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CCShepherds |
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Colorado Bred |
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A SHEPHERD’S WORTH ISSUE 3 |
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Contents
Carcinogens In Their Food! The three sections that follow are from articles I have read and are not my own words. They contain information that is known fact so I felt no need to change the wording. Bare with the dryness! It is for your dog’s own good! Additives in Processed Pet Foods Anticaking agents While the law requires studies of direct toxicity of these additives and preservatives, they have not been tested for their potential synergistic effects on each other once ingested. Some authors have suggested that dangerous interactions occur among some of the common synthetic preservatives. Natural preservatives do not provide as long a shelf life as chemical preservatives, but they are safe. There are no added chemicals in Canidae Pet Food. All commercial pet foods must be preserved so they stay fresh and appealing to our animal companions. Canning is a preserving process itself, so canned foods contain less preservatives than dry foods. Some preservatives are added to ingredients or raw materials by the suppliers, and others may be added by the manufacturer. Because manufacturers need to ensure that dry foods have a long shelf life to remain edible after shipping and prolonged storage, fats used in pet foods are preserved with either synthetic or "natural" preservatives. Synthetic preservatives include butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), propyl gallate, propylene glycol (also used as a less-toxic version of automotive antifreeze), and ethoxyquin. For these antioxidants, there is little information documenting their toxicity, safety, interactions, or chronic use in pet foods that may be eaten every day for the life of the animal.
Potentially cancer-causing agents such as BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin are permitted at relatively low levels. The use of these chemicals in pet foods has not been thoroughly studied, and long term build-up of these agents may ultimately be harmful. Due to questionable data in the original study on its safety, ethoxyquin's manufacturer, Monsanto, was required to perform a new, more rigorous study. This was completed in 1996. Even though Monsanto found no significant toxicity associated with its own product, in July 1997, the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine requested that manufacturers voluntarily reduce the maximum level for ethoxyquin by half, to 75 parts per million. While some pet food critics and veterinarians believe that ethoxyquin is a major cause of disease, skin problems, and infertility in dogs, others claim it is the safest, strongest, most stable preservative available for pet food. Ethoxyquin is approved for use in human food for preserving spices, such as cayenne and chili powder, at a level of 100 ppm -- but it would be very difficult to consume as much chili powder every day as a dog would eat dry food. Ethoxyquin has never been tested for safety in cats.
Some manufacturers have responded to consumer concern, and are now using "natural" preservatives such as Vitamin C (ascorbate), Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols), and oils of rosemary, clove, or other spices, to preserve the fats in their products. Purebred uses mixed tocopherols. Other ingredients, however, may be individually preserved. This means that your companion animal may be eating food containing several types of preservatives. Federal law requires preservatives to be disclosed on the label; however, pet food companies only recently started to comply with this law.
In 1995, Nature's Recipe pulled thousands of tons of dog food off the shelf after consumers complained that their dogs were vomiting and losing their appetite. Nature's Recipe's loss amounted to $20 million. The problem was a fungus that produced vomitoxin (an aflatoxin or "mycotoxin," a toxic substance produced by mold) contaminating the wheat. In 1999, another fungal toxin triggered the recall of dry dog food made by Doane Pet Care at one of its plants, including Ol' Roy (Wal-Mart's brand) and 53 other brands. This time, the toxin killed 25 dogs.
Although it caused many dogs to vomit, stop eating, and have diarrhea, vomitoxin is a milder toxin than most. The more dangerous mycotoxins can cause weight loss, liver damage, lameness, and even death as in the Doane case. The Nature's Recipe incident prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to intervene. Dina Butcher, Agriculture Policy Advisor for North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer, concluded that the discovery of vomitoxin in Nature's Recipe wasn't much of a threat to the human population because "the grain that would go into pet food is not a high quality grain." Training Tip For the owners of CCS puppies I am sure you have heard me say this before you must always remain the dominant mammal of the household! For those of you with dogs that are naturally submissive this is not a problem but for the others that complain about their dogs taking over you know what I mean. Showing dominance over your dog starts at an early age. I begin this training at 3 weeks of age; it is part of their socialization training. You should never stop teaching your dog to be submissive. Some general rules would be to use the crate daily to remind your dog that you control his freedom. Where your dog is used to having his freedom leash him for 15 minutes then let him go and repeat. If you feel you are losing control put your arm around him with your hand tightly on his chest. Your other hand should be on his head and or snout. There should never be any pain involved. Try to calm him down with soothing words. If he does calm done reward him with your tone and a reward. I have used turkey hot-dog pieces with much results. If it persists then use your no word harshly with a quick good boy when he shows the behavior you are looking for. Sometimes it is necessary for harsher treatment but suggest you call me for consultation of your individual needs. I couldn’t hope to solve all behavioral problems with a general fix. If you are having any dominance problems at all then make sure your saliva is in your dogs food. The Alpha always eats first and he will recognize you as that. Everyday you can find new ways of showing dominance or take a lesson from a bitch disciplining her pups! Grab the head and shake with your discipline word. (I use PHOOEY!) I haven’t seen a dog yet, if done correctly, not stop his behavior immediately! The key thing to remember is that dominant dogs look for ways to show their dominance over you any chance they get.
If he has been getting away with it for a while then it is a learned behavior. You must break it quickly and harshly to gain control back. E-mail me with ways you have come up with and if they agree with my philosophy of no pain then I will share that with everyone.
Nutrition Tip You have heard so much about antioxidants and Flavinoids lately! Do we even consider that our dogs, living in the environment we provide, are seriously lacking in these vital nutrients? Antioxidants and Flavinoids have been associated with health and long life and we humans are taking them by the handful. It would only be logical that our pets need them also. They are in the same polluted environment as we are after all! When observing a canine in the wild, the vegetarian animals that they consume, are usually filled with a green semi-digested mush of antioxidants and flavinoids. This stomach and intestine nutrients are in the form that the carnivore can utilize. Thus these ingredients are sought after first. You may notice your dogs trying to eat green grass in your yard. Most people think that they want to vomit for some reason and that is why they are eating grass. You may also notice that in their stools the whole blade of grass is still intact if they manage to keep it down. The conclusion I share with other knowledgeable people is that they crave the antioxidants and flavinoids that these substances contain. THERE IS NO WAY TO ADD THESE NUTRIENTS TO OUR COOKED EXTRUDED DRY DOGFOOD! Three of my four dogs had no problems eating this mixture.
The fourth one took a little more time with a gradual acceptance. You can make a batch that will last in your fridge for a few days. 1 cup (loosely shredded) greens 1/2 cup oil (here you can use cod liver oil if you like) 4000 IU of vitamin E 5000 IU of vitamin C Add warm water till the mix is pourable.
Add to your dog’s food once per day gradually until you reach a tablespoon portion. Once they are eating this with no problem then we can add some other goodies that dry food
(including Purebred) can’t include.
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