What Makes a Happy Dog?: Food

Live Holistically is a multi-author site.
This post was written by: Gailstrail

Food is the first in the series on: What Makes a Happy Dog? Prepare yourself; I plan to dig deep; there is no doubt in my mind, that the food our canine or feline companion’s eats is the foundation of his/her good health.

Have you ever heard the expression, ‘What you don’t know, can’t hurt you’? Well, there are those out there that are hoping you believe this and will look no further. The times have definitely changed. Information is at our finger tips.

Wikipedia reports: “In March 2007, after several animals fell ill and died during quality-control tests, one company recalled over 60 million containers of food. Subsequent to the recall, veterinary experts identified contaminants in some of the recalled food: aminopterin, a chemical used as rat poison, and melamine, a plastic precursor that may be used as a fertilizer.”

What we didn’t know has hurt and killed many an innocent and precious life. Animal food is big business:

• We spend $41 billion a year on our pets; $11 billion of this is on pet food.
• 42% of dogs now sleep in the same bed as their owners.
• Del Monte Foods Company’s pet business has gone from nothing to 40% of overall sales in the past five years.
• about 71 million homes, now own at least one pet.
• science has began to validate the emotional and physical well being animals create in humans with research.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets the list of ingredients in animal feed and our pet food. The list is long. As I read it one ingredient popped out for me; ‘animal-by-products’. What is the resource of ‘animal-by-products’? If you really want to ‘dig deep’ you can go to AAFCO. There you can read all about what this organization does and does not do. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is keeping a close watch and has updates on the ‘Pet Food Recall’. The Pet Food Recall is becoming a never ending saga. While visiting the AAFCO you can find:

• The basic goal of the AAFCO; their purpose and function.
• The Board of Directors
• The AAFCO’s Complete Members Directory, including Canada and FDA

There is someone in each state responsible for routine day to day pet food regulation. Their names, addresses and email addresses are listed at the AAFCO site under the Members Directory. These are the people who have the answers to many of our questions…and more, I encourage each of you to do visit the site and begin asking questions.

As we discover the facts and truth of the situation, we have to think about what to do with the information. What changes need to be made?How do we make changes? How quickly can we make the change? What’s our first step? How much will it cost? What can I do today?

Many of the answers we find may not be the answers we were hoping for…and some will certainly not be pretty. To answer these questions will take more than me, I’m not an expert, but I do want to find answers. Finding the experts is easy. Peeling away the advertising glitter and facing the reality of what’s in the much of the food being fed to our furry friends is not so easy.

One important step you can take today is to make sure you are feeding your furry friend human grade food! Your pet would have to eat 5 cups of non-human grade food to get the nutrition in 2 1/2 cups of high quality human grade food! It cost less to feed high quality food and the health benefits you will notice is extraordinary!

One very important truth, the health and life of our furry family member is dependent on the choices we make!

Happy trails!