Dog Food: What's in the bag?

One of the most often "controversial" conversations had, especially on social media, is "what is the best dog food"? And the answer to that is: it depends on who you ask. But I should think that the best ones to ask that question would be #1 your breeder, and #2 your vet. As the photo above shows, we firmly believe that Purina Pro Plan Sport (now called performance) is one of the best formulas that you can feed your new working English cocker spaniel or Labrador retriever puppy. One of the reasons is that Purina is a time tested, scientifically formulated to meet the needs of all life stages (so can be fed to puppies, pregnant dogs, and geriatric dogs alike), and they do actual food studies at their main headquarters with their own kennel of dogs (yes, some animal testing is actually a good thing!) where they monitor the health and well being of the dogs fed their various formulas and measure how well their products actually meet the needs of various types of and ages of dog. They also test to see how palatable a food is because if the dogs don't like how it tastes, it doesn't matter how good it is for them if they won't eat it! Purina also has a long standing reputation for their ingredients and very few recalls due to food contamination, unlike many of the newer brands out there. They source their ingredients from reputable companies and they have a high standard of their manufacturing and cleanliness processes. The company also gives back to the dog community- giving away many tons of dog food and other products for field trial prizes, raffles, door gifts, and many $$$$ in coupons for breeders, kennel operators, dog trainers, and new puppy owners. They also have a program for sending in receipts in order to receive coupons, gift cards, or to purchase Purina products as well as from other name brand stores. But the main reason that I chose Purina products- specifically the Pro Plan products- is the ingredients. Because what you feed you dogs prior to breeding them makes just as much an impact on the litter as what you fed during gestation and after whelping the litter. ECS and Labs are two of the many breeds that are highly susceptible to DCM- Dilated Cardiomyopathy, AKA food induced enlarged heart, which has been noted more and more within the last 5 or so years in large numbers of dogs- many of which was not noted until the dogs started dying suddenly. Some of the initial findings were thought that this was due to a taurine deficiency, or with dog foods containing potatoes, soy, peas, and other lentils and their by products. Many of the dogs affected were being fed the latest in fad diets touting "grain free" or "meat by product free" and with exotic meats replacing chicken which is usually one of the top fed ingredients in dog food. Corn- which is easily converted to carbs that a dog uses pretty efficiently, was replaced by those brands with potatoes, sweet potatoes, field peas, soy, lentils, and their various forms, often having multiple forms in the same recipe such as whole, flour, or dehydrated, which then makes them one of the top ingredients in the food when added all together. Another ingredient that was replaced was chicken by products and meals, often with either lean cuts of 'human grade'meat or with a lean exotic meat such as bison, elk, kangaroo, etc...But what looks good in advertising commercials and photos on the bag, isn't so great for your dog or it's health. Consider what canines and other predators eat first on a fresh kill. They go for the gut and the organs-which are not only packed with vitamins, minerals, and calories, but they are also usually covered in a protective layer of fat. The microbes found in the digestive system of the prey animal are another important part of the wild canines meal. So the first items eaten are the kidneys, liver, heart, spleen, pancreas, reproductive organs, lungs, stomach and some of its contents, along with some of the bowel and its contents. Basically everything that is considered a "by-product" and often dried/cooked and ground into a "meal". It is only AFTER those items are eaten that they wild predator eats the muscle or meat of the prey, followed by the bones. So why is that important to have by products and meals in your dog's food? Can't they be replaced with "man-made" chemically formulated vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients? The short answer is: Yeah, maybe? But not effectively. Naturally occurring through whole prey ingredients will always out perform, be better balanced, and be healthier than anything that man can create. So let's look at that "lost" ingredient that could be a cause for the DCM issues. Taurine. It’s found in the highest concentration in seafood, hard-working muscles such as the heart and tongue, and poultry dark meat (meat from the thigh). Smaller animals are richer in taurine than bigger animals and whole prey such as mice, rats, day-old chicks, and quails are quite rich in taurine. And to some extent also in organ meats, which is ingested when a wild canine catches and eats it's prey. All of which are found in by product and meal ingredients. Those ingredients are generally from hatcheries, rendering plants, and meat processing plants to some degree, but were mainly sourced from whole chicks from hatcheries that used to sort male chicks from hen chicks, of which the males were then crushed, frozen into large blocks, and sold to dog food manufacturers. Thanks to animal rights groups and legislation, many states that produce day old chicks for large egg production farmers, no longer have this option and the newer ways of dispensing with the unwanted rooster chicks make it impossible to use for dog food. So now they often end up wasted and buried after dispatching them. Not only does this deprive dog food companies with a cheap yet potent provider of this important amino acid, it drives up the cost to manufacture a quality dog food or leads to companies producing an inferior or deficient product. There were 5 dog food companies/brands that had no or very few food related DCM deaths or incidences. They are: Purina Pro Plan Hills Science Diet Eukanuba Performance Royal Canin and the higher protein content Iams brand products Keeping in mind the rising costs of dog food, many folks are looking for a more economical food to feed their dog. Just keep in mind that you often get what you pay for and your new puppy deserves to eat the best that you can afford for his/her growth, health, and performance.