Your Beagle could be suffering from the side effects of toxic additives put into commercial dog food. Many people are turning towards dog health food as a way to be sure about what is going into your pet food.

Contaminated dog food can be in circulation for months before it gets picked up, and often it?s only when there?s a number of dogs getting sick and dying from the food that a recall is issued. More and more profit is winning out over quality when it comes to dog food ingredients.

In a bid to increase profits, many dog food manufacturers are using cheap by products from human food production and adding it as a protein source. This is can do your dog a lot of harm over the long term, leading to allergies and other chronic health issues.

In 2007, over 100 different types of dog food were recalled after melamine, which is a type of plastic, was found in many batches. Eventually the food was found to be tainted from imported rice protein. There are large questions about whether there is really any nutritional value in rice protein for dogs in the first place. But what this really means is that there is a chance that anything could end up in our dog food.

You may be thinking that this happened in China so I won?t affect you, but many companies around the world are using imported ingredients from China and other countries that don?t have the same regulation of their food products that we do in the western world. When you think about the tainted milk powder that was found recently, it’s only a matter of time before another batch of deadly food gets onto the market.

Even if there?s no accidental contamination, your Beagle could still be at risk from additives that are put into the dog food, before it reaches the factory. Ethoxyquin is routinely added to fish meal. Fish meal is then often promoted as a healthy form of protein. However they neglect to mention that ethoxyquin has been linked to serious allergic reactions, cancer and liver failure in dogs. And that it has been banned for human consumption for decades.

So have a quick look and see if your dog food has fish meal in it. And just think that if it’s present then every meal your dog has is going to have a dose of carcinogen.

For the sake of your Beagle and it’s long term health, you really need to get educated about dog health food. It is our responsibility to know what is going into our dog’s food and to make sure that there are no toxic additives. or preservatives. We all want our best friend’s to live a long and healthy life and it’s not hard with a bit of knowledge.

Our dogs rely on us to provide them with the best possible food and care. To keep your best friend healthy and add years to their life, subscribe to our dog health food newsletter. You’ll find out exactly what goes into commercial dog food and how to make your own at home, cheaply and easily. Click here to subscribe http://www.dog-health-food.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/dog-health-food–1526024.html

First of all, you need to understand that adopting a dog is a long-term commitment. A dog’s life span is about nine to fifteen years. Additionally, it will also cost you time and money, and though having a pet is extremely rewarding, it is not something to be considered lightly.

1. Reason for adopting a dog. Ask yourself, why do you want a dog? Do you want companionship? Do you want a pet to play with your kids? Or do you want a dog to guard your house when you are away?

2. Time you can spare. If you have not realized it yet, dogs, just like us, need to be spent time with. You have to feed, bathe, exercise, and train your dog. There is no such thing as a ‘day off’ when it comes to caring for your dogs.

3. Budget. Costs will include: training classes, vet care, toys, grooming, licenses, neutering and spaying, vaccinations, and food.

4. Dealing with problems. Dogs can get sick, suffer from flea infestations, become injured, and many other things that will require treatment. These will cost you money.

5. Home for your dog. Some communities do not allow residents to own a dog, more so if you are staying in an apartment. And even if your place allows dogs, do you have enough room for him? Small dogs require large spaces because they are very active and cannot be confined in a small area, while large dogs can stay in compact rooms because they can just lie down on the floor all day.

6. Substitute caregivers. If you go on vacation, who will take care of your dog? You should make sure somebody will be able to feed and care for him when you are away.

7. Lifetime commitment. As mentioned earlier, dogs can live nine to fifteen years, depending on his breed. Are you ready to care for him for that long? If your answer is a yes, then by all means, adopt a dog. But if you are not sure of this commitment, then it is best you think it over and over again before making a decision.

Many dog owners end up leaving their dogs in shelters because they realized too late that they could not really care for them. Another reason is the irresponsible breeding of dogs and being unable to manage it later on.

Just bear in mind that adopting a dog is not an easy feat. Rewarding, yes, but it requires time, responsibility, money, and a lot of love on your part. Make sure you are ready for such a commitment.

Visit SeparationAnxietyInDogs.net for more articles and information on canine separation anxiety, symptoms of canine separation anxiety and how to treat canine separation anxiety.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/factors-to-consider-before-adopting-a-dog-1498187.html

With more and more dog food recalls being issued, it’s not hard to see why more people are turning to dog health food as an alternative. Every time there is a recall, there’s lots of apologizing, but what about the dogs that died? How can any apology make up for the loss of a trusted friend?

Now there?s a whole range of reasons for dog food to be recalled and some of them are exactly the same reasons as why some human food recalls occur. In at least one case there was a fungal infection on the production line, which contaminated the food. This would make me ask the question: What sort of hygiene procedures are in place that allowed this to occur?

The FDA is responsible for keeping tabs on the dog food industry, which is enormous and growing at a staggering rate. And so we?d like to think that dog food conforms to the same standards as human food, but all too often this is far from the truth.

The FDA is growing increasingly under funded and understandably puts most of its resources into ensuring that human food production is kept to the required hygiene standards. That said, plenty of products still slip through when you think about how often you see food recalls at the supermarket. So where does that leave the pet food industry?

Well, the lack of official oversight means that they are mainly self-regulating. While in a perfect world this wouldn?t be a problem, I have my doubts when it comes to the sort of money that is being made from dog food today. To my mind, it is all too likely that in the trade off between profits and quality, profits win every time.

And who could forget the wide-ranging pet food recalls in 2007? This was eventually traced back to contaminated rice protein and wheat gluten produced in China. One more way that a cheaply sourced ingredient is added that has little nutritional value anyway. This means that even if the standards of the US manufacturer are fantastic, it won’t help if they’re using tainted ingredients?

So we need to asking the hard questions of where our dog food really comes from, what?s really in the food that our best friends are gobbling up and what are the long term effects on their health going to be?

Many pet owner are turning to some form of dog health food as a practical way to ensure that their pets get not only the best nutrition but also keep them safe from any pet food company blunders. At the end of the day, it’s up to us to give our pets healthy and safe food but we can’t always believe what the large pet food companies are telling us.

Did you know that not being aware of what goes into your dog’s food could be making them sick and could even rob years from your best friend’s life. To find out exactly what goes into dog food and how to make your own delicious dog health food, subscribe to our newsletter, chock full of great tips to make your dog’s life a long and healthy one. Click here http://www.dog-health-food.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/dog-health-food–1463666.html

Your German Shepherd could be suffering from the side effects of commercial dog food, which is why so many owners are turning to dog health food. With so many potentially toxic ingredients being put into dog food these days, it can be hard to know whether you might be actually harming your best friend with every meal.

First you have to wonder how safe your dog food is from chemical contaminants that accidentally got into the food at some point in the production. Maybe basic ingredients were tainted overseas and nobody picked it up. Especially at the moment with companies all around the world looking to get more profit from less cost, we have to wonder if our dogs welfare is at risk.

How safe is your dog?s food really? Even in human food production with their far more strict standards, it’s not uncommon for there to be chemical contaminants.

In 2007 there was a widespread recall from over 100 dog food manufacturers after it was discovered that there was melamine (a type of plastic) in much of their dog food. It was eventually traced back to a factory in China which manufactured rice protein and wheat gluten (neither of which have any real nutritional value for a dog). So what that means is that it doesn?t matter what standards the US based company may have for their production plants if the ingredients coming into the plant are already contaminated!

Although this happened a couple of years ago, what has changed to ensure that it can?t happen again? Melamine was recently found in milk powder that was produced under human food standards. So what about the lower standards that pet foods are produced under? While it may a completely accidental, even the possibility of having toxic plastics ending up in dogs food is completely unacceptable.

I know I don’t want to pick up the paper and find out that my dog’s food has plastic in it. We are ultimately responsible for our dogs health, not just that they get the right nutrition, but to make sure that their food is free from harmful chemicals too.

Apart from the accidental chemical additives what else is your German Shepherd really eating? Commonly there’s a carcinogenic preservative called ethoxyquin in many factory made dog foods. This preservative has been banned for decades from human food due to it?s toxic side effects. Factory workers who have been exposed to it exhibit symptoms similar to agent orange. But this toxic chemical is still being added to our dog?s food!

You won’t find it listed either, no matter how close you look. This is because fish meal when it is made gets treated with ethoxyquin, while it?s still on the boat. What this means is that fish meal might go into the food but the ingredients of the meal won?t be listed.

In some foods they promote the fact that there?s fish in there as a great source of protein and fatty acids, which is true. However if that fish is in the form of meal, then there?s a whole lot more going in than you bargained for. They could suffer from allergic reactions, cancer and liver failure. And this is something that supposed to be healthy!

For the sake of your German Shepherd it?s vital that you learn about dog health food. Commercially produced food is completely out of your control, you never really know what could be If you make your own then you can be absolutely sure that there?s no nasty chemicals and carcinogenic preservatives in your dog?s food. You can treat them to a variety of gourmet tastes and give them the very best nutrition possible.

Our dogs rely on us to provide them with the best possible food and care. To keep your best friend healthy and add years to their life, subscribe to our dog health food newsletter. You’ll find out exactly what goes into commercial dog food and how to make your own at home, cheaply and easily. Click here to subscribe http://www.dog-health-food.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/dog-health-food–1448997.html

We’ve all seen the wide spread dog food recalls, so it’s no surprise that more and more people are turning to dog health food. There are so many questions surrounding this topic so here’s a few common ones answered:

1. What Is Really Going Into Our Dog?s Food?

This is a really concerning question for many of us. There have been rumours and some of them sound too far fetched to be true, but what if they are? Some of the things that are put into most commercial dog foods could be seriously impacting on the health of your best friend.

One of the most common is a highly toxic preservative called ethoxyquin. This toxic chemical has been banned in human food for years but it seems to be ok to put it into our dog food. In dogs, ethoxyquin has been linked to allergies, immune deficiency syndromes and cancers of the spleen, stomach and liver.

Factory workers who have come into regular contact with ethoxyquin have exhibited side effects similar to agent orange, from hair loss and blindness to leukaemia. This is a pretty sobering thought when you fill up a bowl of dog food and tell your beloved dog to eat it all up.

But even apart from the chemical additives, there?s a lot of grain being used as a filler to add bulk to the food. Corn and wheat gluten which are useless by-products of human food production are routinely added. And it can be hard to figure out exactly how much of these fillers is really in your dog food. If you see two or three grains listed near the top of the ingredients list, it?s probably a sign that there?s a fair bit of filler in there.

2. Is It Doing Them Any Harm?

If you?ve read this far you?re probably aware that there can be some really nasty side effects from some of the common preservatives that are found on many commercial dog foods. The hard thing is that often it takes years for the most serious side effects to appear. This also means that unfortunately it might be too late to save them by the time symptoms become obvious.

Few dogs are born with a food allergy, but more and more they are developing an allergy or sensitivity later in life after years of eating discarded grain by-products. The effects of this can range from flatulence to excessive weight gain, and your dog can?t really tell you if they don?t feel well after they eat. Other signs can include lethargy and poor coat condition. Simply changing to the right food can add years to the life of your dog, as well as more energy and vitality.

3. Haven?t All The Bad Ones Been Recalled?

Now you might be asking if all the really nasty batches of dog food have been recalled. While many deadly batches of food have all been recalled, that doesn?t mean that the rest are necessarily safe. Toxic preservatives are routinely added and food allergies can cause a huge variety of nasty long term health problems.

At the end of the day, we never know when there?s going to another batch of commercial food that has been contaminated with plastic that could mean the end for our best friend. Do really want to be at the sharp end of the next scandal when you think about what it could mean for your dog.

4. What Are The Alternatives?

You might be wondering what you can feed your dog when there are so many nasty additives in commercial food. Well first of all, I want to make it clear that not every food is going to contain all of these horrible ingredients. By looking closely at the ingredients list you?ll be able to get rid of quite a few popular brands straightaway. Another thing to watch out for is fish meal, ethoxyquin is routinely added to fish meal so, unless it specifically states that it isn?t present, just don?t buy that food.

However, the only way to be completely sure of what is going into your dog?s food is to make it yourself. More and more people are taking this option. By giving your dogs some variety in their meals you can help to make sure that they live a long healthy life.

So making your own dog health food is a great way to do the best by your dog and often ends up being cheaper too. Why not give it try and see what your best friend thinks of your cooking!

Our dogs rely on us to provide them with the best possible food and care. To keep your best friend healthy and add years to their life, subscribe to our dog health food newsletter. You’ll find out exactly what goes into commercial dog food and how to make your own at home, cheaply and easily. Click here to subscribe http://www.dog-health-food.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/revealed-4-most-asked-dog-health-food-questions-1432620.html