Wednesday, September 2, 2020

2020 Thoughts on Commercial Dog Food

WYSONG TRUTH 45: APPROVED FOR ILL HEALTH?

To assure safety and wholesomeness of pet foods, state and federal regulatory agencies prescribe or permit ingredients. Additionally, ingredients must be described on labels by precise nomenclature dictated by alphabet agencies such as AAFCO and the FDA.

The problem is, those who sit on the committees deciding what can or cannot be approved may have commercial links. They can push through ingredients that should not be in foods, and prevent the approval of those which either rub prejudices the wrong way or which may create unwelcome competition to their own interests. On the other hand, state regulators (a manufacturer must get approval from each individual state) may have little nutritional knowledge or academic credentials, but a lot of power.

Nutritionists who are consulted by regulators to help make decisions about ingredient approval are steeped in the reductionistic point of view. Since they believe nutrition boils down to percentages - % protein, % fat, % fiber, etc. - almost anything can be an approved ingredient provided these numbers are known.

Where there are deficiencies, a few synthetic vitamins here, a few additives there (all properly "approved" of course), and all is well. The end result of this unholy marriage between commercial interests, prejudice, scientific naivete, and regulatory dictatorship is the official American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) listing of approved pet food ingredients. Here are ex­amples of what has been officially approved... and I'm not kidding:

1. dehydrated garbage
2. polyethylene roughage
3. hydrolyzed poultry feathers
4. hydrolyzed hair
5. hydrolyzed leather meal
6. some 36 chemical preservatives
7. peanut skins and hulls
8. corn cob fractions
9. ground corn cob
10. ground clam shells
11. poultry, cow and pig feces and litter
12. hundreds of chemicals
13. a host of antibiotic and chemotherapeutic pharmaceuticals
14. a variety of synthetic flavorings
15. adjuvants

On the other hand, if a manufacturer wants to be innovative and pack as much natural nutrition into products as possible, important ingredients are not approved. For example, even though it has been proven that the amino acid, L-carnitine, may be deficient in processed pet foods, it has been forbidden. Proteoglycans such as glucosamine and chondroitin and other ingredients such as col­lagen, all of which have been proven to help prevent and alleviate arthritic conditions, have also been blacklisted.  Special natural foods that are particu­larly nutrient dense, such as pollen, composted sea vegetation, sea salt, omega-3 fatty acids, various biologically active phytonutrients (dozens of these have been discovered and their proven effectiveness has created a class of beneficial ingredients known as nutraceuticals) and even some organic ingredients cannot be used because they are not "approved."

There is no question of safety here - as regulators pretend - for these foods have been consumed for eons by animals and humans without ill effect.

Animal food regulatory absurdity becomes apparent when the very ingredients banned for pet foods are sitting on shelves in grocery and health food stores fully approved for human consumption.

"Approved" ingredient regulations cannot be trusted. Banning nutri­tious natural ingredients and approving dehydrated garbage and feces makes it clear that the agenda of regulation is something different than encour­aging optimal nutrition.
Once again it becomes apparent that if you want what is best for yourself and your pet, then you better rely on your own common sense.
This above post is copyrighted by Wysong, Inc. and is reprinted with permission. Interested in more information?  Visit the Wysong website and also be sure to read other articles concerning dog food and nutrition on this blog.  On the Wysong website, you can also sign up for their free emails concerning "100 Truths".  The more I read, the more convinced I am that we have got to be more careful in our selection of pet foods, and our dogs really do need more fresh food from our kitchen, because it is impossible to get "complete and balanced nutrition" from feeding commercial pet food alone.
How many dog food companies are going to tell you this type of information?  So far I have heard it from only one head of a pet food company, and that is Dr. Randy Wysong!   No, I don't sell Wysong or any other pet food. You can find Wysong at upscale pet supply stores, you can buy it direct from Wysong at www.wysong.net or click the Pet Food Direct widget on my website and order through my affiliate link with Pet Food Direct. I personally have had good success with ordering directly from Wysong, as far as very quick service plus they have wonderful educational materials available. If this is the first you have heard of Wysong, please be sure to visit their website! I rotate dog food, as Dr. Wysong has always suggested, and as of the date of reposting this article, 12/10/18, I am also using Canidae and Nature's Recipe. Update 9/2/2020: Nature's Recipe has been bought out by Smucker's and has changed some of their formulas. I am currently using Dr. Harvey's Canine Health mix, along with lightly boiled ground turkey and Dr. Harvey's' liquid fatty acid supplement which is correcting an inflammatory bowel condition that one of my dogs develoepd when on Nature's Recipe this past year (3 were "okay" on it, one suddenly started having issues). Dr. Harvey's is a mix, you soak it only for 8 minutes, and no other supplements besides oil is needed if you are feeding cooked or raw meat. Canidae is my personal recommedation if you cannot afford or don't have time to cook for your dogs. As always, check with your veterinarian if your dog has special health needs. Many people are switching from dry dog food to canned. For information on the best canned dog foods, I recommend the following article on Your Dog Advisor wesbite: Best Canned Dog Food for Puppies. For some reason, Blogger isn't letting me link the article, but you can copy and paste this link to find it: https://yourdogadvisor.com/best-canned-dog-food/.