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At this web site, I provide pet owners with facts about dog food & dog nutrition, address the issue of dog breed specific nutritional requirements, give definitions for wording used on dog food labels, look at AAFCO testing of dog food and provide an alternative to feeding your dog a commercial all-breed dog food.

"I believe a well informed pet owner makes a better pet owner"

PLEASE read the list of ingredients on the container of the dog food product you are buying.
DO NOT JUST TRUST THEIR ADVERTISING CLAIMS

Does the listing of the ingredients on your dog's food use the word "MEAL" (i.e. Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal, or a Meat Meal of any kind) when they advertise the food is made from MEAT? . . . NOTE: The word "meal" is NOT a synonym for the word "meat" . . . Meal is a term used by the Department of Agriculture for A PRODUCT THAT COMES FROM A RENDERING PLANT. . . rendered parts of the animal THAT DO NOT INCLUDE THE "MEAT" OF THE ANIMAL that we are told about in the advertisements.

CAUTION: Dead Dogs and Cats Have Been Found In "PREMIUM" Pet Foods!

When asked about euthanized dogs and cats being in pet food, A Past President of AAFCO said:
"If the ingredient say's meat or bone MEAL, you don't know if it is cattle, or sheep, or horse, . . . or fluffy."
To view the King 5 Television interview with the AAFCO President (Herschel Pendell) CLICK HERE

We also know WHY WE CANNOT TRUST what a pet food company tells us their food is made of in their advertising. . . . Another Past president of AFFCO, Roger Hoestenbach, when asked about the FALSE labeling claims of a commercial pet food product replied (in writing): ". . . the large manufacturers are protected by the Constitutionally guaranteed right of speech, which doesn't require that speech to be truthful or with reason."

NOTE: It is the members of AAFCO that dog owners rely on to be "responsible for regulating pet food manufacturing and packaging" in the United States of America. We see by the examples given above what type of job they are doing.

WE NEED LAWS WRITTEN . . . NOW!
Just a few years ago many dogs died from what was in commercial dog foods - ALL GRADES, Super Premium, Premium, and Grocery store brands. Their death was blamed on an ingredient in the foods that came from rendering plants in China. NOTE: That ingredient was not listed in the ingredient panel of ANY of the foods that were killing dogs because the food contained the ingredient. In the last two years many more dogs died from what was in commercial dog foods and dog food treats . . . and last year, again, there were MANY recalls and MANY products taken off the shelves because the food products had ingredients in them that should NEVER have been in them . . . The recalls were done, VOLUNTARILY, by the pet food companies - no government regulations were in place to be enforced. One legislator promised grieving dog owners that new laws would be written to protect our companion pets in the future . . . but after the lobbyists from the pet food industry did their job . . . there are no new laws. Today, pet owners cannot read the ingredient panel of a dog food and KNOW what is in that food.

You may want to read the article:
The Similarities Between the Tobacco Industry of 1950's and The Pet Food Industry TODAY Should Scare Us All
CLICK HERE TO READ IT

Then take action.PLEASE write your legislators and DEMAND some laws be written NOW so that you and I can read a pet food label and KNOW what is in the food. Your legislator can be contacted through these web sites:
House of Representatives or United States Senators

Information about pet foods and animal nutrition so that pet owners can make an intelligent choice between foods and feed their pet CORRECTLY

Physical Differences = Nutritional Differences
The feeding instructions on most commercial dog food labels tell you to feed their food to a dog (any dog) and just put a different amount into the bowl according to the weight of the animal that may eat it. There are many more differences that should be considered. Check these out.
If the Nutritional Needs of Dogs vary among the different breeds - How Can One Food Claim to Be "Complete & Balanced" - For All Dogs?
Research has proven nutritional requirements of dogs are breed specific. The differences are so vast that a dog food good for one breed may be POISON to another (maybe your breed). Yet many pet foods are sold with the claim that they are "complete & balanced" - for all dogs.
Protein and Its Amino Acids
Protein is one of the most important parts of dog food, as well as one of the least understood by the average dog owner. Most people have the misconception that the amount of protein the food contains is the important factor. However, the important factor is: How much of the food's protein can be used by the animal consuming it.
Fat, Carbohydrates and Fatty Acids in your dog's diet
There are many differences between the dog and human in the way they use different forms of carbohydrates from starch, sugar or animal fat. Be sure you are selecting a source the animal you are feeding can assimilate.
Why A Raw Food Diet IS NOT The Answer For Domesticated Dogs
Because of the problems associated with commercial kibbled food, many dog owners are now looking at one of the raw food diets marketed for ANY/ALL BREEDS for their specific companion pet. Learn about WHAT HAS BEEN PROVEN about the harm a raw food diet can do to domesticated animals and why this diet is not correct for the companion pet you are feeding.
The Correct Water Supply For Your Dog
Should Your Dog Have A Different Water Supply Than The Humans In Your Home?
Supplementing Dog Food With Vitamin C
Supplementing your dog's diet with vitamin C is approved by AAFCO . . . BUT . . . Unlike a human, your dog's liver can manufacture all the vitamin C it needs. Knowing this why do dog food companies have it in their food . . . and what are the long term effects?
Wording of pet food labels (including a handy definition list)
Wording used for the ingredient list needs to be more specific. Current regulations allow ingredients like feathers, sawdust and dehydrated pig excreta to be put in pet food and labeled with wording so you don't know these ingredients are in there. I would like to see all ingredients listed with their International Feed Numbers. This would give us the real identity of all ingredients in a food.
Who regulates the Pet Food Industry?
Which agencies are trying to protect us from: Misleading labeling; Poor manufacturing practices and procedures; Use of harmful additives and ingredients; etc.
AAFCO's "Required testing" of pet foods
Buyer Beware . . . you may be buying a pet food that's claiming it is a nutritionally adequate diet because it passed stringent AAFCO testing . . . yet that test could have been run with only 6 to 8 test animals eating the food for 6 months and able to survive with no more than an "acceptable" 15% loss of body weight.
A Home Health Check For Symptoms of Nutritional Problems
Test you can run at home to see how your companion pet is assimilating the nutrients in it's diet.

Documenting The Claims
The articles at this web site contain many claims and statements. These articles are based on ESTABLISHED FACTS. Here is a list of where you can go to obtain copies of the original scientific studies or documents.

The Animal Advocate ? ? ? ? ?
Who is this fanatic, and is he qualified to discuss pet nutrition.

Different food sources contain different nutritional values and each breed has different nutritional requirements.
Learn which food sources are bio-nutritive and which should be avoided by the breed you are feeding.

. . . I Want Your Feedback

I was sent an E-mail from a pet food company employee. We exchanged a total of three short E-mails. I would like you to read them and give me your feedback.
To view our E-mails

I was also sent an E-mail from the "General Counsel" of a pet food company. We exchanged just two short E-mails.
To view our E-mail exchange

Where in the world ARE THEY COMING FROM???

Many people think that the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is a Government Agency, responsible for the "regulations" that are to be imposed on the US pet food industry. Most people also believe the members of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) are working for the health and welfare of their companion pets.
In 1998 the President of AAFCO visited my web site and instead of saying "Thank you for bringing these issues to light" immediately came to the defense of the pet food industry and tried to discredit what I am presenting. His actions as well as his words reinforced my claims (expressed in articles at this web site) that AAFCO, from the top down, is an association apparently working for the pet food industry (Please note: AAFCO is an association - it is not a government agency). It also illustrates another of my views (expressed in articles at this web site) why we need some new laws which will force real government agencies to protect pet food buyers and their pets, not just the pet food industry.
After his visit AAFCO's President sent me some interesting E-mail - I responded - He responded - I responded - and our E-mail debate went on for two months.
Reading all of our E-mail debate may be tedious and even boring - BUT ENLIGHTENING!
For example - To make a point in our debate I quoted some wording from a Purina brochure. The President of AAFCO - in his response - declined to acknowledge the wording from the Purina brochure - justifying his actions with: ". . . the large manufacturers are protected by the Constitutionally guaranteed right of speech, which doesn't require that speech to be truthful or with reason."
This led me to respond with: "If I went to a Chief of Police to report a person was taking money with the use of a gun I wonder if I would get lectured about the right to bear arms in this country? It has been said that the pen is mightier than the sword. Any time a company uses misleading claims - in writing - to take money they should be treated the same as people who take money at gun point. The point I am trying to make at my web site is that pet food companies are taking money by using misleading claims to sell their products. This should be stopped."
He (a person who was wearing two hats: President of AAFCO and an employee of the Texas Department of Agriculture) responded to another E-mail argument by saying: "I am not with the pet food industry, I regulate them (rather vigorously here in Texas)." But to date has taken no action other than to continue his lecture to me about the "Constitutionally guaranteed right of speech" of the pet food industry. It is now 2010 (14 years later) and AAFCO is still operating as: ". . . the large manufacturers are protected by the Constitutionally guaranteed right of speech, which doesn't require that speech to be truthful or with reason." NOT holding them accountable for misleading or BLATANTLY FALSE advertising claims about the foods they are making/selling. Even in the State of Texas where this man may of had some influence.
Now for those of you who are interested in taking a look at both sides of the issue, and reaching your own conclusions I am posting uncut and uncensored copies of all our E-mail correspondence. Click Here To View It.

If you have comments about anything found anywhere at this web site, or know of a site that should be listed on my Tail-Wagging Links page, I Welcome Your Feedback.
Just click here to send me E-mail

Tail-Wagging Links
Here are some other web sites I think you may want to visit