Dog Health Food - Is Your Dog Food Hurting your Best Friend?

 

Title: Dog Health Food – Are Preservatives Killing Your Best Friend?

Author: Mark Syme

Dog health food is fast becoming a vital part of having a
healthy dog. Knowing what is really in the food that
you're dog is vital to help your dog live a long and full
life. By avoiding the preservatives and additives in
commercial dog food, you could be adding years to your
dog's life.

With dog food labelling laws much less strict than human,
it can be hard to find out what really is put into our
dog's food. If a particular nasty ingredient doesn't
appear on the ingredients list, unfortunately that doesn't
mean it isn't there. Some preservatives such as Ethoxyquin
are routinely added to fish meal, which is then added as an
ingredient but you won't know what went into the fish meal.
It's a bit like those restaurants that can proclaim `no
added msg' because it's only the ingredients and sauces
that they use which contain it.

There are so many loopholes, which are exploited, in human
food that I shudder to think about what really goes into
the food we give our dogs. For example the preservative
Ethoxyquin has been banned for human consumption for
decades, but it's still legal to put it into our dog's
food. Insiders have confirmed that road kill is often added
to increase the protein amount, but that's not the worst by
far. In addition to toxic preservatives, there have been
reported cases of pets being recycled back into dog food
after being put down, complete with the lethal drugs still
in their flesh!

Tumours that have been removed from dying dogs have been
put into commercial dog food. So it's no wonder that
cancers, kidney failure and chronic allergies are fast
becoming an epidemic in the dog world. So when you see
`animal' meat or `animal' protein on a list of ingredients,
run a mile!

There are many, many forms of protein, which can
legitimately be put into dog food but are not really much
better than poison. And even offal, which isn't too bad as
a rule, can be quite harmful. Offal is mainly produced from
inedible organs but these organs can often have a high
concentration of pesticides and hormones from the animal
they came from. Basically, anything that can't be sold as
human grade food seems to find it's way into dog food, and
then promoted as being healthy!

It's no surprise that the incidence of severe food
allergies is rising either. Lots of corn and wheat gluten
is being used to fill out the bulk of dog food. This isn't
anything like a natural part of a dog's diet and their
digestive system doesn't really cope with it. Not many
dogs have a food intolerance when they're born, but they
can develop one later in life.

Allergies can lead to poor coat condition, bloating and
wind, low energy, aggression and even organ damage. While
often the effects are initially minor, if they are ignored,
they can develop into more serious health problems. And all
the time, your best friend can't tell you if they feel sick
after every meal they eat.

With all these things potentially making your pooch sick,
dog health food is fast becoming a vital part of having a
healthy dog. Making your own dog food is easy and fun, but
if you don't have the time, then there an increasing
variety of all natural foods being produced that you'd be
happy to give to your best friend.

About the Author:

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

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