Don’t like what I’m writing?  Read the ingredients on that can of food you’re about to put down for Fluffy and then see if you still take issue.  Let’s look at some common ingredients in dog foods that you should avoid and why you should avoid them.

Corn ( including corn meal and corn gluten)

Dogs don’t have digestive systems suitable to process large amounts of vegetable material.  They especially do not produce enough enzymes to completely break down corn.  It’s tough for them to digest.  Corn has very little nutritional value and is used mainly as a filler.

Cellulose

Purified, mechanically disintegrated cellulose prepared by processing alpha cellulose obtained as a pulp from fibrous plant materials.

The most common source for cellulose is dried wood.  It is processed into a fine powder and used to add bulk and consistency to pet foods.  Negligible nutritional value.

BHA and BHT

Phenolic antioxidants, used to preserve fats and oils.  Many countries have banned these from human use, but they are still permitted in the U.S.  They are possible human carcinogens and have been demonstrated carcinogenic in animal experiments.

Ethoxyquin

An antioxidant.  Developed by Monsanto as a stabilizer for rubber, it has also been used as a pesticide for fruit and a color preservative for spices, and later for animal feed.  It has been linked to thyroid, kidney, reproductive and immune related illnesses as well as cancer.

Fish Meal

The clean, rendered, dried ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish or fish cuttings, either or both, with or without the extraction of part of the oil.

The type or source isn’t specified, nor is the quality of the fish used.  According to US Coast Guard regulations, all fish meal not destined for human consumption must be conserved with Ethoxyquin.  If the dog food you are feeding your dog contains fish meal, you can bet it also contains Ethoxyquin.  A double whammy of bad news for your dog.

The list goes on.  If you are going to feed your dog commercial food, carefully read the ingredients.  If you don’t know what an ingredient is, look it up.  Don’t assume that the manufacturer wouldn’t put something in the food that has no nutritional value or would otherwise harm your pet.  Unfortunately, most commercial pet food manufacturers are more concerned with their bottom line than they are with the health and well-being of your dog.  You are your dog’s caregiver and caretaker.  He gives you unconditional love.  In return, give him the healthiest, most nutritionally balanced food you can.

Xylitol Can Kill Your Dog

Many of us, in an effort to help keep our weight under control, have attempted to limit the amount of sugar in our diets by substituting low calorie sweeteners. We seek out natural alternatives, such as xylitol or stevia instead of Aspartame or Splenda, but this post isn’t about how bad Aspartame or Splenda are for you; it’s about how bad xylitol can be for your dog.

An October 2006 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) press release confirmed that xylitol can be highly dangerous for dogs. A clinical report appearing in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) discusses the sometimes fatal conditions developed by dogs that have ingested xylitol.

“Not all things that are natural are safe,” said veterinary toxicologist Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, who along with veterinarian Eric K. Dunayer co-authored the report. “There are plenty of things in the environment that are toxic to pets.” She goes on to say, “The potential for severe illness is very high. People don’t think sugar-free gum can kill their dog. I didn’t before I got into this. But this is something people should be aware of.”

More and more products these days are manufactured with xylitol instead of sugar, including candies, cookies, chewing gum, and toothpaste. A lot of dogs will eat anything they can get a hold of and many dogs seem to have sweet tooth, so it is very important to keep any product containing xylitol out of reach of your dog.

If you suspect that your dog has eaten something containing xylitol, contact your veterinarian immediately. The effects are so rapid that the window of opportunity to treat the dog is very small.

The ASPCA warns that within 30 minutes of consuming a small amount of a xylitol-sweetened product, dogs can experience a dramatic drop in blood sugar, and they usually begin vomiting, become lethargic and can have difficulty standing or walking. Some have seizures, develop internal hemorrhaging and lesions and suffer liver failure. As few as two or three sticks of xylitol gum could be toxic to a 20-pound dog. Immediate and aggressive veterinary treatment, which includes glucose drips and IV fluids, has proved effective in many cases.

There are no known issues with xylitol and cats, but cats typically don’t sniff out sweets like dogs do. A good rule for any pet owner, whether or not you own a dog, is to keep xylitol away from your pets.

Meat By-Products: The non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, (italics added) derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hoofs.

This can include “downer” animals, animals unable to stand on their own. The animal’s inability to stand may be caused by illness or injury.

Meat and Bone Meal: The rendered product from mammal tissues, with or without bone, exclusive of 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.

With meat and bone meal, any type of animal from any source can be used. This can include “4D” animals (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter) and animals euthanized at shelters (yes, your dog could be a cannibal, depending on what you are feeding him). Because there are no rigorous quality standards, it can also include cancerous tissue, pus, and spoiled or decomposing tissue.

Chicken By-Product Meal: Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines — exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

As with the meat by-products, all meat has been stripped for human use. Nutritional value is inconsistent since the “ingredients” in each batch of feet, heads, etc. can vary greatly.

Before buying the most popular dog food or the least expensive, you owe it to the health of your dog to compare dog food ingredients. If you see any of the ingredients listed in this post, you might want to think twice before buying.