There are some pretty outrageous dog magazines out there in what passes for the Real World. Aside from the inducements to buy canine-inspired haute couture jackets, jeweled collars, custom-made boots and spa products, much of the advertising is for dog food. Because whether they are living in New York or Sanur, Butch and Hitam have to eat.
We all want the best for our animals, and nothing is more important for their welfare (or ours) than a nutritious diet. Commercial dog food producers would like us to believe that their product is wholesome. But behind the pretty pictures on the dog food bag is an ugly tale of corporate greed and irresponsibility.
You’re probably not aware that diseased and euthanized dogs and cats are routinely sold to pet food companies; one small pet food plant in the United States renders 11 tons of these animals a week. The ‘animal protein’ used in many commercial foods include diseased meat of all kinds, road kill, poultry feathers and contaminated material from slaughterhouses. According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials, a US Government Agency, feed ingredients can include hair, feathers, dehydrated garbage, spoiled meat, rancid fat and any non-human excreta which may be mixed with litter. This condemned material (and any other material deemed unfit for human consumption) is soaked in carbolic acid, fuel oil, kerosene and citronella to kill the bacteria. Animals intended for human consumption can’t be slaughtered until 90 days after their last dose of antibiotics and steroids. But if the animal dies or is euthanized, the carcass is often sent to a pet food company. Traces of these medications remain in the ‘food’.
When you read ‘meat by-products’ or ‘beef by-products’ on a pet food label, be aware that these euphemisms actually mean diseased tissue, pus, hair, slaughterhouse rejects and carcasses in various stages of decomposition that have been sterilized with chemicals, heat and pressure procedures.
Grains are not part of a canine’s natural diet, but the bulk of dry commercial dog food is made up of grain as filler. Again, often this material has been rejected for human consumption, and has been bathed in chemicals to remove mould and other contaminants.
It’s no coincidence that major processed food producers for the human market also make dog food. This allows them to turn a handsome profit on trash by-products that they would otherwise have to pay to dispose of. What if your vet advises you to use commercial dog food? Remember that most vets are trained only in medical procedures, not nutrition.
You just have to look at a dog’s teeth to see what it needs to eat. For millennia, the dog and its cousins the wolf, dingo and coyote have lived on raw meat, bones, and the vegetable stomach contents of its prey. For the past 40 years, processed dog food has been having a disastrous impact on dog health. Veterinarians and breeders have observed that dogs are growing weaker with each generation and manifesting a wide range of health and behavioral problems. Premature degenerative diseases, high incidences of cancer, diabetes, heart and autoimmune disease and allergies have been increasing steadily. One holistic vet states that in addition to genetic predispositions, the three major contributing factors to this are poor nutrition, over-vaccination and exposure to toxins.
What can we do about this? If you have the resources, then the Bones and Raw Food (BAR) diet is said to be ideal. Closely resembling the canine diet in the wild, it consists of raw bones with some meat still attached, and finely ground raw vegetables such as would be found in the stomach of a prey animal. There are several websites with details. Personally, I don’t believe in spending a lot of money on dog food in a country where people are going hungry. Wayan figures we spend about Rp 2,500 a day per dog to feed my animals, and they’re in great shape.
The basic recipe is simple — chicken heads and feet lightly boiled up with some rice or oatmeal. Add garlic, salt, a splash of vegetable oil and any skin and fat trimmings from your meat. When serving, mix with about half a cup of finely chopped raw vegetables (I use the beet/carrot/apple mush from my morning juice but any will do) and leftovers. I often crumble in a cake of tofu (Rp 400) or a lightly cooked egg (Rp 500). I also add a teaspoon of crushed, dried eggshells to their food for calcium, and some peanuts or bean sprouts for additional protein. My dogs love bananas and papaya (papaya seeds kill intestinal parasites). Note – chocolate is toxic to dogs. And limit liver, it retains toxins.
A dog addicted to commercial crunchies may turn up his nose at this new regime. Introduce the new food a spoonful at a time, well mixed in with his regular fare. Make it more tempting with some meat broth, cheese or peanut butter. By the end of 10 days he should be eating mostly home-cooked food with just a few crunchies. Remove any food not eaten in half an hour.
Can dogs be vegetarians? Canines are carnivorous by nature. Dogs need the essential elements taurine and carnitine to survive, and these are found only in meat. If not given as a supplement, the dog will be in danger of developing a symptomless form of heart failure called dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
Feeding ourselves, feeding our dogs… when you know the facts, it’s just common sense.
