# bad news



## meme (Jul 13, 2010)

Do not feed your dog any dog food that has corn in it and by products. Lots of dog food has the dead animals from the pound in it like kibbles and bits,all the vets say get science diet but its bad, same with cat food.The food i suggest is blue buffalo, or four health dog food,you can get this dog food at tractor supply, or pet smart but you can get it cheaper at tractor supply.





                                       if you are giving your dog healthy dog food good job if you are not please switch.

                              by
                               thanks


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 14, 2010)

What?  Are you saying the dog food manufacturers are putting dead dogs and cats from the pound in their food?


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## glenolam (Jul 14, 2010)

Is this why my dogs and cats play "dead" so well?


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## jodief100 (Jul 14, 2010)

I have heard that rumor for years about shelter kills being made into dog food.  Usualy told to me by someone trying to sell me some very expensive "natural" dog food.  I have never been able to confirm it.

I am not saying its not true, but I find it very improbable.  Since the majority of americians feed this kind of food, dogs would be constantly getting sick but the facts show dogs are living healthier lives than ever.    Shelter dogs are euthanized by drugs that make the meat toxic.  Common sense would say that dog food manufacturers do not want to kill thier customers.  I don't see processing shelter animals being cost effective , tranportation and logistics alone would be a huge expense.   

Brands such as Kibbles and Bits and Purina use a lot of fillers such as rice and soy and less meat.  They cost less but you have to feed more.  

As for corn, some dogs can digest it, some can't. I volunteer in Greyhound Rescue and greyhounds cannot eat corn.  We recomend Nutro and Blue dog food.


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## lupinfarm (Jul 14, 2010)

It is highly unlikely as the chemicals/medications used for euthansia would never pass health inspection and dog food IS inspected. We have a local pet food company that provides those who want it with raw and cooked kibbles. You guessed it, they're also the deadstock guy and they cannot turn animals (horses, cows, ect.) into dogfood if they have been given ANY medications during the euthansia. Thats why they carry a gun.


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## greenfamilyfarms (Jul 14, 2010)

As a very short term volunteer at an animal shelter, I have to say that the sad truth is that the carcasses of the animals are disposed of in the county landfill.


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## michickenwrangler (Jul 14, 2010)

The local pund here has a large mass grave/burial pit for the euthanized animals.

ETA

Besides, feeding dogs dogs would eventually result in problems similar to mad cow disease. No animals are meant to be cannibals of their own species. Head-hunting tribes in the South Pacific suffer from some kind of brain malfunction when they eat too much human flesh, that's what caused the mad-cow scare a few years ago, cattle were being fed beef. Ingesting our own protein somehow makes our own cells go haywire.

From a survival standpoint, any animal that eats its own kind is counter-productive to the whole survival thing.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 14, 2010)

Dead dogs and cats are most certainly NOT made into dog food.


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## Wynette (Jul 14, 2010)

It's highly likely that pets ARE being made into dog food.  Read the book, Foods Pets Die For.  

http://www.homevet.com/petcare/foodbook.html

Zoo animals, even roadkill, are routinely used.  It's unfortunate and frankly, somewhat gross.


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## Nifty (Jul 14, 2010)

I think jodief100 hit a few key points on the head.   From a business POV can you imagine what would happen to companies like Purina, etc. if someone had solid proof and went public that Fido and Princess were being recycled into food?  The outrage would be enough to kill the company in one quick blow.  I doubt any of them would take that kind of chance to save money on "meat".   CNN would have a field day, top headline news for weeks if someone blew the whistle (if there was a whistle to blow).


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## Wynette (Jul 14, 2010)

I hope you're right, Nifty!


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## rodriguezpoultry (Jul 14, 2010)

This leaves me the odd woman out...

But I don't see the huge issue from a humane point of view. Animals are being put down by the minute, why should these carcasses not be used to feed other animals? It's not different than a dog eating a rabbit or other carcass that's been on the side of the road for a week.

If it's a means to save money by the company, as well as maintain low prices for pet owners, I see no issue. 

Animals will continue to be put down as long as overpopulation is still an issue...this could be one way to deal with the overpopulation as well as provide ingredients into dog/cat foods. 

I don't see how it's any different than feeding bone meal from chickens? The chicks are being butchered anyway...so why not use as much of the carcass as possible?


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## Wynette (Jul 14, 2010)

I wouldn't think it's such a bad thing, honestly - that's a good use of a carcass if you ask me.  

There are several things mentioned in the book I posted the link to - it's been awhle since I read it, but I recall the author speaks about euthanized pets from vet hospitals being picked up to be used in pet foods.  The problem lies in that the drugs they use for the euthanizing remain in the pet...also, many folks leave collars on (believe or not) as well as flea collars & such.  Foods have been tested to have very high metal content due to the metal in the collars and tags.  Also, roadkill is used...which many times is already rotting.  I can't imagine that would be good for pet food.

In my personal opinion, if you stick to a premium brand (I stick with Wysong, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, etc.), it's probably less likely that it will have these things in it.


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## meme (Jul 14, 2010)

I am the person who wrote the bad news story.I forgot to say one thing after they kill the cat, or dog they put plastic over the dog, and they do not take off the collar. This can give your dogs diseases.Like mad cow disease, and many others.My sister and I  both have been looking at many sights about dog food.


                              please make a change today and switch your dog food.

                                  thanks
                                    bye


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## michickenwrangler (Jul 14, 2010)

meme said:
			
		

> I am the person who wrote the bad news story.I forgot to say one thing after they kill the cat, or dog they put plastic over the dog, and they do not take off the collar. This can give your dogs diseases.Like mad cow disease, and many others.My sister and I both have been looking at many sights about dog food.
> 
> 
> please make a change today and switch your dog food.
> ...


A disease like mad-cow is caused by things called prions, usually related to proteins. 

At a veterinarians office, euthanized animals are disposed of according to the wishes of the owner: owner burial, vet burial or cremation. Usually the animal is put in a plastic bag if it is to be cremated. Years ago, my horse hurt her leg in a trailer accident. I hauled her to the vet when it was time to get her stitches out. The tech came in and said the vet would be late since he had to perform emergency surgery. The dog didn't make it (gastric torsion) and the owner--quite stricken--opted for cremation and left to break the news to the kids at home. Since the vet was frazzled and not thinking straight, he wheeled the dog in the bag into the large animal clinic where my horse and I were waiting. My horse has been past a lot of roadkill so she wasn't terrified of a dead dog in the room with us, but it definitely made me uncomfortable. I don't recall if they left his collar on or not.

What Wynette was mentioning is that flea collars contain pesticides in them absorbed by the animal. If you were to eat it, it would be eating a burger with bug spray on it.

Honestly, I don't have an issue with putting herbivorous zoo and circus animals in dog and cat food, but you'd just be asking for trouble feeding ground up lion to cats or jackals to dogs.

ETA for spelling


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## jodief100 (Jul 14, 2010)

Cost effective is the key here.  The amount of time and labor required to round up roadkill and dogs at ten's of thousands of locations is enormous.  They would have to have trucks waiting to pick up animals in small groups all over the country and bring them back to a central location.  Dozens of people would be needed to coordinate the efforts, plus the transportation costs, driver, fuel and refrigeration.  Would the Pet Food Companies really invest the time and effort to go and pick up a few hundred pounds of meat at a time when there is "leftovers" available by the thousands of pounds at every slaughter house in the country?

I read the article someone linked into. The author states a lot of "facts" but nowhere does he cite the source of his information.  Why?  He is selling his services.

Meme, I know you have good intentions but you are young.  You need to learn that just because someone prints something in a book or newspaper, or publishes it on the internet does not mean it is true.  Look at the source of the information, see who wrote it and why.  Do they back it up? Do they say where they got the information?  Most importantly, why do they say it?  Do they have something to gain?  Can you find it in multiple, reliable sources? And does it make sense?  In this case, the premise is illogical and the source of the information is questionable.  

Don't worry, even adults forget this sometime. People believe things just because they want to.


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## Wynette (Jul 14, 2010)

The source I quoted is not questionable - if you read the book, you will find many, many citings of research, even to the point of copies of letters the author received from ONE particular pet food manufacturer she had issues with.  The book was her "catharsis" (sp?) if you will; her hope was to inform others so that they wouldn't have the same issues she did with her two dogs...extreme illness, and I believe one passed away before she realized what the cause was.  The never stated the manufacturer in name, she was legally bound not to; however, she stated many times that it was an extremely large one.  Believe what you want - but reading the book, at least for me, sure changed my mind on the food I'd been currently feeding.  That said, I'm quite sure that the company in question did follow all the legalities they were supposed to...it's more than likely that the general public just is ill informed on things such as this.


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## aggieterpkatie (Jul 15, 2010)

I'm sorry, but until I see actual written proof I refuse to believe that dogs and cats are made into pet food.  Pet food companies have standards, and they have to list ingredients.  The idea that they would collect roadkill or dead cats and dogs is so ludacris it's laughable.  

This is just more loony propaganda.


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## Wynette (Jul 15, 2010)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> I'm sorry, but until I see actual written proof I refuse to believe that dogs and cats are made into pet food.  Pet food companies have standards, and they have to list ingredients.  The idea that they would collect roadkill or dead cats and dogs is so ludacris it's laughable.
> 
> This is just more loony propaganda.


Honestly, I don't much care who believes it & who doesn't - it's just info. to me.  I'm not trying to "convince" anyone either way - I was just commenting that I'd read the book that I provided the link to.  It's a wonderful thing, living in a demoratic society - you can believe whatever you like.  And, I truly hope you are right!


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## patandchickens (Jul 15, 2010)

I notice that book's synopsis on its website only alludes briefly and in passing to the allegation of euthanized pets being used in petfood. Not passing judgement here, but that makes me think that their "evidence" is at best tenuous, and unlikely to hold up to close scrutiny. Because otherwise, my gosh, what a selling point, and as others have said, the story would have been SO run with by the major media. (Note that saying "I have actual correspondance from a real petfood company who admitted to doing this, but I can't tell you which company it is from" is not *evidence*, it is unsupported allegation. I could show you letters or emails and say they're from the King of Spain who affirms that I have borne his illegitimate children and he instructs all Spanish citizens to send them half of every paycheck... but, <shrug>)

Honestly though, if I stretch my imagination to the point of imagining that perhaps some euthanized pets *are* conceivably used in some pet foods... the amount and quality they would represent, compared to the vast amount and generally scary quality/nature of the OTHER ingredients typically used, seems to me like a drop of water in the ocean.

I should be quite surprised if some petfoods did NOT test high in heavy metals, but it seems silly to attribute that to collars left on dead pets being squooshed up in a grinder... many of the major ingredients of petfoods have all SORTS of KNOWN ways to be heavy-metal contaminated. We do not need to imagine implausible and mathematically-inadequate scenarios to explain it, the cause (when it occurs) is staring us in the face 

Nonetheless, as dismal as the quality of most commercial petfood is, it is worth noting that *most* animals eating it do pretty reasonably ok. This may say as much for the resiliance of animal physiology as for the petfood manufacturers, but, still, it's where the rubber meets the road 

And I mean, really. What do dogs not-infrequently eat ON THEIR OWN INITIATIVE? Rotting roadkilled groundhogs, things out of muddy stenchy drainage ditches, childrens' toys, Cheetohs, chicken manure, hoof trimmings, etc. 

Just sayin',

Pat


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## Wynette (Jul 15, 2010)

patandchickens said:
			
		

> Nonetheless, as dismal as the quality of most commercial petfood is, it is worth noting that *most* animals eating it do pretty reasonably ok. This may say as much for the resiliance of animal physiology as for the petfood manufacturers, but, still, it's where the rubber meets the road
> 
> And I mean, really. What do dogs not-infrequently eat ON THEIR OWN INITIATIVE? Rotting roadkilled groundhogs, things out of muddy stenchy drainage ditches, childrens' toys, Cheetohs, chicken manure, hoof trimmings, etc.


Yup!  It amazes me what they are more than happy to eat, that's for sure!  Only issue I've ever had in that area is one of my dogs getting...oh, not sure it's spelled...Giardia - a worm - from eating something dead.  I have 10+ acres, and though I watch all of them fairly closely when I walk them, having 3 dogs that can run like the breeze...I'm never 100% sure what they may have gotten into!


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## MsPony (Jul 18, 2010)

In some places Giardia is incredibly easy to get, or even carry. My dog carried it, and the vet said it could have been as easy as him licking the dew off the lawn. 

Visit the mills yourself if you are wondering what goes into your dog food  My nutritionist who treats me and my animals visited Purina and was disgusted by the piles of rotting meat that were going into their food.

Blue Buffalo is the same, just a nasty trashed mill and warehouse. Ick.


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## freemotion (Jul 19, 2010)

This is why I make my own dog and catfood.  Neither were designed to eat grains.

Dogs and cats are now getting diseases that humans get, referred to in the medical community as "lifestyle" diseases....heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc.  They are called lifestyle diseases because they can be eliminated, if caught early enough, by lifestyle changes.  For dogs and cats, this means eliminating grains from the diet, mostly.

Dental issues have skyrocketed at the same pace as the popularity of manufactured pet foods over the last century.  Dental care is now a significant part of the small animal vet's income.

My dog, going on nine years old, has never needed dental care.  He started to build up a bit of tarter and a holistic vet told me to eliminate fruit.  Just an occasional bit as a treat.  My dog liked apples and was averaging two a week, we eliminated them and his teeth look great.  He has not eaten any grains, not so much as a bite of pizza crust, in several years.  I started making his food when he was a puppy and came close to death due to serious heart problems and was extremely thin due to digestive issues.  He has been the picture of health ever since...started gaining weight the week his diet changed.


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## Wynette (Jul 19, 2010)

freemotion, that's interesting to me, given the fact that I have a friend who has a young herding dog (I believe Australian Cattle Dog) that had major digestive issues - she opted to make her food, and within 48 hours, all the issues disappeared.  It's a modified B.A.R.F. diet she makes in large quantity and then freezes in individual servings for the dog.  

I guess my biggest issue with doing this is how do you know, for sure, that they're getting all the vitamins/minerals they need?  But, all in all, it sure makes a lot more sense to me to make your food rather than purchase a dry kibble.  It's one of those things that I often "wish" I would do, but never seem to find the time to research it out and put it in action.  However, since you're now the 2nd person in a short time period that's mentioned it, I think I might begin researching again with the goal of beginning feeding a homemade (raw?) diet this fall.  Do you have any research you could point me toward that would have good recipes and criteria on what to look for, how much to feed, etc.?


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## lupinfarm (Jul 19, 2010)

Yeah we tried raw with Accio and the vet said for the most part, a lot of the reasons he sees UC in cats is because of a raw food diet that is not properly balanced. He believes that yes it is a noble idea, if you know what you're doing but for the most part owners do not. Accio hunts and gets kibble, so whatever lol I trust him but I can't stop Accio from hunting. He's a born killer. I've never seen a house-raised cat with such a strong hunting instinct.


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