A word about food from The Muttley Crew

As you all might notice, The Muttley Crew has undergone some big changes over the last two years. My idea of a “one-stop shop” for dogs is finally coming to fruition.  We have expanded our retail area and the amount of choices that dog owners have. Not only that, but we are carrying more and more products that are made in the U.S., and many of our treats are made locally, with organic and free-range ingredients. Most are now grain-free.

When we first opened, we stocked a few dog food choices that I thought were good, quality foods.  I have always fed my own dogs what I felt was premium quality food.  Like many of you reading this, we treat our dogs like part of the family. Unfortunately, I lost my beloved French bulldog two years ago to intestinal cancer. This was a huge blow to both me and my family. He was the second dog we had lost to cancer in the last few years. Since then, I have done a huge amount of research into pet food and pet nutrition.    

As a pet groomer, I am seeing more and more different types of cancer, more and more dogs with skin issues, food-related health issues, and behavior problems. I have been in the pet business about 30 years, and I see the problems growing by leaps and bounds.  Back when I opened my first grooming shop in 1980, I hardly ever saw dogs with skin problems. Granted this was when I lived in Colorado and had no fleas to contend with – but this was at a time when most of us fed our inexpensive grocery store dog foods. The dogs all seemed to do just fine on these foods.  Still I see so many dogs with food related problems. What is happening? What are we feeding our pets that is so bad that it is causing these problems?

First we have to look at one of the main culprits.....corn. Corn is added to many, if not most, pet foods.  Corn is an inexpensive foodstuff that supplies calories and minimal nutrition. It is also has a very high glycemic index, meaning that the carbohydrates supplied by corn quickly turn to sugar in the blood. A high sugar intake can result in your pet becoming diabetic.  Diabetes is also a growing concern with pets.  I see more pets each year with this terrible disease.  If you read the ingredients on most pet foods, corn will be one of the first things on the list.  Some grocery store foods and treats even contain corn syrup.  This is not only added to the food during processing, but may be sprayed on after drying to enhance the taste, thereby hooking your pet on a sugary diet.

The cheapest and simplest of sugars, corn syrup is believed to be the main culprit in obesity in pets as well as humans.  Dogs do not need sugar in any form. Sugar can not only cause diabetes, but it is a major cause of cataracts and chronic ear infections. Corn is also one of the ingredients that pets easily develop allergies to.  Chronically itchy or scaly skin, moist dermatitis, “hot spots,” and smelly skin and ears are some symptoms of a corn allergy. Most of this can be completely cured by a change in diet.

The other problem with corn is the amount of pesticides used to grow the corn. Not only is the pesticide not washed off before processing, but the runoff from corn fields seeps into ground water. Typical pet foods contain an alarming amount of pesticides.

Other grains can also be problematic:

·         Soy is another ingredient used in the food. It is used mostly to keep costs down. Some will argue that this is a good source of protein. But in pet foods, the bean itself is rarely used. Instead, pet foods often include the husk or some other sort of leftover. Again, many pets develop allergies to soy. 

·         Wheat allergies are also very common in pets as well as humans.  Some foods use wheat gluten meal which is basically glue.

·         Rice is another starch that provides basically empty calories.  Brown rice is better than white since it is not as refined and not so high in sugar, but it still can cause skin problems and again ear infections.

Naturally, meat is the best form of protein for pets. All dogs and cats need meat and fat to be healthy. Typical grocery store dog foods contain mostly meat by-product. By-products are basically leftovers—things you or I would never consider eating—from butchering for human consumption. Next you’ll read chicken meal, lamb meal, or some other sort of animal meal. The meal is at least mostly meat product.  But it is ground and dried, and most pet foods never say whether it is human grade or pet grade.  The latter could be made from meat labeled unfit for human consumption, such as that from diseased animals.  Some pet foods don’t have any “meat” in them at all.  They contain feathers, beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and other unusable parts boiled down and then dried to make a protein-based powder.  We all remember the recent pet food recall from the use of melamine contamination.  The melamine was used because it mimics a protein.  Some of the recalled food was what most people considered “premium” food.

We also have to look at the use of fillers in pet foods. One of the most popular foods on sale at veterinary clinics contains ground peanut shells and husks. This filler makes your pet feel full, but it has no nutritional value. Other fillers found in pet foods include wood pulp, tomato pumice, and ground corn cob. You get the idea. Your pet needs fiber just as we do; however, they should be getting the fiber from vegetables and fruits, just as we do.

Finally, how is all of this stuff in our pet’s food preserved? BHA and BHT are two of the things used to preserve animal products, as is beet root (another form of sugar). Some pet foods, even those so-called premium foods that contain fish product—fish, by the way, is great for your dog—are preserved with ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin has been banned from human consumption. It is considered to be carcinogenic.

I’ll include a few websites that you should visit to check all this out for yourself.

www.dogfoodanalysis.com

www.api4animals.org/petfood.htm

www.resteddoginn.ca/petfood.php

Of course, I am not a vet nor do I claim to know what causes cancer in pets. But my research and logic tell me that we may well be harming our pets by feeding them corn syrup and meat that is unfit for humans. That is the reason I have decided to only carry pet food that use only human-grade products and has been produced in factories that are monitored by the FDA. Most of these foods are produced with free-range meats. None contain any grain and all are more in line with a primal diet. All of them are preserved with Vitamin C and Vitamin E instead of chemicals. 

Along with the new kibble, I will soon be stocking some of the frozen raw diets, as well as canned green tripe made from beef, lamb, and venison. Tripe is an excellent addition to your pet’s diet, and is especially great for pets with sensitive stomachs. It contains digestive enzymes that help our pets more completely benefit from all the nutrients in their diet. 

I urge you to try our new pet foods and see for yourself.  Your pets will thank you.

I hope that all of our changes will benefit both you and your canine pal. I will continue to strive for excellence in all aspects of The Muttley Crew: grooming, daycare and our NEW retail area.

Sincerely,

Jeff Slaughter

Owner of The Muttley Crew