Are you concerned about the dry food your Golden Retriever or
canine companion is eating?
Looking for detailed information about certain food ingredients?
Confused about inconsistent information about dog food from pet food
manufacturers? Need help comparing dog food brands and finding a better
one?
Then you are exactly where I was when I first heard about the
disgusting materials some pet food manufacturers put into their
products. I picked up a bag of Science Diet and consciously looked at
the ingredient list for the first time. Even without any previous
knowledge I could see that it did not include any real meat and was
preserved with the same chemicals I avoid in human food products. I
never bought another bag of Science Diet and started researching and
comparing products. One of the things I learned was that any commercial
sources are best avoided if you want hard facts, not biased
"infomercial" style sales pitches trying to sell you one product or
another. Hopefully you will find this site helpful, make up your own
mind about different food brands and their quality, choose a better food
and who knows - maybe even save some money.
Commercial Dry Foods - Introduction
If you have read about dog food on other websites, you might
ask "Why do you recommend any dry dog food at all? Shouldn't I avoid all
commercial products and just feed a home cooked or raw diet?"
The answer is simple - not everyone has the time, money,
resources or dedication to feed a properly balanced homemade diet and
not all commercial dog foods are made from low quality ingredients and
inexpensive byproducts, only meeting the bare minimum of nutritional
requirements. The philosophies and ethics of manufacturers vary widely
and it is my goal to make as much information available as possible so
you can form your own opinion about what is a good food and what isn't.
If enough pet owners make a conscious choice, avoid the "junk food" and
support trustworthy manufacturers by buying their quality products,
maybe it will send a message to the companies who are happy to sell you
bags of beef "flavored" corn or rice byproducts.
Fortunately, changes are already happening. More and more
smaller, privately owned businesses are entering the market with quality
products. Almost every pet food manufacturer that is owned by a
corporate giant is following the example of the successful smaller
companies, trying to secure themselves a piece of the "natural" or
"holistic" segment of the market. Royal Canin offers "Natural Blend" and
"Sensible Choice", Heinz Pet Products offers "Nature's Recipe" and
Colgate-Palmolive offers Science Diet "Nature's Best" and "Advanced
Protection". Even the low-end range on the grocery store shelf has
candidates like Purina "Beneful".
In some cases a quick look at the ingredient list reveals
whether the product is made of quality components or not, in others it
takes more knowledge about individual ingredients to determine which
food is the better one. Of course every company is going to tell you
that they are using only the best quality ingredients, but the
constitutional right to freedom of speech does not require such
statements to be truthful.
Let that sink in for a moment.
It's your responsibility as a pet owner to look past the pretty
pictures of fresh cuts of meat and juicy vegetables, the cute
commercials and the misleading, biased information about "proper
nutrition" and question the statements the manufacturer makes. If you
can't locate enough information on my website, or doubt any of its
content, make use of your email and discuss things with the
manufacturers directly. If you are concerned about a particular
ingredient, get several different opinions and compare the statements.
The Dog Food Project is written by Sabine Contreras
Sabine Contreras: At school in Germany attended Biology
and Chemistry classes for 8 and 6 consecutive years respectively and
during her 2 1/2 year professional apprenticeship, nutrition/dietetics
was part of the accompanying education, and the final written and oral
exams by the state of Baden-Württemberg.After completing coursework in
Animal Nutrition, Care, Physiology, Diseases and Parasitology, Sabine
earned her certification in Animal Care from the University of Guelph,
Ontario, Canada.
This article is only a very shortened version of a website called the “Dog Food Project”. If you have taken the time to resource a good breeder and have picked out the pup of your dreams, it is now time to learn how to keep your pup healthy for the rest of it’s life. This is merely an introduction to peek interest in a website I highly recommend to my clients and use often. I hope you find it as informative and enlightening as I did. Sabina also provides an email to contact her.
