Quality of Dog Food Ingredients
On this page I will exam a few ingredients that go into dog food and explain the technical terms in common language.
I think it is important to emphasise that quality foods would have essential ammino acids ( Ammino acids required by the body to function) in the protein source.
If they have to be added, then as a rule, they are man made. Their inclusion in the ingredients list of a dog food or cat food raises serious questions (or should) about the quality of the protein source.
Ingredients to watch for in dog foods!
The following, if included in the ingredients list, are generally synthetic (man made) and indicate a low form of protein overall
Vegetable protein isolate
What is it? Firstly the protein is extracted from vegetable matter like peas and potatoes and water is then added. The product is them bombarded with ultra-sonic energy which I am led to believe, sterilises the compound.
Dimethylformamide is added and cooked for about 1 hour at boiling point. Dimethylformamide is the organic compound whose name is derived from the fact that it is a derivative of formamide, the amide of formic acid. (Formic acid is found in bee stings)
DL-methionine (methionine)
This is an essential amino acid normally found in protein sources. It's inclusion in dog foods raise my suspicion about the quality of the included protein - Dogs need 2 essential amino acids to create Taurine - methionine and cystine. Without both they cannot create taurine.
L-carnitine,
In animals, l-carnitine is made primarily in the liver and kidneys from the amino acids lysine or methionine. Again, this should not be required if the quality of the ingredients contained sufficient amino acids - the dogs would make it themselves. The highest concentrations of carnitine are found in red meat and dairy products. Other natural sources of carnitine include nuts and seeds, beans peas, greens, oatmeal, brown rice.
Taurine
Dogs produce their own tuarine where as cats cannot! Dogs however need the amino acids cystine and methionine to be able to produce it.
For the same reasons and Dl - methionine. Dogs should have sufficient amino acids in the protein to be able to do this without synthetic forms.
L-lysine
Like the amino acids mentioned above, I am very cautious about food that need to include this - it should be in the protein unless the protein is so inferior it is destroyed. ( Good sources of lysine are foods rich in protein including meat (specifically red meat, lamb, pork, and poultry))
Low quality ingredients in dog food
Beet Pulp
Sugar beet pulp is the correct name for this product - it is the left over after the sugar has been extracted. It is claimed that it is a high quality source of fibre. Nothing could be further from the truth - it is a low grade and very cheap filler. It is very drying and allows for the inclusion of high levels of fat in dog foods. High fat creates very damp conditions but the beet pulp essentially soaks it up and prevent very soft stools. High fat in the diet will make the digestive system sluggish but it very slowed by the sugar beet pulp.
Poultry or poultry fat
A vague term - is it chicken, turkey, duck, quail, swan, pheasant or what?
Animal fats
Is this the product that's collected from behind the fast food, fish and chip shops and restaurants and recycled? Generally such recycling involves heating at very temperature and then preserved with ethoxyquin. If ethoxyquin is already in the fat, then the manufacturer does not need to include it the label.
E - Numbers
good source of information for all the e number - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number
Sodium polyphosphate
Safety data for sodium polyphosphate from http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/SO/sodium_polyphosphate.html
harmful if swallowed, inhaled or handled.
Prairie meal
Prairie meal is just a fancy name for hight refined corn/maize gluten meal. It should not be fed to dogs or cats.
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