Learn more about pet food

Poisoning your precious pups?
by Holly Mastromatto
Holistic Hounds


Those of us who are owned by Italian Greyhounds know that it can be quite easy to spoil them. Even though they hog the bed (its like sleeping with a giraffe under the covers), tinkle in the house (especially if it's cold outside), and literally bounce off the walls at times, there is something about that shiny little puddle of love in your lap that just makes you want to indulge them. Many of us buy elaborate beds and annoying squeaky toys just to keep them happy, and even more of us are now cooking for our "kids". I have the privilege of caring for other people's pets too, and I have seen what a huge difference a natural diet can make in a dog's general appearance and overall health and happiness.

Do you really know what your IG is eating? Many years ago when my first dog found me and before I started my pet business, I started questioning my vet and looking into the different brands of dog foods trying to find the "best" one for my new baby. I had no clue that this would become my mission.....to dispell the myth of commercial dog foods and to show others what I have learned over the years. Little did I know that my life was "going to the dogs"!
The pet food industry is a multi-billion dollar industry fueled by the human food processing industry and a great place for these companies to get rid of all the foods unfit for human consumption. What a perfect arrangement for these huge companies; profit from waste.
Commercial pet food has only been popular for the last 60 or so years and mainly a convenience, just as fast food restaurants and pre-packaged human foods have become. Commercial dog food was pioneered by the Purina Company in the mid 1950's. They "invented" the steam extrusion process....cooking foods at a high temperature with steam through a metal plate and slicing it off in small "bits". This process allowed cheap grain products to be added to the meat meals and by the 1960's, pre-packaged dog food was a hit. In the US alone, over one million dollars was spent annually on this new convenience. It would only get bigger. Much bigger.

The first thing I wondered about when reading the label on the food the vet recommended was meat by-products. What are they? Well, in a nutshell, by-products are what's left over after all the "good" meat is processed for human consumption. This can include organ tissue, blood, bones and intestines. If they are processing "downer meat" for humans, imagine what they put in dog food? Poultry by-products can include the head, feet and intestines. In almost all states, the USDA laws allow 4-D meats to be used in pet food, the 4-D's being dead, diseased, dying or disabled animals. We are talking about rendered animal tissue that can't be used for anything else.
How about the grains? Some foods include ground peanut hulls as a filler while others use corn gluten meal and other fragmented grains. Are we feeding a dog, or a horse? I was going crazy trying to make sense of this all and wondering how I would know which food was best? Could my dogs live on this food? Of course, but would they thrive? I doubted it. My vet was no help. I have come to learn that in vet school, only a few hours are spent learning about pet nutrition.
So, I started reading some more. The chemicals used in most commercial dog foods are even scarier than the inferior ingredients. Ethoxyquin, used for many years as a preservative in pet foods, has come under attack recently and purported to cause liver damage as well as thyroid dysfunction and cancer. It is a by-product of rubber manufacturing and a cheap way to preserve food. It is banned for use in human foods. BHA and BHT, another family of preservatives, have been associated with liver damage and possibly cancer as well. Now I was really concerned. These questionable chemicals are not something I am willing to feed to my cherished IGs.
Ingredients, but law, are listed on the label in descending order. The first four ingredients make up the bulk of the food. Look at the label....it won't lie to you. If the first 4 ingredients are grain, then that's the majority of what's in the bag. If it smells like horse feed, it probably is. Dogs are carnivores and thrive on meats, not grain. Some even question if grain should be fed at all to dogs.
Human health and dog health are not that dissimilar. Eat an unbalanced diet of junk food, and you will eventually get sick. Same with our furry friends, and even more so with delicate little dogs, like Italian Greyhounds. Think about what you are feeding them and do some research on your own. This information is not hard to find. The internet is a great place to start looking. There are also many informative books available.

I am a firm believer in home cooking for dogs, but there are many excellent "natural" foods available if time is an issue. While the "premium" brands may cost a little bit more in the long run, I believe what you will save in vet bills will more than compensate for the slight additional cost. It is a fallacy that dogs need to eat the same food every day. My IGs get a variety of home-cooked food, natural kibble, innovative dehydrated foods and even the dreaded table food....YES....table food and they are wonderfully healthy, happy little sprites. There is nothing wrong with sharing a healthy meal with your dog. Some cooked or raw grated veggies, cooked grain and a nice serving of meat. It's certainly better than overloading their little bodies with inferior animal parts and chemicals! Think about it. Ask yourself the same questions I asked myself 6 years ago and I bet you will think twice about what you are putting into your IGs bowl.
The best thing you can do for your dogs, besides loving them, is to know what they are eating.
Be an educated consumer. Your IG will thank you.

Holly's Holistic Hound Hash
This is a basic, easy recipe I have shared with my clients for years.
1 pound of meat. We use either ground lamb, lean beef, lean chicken, turkey, buffalo, or canned salmon. Only one meat source per meal (we believe it aids in digestion)
3 cups of grain and/or potato, basmati rice, brown rice, mashed barley, oatmeal (good to combine several in one recipe)
1/2 cup grated or finely chopped fresh GREEN veggies; zucchini, green beans, broccoli, spinach..... feed raw or slightly blanched
1/2 cup raw finely grated carrots
Olive oil; 2 tablespoons
Garlic; 1 clove mashed
Parsley; 1 teaspoon (fresh if possible)
Water or  broth (no-salt, natural brands-no MSG) I use half water, half broth

Cook grains in broth/water and add parsley, garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add veggies to warm grain mix
Add meat (cooked or raw, whichever you prefer. We prefer slightly cooked and add the meat about 5 minutes before the grain is done cooking)

Freeze in small portions and thaw as needed. This can be fed like "canned food" mixed in with a premium kibble, or fed alone.

When serving, we add a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and some plain yogurt or acidophilus powder as well as an herbal supplement containing nutritional yeast, kelp, spirulina and flax seed meal. We love Animal Essentials supplements and they are available thru www.Holistic-Hounds.com.