I recently received this thoughtful and heartfelt email letter from a listener who was once a Veterinary Technician and is now a student becoming a medical doctor for humans. Her concerns are ones I have definitely raised before, but her passion for information and transparency about how most pet foods are made inspired me to share it with you. It reaffirmed my commitment to Halo’s dry foods because of their commitment to never, ever use rendered meat products in their kibble: that is the basic explanation for why Halo kibble may seem costlier than some other premium brands of dry food — their fundamental protein source is a higher quality that costs them more. For myself and my dogs, I never want to think about the possibility that someone’s loved pet (along with all the drugs in her body, her flea collars and rabies tags) is possibly in my dogs’ dinner bowls. It’s a peace of mind and health benefit for which I am grateful to pay a little more. Here is Jessica’s letter to me:

I am an avid listener of Dog Talk® and Humane Talk™, and would like to make a suggestion for a subject I’d love to hear you talk about. I was never really aware how much certain commercial pet food companies actually use rendered pets in their dog and cat food until I read an article on Dog Food Advisor (http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-industry-exposed/dogs-meat-meal/). Not only pet food, but also the other products (like soap and cosmetics) surprised me because these were commercial products I’ve been buying and had no idea.

I was disgusted to learn that when you put your pet to sleep and choose to leave them with the vet (maybe due to not being able to afford to get the ashes or lack of a place to bury), vets often sell the deceased animals to the rendering plants, tags and all. But the scariest part about this is that the Pentobarbital used to euthanize these animals never breaks down. And in 1996 veterinarians began to notice that it was requiring larger amounts of this drug to euthanize animals — the animals fed these foods had in fact, built up a tolerance over their lives! I couldn’t believe that these disgusting pet food companies are not only feeding our pets other pets (awful enough), but the chemicals we use to end their lives! And it has been proven that not even the rendering process can deteriorate pentobarbital. Sadly these companies include the biscuits on supermarket shelves which many people I know who spend tons of money on high quality dog food still give to their dogs. I have to say it’s an awkward conversation to have with your friend when you know what they are giving to their pet and they already think they’ve done everything right.

I would love it if at some point you would address this issue which could help listeners be more aware (as if the other reasons not to feed commercial pet food were reason enough) about this issue, especially the thought of your beloved pet going into commercial dog food when he passes away. Perhaps encouraging people to find out what disposal method their vet uses before they have to make this kind of decision.

I really admire your journalism and your will to spread the word of what is right. As a former vet tech (before switching gears to go to medical school) I always shuddered at the “vet diets” the vet gave out, but had I ever said anything I would have been fired. So I always hoped people could find the information in other ways. I hope you know how indirectly you have influenced the lives of so many animals through your listeners who spread the information to other pet owners.

Thank you for everything you do!

When I read this letter aloud on my Sirius/XM satellite radio show CAT CHAT® last week it was right before my guest for the show — Dr. Annie Forslund, a veterinarian from Tustin California who specializes in home pet euthanasia (www.homepeteuthanasia.com) came on. (You can hear her on DOG TALK® this week discussing end-of-life issues and “when it is time.” She will be coming back on the show soon to share her own knowledge about the presence of companion animals in rendered meat products.)

Nobody wants to admit they are carrying extra pounds — even though the vast majority of us realize that we have a little “tire around the middle” or thighs, or wherever your body tends to store its extra adipose stash (nice word for FAT which is such an unwelcome word in our culture!) We all know we could stand to take off a few pounds and also know that if we could reduce our calories by making our food portions slightly smaller — say 10% smaller — and substitute protein and vegetables for highly starchy carbohydrates, that we could lose a nice inch or two. Maybe even 10% of our body weight. And not only would our clothes fit better, but we’d feel better — lighter on our feet, less pressure on joints that might have gotten stiff or achy, and probably even increased energy.

Guess what? The very same issues apply to our dogs, who are anywhere from chubby or plump to outright obese — usually because we over-indulge them with treats and overfill their dinner bowls. Most of us have lost a clear picture of what a healthy dog looks like because most of us have let our pets expand too much. The problem with this is that all of the problems that extra pounds can cause in humans can have even more impact on the quality of your dog’s life, especially if she is a larger dog, say above 50 pounds. Dogs tend to carry extra weigh behind the neck and across their shoulders. The swiftest way to find out the truth about whether your dog is too fat is whether you can grab a handful of flesh behind the collar. Don’t kid yourself that this is “just his skin” because if that handful feels plump and spongy, you’re looking at handfuls of extra fat, attractively concealed beneath your handsome dog’s skin or fur. This weight puts extra pressure on the front legs and can cause joint and tendon problems. Since so many larger dogs get torn ligaments in their hind knees, reducing that extra weight and pressure on the front end will go a long way to reducing the likelihood that your dog will suffer from this debilitating and costly problem of a torn ACL. If she has already torn her ligament and had surgery, reducing her weight will assure you of a better recovery and long-term soundness.

I have suffered the problem of added weight in both my rescued Weimaraners. My big tall Scooby Doo tore his second ACL joint last year and the fantastic orthopedic surgeon Faulkner Besancon (at Upstate Veterinary Specialties in Latham, New York) put him back together. But he also admonished me to take some serious weight off of Scooby. Dr. Besancon grabbed a big fistful of skin behind Scooby’s collar and was able to do the same on his ribcage. He said Scooby’s life depended on me getting off this extra weight, which I had been telling myself was “all dog, just a big dog.” Scooby has such pronounced arthritis in his front knees that the vet said the extra weight would literally be the death of him and at some point would limit Scooby’s ability to walk. He said Scooby needed to lose at least 10% of his body weight (129.5 lbs. at the time).

I took his advice seriously and applied the “high protein low carbohydrate” concept to Scooby’s dinner bowl. For three months I removed all dry food and fed him increased meat (or cottage cheese, eggs, yogurt etc) and vegetables. Let me tell you that it was a revelation because we went WAY beyond 10%. It took six months of steady loss but Scooby was 89.5 lbs. yesterday and feeling fine. He’s back on his portion of Halo Spot’s stew kibble now as part of his two daily meals, and he still gets Liv-a-Little biscuits and freeze-dried chicken and salmon as treats, but I will never overfeed like I had been.

Yesterday I had to take my other enormous Weimaraner to Dr. B. because Teddy has been off-and-on lame on his front leg for over six months. It appears to be a problem with shoulder tendonitis and more tests have to be done, but when Dr. Besancon grabbed a big handful of Teddy behind his collar, and squeezed another handful on the side of his ribcage, I knew Teddy was headed for the high protein diet too. He is now 103 lbs. and my goal is a 10% reduction in his weight to 90-something lbs. I hope you’ll be inspired to do the same for your dog before that extra weight causes health problems.

Of course we could apply the same program to ourselves and wind up pretty satisfied, too! I’m about to make a lunch of cottage cheese and raw vegetables for myself. I want to go on the Doggy Diet too!

At Thanksgiving this year I was thinking of what I could give my dogs as a special holiday meal. We all know by now that the leftovers of the meal we people eat are usually way too rich and fatty for them (and probably for us, too!), but there’s still that urge to give them a special yummy meal. I was remembering that it was right around this time last year that I had a lot of fun going on some regional network affiliate television shows and showing folks how to cook a Thanksgiving meal for their pets.

I was the spokesperson for the Petco natural food department at the time, and they really do things right. When I got to the TV studio I discovered that there was already a whole display of diced vegetables that had been arranged by a professional “food prep” person. It was a layout of the fresh ingredients that looked like something Martha would do (except she, too, has food prep people who chop, dice and arrange her ingredients!) I was really impressed by the array of diced vegetables for this Thanksgiving stew I was going to demonstrate on the air — carrot, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, green peas, green beans — I couldn’t believe how delicious it looked! Then there were bowls of diced cooked turkey, and of rolled oats and of barley. The food preparation professional had it presented like a human buffet platter, something you’d see in a magazine.

There was a big pot on a TV kitchen stove and when they started filming (it was a live segment) I poured each of these beautiful ingredients into the cook pot as I talked about the importance of using high quality natural ingredients in your dog’s dinner bowl, much to the television host’s surprise. As I spooned each of the ingredients into the cooking pot I said that anyone could make a holiday stew like this for their dog out of similar ingredients they might have at home. Then I came to small bowl of what looked like a dried herb and saw that the food professional had left the container next to it so that I could identify this mystery ingredient: it was a bottle of dried kelp, which had come from a health food store. I realized that seaweed was a pretty obscure ingredient — a great one for its health benefits — and suddenly I realized where the recipe for this home-cooked doggy feast must have come from: Halo for Pets! I have always admired the ingredient list in Spot’s Stew in a can — and especially remembered that it included dried kelp. It’s an unusual and expensive ingredient — having it in the food was confirmation of the sort of hidden touches of health Halo slips into their foods (like the bits of freeze dried vegetables surrounding the kibble in their dry food).

The food prep lady had also pre-cooked the stew and put it into a pretty dog bowl, so people watching television could see the result. Frankly, it looked a little dreary cooked up this way — like oatmeal porridge. “Do you cook like this for your dogs?” the TV host asked me. “I would,” I said, “Except that this recipe is clearly the one for Spot’s Stew, and when Halo puts this in a can it actually looks a lot better than I can do it myself!”

Remembering that adventure inspired me to put away my own cook pot and instead go online to Petflow.com, where I ordered a whole case of Spot’s Stew in a can! Now I’ll have their special meal ready to serve on any national holiday or the dogs birthdays (I put DOGTALK in the code box when I check out at Petflow.com and get free shipping, too!)

You should not have to be afraid of putting a premium kibble in your dog’s bowl! A nicely created dry dog food is healthy as (at least as part of) your dog’s meal. Kibble may have gotten a bad rap because lower-quality kibble (like the majority sold in the supermarket) is subjected to artificial flavoring, preservatives, sugars, coloring agents and chemicals for texture or shape. This is the reason some people shun kibble at all for their dogs. But all kibble is not created equal! My dogs have kibble as part of every meal. I happen to have chosen HALO from all the possible brands because the company is transparent about where their ingredients come from and how they are handled. They only use good stuff- real meat for the protein and whole ingredients for the rest. There are even charming little bits of dried veggies in with the kibble pieces in some of the recipes!

Although the food value of ingredients can be somewhat compromised by the kibbling process, you still want to look for whole foods that went into making that dry food. You want to look for a protein source by its name (lamb, salmon, chicken) and also any whole grain. There is a lot of misunderstanding out there about grains in dry dog food when it is not the grains that are the problem — a “grain free” kibble is not necessarily better nutrition for your dog. You won’t see corn in any quality kibble because it is rarely whole corn that is used in pet food and corn “leftovers” are not nearly as nutrient rich. The worry about grain in dog food usually refers to wheat which can be allergenic. But many pet food companies use the leftovers of grains, the nutrient-depleted parts that are left after the good part has been used for human food. Look for words like oats, oatmeal, barley, millet, and white or brown rice, which are all good because they are easily digested and all good sources of complex carbohydrates, which supply fiber, along with a consistent level of energy.

All of us need to learn to read the label on bagged dog food and be able to recognize all sorts of ingredients to avoid. My favorite saying about dry dog food is: Res Ipsa Loquitor (the thing speaks for itself). You can easily see when a food is made up of many highly processed chemical-laden ingredients — if you aren’t sure, look up the ingredients list in my book THE DOG BIBLE to find the “Ingredients to Avoid.”

Many brands of kibble utilize the protein portion of their recipes from a rendering process, by which a wide variety of very different meat ingredients (some from decidedly unsavory sources which are discussed in THE DOG BIBLE) are reduced down into a kind of Mystery Meat soup through extremely high heat cooking. This is done to kill any bacteria or diseases in the ingredients (since many of those “meats” are actually parts of animals that may have been sick or died before being rendered). This rendered meat concoction is the final product, which can also be used in making kibble. Some original sources of protein for dry dog food are even subjected to irradiation to neutralize the toxic or rotten ingredients, which means at that point they have removed whatever true food value was in those elements to begin with. Then the extruded kibble dough that has been cut into circles or triangles and been baked or fried is sprayed with fat (for flavor) and with man-made versions of the vitamins and minerals that would have been in the ingredients in the first place.

The higher price of HALO is a result of using whole ingredients and never using rendered meats or by-product meat meals. I know I am getting what I paid for — and glad to do it for my dog’s long-lasting health!

People are a little confused about how kibble is made and what goes into it. It’s true that the ingredients in a dog food factory are heavily managed — by frying, boiling or crushing — as part of being turned into a dough that is then made into the small nuggets you find in the bag. Kibble is made by subjecting even good quality ingredients to high heat in order to make the dough, so which then passes through an extruder (like what is used to make pasta if you have ever seen a machine for home use). After it exits the machine and is cut into the appropriate shape, it is baked or fried. All this processing can break down the nutrients in any food but a high quality pet food company has studied how to retain or replace those nutrients — and in some cases, to make them even more digestible and usable by the dog’s body.

Good kibble is perfectly fine as long as it is not the only thing your dog ever eats. People who want to feed their dog the best quality meals and use whole, real food will still continue to use the best kibble they can find as about one-third to one-half of their dog’s dinner. This is especially true of larger, more active dogs who really need those extra calories and quality carbohydrates to feel full and have energy. Dry dog food can satisfy hunger over many hours and supply a nice balance of nutrients, even in their processed state.

If you wish, you can supply a variety of other food (in as unprocessed a form as possible) to complete the meal, in addition to a good kibble. Myself, I like Halo and I rotate amongst the three protein sources in every bag of dry food I buy — chicken, fish or lamb. I round out my dogs’ dinner by also putting in their bowls quality protein (from canned dog food, cottage cheese, eggs or protein I cook for them or myself), real vegetables and even some fruit.

Dog Talk® Quiz

I have had such fun answering the dog and cat questions that arrive every day from Freekibble.com because I learn something — but also often have a good laugh. The best part of the Freekibble quizzes is that (right or wrong) by answering I participate in kibble from HALO going to shelters, so it’s all good! This DOG TALK® quiz is just for the heck of it — a snappy way to remind you to avoid low quality kibble and make a premium dry food like HALO fundamental in your dog’s dish, as I do.

Corn in dog foods is counted as a protein — this makes no sense because:

1)    Corn is not displayed in the meat department of a food store since it is not an actual protein food
2)    Corn is a plant which grows in a field — and makes good (although unhealthy) snack chips for people
3)    Corn is appropriate to fatten animals raised for human food like cattle and chickens — nobody wants to eat their own Labrador so why feed him as if they do?

Artificial colors and flavors should not be in dog foods because:

1) Dogs don’t need coloring in their food because they are colorblind
2) Synthetic flavorings are unnecessary since most dogs will eat food that is fresh and made from wholesome ingredients
3) Artificial enhancements are chemicals with potentially harmful effects

A dog’s body can get benefits from complex carbohydrates when they are:

1)    Carbs like whole grains which have digestive benefits
2)     Not in the food primarily as a cheap filler to make a dog feel full
3)     Fibrous vegetables but never corn

Brewer’s rice is (the discarded portion of rice after human food manufacturing has finished with the actual rice) is in many prescription dog foods so people are fooled into thinking it must be:

1)   A really nutritious kind of rice, used by brewers to make alcoholic beverages
2)   It is real rice and better than corn
3)    A good kind of multi-purpose rice like Indian Basmati rice

BHA, BHT, TBHQ & Ethoxyquin as preservatives in a dog food tells you something important about a kibble:

1)    Chemical preservatives can keep pet foods from going bad for a very long time on the shelf
2)    The “food scientists” developed some of these chemicals for human foods where they can’t use them anymore, so might as well give them to the dogs!
3)    These chemicals are proven to cause serious health threats to pets — quality kibble uses natural preservatives instead

Some dogs are so gassy they can empty a room. This is because:

1)    Intestinal gas in a dog — especially if it is odorous — is a sign of poor digestion; either a diet is too carb-heavy or may include lower quality ingredients
2)    Some dogs are just stinkers — keep a pack of matches around to light when they let one loose
3)    Dogs make gas because they cannot burp.

Dog foods that contain sugar or corn syrup add it because:

1)    Everybody loves sweet things and dogs deserve to have some fun, too
2)    Dogs have a sweet tooth so it’s natural for manufacturers to take advantage of that
3)    By adding sweeteners a dog food manufacturer can entice a dog to eat otherwise unappetizing highly-processed kibble that is mostly inexpensive carbohydrates

The word “chicken” or “lamb” in the first position on a pet food label is important because:

1)  You want to know what flavor the food is so you know what your dog prefers
2)  The first ingredient is the most plentiful in a pet food and you want a formula with quality protein predominating
3)  The order of words doesn’t matter as long as chicken is in there somewhere

There are many by-products of meat and poultry in the human food chain which are delicious and nutritious — but these are NOT the ones used by pet food companies that admit to having “by products” in their food!  In fact, the quick way to determine whether you are dealing with a low quality food is to check if the word “by-products” (meat or poultry) appears on their label. This word has come to be associated with lower-quality dog and cat foods, many of which frequently use “by-products” as the basis of the protein content of their food — but when by-products appears on a label, especially near the top of the ingredient list, it means there is little to none of what we think of as protein (meat) and a whole lot of nasty ingredients you’d probably rather not hear about!

Where people are concerned, there are excellent “auxiliary” parts of animals in the food chain to nourish the body and delight the palate (if you are so inclined!).  Rustic French and Italian country cooking often features the organ meats or the parts of slaughtered cattle, pigs or chickens that were historically cooked inventively by poor folk: lungs, spleen, kidneys, thymus gland, brains, liver, and more. This country cuisine evolved from peasants who could not afford the finer cuts of actual meat and had to make do with all the leftover parts of the slaughtered animals after the wealthier people consumed the actual meat. A good example is the cow’s stomach, which is known as “tripe” and when eaten by people is called trippa alla Livornese when cooked by the Italians, or tripes a la mode de Caen when made by the French.

In theory, meat by-products in pet food could include many of these nutritious organs of the slaughtered animals, which people in Asia and Europe continue to eat, even when they can afford meat. In human cuisine, we think of by-products as typically anything except the actual flesh or muscle-meat of the animal.  However, the by-products that go into pet food are not these fresh, intact body parts of animals used for human consumption. By-products in pet food are whatever is left behind on the slaughterhouse floor after the muscle meat, organs and anything usable for human food has been processed.

In the case of “poultry by-product” in pet food, it is actually defined as “heads, feet and viscera, with an allowable amount of feces and ‘foreign matter.’” While chicken feet might possibly have nutritional value (another poultry body part sometimes found in “poor man’s” rustic cuisine, I doubt that you understood that the ingredients called “by-products” in your pet’s food included chicken heads and a “reasonable” amount of chicken manure and “foreign matter,” which is frankly too frightening to even contemplate and could be anything off the floor, including industrial waste.  Additionally, once by-products are destined for pet food, they can legally be handled with little care in terms of food safety and can be subjected to hot weather, kept in uncovered containers where flies can lay eggs, etc.

When the by-products (or expired meat, which comes from the supermarket to go into pet food still in its Styrofoam and plastic wrappings — which can also legally be included in the final recipe) reach the pet food factory, everything is thrown into a big vat for high temperature boiling to theoretically purify out all the contamination (and much of the nutrition).

In addition, many other sources of “meat” are often included in this “by product” concoction for pets – including dead animals removed from roadsides (“road kill”), farm animals that die before slaughter (usually from illness or disease), and euthanized shelter animals or privately owned pets that have been put to sleep. There is the problem with pet foods that once “by products” are introduced, all the ingredients in that recipe are then designated as “not fit for humans” then there is no attention to the cleanliness or “food safety” handling techniques and temperatures of these ingredients.

A big note of caution: by-products can also include the brain – which is one of the locations for Mad Cow Disease, which can be transmitted through consumption. This means that when you see “by-product meal” on a pet food label you basically want to take a detour. If you want to feed your dog nutritious organ meats, you’ll be best off getting it from the human butcher counter.

Myself, the only kibble I will feed is HALO because they have a strict rule that by-products will never find their way into the recipe.

Do not be confused or fooled by dry dog foods that advertise themselves as being “grain free” and therefore supposedly healthier. Those foods have to use some sort of carbohydrate source to hold the dough together that becomes kibble — and many are using potatoes, which are not just a starch (also known as a carbohydrate) but are also high on the glycemic index (for example, diabetic people need to stay away from potatoes). All the same, starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and white potatoes are all excellent sources of healthy carbohydrates, too, but again you want to make sure they are whole versions of those foods, and not the discarded, damaged leftovers of food that was made for people. Sometimes you will see “pea” or “pea flour” used in place of other carbohydrate sources, and that can be a good ingredient, too. But do not be confused into thinking that there is inherently something wrong with grain in dry dog food — quite the contrary.

Whole, gently processed grains are excellent sources of energy in your dog’s food. Of course, there is an understandable push-back about the heavy presence of corn in bagged dog foods – usually found in the supermarket brands or the lower cost/lower quality foods (you can read more on that topic in THE DOG BIBLE or on my website in other blogs I have written or Q&A’s posted there – where I say that corn has become a four-letter word in the pet food world).

However, there are many grains that are terrific carbohydrate sources as long as they are not sourced from the broken-down remnant components of those ingredients from the human food production process. You want to choose dry dog food that utilizes whole grains like rice or brown rice (as opposed to “brewer’s rice”), or whole ground barley or oatmeal — not flour made of these ingredients or fragments of these carbohydrate sources.

–Tracie Hotchner

I recently got a call on DOG TALK® from a lady who has two miniature Dachshunds.  She was glad to say that because of my recommendation that her little guys eat Halo kibble — which is the dry food I use for my lucky pups, too. However she said she was in the process of getting a new dog — a Saluki — which, by the way, happens to be one of the truly elegant and fascinating ancient breed of dogs.  I was alarmed when she said that because her dog food bill would now be higher could I recommend a less expensive brand of food than Halo? “NO!” I nearly shouted into the microphone, “Absolutely not!”  I was so astonished that she would even consider giving up Halo kibble, which I believe to be made of the highest quality protein and vegetables — without any of the scary trash ingredients that are “hidden” inside so many dog food bags (yet admitted to on the label, if anybody takes the time to read them). “No!” I repeated again, in case she missed how high my blood pressure had shot up. “Your gorgeous new Saluki deserves at least as good nutrition as the Mini Doxies have been getting.  The very last place you want to economize with your pets is on the quality of their food — it is a false economy since good nutrition equals good health equals less vet bills and physical problems. Also, you need to feed less quantity of a quality food like Halo since it is more nutritious and since it lacks all the empty calories and starchy fillers of cheaper foods, you’ll also have less waste to pick up (doesn’t mean so much with a little Dachshund, but you’ll be grateful with the Saluki at ‘bathroom time!’) You have found the pinnacle of excellence with Halo — do not even think of back-sliding down what is really a very slippery slope into the invisible slop that way too many dog food manufacturers slip into their recipes.”

Heavens to Betsy, that nice lady really shook me up, worrying that someone would make the all-important switch to a truly premium food like Halo and somehow not realize how fundamentally important it was to their dogs’ overall well-being.

And if that nice lady is reading this now, I sure would love a photo of that glamorous Saluki for the photo gallery on my website. Send it to RadioPetLady@gmail.com.  Also, under “Books I Love” on my website you’ll find a truly terrific award-winning book on the whole history of the Saluki breed- it’s a treat!

–Tracie Hotchner

Elizabeth asked for advice on switching dog food for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Hi Tracie!

You are so sweet! Oh my gosh, I LOVE my new dog-child. She is so sweet and adorable but a lot of work! I forgot how much work it is to have a puppy. She was born December 19th and she is huge! The biggest paws! Diane Monahan told me that she and her brother were from a reputable breeder who turned the puppies over to Friends For Pets because he ran into financial trouble.

Anyway, Taylor was a little jealous at first but now they are friends. They play together and chase each other around, it is so cute! I try to make sure I give equal time to them so there are no hurt feelings. Plus, they both sleep with me! I think they have a pretty good life.

Thank you for all of the great info that you send me. I have turned a number of people on to your website and my friend (who I gave The Dog Bible) loves the book! I am going to order it for myself. I will have to check out the “Proportions” website. Thank you for all of the cool stuff!

I need your advise! I am giving my girls half Merrick and half Innova. I had to switch Taylor’s food 3 times since I have had her because she had diarrhea. Now she is fine with what I am feeding her (no diarrhea). Do you think this is good dog food for them or should I try something else that is better? If you could give me your opinion I would totally appreciate it!

Elizabeth

As I said, the newest idea in feeding is based on my theories and is called www.Proportions.com. Get a free trial of the new food, add some white rice (even chinese or japanese take out rice) to the food during the transition also, for sure, buy DIGEST ALL PLUS from Wholistic Pet Organics. Both my Weims are on it (a little scoop in every meal) since Weims are very at risk for bloat. You need to teach their stomachs to digest more than kibble. Kibble alone is not a balanced healthy whole food diet. Order the lamb kibble with the Proportions (you have a choice), the most digestible protein source.

–Tracie Hotchner

The Dog Bible

I got this email (almost in “code,” but didn’t want to alter or correct it and remove its original flavor. Also, now you can see the sort of mysteries I often have to unravel!)

Hi miss Tracey I heard your pet broadcast from ny two sat nites in a row and enjoy it. I have a mixed terier 20 lbsblack Smokey is his name one year old. I feed him beneful dog food dry. I was feeding him two scooops in the morn and one more at nite I followed your advice and cut it to one with alt egg, yogart, and cottage cheese he seems to like it even the blueberry flavor! should I be concerned with the asparatine? and started giving him fish oil omega31200mg every other day? too much sorry for the lengthy e mail one more question I keep him in his cage during the day<he can’t be trusted>is 8 hours too long in his cage? thanks pete

Okay Pete — here’s the deal. I am THRILLED that you got the message that Smokey needs less of the highly processed carbohydrates that are in kibble and more real food, especially protein. That is really excellent. Now we have to clear up the issue of how to read the label on a dog food bag, which you can read all about on my website www.TracieHotchner.com and use the Google tool bar to find everything on dog nutrition.  The food you are feeding is one that will not pass the test of the ingredients to avoid in a quality dry dog food — with corn among the first ingredients this is always a warning sign of a dry dog food that is not using quality ingredients that are healthy for dogs. There should not be any corn in a good dry food — and it certainly should not be amongst the first 5 ingredients. The very first word in a premium dog food is the name of the protein source: beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, salmon, etc. Also Beneful contains artificial colors and flavors which are also on the list for ingredients to avoid in any dry dog food, along with by-products, chemical preservatives, sugars of any kind, and words like “powdered  cellulose,” which means “sawdust.” Why don’t you go to www.SmartpakCanine.com and get a free 5 day supply of one of the really superior dog foods they carry — their own brand of chicken or lamb kibble is called Live Smart and is a really good price. It also will come in sealed package with just the right amount for Smokey at each meal. For his size, ½ cup per meal is going to be plenty. Then you want to add about ½ cup of quality protein — eggs, cottage cheese, any kind of meat — or the equal amount from a good canned dog food. My book The Dog Bible explains how to read the label of canned dog food, too. Definitely avoid any flavors in yogurt – plain whole milk yogurt is best — and you’re right to worry about the synthetic sweeteners in flavored yogurt because aspartame is especially bad for dogs. The fish oil is a great thing to be adding but one capsule of a quality brand like Nordic Naturals is just right for Smokey since it’s one capsule for every 20 lbs. SmartpakCanine.com has salmon oil capsules if you want to order from there since they only charge one low shipping price.

As for caging him for that amount of time, NO! It is not okay. I really want you to call into the show so we can discuss what you mean by him not being trustworthy…? A dog needs to have some freedom, even if it is in a confined area, and we need to get Smokey out of jail ASAP.  Thanks for writing Pete — now give me a call!

Tracie

The Dog Bible