing, but with plenty of dark green leafy vegetables, is also good for your cats — your pets are chewing on your houseplants for a reason, after all.

Avoid giving your carnivorous companions biologically inappropriate foods, including grains, such as oats, soy, millet, , wheat, or rice. Dogs and cats do not have a carbohydrate requirement and feeding your pets these pro-inflammatory foods creates unnecessary metabolic roadblocks to health.

Furthermore, there are certainly some foods that are toxic to feed to dogs and cats such as grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts and onions. Never feed your pets these foods.

The Optimal Choice to Feed Your Pets

I highly recommend you give your dog or cat an opportunity to experience living raw foods like fruits and veggies as treats, and feed them a biologically appropriate, balanced raw diet the rest of the time.

Remember, your pet is resilient and can eat a variety of suboptimal, metabolically stressful foods on occasion and be fine, but because it’s my goal to provide a diet that most closely fits your companion’s biological requirements, I don’t recommend a lifetime of kibble or other “dead” over-processed food.

The goal is to provide a diet that mimics your pet’s biological nutritional requirements as closely as possible … in this case it means rethinking the “lifetime of dry food” or “canned food” theory.

If you are unable or unwilling to feed your pet a species-appropriate, nutritionally balanced, raw food diet, then I strongly recommend you compromise with the next best choice: USDA-approved canned foods (and supplement with raw)

My last choice would be a dry food (kibble), made from human-grade ingredients with little to no grains, and LOTS OF WATER.

But no matter which option you choose, remember that you can treat your dog and cat to berries, leafy greens, raw nuts and many other fresh fruits, veggies and meats on a regular basis.

I hope this insight will help you feel more confident offering foods and treats to your pets that are unadulterated and fresh. They deserve the same benefit of living foods that you get, and there’s no better way to start than by sharing some of these raw healthy foods with your dog or cat today.

We have always cooked for our pets, so always find it amazing, if not horrifying, that there really are pets who never get live food and who are doomed to eat the same dry food every day and that there really are pet owners who think that would be okay!!  This myth created by the pet food industry and perpetuated by pet stores who just want to sell animals, regardless of whether the potential purchasers should be pet parents and then accepted by the “ME” generation, is another one of those practices like keeping your pets in a crate all day or all night, or shock collars, electric fences and collars with spikes etc that defy all common sense and really fall into a category of pet abuse or neglect, perhaps pet abuse light… but unacceptable pet parenting to be sure!!

Would you want to eat the same packaged food everyday?  Would you want to be locked in a cage all day or all night?  Would you want to have to wait to go to the bathroom all night or most of the day, until some lets you out and says it is okay?  Would you want to receive an electric shock when you tried to talk or walk across a boundary area… or have spikes dig into you?  Would you do these things to your kids?

When making decisions for your fur-babies, you should ask yourself, “Would I want to be treated this way?  And would I make these choices for my human children?”, and then act accordingly!!  As Dr. Laura would say… Use common sense and compassion and “then go do the right thing!”.

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Related:

Beef Verses Bison for Dogs

Teach Dogs Impulse Control – Not Just Submission

Excessive Barking A Common Behavior Problem

Dog Training – Train Your Dog From Barking

Dogs Left Home Alone – With Anxiety

Crate “Training” – Blessing or Abuse

Our 2-Year-Old German Shepherd Has Started Biting

Company Will Start Building “the World’s Most Pet Friendly House(s)” – But Here Are Some Hints For All Pet Parents

Dogs Left Home Alone – With Anxiety

Crate “Training” – Blessing or Abuse

How Safe Is Invisible Fencing?

Shock Collars, Crate Training, And Needing to Control

Pet Parties – The Latest Craze

Dry Pet Food Storage

Warm weather and humidity can wreak havoc on a good bag of pet food! 

 Dry dog and cat foods usually have a one-year “shelf life.” That means the food is “good” for up to one year after the manufacturing date. Many dry foods stamp a “best if used by” date on the package. This applies only to unopened bags.   High-quality dog food companies use bags that provide protection from oxygen and moisture. If the bag is intact, not enough oxygen and moisture can migrate into the food in one year to cause significant oxidation or microbial growth problems. Though problems can occur between the manufacture of food and the customer opening the bag, it’s what happens after the bag is opened that we are most concerned with in this article.  

What happens after you open the bag of dog food?  As soon as you open a bag of food, oxygen, moisture, light, mold spores, storage mites, and other potential spoilers enter the bag.  

Oxidation of fats

Oxidized fats may cause cancer and contribute to many chronic health problems in humans. The same is true for dogs.
 
Dog food companies use antioxidants (sometimes vitamin E and other natural sources) to forestall oxidation. Every time the bag is opened, oxygen enters. Eventually the antioxidants are all oxidized (used up) and some of the fats are damaged, starting with the more fragile omega -3 fatty acids.
 
Degradation of all micronutrients

Vitamins particularly susceptible to oxidation and damage due to long term room temperature storage include vitamin A, thiamin, most forms of folate, some forms of vitamin B6 (pyridoxal),vitamin C, and pantothenic acid. The nutrition in the food at the bottom of a bag left open 39 days will be considerably less than the nutrition in the top of the bag. Fresh is best.

Molds and mycotoxins

Storing open bags of dry dog food for 39 days in warm, humid areas (most kitchens) promotes the growth of molds. Some of the waste products of these molds (mycotoxins) are increasingly being implicated as long-term causes of cancer and other health problems in humans, poultry, pigs and other animals. Dogs are particularly susceptible to these toxins.
 
When dry dog foods absorb moisture from the surrounding air, the antimicrobials used by most manufacturers to delay mold growth can be overwhelmed, and mold can grow. The molds that consume dry pet foods include the Aspergillus flavus mold, which produces Aflatoxin B1, the most potent naturally occurring carcinogenic substance known.
 
You can’t see low levels of mold, and most dogs can’t taste it.  While many dogs have died shortly after eating mycotoxin-contaminated foods, mycotoxins kill most dogs slowly by suppressing the immune system and creating long-term health problems in all organs of the body.
 
Infestation

Bugs, storage mites, mice, and other unpleasant invaders thrive on dry dog food.  Recent research has shown that allergic dogs are frequently allergic to the carcasses of storage mites, which may infest grains, especially those grains used in low cost dry dog foods. So, daily, allergic dogs ingest a substance to which their immune system reacts negatively.
 
Keep food fresh!
 
1. Keep food in its original bag, even if you use a container. Plastics can leach vitamin C out of the food. The components of the plastics themselves may leach into the food. Rancid fat, which lodges in the pores of plastics that are not food-grade, will contaminate new batches of food.
2. Buy small, fresh bags of food; only enough to last 7 days. Look for manufacturing or “best if used by” dates on the bag. If you don’t see one, or can’t understand the code, write the manufacturer and ask where it is or how to interpret their codes.
3. Keep food dry. If the food looks moist, throw it away.
4. Keep larger bags in the freezer. This is the only way we think large quantities of food may be kept safely.
5. If the food has off color, throw it away.
6. If the food smells rancid or like paint, throw the food away.
7. If your dog says no, do not force her to eat.
8. Don’t buy bags that are torn.  

Consider the value vs the risk of buying bags of food that are too large for your pet(s) to finish before the expiration date.  Sometime paying a little more to buy smaller bags as you need them can save you a lot of money and heartache in the long run!
 
Follow these simple recommendations to radically reduce the deadly toxins your dog or cat encounters. 



 For those of you that are relocating with your pet; ship some of your pet’s food ahead so you have it when you get there.  Not all brands are available everywhere.  This will save on an upset stomach in a new country or town.  

One of my favorite books on the right way to feed pets is “See Spot Live Longer” by Steve Brown and Beth Taylor.  Below is an excerpt from Ms. Taylor’s website that I thought was important to share with companion pet owners.

 

2000+ Dog Books And All Things Dog 

Dogwise, All Things Dog!

Monthly Feature: BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN DOGS

Update: Nationwide Pet Food Recall

  UNITED STATES — Veterinarian Doctor Andrea Lee says a few of her clients have called with concerns about the latest pet food recall.    

    

“They basically want to know if their dog is okay,” said Fairmount Animal Hospital Veterinarian Dr. Andrea Lee.

Over the weekend, many products made by Mars Petcare were red flagged. This includes a number of national and private label brands, including Pedigree and Wegmans Bruiser dry dog food and Buju and Ziggie cat food.

“The company recalled all of the products made at their Everson, Pennsylvania facility. They were recalled because of the possibility that they are connected to two cases of salmonella in people,” said Wegmans Media Relations Director Jo Natale.

Wegmans has taken the products off their shelves and says so far, the recall is precautionary.

“There has been no definite link with these two cases and no link at all between pet illness and these products,” said Natale. 

Dr. Lee says pet owners who are concerned should watch for symptoms like lethargy, unwillingness to eat, vomiting or diarrhea. But she says despite the Menu Foods scare two years ago, most pet foods today are very safe.

“I think that the manufactured pet foods are very safe for dogs. There are pretty strict regulations for manufacturers of these pet foods and their reputations depend on the safety of their food,” said Dr. Lee.

For a full list of recalled products, visit www.petcare.mars.com or you can call 1-877-568-4463.

By: Giselle Phelps

Product Name / Bag Size / UPC

Country Acres Cat Food 40#16603 02181
Retriever Bites & Bones Dog Food 8#79818 96757
Country Acres Ration Dog Food 40#16603 02333
Retriever Bites & Bones Dog Food 20#79818 96634
Country Acres 18% Dog Food 40#16603 02331
Retriever Bites & Bones Dog Food 50#49394 05666
Country Acres Hi Pro Dog Food 50#16603 02021
Retriever Gravy Blend Dog Food 50#49394 05665
Doggy Bag Dog Food 40#73893 40000
Retriever Gravy Blend Dog Food 8#79818 96756
Members Mark Complete Nutrition Premium Cat Food 20#81131 89881
Retriever Hi Protein Dog Food 8#79818 96755
Members Mark Complete Nutrition Premium Dog Food 50#05388 67055
Retriever Hi Protein Dog Food 25#49394 00002
Members Mark Crunchy Bites & Savory Bones Adult Dog Food 50#05388 67309
Retriever Hi Protein Dog Food 50#49394 00003
Members Mark High Performance Premium Dog Food 50#81131 75479
Retriever Mini Chunk Dog Food 8#79818 96754
Natural Cat Food (Sam’s Club) 15#81131 89883
Retriever Mini Chunk Dog Food 25#49394 00006
Natural Dog Food (Sam’s Club) 25#81131 89884
Retriever Mini Chunk Dog Food 50#49395 00005
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition 4.4#81131 69377
Retriever Puppy Blend Dog Food 6#49394 56221
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition 8#05388 67144
Retriever Puppy Blend Dog Food 8#79818 96758
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition 22#05388 60342
Retriever Puppy Blend Dog Food 20#49394 00004
Ol’ Roy Complete Nutrition 50#78742 01022
Retriever Puppy Blend Dog Food 40#79818 96706
Ol’ Roy High Performance Nutrition Dog Food 20#05388 60345
Special Kitty Gourmet 3.5#81131 17546
Ol’ Roy High Performance Nutrition Dog Food 50#78742 05815
Special Kitty Gourmet 4#78742 53199
Ol’ Roy Meaty Chunks ‘n Gravy Dog Food 8#81131 69629
Special Kitty Gourmet 7#81131 17547
Ol’ Roy Meaty Chunks ‘n Gravy Dog Food 22#81131 69630
Special Kitty Gourmet 8#78742 53200
Ol’ Roy Meaty Chunks ‘n Gravy Dog Food 50#81131 69631
Special Kitty Gourmet 18#81131 15748
Ol’ Roy Puppy Complete 4#81131 79078
Special Kitty Gourmet 20#78742 53201
Ol’ Roy Puppy Complete 8#81131 79079
Special Kitty Gourmet 25#78742 54314
Ol’ Roy Puppy Complete 20#81131 79080
Special Kitty Kitten 3.5#81131 17553
Paws & Claws Delicious Mix Cat Food 8#79818 96632
Special Kitty Kitten 4#78742 53198
Paws & Claws Delicious Mix Cat Food 20#49394 05746
Special Kitty Kitten 7#81131 17554
Paws & Claws Delicious Mix Cat Food 40#79818 96676
Special Kitty Kitten 8#81131 24739
Paws & Claws Premium Choice Cat Food 8#79818 96633
Special Kitty Original 3.5#81131 17557
Paws & Claws Premium Choice Cat Food 20#49394 00008
Special Kitty Original 4#78742 04930
Paws & Claws Premium Choice Cat Food 40#49394 05747
Special Kitty Original 7#81131 17562
Pedigree Large Breed Adult Nutrition 20#23100 29158
Special Kitty Original 8#78742 05744
Pedigree Large Breed Adult Nutrition 30.1#23100 31484
Special Kitty Original 18#81131 17559
Pedigree Large Breed Adult Nutrition 36.4#23100 31479
Special Kitty Original 20#78742 05794
Pedigree Large Breed Adult Nutrition 40#23100 29154
Special Kitty Original 25#81131 68869
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites Adult Nutrition 4.4#23100 05104
Wegman’s Bruiser Complete Nutrition Dog Food 4.4#77890 33654
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites Adult Nutrition 8.8#23100 05103
Wegman’s Bruiser Complete Nutrition Dog Food 20#77890 32988
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites Adult Nutrition 20#23100 14719
Wegman’s Bruiser Complete Nutrition Dog Food 37.5#77890 32994
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites Adult Nutrition 32#23100 31483
Wegman’s Bruiser Puppy Dog Food 4.4#77890 33621
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites Adult Nutrition 40#23100 31478
Wegman’s Bruiser Puppy Dog Food 17.6#77890 32991
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites Adult Nutrition 44#23100 05100
Wegman’s Bruiser Small Crunchy Bites Dog Food 4.4#77890 33618
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites Adult Nutrition 52#23100 05110
Wegman’s Bruiser Small Crunchy Bites Dog Food 20#77890 32982
Pet Pride Indoor Cat 3.5#11110 74584
Wegman’s Buju & Ziggie Complete Cat Food 3.5#77890 10005
Pet Pride Indoor Cat 18#11110 74585
Wegman’s Buju & Ziggie Complete Cat Food 18#77890 10004
Pet Pride Weight Management Dog Food 17.6#11110 74578
Wegman’s Buju & Ziggie Indoor Cat Food 3.5#77890 12038
PMI Nutrition Bites & Bones Dog Food 50#42869 00174
Wegman’s Buju & Ziggie Indoor Cat Food 18#77890 12039
PMI Nutrition Canine Advantage 50#42869 00172
Wegman’s Buju & Ziggie Kitten 3.5#77890 12036
PMI Nutrition Feline Medley 20#42869 00171
Wegman’s Buju & Ziggie Original Medley Cat Food 3.5#77890 10006
PMI Nutrition Gravy Crunches Dog Food 40#42869 00033
Wegman’s Buju & Ziggie Original Medley Cat Food 18#77890 10003
Red Flannel Active Formula Dog Food 40# 42869 00063
Red Flannel Adult Formula Dog Food 20# 42869 00055
Red Flannel Adult Formula Dog Food 40# 42869 00054
Red Flannel Canine Select Dog Food 20#42869 00068
Red Flannel Canine Select Dog Food 40#42869 00067
Red Flannel Cat 10#42869 00059

Posted on: Just One More Pet

Permalink: https://justonemorepet.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/update-nationw…et-food-recall/

 

 

Mars Petcare, US: Recall of Some Dry Pet Foods

  

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall Friday of all dry pet food products produced at its plant in Everson, Pa. between Feb. 18 and July 29, citing potential contamination with salmonella.

Mars, in a news release, did not say how much pet food is involved, but said the recall reaches 31 states and various brands and said the action was taken as a precaution.

“Even though no direct link between products produced at the Everson plant and human or pet illness has been made, we are taking this precautionary action to protect pets and their owners,” the company statement said.

Mars said it stopped production at the plant July 29 when it was alerted of a possible link between dry pet food produced in Everson and two isolated cases of people infected with salmonella.

Mars said salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in humans also.

The company said consumers should look for “17” as the first two digits of the second line on the UPC for products affected. For Pedigree products, they should look for “PAE” on the bottom line.  See:  Permalink: https://justonemorepet.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/update-nationw…et-food-recall/ for list of recalled foods by Product Name / Bag Size / UPC.

(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)