Commercial dog food is a danger to your dog

The truth is the majority of dog food produced today is made with the consumer in mind. The pet food companies focus on us instead of our dogs because profit is their motivating factor and not our dog's optimum health. Commercial dog food generates over 11 billion dollars annually in sales. What most consumers don't realize is that the pet food industry is built on the waste from the human food industry. It's a way for large corporations to take what should be considered garbage and turn it into a profit by putting it in our dog's food. It is not a coincidence that four of the five major pet food companies in the U.S. are owned by large food production companies, we are all familiar with these:

Colgate Palmolive makes Hills Science Diet
Proctor & Gamble makes Eukanuba and Iams
Nestle makes Alpo and Mighty Dog
Heinz makes Gravy Train, Kibbles & Bits and Nature's Recipe

Consumers are constantly being subjected to deceptive marketing and less than half truths by many large companies. They count on our lack of knowledge and our desire to have convenient low cost options to feed our dogs. In many ways they have given us what we want, but it is not what our dogs are designed to eat. It is my sincere belief that if consumers knew the truth about the actual ingredients in their current dog food they would choose differently. None of us would deliberately feed our dogs items considered unfit for human consumption. None of us would continue to put down a bowl of food everyday that only allows our dogs to survive and not thrive. Everyday across America dog owners are unknowingly subjecting their family dogs to waste from slaughterhouses. The list includes fecal waste, toxins, mold, heavy metals, antibiotics and harmful preservatives. The lack of testing and regulation allow our pets to digest these types of hazards day after day. It is both shocking and disturbing to find out what is a legally acceptable ingredient in dog food. Whether you buy from the supermarket or various brands from your vet you can believe that most commercial dog food is riddled with poor and potentially dangerous ingredients. My personal favorite is the animals they use in pet food. There is actually a term for it called, "4-D". This stands for dead, diseased, dying and disabled animals. Then there's the ever popular by-product. Basically a by-product is what gets scraped off the floor after being deemed unfit for human consumption and then used in dog food. This consists of skin, lungs, kidneys, blood, bone, hooves, cancerous tumors, beaks and stomachs. How are these ingredients acceptable? According to the pet food industry, these are perfectly fit protein sources for our animals. I'm certain most pet owners would disagree!

It is any wonder veterinarians are seeing more chronic health problems and diseases than ever before and at all ages. Allergy and skin problems across all breeds are more common than ever. It has become widely accepted by many veterinarians that the alarming increase in cancer among dogs is primarily due to the use of chemicals in their food. Cancer accounts for almost half of the deaths in pets 10 years and older. Take a look at the label on your dog's food. It more than likely will include BHA or BHT or worst of all Exthoxyquin. These preservatives may also cause liver, kidney and other major organ damage.

The truth is most of us have never considered reading the ingredients in our dog's food. We believe through advertising not fact or research that our dogs are eating choice cuts of meat, dazzling vegetables and golden grains. Furthermore, we have bought into the idea that the same standard dog food feed day after day to our pets will provide "complete and balanced nutrition". Simple put, that's a myth. We cannot afford to continue to be fooled or silenced by billion dollar industries that are hurting our dog's health. Become educated. Become vigilant. Become part of the solution.