Nutrition

Update: As of June of 2018 we are no longer recommending grain free foods. Studies have shown the fillers (peas, lentals, beet pulp,legumes or potatoes)are contributing if not causing DCM heart disease. We are recommending adding raw beef hearts and daily boiled eggs. You can add a can of sardines in water on a weekly basis. I have started adding a 500 mg of taurine supplement to their food. The fillers I have mentioned can block the absorption of taurine in the dogs systems.They need this to keep their hearts healthy as well as other organs in their body. Please read up on this serious health issue by following the link we have posted. 

www.facebook.com/Monica.Segal.Nutrition/posts/2161940860500278

 

*Please check the web site at the bottom of the page for current updates on food/treat recalls.

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Do you have any idea what is in that bag of dog food you just picked up in the grocery store? Take a look at some of the ingredients. Here are the ingredients for Purina Dog Chow Nutritional Excellence Formula.

•  Ground yellow corn                 

•  Poultry By-Product Meal

•  Corn Gluten Meal

•  Soybean Meal

•  Beef Tallow

•  Brewer's Rice

•  Barley Flour.

•  Salt

•  Animal Digest

•  Brewers Dried Yeast.

 

Ground yellow corn is the entire corn kernel ground. That doesn't sound too bad, does it? Until you consider that many dogs are allergic to corn, in fact many dogs are allergic to grains period. Corn and vegetable material in general is difficult for dogs to digest, and generally passes through them. Ever wondered why your dog poops so much? Take a good look at his food. Corn and other fillers are probably the culprit.

 

Poultry By-Product Meal. Poultry by-product meal consists of the
ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcasses of slaughtered
poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines--
exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur
unavoidably in good processing practices. This is a low-quality, inconsistent ingredient, with multiple organs used, constantly changing proportions, and questionable nutritional value. The origin can be any fowl (turkeys, ducks, geese, buzzards, etc.), instead of a single source, like chicken". Poultry by-product meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal.

 

Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the
removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the
separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet
milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic
treatment of the endosperm. While not the best quality source of protein, the use of corn gluten in small amounts offer preventive health benefits for cats. In addition, unlike dogs, cats do not usually show signs of allergic reactions to corn products. There is no real justification for the use of corn gluten in dog foods, it  is only a cheap protein filler.

 

Soybean meal is a poor quality protein filler. The "Crude Protein" analysis on pet food labels is only a measurement
of the amount of nitrogen in a food -- not the quality of the protein. Because of this, pet food companies can use the cheaper
by-products of human food production, such as soybean meal,
to boost protein numbers.

 

Beef Tallow. Essentially, it's fat. Beef fat. Although this is a
very palatable source of fat, it is low in linoleic acid, which is necessary for skin and coat health. In addition, beef can be a source of allergies for some animals.

 

Brewer's rice is a lower quality rice product
that is missing many of the nutrients found in ground rice and
ground brown rice.

 

Barley flour consists principally of the soft, finely ground and bolted meal obtained from milling barley and consists essentially of the starch and gluten of the endosperm. Pre-processed ingredients, such as flours, have had much of
their nutritional value leeched from them.

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Salt. We all know what salt is.

 

Animal digest. Is a cooked-down broth made from unspecified
parts of unspecified animals. Any kind of animal can be included: goats, pigs, horses, rats, etc. The animals can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination.

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Brewers Dried Yeast. Brewer's dried yeast is the dried, non-fermentive, non-extracted yeast that results as a by-product of the brewing of beer and ale. Although brewer's yeast is a good source of Vitamin B, it is a potential allergen for some animals. What is a dog? Herbivore? Omnivore? Carnivore?
Silly question? Well, probably not as silly as you think. Dogs are technically classified as omnivores. Surprised? Many are. Why are they classified as omnivores? Because a dog can survive on plant based proteins. Survive. Not thrive. There is a big difference between surviving and thriving.
 

Dogs need meat to thrive. If we look at their dentition and
their intestinal tract it is designed to digest meat and bone.
Their teeth are designed to rip and scissor through meat and
crush bone. Their intestinal tract is short, not allowing the extra processing that it takes to efficiently digest plant material.

People are true omnivores as are bears. If you look at our teeth, we have molars designed to crush and grind plant material
as well as proteins. Our gut is longer, allowing us to break
down and gain the nutritional benefit of vegetables. With their
shorter gut, and incorrect teeth, dogs do not process vegetable
material efficiently and many times that material passes through
them without imparting its nutrients.
 

There is precious little meat in the dog food listed above.

So what kind of nutrition for a dog can it have? Why would you
choose to feed your dog, an animal designed to eat meat, a diet based mostly on the most difficult materials for it to digest? Oh, but we don't feed Purina, we feed a premium dog
food called Victor Professional. You can find this food on Chewy, Pet Supply Plus, Tractor Supply and a few other stores. Sad to say, but most foods, even the so called premium brands like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet etc. are not much better than the Purina.

Here is a link to a good tool for comparing dog foods. Take a look at what your brand of food has in it.
http://www.naturapet.com/

Click on the  product wizard button. Check out the other areas
of this site as well. Then go to the store and check what your
brand has in it.

 

If you are going to choose a commercial dog food, it is important to choose one that has biologically available nutrition. Choose a food that uses only human grade ingredients.

Here is a list of a few of the best foods on the market today.
They cost a little more, and sometimes they are harder to find,
but isn't your dog worth it?

 

• 4 Health Lamb and Rice "only" all others contain the above mentioned ingredients that can cause health issues.

• Victor Dog Food. This is the food we prefer to feed.

• Raw based diet.
   

If your dog is itchy, it could well be that he is allergic to grains. Try these foods:

• Flint River

• California Natural

• Wellness

• Orijen

• Acana

 

Of these foods, our pick is Victor Dog Food and  4 Health Lamb and Rice and. We highly recommend raw if at all possible. 

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Their coats are beautiful. Click on link for more info.Also feel free to check other brands on the link below.

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https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/victor-dog-food/

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http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/4health-dog-food-dry/ 

 

Nutrition is very important for your dog. You have seen a
few of the ingredients that are in most of the foods that are
commercially available. Most of this is garbage. Remember
the old saying "You are what you eat"? It’s true for your dog too. They need optimal nutrition just as you do. Keep in mind that the pet food industry is only about 75 years old. In order to make pet foods at low cost, they generally use the waste
products of the human food industry. There are no rules preventing them from using 4D meats.
 

4D meats refer to dead, dying, diseased and down. There is nothing preventing them from using a cancer ridden animal or a sick animal in making your dog (or cats!) food, and they do use these things. Would you eat these things? Would you consider having these things in your diet something that would help prevent cancer and some of the other illness that plague our beloved companions?
 

Our pets lives are too short as it is. We need to make every effort to help them live longer, healthier, disease free lives, and diet is very import to that end.

Choose wisely.

Click on link below for complete up to date list of all recalled pet food.

 http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecall/