DRY COMMERCIAL PET FOODS - WHAT TO FEED PART 1

I spent seven years in a natural pet food store selling commercial pet foods and other products. For the last 10 years or so, I have fed my own pets everything from raw, kibble, canned, dehydrated, freeze dried and home cooked meals. Having pets with health problems made me seek options outside what the grocery stores were selling. I have been travelling the path of natural health and nutrition ever since. My eyes were opened and I was introduced to a passion I had no idea was inside me.

More and more people are questioning the diets they are feeding their companion animals, especially in light of several recalls over the past few years, and this is good news, but we still have a long way to go.

A Little History

I am not going to start at the very beginning because, as we all know, in the beginning dogs ate what they caught or what was provided to them by hunters, cats caught prey and that was pretty much that. As time went on and humans became more civilized, dogs and cats began living more as pets and were fed table scraps and other homemade meals.

The first commercial pet food was developed in 1860 by James Spratt of Cincinnati, Ohio and was called Spratt's Patent Meat Fibrine Dog Cakes. This food was a biscuit made of wheat, beet root, vegetables and beef blood. It wasn't long until other companies jumped on board and more dry foods were on the market and things spiralled from there. The depression in the 1930's left people looking for less expensive ways to feed their pets and it was at that time more cereal products and grains were introduced to pet foods. By the 1940's canned meat was introduced for pets, followed by dehydrated foods in 1943. 

 

 Eventually the waste products from mills, like wheat mill run/middlings, as well as meat which was not fit for human consumption, was added to pet foods. Of course things led to companies using diseased meats, unusable parts etc., after time. These were then mixed with grains and cooked for long periods of time to kill any bacteria, turned into pellets and sealed in bags. But what it came down to was not that raw or fresh meat was bad for our pets, it was simply much less expensive to feed commercial pet foods and much more convenient for people to toss a few pellets into a bowl and be done with it. The pet food companies began labelling their products as complete and once the veterinarians jumped on board, the deal was sealed.

There are far more detailed explanations on the history of dog food, I just wanted to provide a quick background as to how we ended up feeding our dogs dry, processed foods and why.

Pet Food in the Present

Pet food is now a multi billion dollar industry. Convenience, cost and fear mongering led pet owners to believe dry, processed kibble was the best thing to feed their pets. In recent years things have changed, pet owners are asking more questions, the Internet has made it possible for people to find information they otherwise would not have available to them, and thank dog for that!

I for one was shocked to learn, many years ago now, veterinarians take very little nutritional training and what they do learn is taught by big pet food manufacturers of one company or another. This fact horrified me, almost as much as I was horrified years before that when I found out the food I was purchasing off the grocery store shelves was not good for my pets!!

There are literally thousands of pet foods on the market today and it's overwhelming and confusing for many pet owners.

Aside from the significant difference between grocery store pet foods and pet foods you find in smaller retail and privately owned stores, many factors are usually left out when people are feeding their pets.

What Matters Most

As I have said in a previous post, I would love to see all pet owners start cooking for their pets or feeding a proper raw diet, but I know that is unrealistic. So how can you enhance the diet of your kibble fed pet?

1. Don't buy into the "complete and balanced" propaganda! Extruded kibble is cooked at such high temperatures, nothing nutritional can live through it. A premix is then added to the kibble after the heating process. Each time your pet eats his/her food they are getting the same ingredients over and over again, the vitamins and minerals of which are minimal at best.
   
   People typically eat three meals a day. Each meal consists of various food items, which contain various vitamins and minerals and that is how we meet all of our nutritional needs.
2. Variety is the spice of life. Just as humans benefit from a variety of different foods and the nutrition they provide, so do dogs, cats and all other animals. Any animal forced to eat the same food day in and day out for most or all of their life, is likely to feel, at some point in their life, the effects of that lack in nutrition.
   
   For animals who have been fed the same food continuously for years, transitioning to a new food should be done slowly, over at least a seven day period. However, most food companies now make a variety of different foods within their lines, which pet owners can utilize as a way to add variety to their pets' diets. Adding a good quality canned food at each meal will also provide variety, as well as moisture.
3. Moisture. No animal should ever be forced to eat nothing but dry, processed food their entire life. As I mentioned in my post "People Food vs. Pet Food", imagine if you had nothing but dry cereal to eat at every meal and a glass of water. A dog or cat would eat a minimum of 70% moisture in their natural habitat, even when foraging on garbage and scraps, a dog would still get more moisture in his/her diet than they will from plain kibble. Adding a bowl of water is great, but, dogs and cats especially, count on the moisture from their food for proper organ function and health. Adding whole foods like vegetables and meat will provide your pet with the moisture and added nutrition he/she requires.
   
   When adding vegetalbes to your pet's diet make sure raw veggies are chopped up nice and fine for better digestion and if you boil them, add the water to your pet's meal as well.
4. Supplements. All animals are unique and although pet foods claim to be nutritionally balanced and complete, many times the percentages of certain vitamins and minerals is not enough. In addition, the premixes added to kibbles come mostly from overseas and quality can be questionable. Any dry commercial food, which lists things like glucosamine and chondroitin, contain minimal amounts at best and not enough for therapeutic results. Because some animals have a hard time processing dry kibbles, digestive enzymes and other supplements may help them to digest and utilize the nutrition that is available to them in their food. Omega fatty acids provide additional support to the skin, heart and brain function. They also provide protection against cancer and other illnesses. 

Most non-conventional veterinarians and some of the newer conventional veterinarians, have taken the time to learn more about nutrition through self education. I have not heard a single veterinarian who has continued their own education in nutrition say that a dry processed diet is the best thing for your pet, not ever. Many illnesses, including kidney disease, diabetes and certain cancers, have been linked to poor quality nutrition or lack of proper nutrients etc. Other health issues like allergies or food intolerances are also related to poor nutrition and execessive feeding of the same grains and poor quality proteins over generations. Providing your pet with additional support, like the things I listed above, will give them the added nutrition they need to live long and healthful lives.

There are many people out there who are dead set on feeding only raw or only home cooked, in my house it's all I feed, but that is my choice. I do know, from first hand experience, we are never going to see every pet owner cross over to home cooking or raw feeding. Many people simply cannot afford it, others do not have the time and many others just cannot be bothered. The best we can hope for is that pet food companies continue to improve and pet owners continue to learn and turn their backs on inferior products for their pets and start adding fresh whole foods back into their pets' diets. 


You can join my Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/PawsitiveWellness?ref=hl