Just the other day someone called to arrange for private classes to teach his adolescent, very large dog some manners.  Great progress was made with just two classes and clearly the dog and owner were delighted with the new understanding that evolved from proper communication. 

At the time of the class I noticed that the dog was scratching, had a dull coat and was overweight.  When I asked what was being fed to the dog I was not surprised to learn it was some popular brand sold in supermarkets.  I patiently explained how bad that is for the dog and made a few recommendations.  Then came his bottom line – But, it is so expensive!  I can’t afford that kinda food. 

In the Journal of Longevity there was an article (SPECIAL REPORT: DRUGS AND PET FOOD MAY BE DISABLING YOUR DOG) written by Barry Henson, D.V.M. In it Dr. Henson makes the following statements:  “According to a 1999 press release from the Animal Protection Institute, most commercial pet food is made up of slaughterhouse waste and moldy, contaminated grains that are considered unfit for human consumption.  Mysteriously labeled ‘by-products’ are, in reality, a deadly mixture of contaminated animal heads, toenails, bones, blood, pus, intestines, chicken feathers, hair and lungs.   

Unfortunately, other dogs and cats are another source of meat you won’t find mentioned on pet food labels. They’ve been euthanized via drugs at our nation’s animal shelters and sent to rendering plants – a fact that has been substantiated by the American Veterinary Association.  According to Dr. Belfield, the sodium pentobarbital used to put pets to sleep survives the rendering process and ends up as a toxin in your pet’s food!”  This has been substantiated by a study done for FDA in the year 2000!  Primarily supermarket brands are involved. 

In another article in the February  2000 issue of WHOLE DOG JOURNAL  mention is made of the unavoidable awareness of the increase “in allergies, skin problems, behavior problems (aggression, separation anxiety, etc.) autoimmune and immune –deficiency conditions, cancers and diseases of internal organs.  

 Since people cannot see most of these problems they seem to believe that dogs do just fine on the garbage sold as dog food but dogs are indeed dying from substandard food – they just aren’t dying right away! 

The article, WDJ’s TOP 10 DRY DOG FOODS, in part says the following: 

“Is a Rose By-Product Still a Rose? 

If a dog food label says it contains lamb, beef, or chicken, then by law, it really must contain ‘the clean flesh (from that animal) ...limited to that part of the striate muscle which is skeletal or that which is found in the tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart or in the esophagus...’  So far, so good. 

Lamb meal, beef meal or chicken meal  is ‘the rendered product’ of those meats.  Though the meat has been cooked, dried, and ground, it’s still meat and has not had any ‘added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.’ 

...When you get to By-Products, you’ve really departed from a product of any quality. ...A digest  is worst of all.  This is a by-product which as been treated with heat and water to create a slurry. 

...Chicken is better than ‘poultry’.  And, in turn, ‘Chicken Meal’ is better than ‘Chicken By-Products’ which is better than ‘Chicken Digest’ which is better than ‘Animal Digest’.  But, from our prospective, anything less than ‘Meal’ is not fit for dogs.” 

And that brings me back to the title – Yes!  Good dog food is more expensive than cheap dog food.  (You will feed a lot less, however, which most people don’t realize.) And, if you cannot afford to properly feed your dog, frankly, you shouldn’t have one!  It is rather a case of pay now or pay later – the later will be in vet bills. 

Oh, and, the same person decided that after just two classes he had solved his problems and he wouldn’t be coming anymore. Hmmmmm. 

N