Nutrition

Hello. Many of you in REGAP probably know me as “Ciara’s Mom” and/or a foster Mom. Other than the Greyhounds, my love is nutrition and hence my profession as a Registered Clinical Dietitian. As a dietitian, I aid physicians in determining nutrient needs of their sick patients in order to prescribe tube feedings (Enteral Nutrition) and feedings through the veins (Parenteral Nutrition), specializing in the elderly and those with cancer going through chemotherapy or radiation treatments. I have studied nutrition for five years to achieve my degree and have passed a registration exam in order to practice as a dietitian. Recently, I have begun research on the nutritional requirements of dogs and other small animals in hopes of someday branching my career into animal nutrition consulting.

Many questions have surfaced due to the recent Consumer Reports article rating dog foods. The Consumer Reports article rated dog foods by which ones meet AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) guidelines and cost the least to feed per day. Foods that meet the minimum AAFCO requirements for calories, protein, fats, and nutrients and also display a label stating that they have passed feeding trial tests were simply listed according to price. Result: Wal Mart’s “Ol’ Roy” was at the top of the list, and the premium foods tested (Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet) were at the bottom.Without an in-depth look into the article, one could easily be misled by the article’s results and recommendations. I hope the following information will help clear up any question as to whether you should take their recommendation and change to “Ol’ Roy” or another cheaper brand of dog food.

What does it take to meet the AAFCO regulations? Pet foods can meet approval by AAFCO in one of two ways. First, the food can be put through laboratory analysis and compared to minimum values established by the AAFCO Nutrient Profiles for Dogs and Cats—guidelines based on the best available knowledge of the nutrients cats and dogs need to “stay healthy”. Because that knowledge is not firm for all nutrients, the numbers are somewhat arbitrary. There is also no guarantee that an animal will be able to absorb the nutrients in that food.According to Richard Markham, DVM, PhD, of Hill’s, “A food composed of shoe leather, motor oil, vitamins, and minerals will analyze (in a lab) to meet AAFCO nutrient recommendations for dogs or cats, but obviously would not be a good diet for dogs or cats. Thus, the claim “balanced”, “complete”, “adequate”, or “guaranteed to meet or exceed all AAFCO nutrient recommendations” has little meaning”. Second, the food can be put through a feeding trial in accordance with AAFCO protocols. The feeding trial need take place for only six months in order for a food to claim it can maintain an adult animal’s health, which may not be long enough for certain deficiencies or excesses to show their effects.

For example, if a person consumed little or no calcium in their diet for 6 months, the effects on their health would be hard to detect. However, we know that a lifetime of calcium deficiency leads to osteoporosis. In addition, once a company has subjected one product to a feeding trial, it may label all other similar products as having passed a feeding trial when often they have not. Puppy foods, low-calorie foods and adult foods can all claim to be nutritionally complete and balanced even when only one flavor of one product was subjected to a feeding trial. When Consumer Reports asked which “Ol’ Roy” products had actually been subjected to feeding trials, Wal-Mart would not share that information. Hill’s and the Iams Company stated that all their products go through feeding trials, often in excess of twelve months or more.

How can you tell if a dog food is of good quality if the AAFCO requirements aren’t an adequate indicator? “A general rule of thumb about pet food would be price. Wal-Mart’s Ol’ Roy? You might as well feed them the bag, because it’s just poor- quality food”, says Dr. Joseph L. Cook, a Topeka veterinarian (Pitch Weekly). The best way for the consumer to evaluate and compare dog food quality is to understand some of the ingredients and their possible sources.

Dog Food Ingredient Definitions
The list of ingredients used in the production of commercial dog foods is almost endless. We don’t have enough space to print them all here, but you really only need to know the ones to watch out for and avoid.(Contact REGAP for a complete list of ingredients or references that provide such information.)

Meat and Bone Meal
Rendered meal made from animal tissue and bone. At the rendering plant, slaughterhouse material, restaurant and supermarket refuse, dead-stock, roadkill, and euthanized companion animals are dumped into huge containers. A machine slowly grinds the entire mess. After it is chipped or shredded, it is cooked at temperatures of between 220 degrees F. and 270 degrees F. for twenty minutes to one hour. The grease or tallow rises to the top, where it is skimmed from the mixture. This is the “animal fat” seen in the ingredients of some pet foods. The remaining material is then put through a press to squeeze out the remaining moisture, and titled “meat and bone meal” (the second ingredient in “Ol’ Roy”).

Rendering plants accept animals from clinics, pounds, and shelters to use as sources of protein in pet food. In 1990 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that euthanized companion animals were found in pet food. Although the pet food manufacturers vehemently denied the report, the American Veterinary Medical Association confirmed the Chronicle's story. The scariest thing here (other than the fact that I don’t want my dog eating someone else’s) is that University of Minnesota tests indicate that sodium pentobarbital, the primary agent used to euthanize companion animals, does not break down in the rendering process and therefore exists in varying amounts in any foods using rendered material. Dead animals, roadkill and in some cases, zoo animals are also picked up by dead-stock operations to be rendered. Restaurant garbage and grease, meats and baked goods from supermarkets (Styrofoam trays and shrink wrap included) are sent to rendering plants. The by-products of slaughterhouses – heads, feet, skin, toenails, hair, feathers, carpal and tarsal joints, and mammary glands are sent to be rendered. Animals who die on the way to slaughter are rendered. Cancerous tissue or tumors and worm- infested organs are also rendered. Contaminated blood is rendered. Contaminated materials containing or having been treated with a substance not permitted by the FDA or EPA are also rendered. Before rendering, these materials are “denatured,” meaning they are covered with a substance to prevent them from returning to the human food chain. In the US, the substances used for denaturing include crude carbolic acid, citronella or fuel oil.

Meat By-Product
Clean, non-rendered parts other than meat of slaughtered mammals. This can include lungs, kidneys, brain, spleen, liver, bone, blood, stomach, and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, teeth, hooves or horns.

Poultry-By-Products
Clean, non-rendered parts of slaughtered poultry, such as heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, feet, abdomen, intestines, and heads free of fecal content and foreign matter except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice.

Poultry By-Product Meal
Round, rendered, and clean parts of slaughtered poultry, such as undeveloped eggs, necks, feet, and intestines. It does not contain feathers except those which are unavoidable during processing.

Animal Digest
A powder or liquid made by taking clean under-composed animal tissue and breaking it down using chemical means.

Animal Fat
Obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting. Also sourced from restaurant grease. Often preserved with BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin.

Tallow
The hard white fatty substance which is rock hard and looks like a bone. Most dogs have great difficulty digesting this substance. In general, ingredients that are listed with a generic source (“animal digest”, “meat and bone meal”, etc.) have been rendered or derived from 4D meat, roadkill, zoo animals, euthanized pets, etc., and should be avoided. Ingredients that list specific sources, like “chicken by-product” or “lamb digest” will contain only chicken or lamb, and are likely to be safer for your pet.

Quality Concerns
One of the best indicators of quality is the digestibility and availability of proteins and nutrients in the food. Consumer Reports stated, “We have not performed digestibility studies on any of the products,…”. In other words, although they may have rated a food very highly, the contents of the food may not even be digestible. Premium dog food companies conduct extensive testing to ensure the protein sources used in their foods are easily absorbed by your dog’s system, while less expensive dog foods do not. Dr. Anne Hickman, formerly a clinical nutritionist at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University said, “…one difference between the super-premium pet foods and the grocery store brands is that the super-premium brands are highly digestible, meaning more of the pet food actually stays in the animal’s body. The animal doesn’t have to eat as much to maintain it’s body weight and excretes less waste.”

Does dog food quality matter? Dr. P. F. McGargle, a vet and former federal meat inspector believes that feeding slaughterhouse waste to pet animals increases their chances of getting cancer and other degenerative diseases (we are what we eat, right?). He said, “Those wastes include moldy, rancid, or spoiled processed meats, as well as tissues too severely riddled with cancer to be eaten by people”. Combine this with the sodium pentobarbital from euthanized animals, pesticides from the carcasses of rendered animals, residual cattle antibiotics and growth hormones (all found in the protein sources of cheaper dog foods), and it becomes obvious that we must carefully choose the foods we feed our sensitive Greyhounds or their lives could be dramatically affected.

How much more does it cost to feed a premium food versus a grocery store brand? For not that much more per year, you can feed a premium food versus a grocery store/discount store brand dog food, and you can give your Greyhound it’s best chance at a longer, healthier life, and pick up fewer pounds of dog poop each month. Lower yearly vet bills due to a reduction in illnesses such as allergies, skin problems, and intestinal problems make the feeding of premium dog foods even more financially attractive.

By preventing health problems years later through adequate nutrition now, the pet owner can also save money in the long run. Begin today by reading all dog food labels - and don’t buy any pet food that contains “meat and bone meal”, “meat by-products”, “poultry by-products”, “animal digest”, or “tallow”. For more information about commercial dog food content, health issues and alternatives, I highly recommend the book “Food Pets Die For” by Ann N. Martin.