10 Secrets Pet Food Companies Don't Want You to Know

[Prin]

Do they have any allergies or is there anything particular you want or don't want in their food?

[LynLyn]

wow this post has taught me alot, i'm impressed. I think i'll print it out and give copies to my friends.

[NoahGrey]

I feed my cat Hills T/D Prescrieption diet. One of the better brands. For a 4IB (1.81kg) bag it's between $19-24 dollars a bag. You can only get it through a Vet hospital.

ACO22

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by ACO22

I feed my cat Hills T/D Prescrieption diet. One of the better brands. For a 4IB (1.81kg) bag it's between $19-24 dollars a bag. You can only get it through a Vet hospital.

ACO22

Chicken By-Product Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Powdered Cellulose 10% (source of fiber), Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken Liver Flavor, . . .preserved with BHT and BHA. . .,

Not only is there very little real meat, but it's preserved with BHA/BHT, which most pet food companies have stopped using because of a possible carcinogenic link. The carbohydrate content of this food is way too high for an obligate carnivore to be eating and while you might end up with a cat that has lovely pearly whites, it will probably also end up with diabetes, kidney issues, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, etc, all because of these highly inappropriate ingredients.

Please read this link for a rather enlightening look at the cat food industry: What's Eating Kitty?

[erykah1310]

Originally Posted by sugarcatmom

Just because you can only get it at a vet clinic does not actually mean it's a quality food, it only means that you're overpaying for a lousy food.

And thats that in a nut shell. So many people are mislead by vet prescribed foods its sickening. So many people are mislead by marketing ploys on tv as well, honestly I feel the same as sugarcatmom on this one, this is a really inferrior food, so many pet store brands can be better for what ever is ailing your kitty.

[NoahGrey]

Sorry to burst everyon'es bubble...but Hills is a great brand for your pet. Since in my line of profession I work with a ton of vets and so on.

ACO22

[jesse's mommy]

Originally Posted by ACO22

Sorry to burst everyon'es bubble...but Hills is a great brand for your pet. Since in my line of profession I work with a ton of vets and so on.

ACO22

Unfortunately it really isn't a good food. There are a ton of fillers and bad stuff in there that is just not healthy for your pet. Just because it's sold at a vets office, doesn't mean it's good. Most of the times vets push this stuff because they receive a percentage of the proceeds and kickbacks. Also, most vets aren't nutritionists. Here is a good resource that has been posted in tons of posts:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

[sugarcatmom]

Originally Posted by ACO22

Sorry to burst everyon'es bubble...but Hills is a great brand for your pet. Since in my line of profession I work with a ton of vets and so on.

ACO22

Ahhh, but therein lies the issue. The education most vets receive on the topic of animal nutrition is extremely limited, and is most often provided by the very pet food companies that end up stocking the shelves of their clinics. Not to mention that around 20% of an average clinic's annual income comes from the sale of such food. Since you apparently didn't read the link above, here's a snippet for you:

Who's sponsoring any of the studies on animal nutrition? "A lot of the research is funded by the industry. We have to be very grateful, really, to the industry, because there is no federal funding for dietary studies in pets. Unless [that funding comes with] strings attached." When pressed to confide which companies are applying such pressure, Hoenig stays mum.

It's a point that gets raised at the Cecil Street meet by host MPP Rosario Marchese. He tells NOW, "University of Guelph is the main veterinary college in Ontario, and it has no nutritionist teaching in the [core curriculum]. Companies like Hill's and Royal Canin/Medi-Cal provide the only nutritional information that veterinary students receive, including free products. That is a problem."

Indeed, Marchese is tabling a private member's bill this week that will require Ontario post-secondary schools to report annually on all private donations they receive and come clean on any agreements signed between them and the private sector to smoke out just such connections.

Marion Smart, clinical studies and nutrition prof at Saskatoon's Western College of Veterinary Medicine, has surveyed every accredited veterinary college on the continent and found a similar pattern almost everywhere. "The pet food industry has seen this void and filled it by sponsoring and supporting nutrition programs in colleges. If the educators aren't willing to take hold of it, in a way the pet food industry is doing a service and a disservice to veterinarians."

I mean really, just take a look at the T/D ingredients that I posted above. How can that possibly be good for an animal that was designed to eat MEAT? There's wood pulp in it, for crying out loud! You may work with a bunch of vets, but I've actually done extensive research on feline nutrition for the past 4.5 years, ever since my own cat became diabetic ! If you are at all interested in learning more for yourself, and for the betterment of your cat, might I suggest this website: http://www.catinfo.org/ actually written by a vet, if that makes it more credible for you.

[kit1469]

thats horrible i had no idea that so much stuff was in my kitties food .. are there any brands that are better than others??

[jrock07]

Originally Posted by rainbow

California Natural is not bad but there are better foods out there like Timberwolf Organics, Solid Gold, Canidae.

California Natural has chicken meal, brown rice, white rice, sunflower oil, natural flavours, taurine, flaxseed, vitamins and minerals. So that's one meat source and two grains before the fat. Also, Prin did a good post on sunflower oil: www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=24324

Check out the other foods I mentioned:

www.timberwolforganics.com
www.solidgoldhealth.com
www.canidae.com

Also check out alot of the previous threads on this food forum. There's alot of good information here. Prin is the dry food guru and technodoll the raw food guru.

Originally Posted by rainbow

I know California Natural doesn't use menadione in their chicken and rice formula so I presume they don't use it in their lamb and rice formula.

The only way of knowing for sure is to check the bag or give them a call (1-800-532-7261)

Rainbow- I happen to Agree with you - and I think most of the food out there is crap! My Pitt- had really bad allergies (food) wasnt sure if it was food at first but it was through a long process of elimination.
I had him on Purina chicken and oatmeal, Proplan ( I Think thats the name of it) Corn is very hard for the dogs to digest - its no good- Wheat, Soy, all stink for dogs and cause allergic reactions- grain

I SWITCHED MY PITT TO CANIDAE AND IT IS ONE (1) OF THE BEST FOODS ON THE MARKET AND HE HAS NOT SCRATCHED AT ALL HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS :

CHICKEN MEAL, TURKEY MEAL, BROWN RICE,WHITE RICE,LAMB MEAL, CHIKEN FAT(PRESERVED WITH MIXED TOCOPHEROLS,)HERRING MEAL, FLAX SEED, SUN CURED ALFALFA MEAL, SUNFLOWER OIL, CHICKEN, LECITHIN, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, LINOLEIC ACID, ROSMARY EXTRACT, SAGE EXTRACT, DRIED ENTEROCOCCUS FAECIUM, DRIED LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS FERMENTATION PRODUCT, DRIED ASPERGILLUS ORYZAE FERMAENTATION EXTRACT, DRIED BACILLUS SUBTILIS FERMENTATION EXTRACT, INULIN (FROM CHICORY ROOT,) SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE FERMENTATION SOLUBLES, UCCA SCHIDIGERA EXTRACT, MIXED TOCOPHEROLS (SOURCE OF VITAMIN E), ZINC AMINO ACID CHELATE, MANGANESE AMINO ACID CHELATE, IRON AMINO ACID CHELATE, COPPER AMINO ACID CHELATE, COBALT AMINO ACID CHELATE, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, ASCORBIC ACID (SOURCE OF VITAMIN C) NIACIN, THIAMINE MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1) RIBOFLAVIN (SOURCE OF B2) BETA CAROTENE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, PYIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6) CALCIUM IODATE, FOLIC ACID, D BIOTIN, SODIUM SELENITE, PAPAYA, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
CRUDE PROTEIN (MIN) 24.00%
CRUDE FAT(MIN) 14.50%
CRUDE FIBER (MAX) 4.00%
MOISTURE (MIN) 10.00%
LINOLEIC ACID (OMEGA 6) (MIN) 3.70%
VITAMIN E (MIN) 200.00 IU/KG
CALCIUM (MIN) 1.20%
PHOSPHORUS (MIN) 0.90%
ALPHA LINOLEIC ACID (OMEGA 3) (MIN) 0.60%
ASCORBIC ACID (MIN) 50.00 MG/KG
CELLULASE (A) (MIN) 100 CMCU/KG
MAGNESIUM (MIN) 0.14%
PH 6.5%

(A) ONE CABOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE UNIT (CMCU) IS THAT AMOUNT OF ENZYME WHICH LIBERATES ONE MICROMOLE OF REDUCING SUGAR( EXPRESSED AS GLUCOSE EQUIVALENTS) IN ONE MINUTE UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF THE ASSAY.

PROS:
THREE MEAT PRODUCTS IN FIRST FIVE INGREDIENTS, LOW LEVEL OF GRAIN, USES GOOD QUALITY INGREDIENTS THROUGHOUT.

CONS: NONE

THE FIRST,SECOND, FIFTH, AND SEVENTH INGREDIENTS INT HE FOOD ARE ALL NAMED MEAT PRODUCTS, AND ALL IN MEAL FORM. THERE IS A FURTHER (FRESH) MEAT INGREDIENT 11TH ON THE INGREDIENT LIST, THOUGH THIS IS TOO FAR DOWN TO MAKE UP A SUBSTANTIVE PORTION OF THE FOOD

THE MAIN GRAIN IN THE FOOD IS RICE (TWO FORMS) THESE ARE WHOLE GRAINS THAT ARE LOW-ALLERGENIC AND A GOOD QUALITY SOURCE OF CARBOHYDRATES AND ADDITIONAL PROTEIN. THERE ARE NO FURTHER GRAINS IN THE FOOD FLAXSEED IS A GOOD QUALITY SOURCE OF OMEGA 6 AND OMEGA 3 ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS AS IS SUNFLOWER OIL, THERE IS A GOOD RANGE OF PROBIOTICS IN THE FOOD .

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT LOOKING FOOD WITH VERY GOOD MEAT CONTENT. THE ONLY GRAIN CONTAINED IN THE FOOD IS RICE AND THERE ARE NO GRAIN FRAGMENTS OR OTHER FILLERS.

YOU CAN GO TO WWW.DOGFOODANALYSIS.COM AND LOOK UP THE DOG FOOD YOU ARE GIVING YOUR PUP!

HOPE THIS ALL HELPS!
I STAND BY CANIDAE DOG FOOD ALL LIFE STAGES 100%

BEST REGARDS,
JADE & MURDOCH

[jrock07]

Originally Posted by ACO22

Sorry to burst everyon'es bubble...but Hills is a great brand for your pet. Since in my line of profession I work with a ton of vets and so on.

ACO22

What do you do ACO022?

[SARAH]

Originally Posted by Mocha's mum

YIKES!!! I've been reading this thread for a half hour, looking at the websites, and......YIKES!!! How do you decipher the nutrient panel on the dog food? How do you know what is good for your dog?? I have a hard enough time trying to figure out what's good for me to eat, and reading labels on the food that I buy.

I haven't found it here, but in France I used to pick up "animal meat" in the butcher's section at the supermarket. It was all the cut-offs from other people-meats, not too much fat at all even! Cooking that with the "brisures de riz" (broken rice) and some vegetable I had handy, and presto ... home cooked meals for the dogs. Why don't they have that here? I mean, I've LOOKED for it, repeatedly, in the different supermarket chains ... no broken rice, no animal-meat. Why is that?

Misti finally got used to Fancy Feast, after getting a can with pate rather than the pieces. But then the can with pieces went down fast the next day she discovered that dry food isn't everything in life! In addition to raw meat and egg yolks of course

[LavenderRott]

Originally Posted by ACO22

Sorry to burst everyon'es bubble...but Hills is a great brand for your pet. Since in my line of profession I work with a ton of vets and so on.

ACO22

So, the vets told you it was great food? And who told them? The salesman who came to their office, told them all the great things about the food and offered to give them a cut of the profit?

Wouldn't it be interesting to know the amount of time the vet spent learning about nutrition? I hear that they are required to take a semester long class. Heck, most of us here have spent more time than that reading everything we can get our hands on to make sure that our pets get the best food available.

Here are the ingredients of their original formula adult dry food:

Ingredients

Chicken, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), DL-Methionine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

[Winston]

I have tried to discuss food with my vet and she has no really good knowledge other than she promotes the Hills...Thats because they tell her what to sell?? When I came asking questions she could not answer..she would make up stupid things..one day and the next was different..

I put my dog on Orijen and took him off Hills...she reviewed the food and thought it was fantastic even asked me if she could keep the papers I gave her on the food! BUT I had to make sure he had his liver tested to be sure he could process the higher protein food...did the test...came back perfect...I keep on with the food which has been great by the way! Few months later I see her about something and mention the food again and she freaks out saying it was not good food that Hills was much better quality blah! blah! blah! My point is they dont know,,,they may have some idea of what has worked for some animals over the years but their knowledge of food and ingrediants is usually not always! up to date.


If you take the time to compare ingrediant lists of a few brands of food you will see there is a big difference...Look at where the meat is in the list of Hills and then go look at another bag of good quality kibble there is a difference!
Just my 2

Cindy

[Love4himies]

Originally Posted by technodoll

Next the fox buries or hides the rest to stew a spell. What we call, "turning rancid" the fox calls, "just getting better". In a couple days, the live enzymes in the rabbit meat have broken it down into easily digested protein. Notice how no fire was used in this process? .

W4R, didn't you mention in a post that one of your cats bury their meat and go back to it the next day? Do all your cats do this and do they do it regularily?

[white wrabbit]

ok i played around with different dog food sites yesterday.. so where does Accana fit on the list? (seamed ok to me) tee hee and i also compared the Hills to Ol Roys what do ya know they both have CORN as the first ingredient...
now about 9 to 10 years ago i did have a vet tell me to feed my dog proplan and did not recommend any of the stuff they stocked at there office.. so i am guess that must of been a good vet... (to bad they are in Peterborough, ONT)

["Wilbur Lover"]

Hi I'm Wilbur. I think my mom wants to put me on the Petco Science Diet. Another kind she is thinking of is Nutro Lamb & Rice. Are these good for me?

Thanks!

[GSDog]

Funny how even dog or cat food has become a fashion state...if you go back some years there wasnt all this food on the market and the dogs/cats were healthier...i use to have about 25yrs ago 2 dobermans and i use to feed them dry dog food from the Co-op...and my dogs were as strong as horses and very healthy...they werent fat or anything either..i even gave them raw bones with the bone marrow in it...(not the joints sections no good) and they had beautiful shinny fur and strong teeth...today you have a lot of junk on the market...my mom use to have a newfoundlander and it was huge...ate dry dog food and leftover pasta...the fur on this dog, women would kill to silky and natural shine like her dog ...so you know, its up the the owner to be smart and wise...you want to spoil your dog by all means its your right but your dog or cat will be just as happy without all the fancy stuff out there...all they want is a good master that give thems hugs once a while

[pitgrrl]

Originally Posted by GSDog

...you want to spoil your dog by all means its your right but your dog or cat will be just as happy without all the fancy stuff out there...all they want is a good master that give thems hugs once a while

Ya know, I don't really think of providing my dogs with good food as spoiling. Their box of squeek toys and sweaters maybe, but not good food

[twodogos]

Originally Posted by GSDog

you want to spoil your dog by all means its your right but your dog or cat will be just as happy without all the fancy stuff out there..

Ok so how about you eat McDonalds everyday for the rest of your life and see how you feel. Thats the equivilant to most of the dog foods that you can buy that are "cheaper".

The extra money i spend on feeding my pups Orijen is well spent. My dogs will cost less going to the vet and will be with me a lot longer because their health is that much better.

[Dingo]

I've just started feeding N-R-G Raw O-N-E. The ingredient list is amazing:

Free range buffalo, naked oats, wheat germ, cooked whole eggs (including egg shells as a calcium source), cooked buffalo liver, raw whole fresh carrots, grapefruit, winter squash, brocolli, cranberries, papaya, parsley and garlic, apple cider, goat milk yogurt, ground flax seed, cider vinegar, kelp, cold pressed safflower oil, olive oil.

It's dehydrated and you add water to reconstitute it It even smells good and looks good -- you can actually see identifiable bits of food in it, like bits of grated carrot. On the downside, it's very expensive. Nearly $30 for a 2kg box.

[katiebear]

This is a great thread! One of the biggest things I've discovered as a pet owner is how uneducated we can be and how easy it is to believe marketing ploys of the big companies. I'll be sharing this info with all my friends!
I did want to comment - I know someone mentioned they were looking for an inexpensive "good" dog food. Always keep in mind that you get what you pay for - if the food is cheap, it's because it's using cheap ingredients (otherwise, the company wouldn't be able to stay in business). Now, an expensive food doesn't equate to quality (look at the vet brands) however, but a quality food WILL cost more than a substandard one. As pet owners though, we can't just look at the price of a bag of dog food - we have to look at the health of our pet. A healthy pet will cost much less over our pets' lifetime than a sickly one. If we can be proactive in feeding a good diet to our dogs, then in theory they should be healthy which will result in much less vet bills. Certainly diet isn't the only element in the equation, but it is one of the most easily controlled factors. Let's create a society that no longer buys into the deceptive marketing of the big pet food companies. Here's to feeding our pets right and to eliminating the market for cheap (and deadly) dog food!

[Backwoodsgal]

3. Giving "real food" aka "table scraps" is the RIGHT thing to do!

Stepping on a lot of toes here to smash the myth that you should only feed the stuff from the bag and nothing else ever, PERIOD. What is it they are afraid of anyway? That your pet will learn to beg? Unlearn that. That your pet won't eat the chaff they call "food" after tasting the real deal? Probably. Or that it will throw the delicate balance of their finely tuned "nutrition" out of whack somehow? He He Hoo, hardly.

Here's the scoop... Providing real food (not potato chips or other junk food) in its raw form counteracts some of the deficit that can be caused by only feeding commercially prepared pet food. It can provide the living enzymes to make digestion an easy rather than burdensome process. But, don't just go wild and throw everything in the feeding trough. Good bets for pets are raw carrots, broccoli, yogurt, cheese, garlic and meats. Cooked oatmeal, rice, corn, squash and the like are fine too. Don't feed raw grains, legumes, potatoes, onions, celery or chocolate which are either unusable or unhealthy. If you aren't comfortable with raw meat and fish, don't do it. Keep in mind, they aren't people and have an entirely different gastro-intestinal system than we do. Introduce new foods a little at a time about three times a week to start and give your pet's pancreas a much needed break.

I just wanted to say that I still can't believe this is only starting to catch on now. I've always fed my dogs and cats table scraps and raw meats. I do feed them some dog/cat food, but that's only so we can feed all of them. It's quite a small amount per dog and cat compared to the scraps they receive.

[Canadianbella]

I hope you don't mind me borrowing this for my facebook! I'm tired of people telling me "Dogs should NEVER get human food"
Because kibble falls out of the sky in the wild..

[067734m]

Hi I have a (estimated) 6 year old beagle/walkerhound. I feed her Purina Pro Plan Adult Shredded Blend.
Here are the ingredients: "Chicken, brewers rice, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), whole grain corn, soy flakes, soybean meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal digest, glycerin, dried egg product, wheat bran, salt, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, zinc proteinate, Vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, sulfur, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), niacin, copper proteinate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite."

I notice the "by-products" (and some mysterious chemicals) so I know it may not be best. But this food came highly recommended from the shelter. How would my dog be better off if I switched to one of the foods mentioned? Thoughts?

I'm also getting a (estimated) 3 year old lab. Even though they're a few years apart, is it ok to feed them the same food? If I did switch, any Brand Name suggestions for me?

[Snowflakes]

I somehow get this notion that, Vets just recommend those dog food/treats for you to come back again with your pets ill. Its an assurance that you will come back again and need them.

[rhynes]

Old thread, but a good one.

I'm one of the pet lovers that always trusted the food manufacturers to provide a quality product, but over the past 5 years or so, more research into it made me want to puke. My little one, Tia, passed away but I realized too late that many of her issues were caused by what we were feeding her. Makes me want to cry to think of it.

Trying to find a vet that's educated enough about food is difficult to say the least. Started feeding raw to the little bugger we have now, but the vet wanted to put him on a hydrolyzed diet from Hills Diet as she thought he had allergies. I bought a few cans of wet just so I could get out of the sales pitch, and gave them away. Hydrolyzed is basically food molecules that are so small that the body can't recognize the protein? Yeah, it'll probably work for allergies, but jeepers, look at the ingredients.

He's been raw fed since mid December and loves it. Never really thought about raw foods until we started dealing with the minpin, always paid the price for the "top" brands, falling for the sales pitches in hopes that all would be good. Now i'm a believer in it and never will another animal of mine be fed commercial foods of any sort.

[Patchie]

Better to do your thing first and look for reviews before you go for a certain brand. There are a lot of sites that review dog food brands honestly.