Zorro_007 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Just wondering what your beliefs are as far as ingredients used in PREMIUM dry dog foods?? Do you truly believe that prime cuts of chicken, beef, fish, lamb, etc etc are used in these foods as the main ingredient?? And pertaining to those that claim that vitamins are used, does anybody know what the quality of those vitamins are?? And also pertaining to the grains used in these 'premium' dry foods, what grains are used, does anybody truly know? Would really value your opinion on this. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Aahhh but i could say the same of the food we buy fresh from the super market... The cuts of meat we have access to...A/first grade? Do you believe that $24.99 per kg steak is A/first grade? Do you believe that pack of chicken pieces is A/first grade? Those vegies that look so nice...think those are A/first grade? The lovely pieces of fruit...think those are A/first grade? The Aussie grown grains in our cereal...think those are A/first grade? The vitamins in those cereals, bottles, boxes...A/first grade? Kinda depends doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro_007 Posted April 27, 2006 Author Share Posted April 27, 2006 Oh KitKat, so I gather you would much rather opt for a dehydrated derivative hum?? I guess you are saying that dry dog food is better than human food, time for a switch perhaps? :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 The food labelling laws pertaining to pet foods are much more lax than those relating to human foods. Most of the dry dog foods you find in the supermarket only show a 'typical analysis' of nutrients. This means that the nutrient levels in the food are typical for the ingredients used.....the ingredients aren't necessarily tested for nutrient levels. If the label shows a guaranteed analysis, then the company is actually testing nutrient levels. Unfortunately, the foods that show guaranteed analysis are generally the more expensive brands that are only available from vets and pet shops. Other tricks that are used: In the ingredients list, the only control on pet food manufacturers is that they must list the ingredient that makes up the largest percentage of the bulk of the food first, and so on down the line. Most of these lists either list grains first or where they list meat first you'll notice that grain has been broken down into its components eg. wheat germ, wheat bran, crude fibre etc. so that the meat can be listed first. This means that not only does a food need to have a small amount of beef in it to be called 'beef', but also the food may be made up of more than 50% grains. Some of the more expensive brands are not that different in this respect. Very few manufacturers subject their pet foods to digestibility tests. So while a food may contain adequate nutrients, there is no guarantee that the nutrients come in a form that the dog can readily absorb. One way to test foods is to weigh the amount you feed and then weigh the droppings to figure out how much of the food your dog has been able to utilize. But even this doesn't give you an accurate picture as to whether good nutrient levels have been absorbed.....but it may give you an idea how much of the food is grain! Dogs aren't very good at digesting grain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keen Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 I saw a documentary on this many years ago - stray dogs and cats were collected by the dog-catcher and dropped down into a huge schute, then they were minced and turned into sausages... or dry dog food. :p I hafta say though, that the dogs and cats they used didn't look 'A Grade' to me! Of course it could have been a cartoon. Can guarantee that the grains used would be A Grade, as the grain buyers wont even look at inferior grain, let alone buy it. Inferior grain goes into chooks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest magnum Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Well I worked for a permium dog food company & seen first hand what was put into the premium foods. Chicken was in fact breast meat as with other meats & fish used, high quality grains etc. Foods on the lower side yes may not use the quality product so they then use the off cuts or by products. At the end of the day you get what you pay for! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Oh KitKat, so I gather you would much rather opt for a dehydrated derivative hum?? I guess you are saying that dry dog food is better than human food, time for a switch perhaps? ;) All i am saying is that i don't get offered first quality produce so why would i expect first quality in my dogs kibble? And all and all...my dogs probably do eat better then me, and my cats for that matter And :p to Magnum's post. Rom - to add to the difficulties some companies weight their meat before it's dehydrated and so list it first in the ingredients list. Other companies weight their meat after it's dehydrated so sometimes it doesn't get listed first as obviously it's dry weight is less then it's wet weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canine Country Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 If dogs were ment to eat biscuits they would have evoled to be bakers!! Eat More Meat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labsrule Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 If dogs were ment to eat biscuits they would have evoled to be bakers!!Eat More Meat That's funny and even more so with the picture I have in my mind of my Lab boy donned in a baker's apron & hat in his bakery :D going one for me none for you, two for me none for you, what the hell, I may as well eat the lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro_007 Posted April 30, 2006 Author Share Posted April 30, 2006 (edited) If dogs were ment to eat biscuits they would have evoled to be bakers!!Eat More Meat Too true, I know that given the choice there would not be a single dog in this entire universe that wouldn't sooner gulp down a bowl of real food in comparison to dehydrated devil may care so-called nutritious, preservative and additive loaded dry so and so. I do have my reservations about premium food companies using prime cuts of meat....I have heard stories being quite the contrary. Edited April 30, 2006 by Zorro_007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canine Country Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I do have my reservations about premium food companies using prime cuts of meat....I have heard stories being quite the contrary. They do use prime cuts , Prime Frames, Prime Offal, If it comes from a Prime cow then it all prime beef !!! If it come from Prime Chicken then its all Prime Poultry!!! Bullshit is Bullshit whether is from a prime bull or a steer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I was actually doing some research into kibble last week. No matter what vitamins are added (and they are the cheapest synthetic versions of the vitamins) it is all destroyed by the cooking process which is known as extrusion. Pet food producers use all the throw aways that are considered unfit for human consumption. This includes intestines, udders, esophagi, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts. You know that strong smell that dry dog food has....... its from Animal and Poultry Fat It is most often rendered animal fat, restaurant grease, or other oils too rancid or deemed unfit for humans. "Fat blenders" or rendering companies pick up this used grease from restaurants etc. and mix the different types of fat together, then use stablizers with powerful antioxidants to retard further spoilage, and then sell the blended products to pet food companies and other users. These fats are sprayed directly onto dried kibbles or extruded pellets to make an otherwise bland or distasteful product palatable. The fat also acts as a binding agent for other things to be added to the food. Dog food companies are masters at getting a dog or a cat to eat things they would normally refuse to eat. Then there are the preservatives, sequestering agents (thats what they add to make the food clean the teeth).........Dont get me started!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro_007 Posted April 30, 2006 Author Share Posted April 30, 2006 (edited) HOORAY HOORAY Yodeller - I took a sigh of relief reading your post....I have been trying to spread the news but instead am constantly met with disapproval from some of the other posters....I still can't get my head around how people can be so trusting. Pet food companies are not policed and they can do pretty much as they please, we are talking about a multi-billion dollar industry here and I find it totally unrealistic that they would be using human grade foods. All the research that I have done and that of a few vets concerned about pet health has amounted exactly to what you have stipulated above and that is that all the refutes are used, things that should normally belong at the tip. Edited April 30, 2006 by Zorro_007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canine Country Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 HOORAY HOORAY Yodeller - I took a sigh of relief reading your post....I have been trying to spread the news but instead am constantly met with disapproval from some of the other posters....I still can't get my head around how people can be so trusting. Pet food companies are not policed and they can do pretty much as they please, we are talking about a multi-billion dollar industry here and I find it totally unrealistic that they would be using human grade foods. All the research that I have done and that of a few vets concerned about pet health has amounted exactly to what you have stipulated above and that is that all the refutes are used, things that should normally belong at the tip. Buy Fresh from the maufacturer, Some of the smaller fresh meat maufacturers do care. I welcome customers input and they are welcome to see the processes, and raw products. Fresh food manufacturers are required to comply to foodsafe same as human processing plants. Not everybody can be pleased by we try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dog_Horse_Girl Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I used to travel past a dog food manufacturer's operation every day. I could always tell when they had killed the horses...the stench is *awful*. "Meat" in dog food is most often derived from horses in this country. "Meat by-products" are also often sourced from horse carcasses. The usual bits of the animals and birds used in pet foods are anything that isn't fit for our tables (for those ppl that eat meat, at least), and include: intestines, feet, feathers, eyes, sinew and tendon (humans can't eat these at all!), pieces of heads including ears and mouth parts, organs not fit for human consumption (you really don't want to know!), and other bits and pieces that have been extruded to form a kind of glutenous mass. The stench alone is enough to cause retching in humans not accustomed to it. Some companies use some types of muscle meat, usually these components are added if they are about to go "off" and therefore can't be used for human consumption. And anything that has been contaminated at the slaughterhouse that can't be sold for humans is added to the pet food mix. The oils used in pet foods are usually only those that can no longer be used for human consumption, such as recycled cooking oils that are blended together. Yodeller has it right on all counts. Of course, some manufacturers use higher quality ingredients. But this is rare in Australia b/c the industry here is completely unregulated and can literally put whatever it pleases into pet foods. It's one reason why I don't trust locally made pet foods and why I only recommend those made from overseas sources such as the USA, where there are relatively strict pet food guidelines in place. But I feed raw, whole foods and I know what my dogs are eating b/c it's right there in front of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro_007 Posted May 1, 2006 Author Share Posted May 1, 2006 So true Lillysmum, also the muscle meat that is used in commercial pet food typically consists of tumours that are unacceptable for human consumption, a vet that also works as a meat inspector has noticed that bits of tumours were cut off and thrown in a bin and he questioned the workers about this and the response was "oh don't worry, this is only for pet food." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Panther Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 At the end of the day you get what you pay for! ABSOLUTELY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro_007 Posted May 1, 2006 Author Share Posted May 1, 2006 At the end of the day you get what you pay for! ABSOLUTELY I wish this would be the case with everything but seriously doubt it esp. with pet foods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panda Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 The following links where you can read more about pet food. Some are quite shocking "Where does pet food come from?" http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/P.../Processing.htm "Chemical in pet food" http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/P...d/chemicals.htm "Veterinarians and pet food" http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/P...etFood/Vets.htm "What's in pet's food" http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/P...Ingredients.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro_007 Posted May 1, 2006 Author Share Posted May 1, 2006 (edited) Panda, thanks for those links, quite an eye opener for those that didn't know but I have to say that I don't think it will make much difference for certain individuals, the comeback is always the same, i.e. that they feel that their dog is doing better on a commercial diet or that they don't have the time for a barf diet or that they can't bring themselves to handle raw meat, I hear the same story over and over again. The one excuse I have trouble accepting is that their dog does much better on a commercial diet! The mind boggles when certain individuals refuse to believe the truth about the pet food industry and the rubbish that they use yet don't have any problems believing all these outrageous claims from the pet food industry itself.....duh!! Edited May 1, 2006 by Zorro_007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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