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When you go to buy dog food?

You might be surprised at who's been manufacturing and selling your dog food to you. Once upon a time a pet food company was a pet food company, not a handy division that creates profits out of by-products and waste from the other product manufacturing going on under their stock market symbol.

Two of the most visible pet food manufacturers stand out as examples: Ralston Purina sold out to British Petroleum in 1986, to the Sterling Group in 1993, then was acquired by Koch Industries in 1996 and is now a subsidiary of the Nestle corporation. Waltham, a name that includes Pedigree, Nutro, Royal Canin and Cesar among its stable of pet foods, is owned by the giant Mars Corporation. Mars was already the largest dog food packer in the world, back in 1968, when it acquired KalKan. Oh, and by the way, the chain of veterinary hospitals, Banfield, the Pet Hospital, the one that operates clinics in many PetSmart stores, is now partially owned by Mars, Inc., since 2007 when the CEO sold his shares.

On the FundingUniverse site, Ralston Purina's statement of company perspective reads:

The corporate philosophy of Purina Mills is to continue our tradition of providing both the necessary nutritional products and the value-added services that producers, processors and retailers need to satisfy the demands of a growing end-consumer market. We remain committed to expanding our research and development to enable American agricultural entrepreneurs to capitalize on the opportunities ahead.\n
Not seeing anything there about taking care of the consumer and delivering a safe, quality product...

So, what do these mergers and acquisitions and subsidiaries mean to you? To your dog?

One of the areas of largest impact is marketing.

Consider all those Beneful ads on TV. You only think you're getting spoiled... Well, that much is true. All of the sponsorships, from Pedigree to Eukanuba to Iams, plastered over every major dog sporting event; the inferences op breeders recommend, are the power of marketing bucks. Stop and think of how many bags of dog food and packages of treats have to be sold to pay for the Pedigree's sponsorship of Westminster or Eukanuba's AKC National Championship. By 2000, Mars, Inc. was spending over $850 million a year in advertising their brands. That's a lot of kibbles and bits to sell to keep those companies' -- and others like them -- gravy trains delivering.

But none of those ads gives you any good, concrete reasons why you should feed your pet their products. They don't talk about protein sources or give you any real information on digestibility. They show you a nifty Border Collie or a roly-poly puppy digging into a bowl of their food like it hasn't seen food for a week, or a Golden Retriever puppy --when there just happens to be a high profile movie being released based on a runaway best selling book about a Golden Retriever -- ripping into a bag of kibble then scarfing it up as fast as he can. The ads give you the Awwww factor -- what they don't give you is the Ewwww factor. That's why it's so important to learn to understand what's on the label, and it will be as obscurely described as allowable by legal standards, for example*:

Eukanuba, the first dozen ingredients: Chicken, chicken by product meal (ground, rendered parts of carcass, i.e. necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines, etc.), corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum (low in digestibility), ground whole grain barley, chicken fat, fish meal (dried ground tissue of whole or fish cuttings from unspecified fish sources), brewer's rice (milled fragments of rice kernels), natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (residue from sugar beets extracted during sugar manufacturing), dried egg product (obtained from egg breakers, hatchery operations, egg graders, etc., frozen, dehydrated or liquid), brewer's dried yeast (by-product of brewing ale or beer).

But wait! It gets more interesting!

Pedigree's Complete Nutrition: ground whole corn, meat meal/meat and bone meal (rendered product from non-specific mammal tissues, with or without bone, exclusive of added hair, hoof horn, manure, etc, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices), corn gluten meal, animal fat (obtained from non-specific mammal and/or poultry), wheat mill run/middlings, ground wheat, natural poultry flavor, wheat flour, salt, potassium chloride, caramel color, vegetable oil.

You might be surprised at who's been manufacturing and selling your dog food to you. Once upon a time a pet food company was a pet food company, not a handy division that creates profits out of by-products and waste from the other product manufacturing going on under their stock market symbol.

Before the advent of readymade dog food, when humans first domesticated dogs, we fed them scraps from our meals. Those early dogs did just fine on that type of dog food. As our affection for dogs has grown over the centuries, so has our understanding of what our canine companions need to eat as food, to live long healthy lives. Research conducted by veterinarians and dog food manufacturers over the last decade have revealed more specific details about what a dog's diet should contain.

Your dog food must be appropriate for her size, age, state of health and activity level. As you stroll the isles of pet supply stores or grocery stores, you'll find a variety of dog food brands in a wide range of prices. A good basic rule of thumb is to buy the highest quality dog food you can afford. If you buy the cheapest food because you have a big dog that eats a lot, you must understand that what you save in food will affect your pet's health.

It is important that your dog always eats some dry dog food. The crunchy pieces help keep her teeth clean and her gums healthy, and provide necessary fiber. If you choose to give your dog moist dog food in addition to dry, use it sparingly; a small spoonful mixed with warm water makes a good gravy over dry kibble. Some devoted dog lovers feed their pets home-cooked food. Dog-specific recipes can be found on the Internet and in books, but understand that this is not just giving your dog leftovers from your own meals. Homemade dog food is designed to meet the nutritional and digestive needs of dogs. Spices, fats, and fillers in human food often makes dogs ill.

Adult dogs should be fed two meals each day. Puppies need to eat more often. They should be fed puppy food three to four meals daily until they are 12 weeks old, then three meals daily until they are six months old. Many dog trainers advise against leaving dog food or puppy food available all day, to prevent dogs developing picky eating habits. They suggest you allow 20 minutes for each meal. After this time, whatever has not been eaten should be picked up. Dry dog food can be held until the next meal, but moist food should be thrown away. It is very important to make sure your dog has plenty of clean water available at a all times.

The amount of dog food you feed your dog depends on her age, weight and activity level. Check the back of food or with your veterinarian to get an idea of how much your dog should be eating. Monitor your dog's weight by running your hands along the sides of her body. If she is at the right weight, you will be able to feel her ribs without pressing. If you can't feel her ribs, she is gaining weight and you should either slightly decrease the amount of food or increase the amount of exercise she gets. If you can easily see your dog's ribs, she is underweight (except in certain breeds).

Pedigree's "Complete Nutrition:" ground whole corn, meat meal/meat and bone meal (rendered "product" from non-specific mammal tissues, with or without bone, exclusive of added hair, hoof horn, manure, etc, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices), corn gluten meal, animal fat (obtained from non-specific mammal and/or poultry), wheat mill run/middlings, ground wheat, natural poultry flavor, wheat flour, salt, potassium chloride, caramel color, vegetable oil.

Everyone has heard that dogs shouldn't eat chocolate but has anyone heard of onion toxicity?

There are a number of foods that can create serious health problems for your dog and unfortunately not many people of aware of this. These foods include cooked as well as uncooked chocolate, onions, bones, mushroom, macadamia nuts, garlic, avocados, grapes, raisins, and all spicy or greasy foods.

Most pet owners have, at one time or another, fed their dog foods containing onion such as pizza, hamburger, general table scraps or gravy. A small amount is not likely to cause a problem since onion toxicity depends on the quantity of onion ingested. However, onions in any form including cooked, raw, dehydrated or powdered can create a serious life-threatening form of hemolytic anemia in dogs.

All red blood cells carry a protein called hemoglobin which delivers oxygen to our tissues and organs and our dog's tissue and organs. Onions contain a substance called thiosulphate which dogs and cats are unable to digest. Garlic also contains thiosulphate but in much lesser amounts. Thiosulphate causes oxidation of hemoglobin in your dog's red blood cells, which then forms lumps and weakens the cell membranes. These lumps, called Heinz bodies, protrude from the cells and eventually cause the cell to rupture and die. When enough red cells are destroyed the body becomes starved for oxygen and goes into a state of anemia.

A decrease in the red blood cell count can cause a multitude of health problems for your dog including heart failure. The number of cells destroyed usually depends on the quantity of onion consumed. However, some dogs have developed serious reactions even after eating just a small amount of onion. Furthermore, small amounts of onion fed over an extended period of time can create illness just as a one-time larger dose can, due to the gradual accumulation of Heinz bodies.

Sometimes it takes several days for symptoms to begin to appear. Symptoms include but are not limited to: vomiting, weakness and lethargy, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, cyanotic (pale or bluish) gums, blood in the urine or feces urine, decreased appetite, jaundice, and rapid heart rate. Severe onion toxicity can be fatal for your dog.

If you suspect your pet has onion toxicity, contact your vet immediately. If the onion ingestion was recent, intravenous fluids are generally a sufficient treatment. If the state of anemia is severe, a lengthy hospital stay and a blood transfusion might be needed.

Using common sense is the best way to prevent onion toxicity in your dog. Onions are very common in many human foods including even baby foods. Onions can be found in everything from sandwich meats, fast foods, spaghetti sauces, salsas, gravies, to vegetable juice. Check the ingredients carefully in any table scraps before giving them to your dog. Never add onions in any form to homemade dog food recipes. Lastly, make sure your garbage is kept covered and dog-proofed.

When you go to buy dog food?

You might be surprised at who's been manufacturing and selling your dog food to you. Once upon a time a pet food company was a pet food company, not a handy division that creates profits out of by-products and waste from the other product manufacturing going on under their stock market symbol.

Two of the most visible pet food manufacturers stand out as examples: Ralston Purina sold out to British Petroleum in 1986, to the Sterling Group in 1993, then was acquired by Koch Industries in 1996 and is now a subsidiary of the Nestle corporation. Waltham, a name that includes Pedigree, Nutro, Royal Canin and Cesar among its stable of pet foods, is owned by the giant Mars Corporation. Mars was already the largest dog food packer in the world, back in 1968, when it acquired KalKan. Oh, and by the way, the chain of veterinary hospitals, Banfield, the Pet Hospital, the one that operates clinics in many PetSmart stores, is now partially owned by Mars, Inc., since 2007 when the CEO sold his shares.

On the FundingUniverse site, Ralston Purina's statement of company perspective reads:

The corporate philosophy of Purina Mills is to continue our tradition of providing both the necessary nutritional products and the value-added services that producers, processors and retailers need to satisfy the demands of a growing end-consumer market. We remain committed to expanding our research and development to enable American agricultural entrepreneurs to capitalize on the opportunities ahead.\n
Not seeing anything there about taking care of the consumer and delivering a safe, quality product...

So, what do these mergers and acquisitions and subsidiaries mean to you? To your dog?

One of the areas of largest impact is marketing.

Consider all those Beneful ads on TV. You only think you're getting spoiled... Well, that much is true. All of the sponsorships, from Pedigree to Eukanuba to Iams, plastered over every major dog sporting event; the inferences op breeders recommend, are the power of marketing bucks. Stop and think of how many bags of dog food and packages of treats have to be sold to pay for the Pedigree's sponsorship of Westminster or Eukanuba's AKC National Championship. By 2000, Mars, Inc. was spending over $850 million a year in advertising their brands. That's a lot of kibbles and bits to sell to keep those companies' -- and others like them -- gravy trains delivering.

But none of those ads gives you any good, concrete reasons why you should feed your pet their products. They don't talk about protein sources or give you any real information on digestibility. They show you a nifty Border Collie or a roly-poly puppy digging into a bowl of their food like it hasn't seen food for a week, or a Golden Retriever puppy --when there just happens to be a high profile movie being released based on a runaway best selling book about a Golden Retriever -- ripping into a bag of kibble then scarfing it up as fast as he can. The ads give you the Awwww factor -- what they don't give you is the Ewwww factor. That's why it's so important to learn to understand what's on the label, and it will be as obscurely described as allowable by legal standards, for example*:

Eukanuba, the first dozen ingredients: Chicken, chicken by product meal (ground, rendered parts of carcass, i.e. necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines, etc.), corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum (low in digestibility), ground whole grain barley, chicken fat, fish meal (dried ground tissue of whole or fish cuttings from unspecified fish sources), brewer's rice (milled fragments of rice kernels), natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (residue from sugar beets extracted during sugar manufacturing), dried egg product (obtained from egg breakers, hatchery operations, egg graders, etc., frozen, dehydrated or liquid), brewer's dried yeast (by-product of brewing ale or beer).

But wait! It gets more interesting!

Pedigree's Complete Nutrition: ground whole corn, meat meal/meat and bone meal (rendered product from non-specific mammal tissues, with or without bone, exclusive of added hair, hoof horn, manure, etc, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices), corn gluten meal, animal fat (obtained from non-specific mammal and/or poultry), wheat mill run/middlings, ground wheat, natural poultry flavor, wheat flour, salt, potassium chloride, caramel color, vegetable oil.

Not seeing anything there about taking care of the consumer and delivering a safe, quality product...

You can make homemade dog treats with some ingredients found in your kitchen. A common problem many owners have with their dog is that they don't like to eat their dry dog food. If your dog is a culprit of hating his dry dog food, consider making this:

Chicken GravyIngredients:1 large chicken breast (boneless and skinless)4 C. Water1 C. flour2 Eggs, beaten

Boil the chicken breast for 30 minutes and allow it to cool. Add flour and whisk it until the lumps are gone. Add the eggs and whisk it on low heat until it thickens. Pulverize in blender and store in refrigerator.

Hopefully that helps to make him eat his food. You can save your scraps from dinner and re-use them in dog treats. Here is another great dog treat recipe:

Easy Cheese TreatsIngredients:¾ C. Cheddar Cheese, grated and at room temperature1 Stick Margarine1 ½ C. Whole Wheat Flour

Cream cheese with margarine and flour, form two logs that are about 2 inches in diameter. Place logs in refrigerator until firm. Cut log into ¼ inch slices and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake treats at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until treats are slightly brown and firm.

Liver Bow-wowniesIngredients:2 lbs chicken livers2 C corn meal2 C wheat germ2 eggs2 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic (not salt)1/2 C dried parsley

Liquefy livers in food processor, and pour into mixing bowl and add other ingredients. Mix until smooth like a brownie batter. Spread on a cookie sheet until it's evenly spread about 1/3 inch thick. Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. When it cools, cut into squares, or whatever shapes you prefer. Store the bow-wownies in an air tight container in the fridge.

Making dog treats is just like making cookies. You just need flour, water, oil and a few other ingredients to make a delicious treat for your furry friend.

On the FundingUniverse site, Ralston Purina's statement of company perspective reads:

Dogs are carnivores. Their digestive system, from the mouth through their intestines, is designed to cope with a meat diet. The dog's teeth are adapted to tear food into swallow able sized chunks rather than to grind the food, and their stomachs can digest food in this state.

Dogs have probably evolved from animals that lived a diet of other animals. However, as with the fox in modern times, meat was not always viable to them, and the dog is able also to digest and survive on a diet that is mostly vegetable, but complete absence of meat is likely to lead to nutritional deficiencies.

Food, whether for dogs or humans, have to supply energy, from which, as well as being the movement, the animals body derives heat, materials for growth and repair, and substances that support these activities. For dogs this involves a satisfactory mixture of the major nutrients-carbohydrates, fats and proteins-in proportions similar to those required for a healthy human diet, they must also have a sufficient intake of the miner nutrients vitamins and minerals- in proportions hat do differ significantly from the need of humans.

Comparing Dog foods may be dived into several broad categories. For many years the so-called moist diets held a major part of the market, they are the tinned foods seen on every supermarket shelf. Over the past few years comparing other types of food have filtered the market. Complete dry feeds are becoming increasingly popular. They need minimal preparation- if so desired; they can simply be poured into a dog bowl and given to the dog. Only very slightly more demanding is to pour hot water to moisten the feed.

Semi-moist diets are intended to provide a balanced diet on their own. They hold a small significant place on the market, largely, in all probability, because they involve some degree of preparation before feeding. It is still fairly minimal, involving the addition of carbohydrate supplements as mixer, often some form of biscuit to balance the nutritional quality of the food. This. Is psychologically important exercise for the owner, who likes to think that he or she is doing something for the dog, as previous generations did when they mixed a bowl of table scraps with some meat and gravy?

The one thing to remember is that too much mixing modern foods can result in nutritional problems. What too often happens is that the concerned owner adds, not just carbohydrate mixer, but high protein foods as well, resulting in a high diet that is unbalanced, with too much protein.