My good friend Dr. Jean Hofve, veterinarian and former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Organization, has kindly allowed me to post a great article she wrote on how marketing can obscure the truth about what’s in your dog or cat food. I think you’ll really enjoy this article and her website LittleBigCat.

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A trip down the pet food aisle these days will boggle the mind with all the wonderful claims made by manufacturers for their particular products. But what’s the truth behind all this marvelous hype? You might be very surprised…let’s take a look.

1. Niche claims. Today, if you have an indoor cat, a canine athlete, a Persian, a Bloodhound, or a pet with a tender tummy or itchy feet, you can find a food “designed” just for your pet’s personal needs. Niche marketing has arrived in a big way in the pet food industry. People like to feel special, and a product with specific appeal is bound to sell better than a general product like “puppy food.” But the reality is that there are only two nutritional standards against which all pet foods are measured (adult and growth/gestation/lactation)—everything else is marketing.

2. “Natural” or “Organic” claims. The definition of “natural” adopted by AAFCO is very broad, and allows for artificially processed ingredients that most of us would consider very unnatural indeed. The term “organic,” on the other hand, has a very strict legal definition. However, some companies are adept at evading the intent of these rules. The name of the company or product may be intentionally misleading. For instance, some companies use terms like “Nature” or “Natural” in the brand name, whether or not their products fit the definition of natural.

3. Ingredient quality claims. A lot of pet foods claim they contain “human grade” ingredients. This is a completely meaningless term—which is why the pet food companies get away with using it. The same applies to “USDA inspected” or similar phrases. The implication is that the food is made using ingredients that are passed by the USDA for human consumption, but there are many ways around this. For instance, a facility might be USDA-inspected during the day, but the pet food is made at night after the inspector goes home. The use of such terms should be viewed as a “Hype Alert.”

4. “Meat is the first ingredient” claim. A claim that a named meat (chicken, lamb, etc.) is the #1 ingredient is generally seen for dry food. Ingredients are listed on the label by weight, and raw chicken weighs a lot, since it contains a lot of water. If you look further down the list, you’re likely to see ingredients such as chicken or poultry by-product meal, meat-and-bone meal, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, or other high-protein meal. Meals have had the fat and water removed, and basically consist of a dry, lightweight protein powder. It doesn’t take much raw chicken to weigh more than a great big pile of this powder, so in reality the food is based on the protein meal, with very little “chicken” to be found. This has become a very popular marketing gimmick, even in premium and “health food” type brands. Since just about everybody is now using it, any meaning it may have had is so watered-down that you may just as well ignore it.

5. Special ingredient claims. Many of the high-end pet foods today rely on the marketing appeal of people-food ingredients such as fruits, herbs, and vegetables. However, the amounts of these items actually present in the food are tiny; and the items themselves are usually scraps and rejects from processors of human foods—certainly not the whole, fresh ingredients they want you to picture. Such ingredients don’t provide a significant health benefit and are really a marketing gimmick.

It’s a jungle out there…Pet food marketing and advertising has become extremely sophisticated over the last few years. It’s important to know what is hype and what is real, so you can make informed decisions about what to feed your pets.

*** More information on what pet food labels really tell you can be found in Dr. Hofve’s article, Selecting a Good Commercial Pet Food.  Also see the Dogs4Dogs.com web page Dog Food: What to Feed and Why.  Your dog’s health is at stake.  Check out Dog Food: 10 Scary Tricks, to be published soon at Blog4Dogs.

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Salmon in the Wild

Many of us who are careful about our diets have real concerns about eating farmed salmon and other farmed (aka “ocean-raised”) fish.  We want the Omega-3 fatty acids from the fish oils — for ourselves and for our pets — but wonder if we are trading lower prices for contamination.  This is especially important for pets, most of whom eat the same food every meal, every day. If there’s fish in their food (and it’s sometimes there without our realizing), it’s especially important that it’s safe.

But is wild-caught fish really all that better?  The prices should tell you something. In a store near me, you pay $6.99 per pound for farmed; $16.99 for wild (when you can get it); and $15 or more for farmed fish fed organically. Given these prices, you can bet that Fifi and Fido aren’t getting organic or wild-caught.

The health dangers from farmed fish comes from the contamination of their fat with harmful chemicals called PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls).  An article called PCBs – Is Farmed Salmon safe to eat? reports: “The manufacture of PCBs was banned in the U.S. in 1979 because of evidence they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health effects. However, PCBs persist in the environment. Fish absorb PCBs from contaminated sediments and from their food.”

PCBs in Farmed Salmon, an even more alarming article from the non-profit, non-partisan Environmental Working Group, begins: “Results from tests of store-bought farmed salmon show seven of 10 fish were so contaminated with PCBs that they raise cancer risk.”

The EWG adds that studies show that farmed fish accumulate PCBs from their  fishmeal diet.  They go on to say that if the EPA set health guidance levels for PCBs in farmed salmon the same as it does wild-caught salmon, they’d limit consumption to once a month.

For years, I haven’t eaten farmed fish more than once monthly — and I really love salmon.  I certainly wouldn’t feed farmed fish to an animal more often than that, let alone for every meal.

Fish farming damages the environment as well, pouring liquid waste into the sea. It also takes much more fish to feed the farmed fish than those farmed fish ultimately produce. This Time Magazine article Is Fish Farming Safe? will probably turn you off fish farming forever.

Sadly, farming isn’t even good for fish. The farmed fish pass disease and parasites (like sea lice), and also pass weaker genes when they breed with wild fish.  This seems to be endangering wild salmon worldwide, cutting populations by 50%  or more when the wild fish encounter fish farms or their escaped  fish.  (Not surprisingly, some salmon farmers disagree with these findings.)  Read National Geographic’s article Farmed Salmon Decimating Wild Salmon Worldwide for more on this.

So, my advice is this. Read up and investigate. I’ve personally read enough to feel uncomfortable feeding salmon (including treats) to my own dogs, but you should decide for yourself.  Call manufacturers to find out if fish in your pet’s food is farmed. (Hint: it’s very unlikely that it’s wild unless it’s very expensive.) You probably won’t find the information you’re looking for on pet food websites.  Search on-line by product name or parent company to find a toll-free number and call them.  Better yet, find a number on the bag or can. If there’s no number, don’t feed that food anymore.

In any event, I recommend feeding a wide variety foods, avoiding salmon, fish and fishmeal.  Be sure to check labels. Even chicken and beef products often contain fish.

And because PCBs accumulate in fat, always buy fish oils made from wild fish. Carlson and Nordic Naturals, available widely at health food stores and on-line, both make good products.

Learn more about dog food, switching foods, and dog food myths at my website Dogs4Dogs.com.  And if you like this article, please bookmark it and pass it on. Also watch for another article on selecting pet food in our new Blog4Dogs.

farmed fish, salmon, pet food, dog food, food safety, dogs, cats

1. STOP VACCINATING UNNECESSARILY! No more vaccinating against diseases your dog is unlikely to catch and against diseases to which your dog is already immune. Not only is unnecessary vaccination a huge waste of time and money, the resulting adverse health consequences can ruin doggy health and cost you a fortune in vet bills down the line. Watch our video Vaccinating Dogs for suggestions, and read or reread “Rethinking Vaccination” in our book, Scared Poopless. Also, read our blog article on titer testing. (Click here.) This simple blood test is especially important to prevent over-vaccinating puppies.

2. FEED QUALITY FOOD. Although spending more for high quality food may seem a strange way to save money, it is your absolute best shot at long-term doggy health and lower vet bills. Start feeding wisely and you may see allergies, intestinal problems, joint ouchiness and other ailments disappear. At the very least, stop feeding grocery store brands and switch from kibble to canned. Better yet, feed frozen raw or fresh cooked or raw. My book has two chapters on food, one of them you can read free by clicking here.

3. FEED LESS. According to Purina’s much promoted 14-year study of 48 Labrador Retrievers, “lean-fed” dogs (receiving 25% less food than their littermates) eventually developed the same health problems as littermates as they aged, but needed treatment for ailments 2.1 years later. That is, treatment began at a mean age of 12 versus age 9.9. Here’s the secret to longevity: It’s not about feeding a particular brand; it’s about feeding to a healthy, lean (not too skinny) condition. Cut out all fattening corn-laden foods. Don’t leave food out all day and don’t overfeed. Remember: fat dogs aren’t cute; they’re expensive.

4. BRUSH TEETH MORE OFTEN. Few things are more expensive, or risky, than dental procedures. Avoid them by feeding low-carb foods (not kibble) and by brushing your dog’s teeth at least three times a week. Use a good paste meant for dogs (not Humans!) and use gauze around your finger or a super-soft toothbrush.

5. STOP GIVING UNNECESSARY OR DANGEROUS DRUGS. Check out your dogs meds (especially steroids and arthritis medications) on-line by name, and at the websites listed under Preventing the Preventable on my website link page. Also, if it’s not mosquito season where you live, why are you giving heartworm meds? No skeeters … no heartworm. Fleas aren’t much of a problem during the winter in most places either. Check out my book’s chapter, “Stop Pest-ering Me!” or do research on-line to learn more about heartworm and flea life cycles and natural methods of pest control. Just make sure your research is from reliable, unbiased sources. Websites that look “scientific” may be fronts for manufacturers of pet meds. Also check out my blog post on Heartworms for more information about protection.

6. GET FLUFFY A BLOOD TEST if she hasn’t had one in the last year (or six months for senior dogs). Remember, dogs age faster than we do and a thorough blood test (with a chem panel) is the easiest (and sometimes the only) way to detect disease while it’s still curable and cheaper to treat. Also test yearly for heartworms, whether or not you use meds.

7. STOP GIVING DANGEROUS TREATS that can perforate or lodge in tracheas and intestines: cooked bones, rawhide chews, pig’s feet and other too-hard chews. Surgery for obstructions and perforations is very expensive and may come too late to save your dog’s life.

8. WASH YOUR DOG’S FEET after a walk on chemically-laden surfaces like city streets and salted roads. Beware park areas which may have been recently fertilized, or treated with herbicides, without your knowing. And don’t use toxic chemicals in your home or yard. If it’s on your dog’s feet, before long it will be in your dog’s mouth. If it’s in your dog’s mouth, he’s on the slippery slope toward cancer.

9. SECURE TRASH, RECYCLING BINS AND TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM PETS. You’d be shocked at how much money is spent on inadvertent poisoning from snail, ant and rat bait, and also the general ailment called “Garbage Can Syndrome.” (Thanks to Pet Evironmentalist Elizabeth Allen of C4PAW.com for her work in this area.)

10. RESEARCH ON-LINE HELP. Check out the additional cost saving ideas at the Human Society (click here) and in the Smart Money article (click here). Californians, e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger and tell him we can’t afford his new 9% tax on our vet bills! Click here.

In short, think before you spend. Ask questions. Don’t automatically reorder drugs. Consider alternatives. Become an educated consumer and trust your own instincts.

Looking for smart holiday gifts and more health and safety tips for your dog? Click here to read our Holiday Newsletter.

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46% of all dogs who die of disease now die of cancer. That’s an astonishing figure, isn’t it? Forty-six percent!

Imagine half of your own friends dying of cancer. You’d surely be doing everything possible to stay healthy and disease free, wouldn’t you? Well, cancer will kill half your dog’s friends. The time has come to shift your focus from general health maintenance to cancer prevention. And it’s time to learn about alternatives to conventional cancer treatment.

My good friend, holistic vet Dr. Paula Terafaj (practicing in Brea, CA) wrote me: “Even for us doctors, there are more questions than answers: Did so-and-so cause my dog’s cancer? Are there any natural treatments for cancer? How long do you think my dog will live if we don’t do chemo?”

When Dr. Paula’s beloved dog Woody was diagnosed with cancer of spleen and liver, she set out to help Woody battle his own cancer. No toxic chemo. No risky surgery. She wanted him to live out his days pain-free as a cancer warrior with a game plan! Here’s the first installment of her game plan. She has kindly permitted me to reprint it. Parts 2 to 5 will appear in the upcoming days. (Have you subscribed to my blog yet? Sign up at right.)

Learn more about Dr. Terifaj at http://30minvetconsult.com/blog/ Here’s her first cancer article:

Part I: The Ultimate Cure for Cancer Is…

Simply prevention.

Everywhere you look these days, we hear news about this or that vitamin, mineral, vegetable, herb, plant from the rainforest, or exotic fruit reported to “cure” or protect us from cancer—but the fact of the matter is really just this: Our immune system (when working properly) has the natural ability to find and destroy cancer cells as well as the viruses and bacteria that make us sick. In fact, the most successful natural remedies simply amp up or help the immune system to fight its own deadly battles!

So, our health really depends on how well our immune system is functioning at all times—no silver bullets, no black magic. Our very own body intelligence is our best weapon to defeat the growth of cancer cells and keep us free of disease. It is only when the immune system fails to detect and destroy malignant cancer cells or mount a targeted attack against bacterial and viral invasions that we get sick. Sometimes we become the unwilling host to a flu virus or strep throat; other times falling victim to life threatening diseases, like cancer.

Scientific studies have shown that we can and do influence the functioning of our immune system. Diets that lack essential nutrients, stress, and exposure to a growing onslaught of chemical pollutants have all been shown to weaken the function of the immune response and subsequently our health.

The same goes for your dog. Assuming your dog is not burdened by the stresses of financial worries, job dissatisfaction, a demanding work schedule, caretaker responsibilities, difficult personal relationships, etc—spending his days napping, playing and feeling loved—the single most important factor that will determine your dog’s state of health and longevity is what foods he finds in his food dish!

It’s the choices we make, not fate, that determine our health and the health of our animal dependents. Each day we make choices that will either weaken our army of immune soldiers—or optimize its fighting abilities to win and protect our health. I have long advocated the common sense approach of maintaining good health—a proactive state of living called disease prevention. A mindset yet to be embraced by a flawed health care system which looks more like this: Get sick then change your diet, get more exercise and reduce stress. And if that’s too much trouble, no doubt you will join the millions of sickos in America and help to pump up drug company profits!

I have learned from my own personal health experiences and those of my furry patients that we can improve our own state of health and strongly influence the health of our pets by the choices we make. Stack the health odds in your favor!

Start a proactive health campaign with a few simple principles:

• Get smart: plan your diet each day and don’t leave it up to chance. This will help you to avoid tempting junk foods and make better choices. You also need to rethink the misguided idea that feeding your dog the same commercial diet every day is healthy. Like us, they need and crave a variety of whole foods. Simple whole foods like baked chicken, ground turkey and scrambled eggs are easy to prepare. Add more of these wholesome foods to your shopping cart and skip the dog food aisle!
• Go green: eat vegetables with meals and snack on fruits—both are high in protective antioxidants. Most dogs like to eat cooked vegetables. Favorites are: carrots, peas, green beans and broccoli. Also try canned pumpkin, yams and butternut squash. You can ensure an optimum intake of these hard working antioxidants by including a good quality vitamin/mineral supplement.
• Adopt a “more rest and less stress” lifestyle that includes daily exercise. Start by leashing up your dog for walks around the neighborhood, visit local dog parks, or engage in play activity at home. Just get started and your dog will keep you motivated to continue this very good behavior!

There really is sage advice hidden in that phrase: “the good old days”. Like feasting on simple whole foods that were common place on kitchen tables when our grandmothers (younger readers may need to go back as far as great grandmother) were the gourmet chefs of our time! Remember, whole foods contain the best sources of essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids) and that has not changed! Don’t short-cut your health with fast food products that list ingredients known only to food chemists—just look at the pet food industry. Open a bag of kibble and ask yourself, where is the beef?

What you eat and what you feed your dog will surely determine the number of doctor visits in the days ahead. Although I am a big fan of dietary supplements (vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, fatty acids) and Nutraceuticals (foods that aid in the prevention or treatment of disease) they are not substitutes for a health-based diet. However, I must pause here to praise the efforts of science to provide us with substantial scientific studies and documentation on how certain key supplements and Nutraceuticals have proven to offer numerous health benefits, safe effective treatments, and sometimes even cures for almost any health challenge we may face—our pets included! (More on this in Part 2: How to fight cancer without drugs.)

You can boost your health IQ by reading Super Foods Rx—Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, by Steven Pratt, MD. (I got mine from Amazon.com.) This smart Doc shows how you can actually change your body’s biochemistry and stop the progression of diseases like type II diabetes, hypertension, certain cancers, obesity and Alzheimer’s simply by eating more nutrient-dense foods.

Don’t worry, you can find these simple foods at your local supermarket. Some of the foods that made it to the top fourteen, like blueberries, broccoli, spinach, salmon, and walnuts did not surprise me. However, some did, like oranges, pumpkin, beans, and turkey. And if you don’t like some of the super fourteen, the author offers what he calls sidekicks: similar foods that can be substituted.

This wonderfully written book will surely help improve your eating habits simply by knowing why these foods are so good for your health. On a recent food shopping spree at Trader Joe’s, I found myself reaching for a variety of canned beans (marinated 3 bean salad, refried black beans with jalapeno peppers, organic black bean soup), dried wild blueberries and walnuts. Foods that can be easily added to salads and other dishes. Your dog is sure to enjoy eating some of the super fourteen too! Now, pass the blueberries please…

— A last note from Jan. Have you seen our videos? Click “Videos” under “Categories” at right. And hug your dog for me. And stay tuned for more from Dr. Paula.

Cancer is epidemic in pets and all of us have, or know someone who has, a dog with diabetes, severe allergies, skin problems or liver, heart or kidney disease. It’s time to rethink veterinary care. Watch our video to learn how to spot a dangerous vet through his practices of over-vaccination, negligence, pushing “fast food,” price gouging and more. The information revealed in this video may well save your dog’s life.

Watch our other vet video, “Stand Up to Your Vet,” and find informative articles, referral lists for holistic vets and vets skilled in homeopathy at www.Dogs4Dogs.com/vet Also learn how to file a complaint against your vet. Subscribe to our blog at www.Truth4Dogs.com to be notified when our new videos and articles are available.

Learn your veterinarian’s responsibility to fully inform you about the risks of vaccination by reading this excellent article by an attorney/veterinarian: Veterinary Liability Related to Vaccination.

Is Your Dog’s Vet a Vaccination Expert?

Vaccinating: Unhealthy Pets: Beware Reactions & Vaccine Failure

Lower Your Vet Bills: 10 Tips for Keeping Costs Down

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