As you feed your dog, do you ever wonder what the manufacturers put in their dog food? When you watch television, you see all of the nice, prime cuts of meat and chicken shown to influence you to buy the food and boost their ratings in the industry. You probably think, “Boy, that looks like a really good food… “. When you understand, though, what goes into the production of it, you ask yourself, “What is a “quality” food?”
If you think of human consumption as the primary extension of the food industry, the pet food industry would probably be at a secondary level. Dog food (and other pets for that matter) provide an easy way for animal slaughterhouses to turn a nice profit on their waste. Other grain manufacturers also participate in these profits since there are elements in their process that are not fit for human consumption and are relegated to the pet industry. The slaughterhouse are actually quite disturbing. They encompass heads, hooves, possibly diseased and cancerous parts and others.
The manufacturing process begins with a machine that blends the ingredients according to a computer recipe. The proper levels of ingredients are set to the organization AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials). A dough is produced from heating the ingredients which are then cut into pieces. As the dough cools, it increases in size and expands into its final shape and allowed to dry. To make it more appealing to dogs, it is sprayed with fat and other compounds. It is then bagged once cooled. The heat from the initial process kills any bacteria, but that doesn’t prevent other bacteria from materializing in later processes. Many times, owners are warned to keep dry food dry since any contact with water or moisture may cause bacteria to grow. There is also the warning to not mix dry food with water or other wet foods.
There are other brands of food that do not use byproducts. These are known as super-premium, natural or organic foods. Of course, there is a trade off. Better quality leads to higher prices. These food types list their meats first, such as turkey or lamb, but these are still often leftover scraps. For chicken ingredients, bones may be allowed. It may also be the backs and frames, as well as spine and ribs, after all of the better portions are stripped. In the meat components. these may be rendered. This is a process where oil and fat is extracted by melting it. This is done through boiling the meat for many hours. This process removes water, kills bacteria and other organisms as well as removing any water. This is fine for the rendering process, but it can also destroy important, beneficial proteins and enzymes in the meat.
Once many of these facts are presented, it is no wonder that dog owners want to provide the best nutrition possible to their pets. This can be done through creating healthy home-made meals. Dogs need these nutrition to stay healthy and live a long life. Many of these ingredients can cause long term issues so please be aware of what is put into their food.