The other day, at the same time we got Gryffin's bomber jacket, we got into a conversation with the Assistant Manager of the Petco, her name was Melanie. It was one of those conversations that I had more questions than there was time for her to answer. I will try to divulge as much as possible. Just a FYI, I can't recall the word-for-word conversation, but I feel like dialogue is the best expression here, so I'll just do my best.
We were standing in line with our bag of "Organix" made by the company Castor & Pollux. The reason we buy that brand is because it's the only bag (that we could find) in Petco that specifically says they do not use antibiotics, hormones or steroids or anything in the meat they use for the food. I'd like to limit how much of that crap I eat, so I want to use the same standard for my pups. We figure it's gotta be decent. We pull up to the counter and Melanie says "This is excellent dog food right here."
She's referring to the food we're putting in our beloved pups, so I had to ask.
me: "Why do you say that?"
Melanie: "Because they use real food and good meat and is quality nutrition for dogs."
me: "What food isn't good quality?"
Melanie: "Most of what we have here, although I'm not really supposed to say that."
me: "We used to use Purina Pro Plan and used Nutro a few times before that, is that good food?"
Melanie: "Well it's good that you switch up the foods, but no, both those brands are awful. They use rendered meat and meat byproducts from dog food rendering plants. Things like roadkill, dead farm animals, euthanized dogs from shelters, feedlot waste, and stuff like that."
me: "Ewww roadkill, seriously?"
Melanie: "Yeah, all those companies are required to do is heat the byproducts to 500 degrees to kill any bacteria and diseases and then the 'meat' is labeled as OK to use in dog food. Dogs really shouldn't be eating that crap though."
me: "What about Science Diet, that's gotta be good right? A friend of ours uses that."
Melanie: "No they do the same thing, it's awful for your dog."
me: "So you do recommend this food then? What brands are OK?"
Melanie: "Yeah this stuff is great. The other brands that we sell that I feed my dogs are Halo, which is co-owned by Ellen Degeneres, and Blue Buffalo. Those are the only foods that are good enough to feed to dogs in my opinion. Blue Buffalo was started by a guy who had a dog that died from a bunch of tumors at the age of 4. He felt his dog became ill primarily due to the food he used and disgusting practices the company used to create the food. He decided to pursue making food for his dog on his own that he knew was nutritious and properly made. (by the way, here is a link to the story).
See what I do with my dogs is give them a very balanced diet. People can't eat the same thing day after day for years and think they get a balanced diet, so why do we do that to dogs? I give my dogs different foods for breakfast and dinner and they absolutely love it. I wouldn't recommend doing this immediately, but if you switch up their diet enough so that they aren't sensitive to change like that, then they can handle it.
These foods, because they are higher quality, are more expensive. But Petco has tons of sales all the time on these foods, and I never pay more for the good food than other people do for the bad food. Bags of dog food can stay fresh for up to a year, so just look for the sales and buy a little more in bulk, and it's just as cheap."
That's just about the whole conversation I can remember. She was totally right though. All you have to do is search for "dog food rendering plants" on google and get nailed by all the crap companies throw in dog food. It's sickening. I seriously recommend looking into those 3 companies when it comes to dog food, or at least look for the words "byproduct" and "meal" in the ingredients on your dog food. Most large companies follow these same practices, they have to make money right?
Some people say "well dogs are different creatures, it's good for dogs". Well then you go feed your dog other dog's dead bodies, and I'll maintain my ignorance as to what they can or cannot handle, because I don't want them consuming that. If for no other reason than just the ethics and morals of it all.
The reason I post this is because if someone I knew found this out, seeing as I have two dogs that I care deeply about, I'd want to know this information. I knew that dog foods were probably gross, but roadkill? euthanized animal shelter dogs? I'd rather Daisy and Gryffin not be cannibals. I'm going to research dog food products a lot more in the future, that's for sure.
3 comments:
Thanks for the info, looks like Snickity is in for a treat!
By: Rex on April 2, 2011 at 9:51 PM
I completely understand that you want your dogs to have the best (and to not be cannibals), but what's the issue with roadkill? Is it the types of animals involved? The method of death? Concern that the meat isn't fresh?
By: Lynn Garcowski on April 3, 2011 at 10:17 AM
Amen! I feed Halo to our cat -- I started that when I realized that Nacho's "prescription" diet wasn't doing him any favors. It didn't take long before Halo turned him into a much healthier cat. Before Ellen bought Halo (and maybe still) they had their dog and cat food recipes posted on their website so you could make the food at home. I only did it a few times before I realized what a pain in the rear it was, but I appreciated their willingness to share.
My favorite dog food is made by The Honest Kitchen. It is hard to find so when I buy it I order it online. It is approved by the FDA and USDA as "human grade" food. It's a dehydrated, raw mix. You add hot water to it, wait five minutes, and then feed it to your dog. It's the only diet Libbie has been on where she didn't itch.
I think all the premium pet foods made by some big companies like Purina or P&G are just more factory-farmed, lab-made, bottom of the barrel foods, only with a little less corn and a much higher price tag than the cheaper versions by the same companies.
By: Hillary on April 7, 2011 at 1:39 AM
Post a Comment