Hearts United for Animals - national no-kill animal shelter, sanctuary and animal welfare organization.

What's on that menu for Rover tonight? How about some chicken necks, feet, beaks, cow intestines, stomachs, lungs and spleen sauteed with ground whole corn and preserved with a dash of BHA and a dab of BHT and topped with Ethoxyquin.

Sound delicious? Sound healthy?

None of us would knowingly feed our dear companion animals food that was made with unhealthy products that were preserved with hazardous chemicals and included ingredients likely to cause allergies. But that is just what many of us do. Take a look at the ingredient label on a bag of expensive premium food. Take a look at the label on the bag of food that is sold in your vets office. You will be shocked.

We have been saving dogs for over nine years now and we have met many people suffering from the loss of a beloved companion animal. It seemed to us that more and more dogs were dying of cancer and kidney and liver conditions and that many more dogs were suffering from allergy related problems. As we thought about it, the food the dogs were eating seemed a likely suspect for causing the problems. We researched all the dog foods on the market and discovered that almost every dog food sold in this country is of poor quality regardless of the price or the vet recommendations. Read the label on your bag of dog food. Here is what to look for:

Preservatives:

The main preservatives used in pet food are Ethoxyquin, BHA and BHT. These are all dangerous chemicals and have no place in any kind of food. Ethoxyquin is made by Monsanto and is a rubber stabilizer. It is also used as a herbicide and insecticide. Although it was approved by the FDA in 1956, the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) lists it as a hazardous chemical which may cause skin and eye irritations, gross changes in the liver, kidneys' and thyroid and reduction in the survival of offspring. It is banned in Australia. BHT and BHA have been linked to liver damage, fetal abnormalities and metabolic stress.

Other preservatives are the Topopherols (Vitamin C and E). While the use of these vitamins sounds like a healthy choice they have a very short shelf life -Vitamin E lasts about one month and Vitamin C about 12 hours. Additionally the Vitamin E is unstable when heated and light destroys Vitamin C. If the preservative is not effective, when the food will become rancid and unhealthy for the dog.

Ingredients

The main sources of allergies for dogs are: soybeans, wheat and corn. Many of the premium, expensive foods list corn or wheat as their main ingredient (the ingredients are listed on the label in order of quantity in the food). Brewers rice is made from the sweepings from the floor of the mill and is almost devoid of nutritional value. Better choices are barley, amaranth, millet and brown rice.

When the label lists Meat By-Products or By-Product Meal or Digest that means the food includes cow animal organs like lungs, spleens, kidneys, brain, liver tissue, stomach, feet, beaks, necks, and other tissue. It is far better to have the food made from just plain Meat without the other products that cannot be sold for human consumption. The Meat should not be chicken though. Studies have shown that 58% of chickens in processing plants are contaminated with salmonella.

And finally look for unnecessary sugars and salts in the food. They will be found listed as corn, wheat or rice gluten meal, corn syrup, or sugar beet pulp. They have been added in an effort to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats. The dog's body will try to get rid of the rancid fats as quickly as possible, and diarrhea is the most efficient way. Glue and sugar hold the toxic waste in the dog's body and make the kidneys and liver work overtime.

Great foods are:

Paul Newman Organic

Solid Gold

Candidae

Wysong

Flint River Ranch

Neura Wellness

Pinnacle

PetGuard LifeSpan

Premium Edge

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul

You are what you eat, so is your dog.