It is unfortunate, but most grocery store pet foods are heavy in fillers, preservatives and dyes. The uninformed Pet-owner often doesn't realize that these additives may be why "Rover" has skin allergies, hot spots, the "itchies", flatulence, or that what he eats may be the cause of his food aggression. Your pet's diet can influence not only skin and coat, but can also affect behavior.
It is important to understand the Nutrition and ingredients of your Pet's food. ALWAYS check the product label for the ingredients. Just as with our own food, each ingredient is listed in the order of content, but even this can be misleading. If the meat product, (beef, chicken, or lamb), is listed as the first ingredient you might think this is because it IS the primary ingredient--- but if the next ingredients are wheat flour, wheat germ, and so forth, those combined wheat products may actually add up to be more than the meat products.
What are the ingredients of typical dog food? According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO Website located at http://www.aafco.org/): "Meat is the clean flesh derived from slaughtered mammals and is 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; with or without that accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, sinew, nerve, and blood vessels which normally accompany the flesh. It shall be suitable for use in animal food. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto." Eek!! Most states allow Pet food manufacturers to use dead, dying, ill and diseased animals that have been slaughtered. Do we even want to know what is included in Meat By-Products and Meat and Bone Meal? This refers to everything else--and I do mean everything, (From lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, and bone to hair, hoof, andÂ…). Okay, I am thoroughly grossed out---how about you?
