As to wheat glutton not being listed on the label. Products that are bought from a third party and added to foods are not required to be listed on the label. So, what do we have - food being made by one company, sold under over 90 different labels with ingrediants bought from outside brokers that are not listed. Also the FDA says they are required to follow federal guidlines but they don't inspect plants unless there is a problem. Most states claim they do regulate to different degrees. BCB
Pet Food Recall- The Tip of the Iceberg
- Thread starter DogtorJ
- Start date
What to feed, what to feed???
That's a great question...quite involved, but a good question. We should feed the pet as close to a natural diet as possible. "As possible" means 1) As close to what we understand "natural" to be; 2) As close to natural as we can afford; and 3) As close to natural as fits with our own pet philosophy and what we are willing to do.
Tha vast majority of pet owners are not going to do more than feed something out of a can or a bag. Sad but true. (Remember: The vast majority of pet owners are not on a forum like this seeking information about how to best feed their pet). It has been like pulling teeth just to get my hospital clients to go to the pet shop for food rather than the grocery store, the latter having no dry foods that meet my criteria of eliminating all gluten, dairy, soy and corn.
So, you have those owners who will seek out the best commercial food but stop there. Then you have those who will occasionally add some table food while others will do some home-cooking on a regular basis to supplement the base diet of commercial foods. At the other end of the spectrum, you have "the elite" who try to make the diet perfect and natural in every way. That is a very small group.
Where do each of us fit into this spectrum? It has been shown that those pets that get table food in addition to their commercial diet live longer (contrary to what most vets...including me...have said all of their lives). It should not surprise us to find this to be true when we think about the value of fresh meats/eggs, veggies and fruits.
The answer to "What to feed?" then becomes this- Feed a food that is not harmful and as nutritionally complete as possible. My goal for the past 7 years has been to eliminate the harmful ingredients alone and watch what happens. Miracles have happened by elimination all gluten (wheat, barley, rye), dairy, soy and corn. These are very harmful to large numbers of pets and people. Dogs and cats are clearly gluten intolerant just as large numbers of people are.
We are now focusing on making the diet as nutritionally complete as possible by adding fresh sources of protein (meats, eggs) and fresh sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in the form of veggies and fruits. Lastly, we should be using select supplements that cannot be provided by the above, such as omega three fatty acids, or things that the individual seems to need specifically such as glucosamine for its joints or kelp for its thyroids.
Again, my site has a list of "clean" dog foods that contain none of the "big 4". The bottom line of this pet food recall at this point is that the new wheat gluten additive was the source of problems, so foods without wheat gluten...which should be avoided anyway...are safe to feed. BUT, stay tuned. This story is not over yet.
I hope this helps,
John
John B.Symes, DVM (aka "Dogtorj")
That's a great question...quite involved, but a good question. We should feed the pet as close to a natural diet as possible. "As possible" means 1) As close to what we understand "natural" to be; 2) As close to natural as we can afford; and 3) As close to natural as fits with our own pet philosophy and what we are willing to do.
Tha vast majority of pet owners are not going to do more than feed something out of a can or a bag. Sad but true. (Remember: The vast majority of pet owners are not on a forum like this seeking information about how to best feed their pet). It has been like pulling teeth just to get my hospital clients to go to the pet shop for food rather than the grocery store, the latter having no dry foods that meet my criteria of eliminating all gluten, dairy, soy and corn.
So, you have those owners who will seek out the best commercial food but stop there. Then you have those who will occasionally add some table food while others will do some home-cooking on a regular basis to supplement the base diet of commercial foods. At the other end of the spectrum, you have "the elite" who try to make the diet perfect and natural in every way. That is a very small group.
Where do each of us fit into this spectrum? It has been shown that those pets that get table food in addition to their commercial diet live longer (contrary to what most vets...including me...have said all of their lives). It should not surprise us to find this to be true when we think about the value of fresh meats/eggs, veggies and fruits.
The answer to "What to feed?" then becomes this- Feed a food that is not harmful and as nutritionally complete as possible. My goal for the past 7 years has been to eliminate the harmful ingredients alone and watch what happens. Miracles have happened by elimination all gluten (wheat, barley, rye), dairy, soy and corn. These are very harmful to large numbers of pets and people. Dogs and cats are clearly gluten intolerant just as large numbers of people are.
We are now focusing on making the diet as nutritionally complete as possible by adding fresh sources of protein (meats, eggs) and fresh sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in the form of veggies and fruits. Lastly, we should be using select supplements that cannot be provided by the above, such as omega three fatty acids, or things that the individual seems to need specifically such as glucosamine for its joints or kelp for its thyroids.
Again, my site has a list of "clean" dog foods that contain none of the "big 4". The bottom line of this pet food recall at this point is that the new wheat gluten additive was the source of problems, so foods without wheat gluten...which should be avoided anyway...are safe to feed. BUT, stay tuned. This story is not over yet.
I hope this helps,
John
John B.Symes, DVM (aka "Dogtorj")