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The Pet Food Recall
By now, everyone has seen the news headlines regarding the pet food crisis.
Marlene and I have been promoting home-prepared diets for many years. The ‘crisis’ of tainted foods is not new. What surprises us is that it took this long to surface.
Commercial production of pet foods has a long history of unsavory practices. The use of sub-standard, and unhealthy ingredients coupled with the process of heating and extruding lifeless nuggets of so-called-food has always, in our opinion, been a disaster waiting to happen.
Why are so many dogs getting cancers, renal failures, hepatic diseases, and multitudes of skin and allergy problems? These are diseases and illnesses we should not be seeing. Illness and poor nutrition affect each other!
Food is not the only determinant of health but it is one that we as pet owners can control. The good news is that the average pet owner (despite what the ‘pet food’ experts say) can easily learn enough about nutrition to home prepare meals for their dog!
Balancing a Diet
What does it mean for a diet to be balanced? “A balanced diet contains optimal proportions of nutrients so that they can be utilized with maximal efficiency for a specific purpose.” You may be surprised to learn that no one knows how to precisely formulate a diet with optimal amounts of nutrients. The nutrition your dog needs and my dog needs may be quite different. Age (growing or adult), breed, health, pregnancy, lactation and genetics all play an important role.
Canine nutritional needs falls into an optimal range rather than a specific amount. This is great news for home prepared diets because with a little variety we can provide adequate nutrition with greater nutritional breadth.
Toxicity
Excess of any nutrient can be toxic. Some nutrients have a narrow range between what is good for the dog and what is toxic. Commercial pet foods do not measure some important nutrients and manufactures admit to adding excesses to ensure adequate levels in the finished product. The baking temperatures and heat in the extruding process destroy nutrients. To remedy this estimate of loss, some nutrients are added in excess.
Bacterial and Fungal Contamination
The results of an FDA survey of grain and animal protein ingredients used in animal food showed that nearly 57% of animal proteins sampled and 36% of grains tested positive for Salmonella, E-coli, endotoxins, cytotoxins, and other bacterial contaminants.
These figures are shocking. As caretakers of our dogs, we need a sensible, safe and healthy alternative to commercial pet foods.
Home Prepared Diets Using Fresh Food Ingredients
When home preparing diets for dogs, we recommend using healthy, fresh ingredients. Rice, carrots, olive or flax oil, herbs, bone meal and fresh meat are not toxic. Nature has provided the perfect nutritional balance into each food. Not too much, not too little.
A basic diet of cooked rice, grated carrot, Green Power Organic powder, bone meal and Flax Oil provide a broad range of highly digestible foods and a highly absorbable nutrient base.
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