Processed Dog Food:

Chemicals. Antibiotics. Additives. Steroids. Hormonal supplements. T-t-t-oxins! What you’re about to read may be alarming. In fact, it may cause you to clean out your cabinets in one sweeping motion. Our goal at The Dog Bowl is to provide you with information as such, processed food is simply not good. If it’s not good for humans, why would it be good for your dog?

Processed food is believed to be the causes of many pet maladies. First of all, processed pet foods affect the long-term health of the digestive and immune systems of your dog. When dogs are fed commercial processed foods and they switch to a BARF diet, it’s no surprise that the switch must be gradual. The end result is incredible and you’ll feel amazing, too knowing that your responsible efforts are making a positive impact on your dog’s health.

Processed food, in a word, is bad. Whether it’s the ingredients themselves, poor quality of ingredients, and lack of digestive enzymes (coincidentally, which are in copious amounts in raw foods), or artificial preservatives, processed dog foods are not meant to be eaten regularly!

If you haven’t switched to a BARF diet or are in the transition phase, it’s important to note the following as it relates to processed food:

Dry foods – when shopping for dry foods, the brands using Vitamins C and E are the best to buy. Natural preservatives are key!

Canned foods – after processing, canning, marketing, distribution, and advertising, how can canned dog foods claim to be healthy and nutritious? It’s not pure meat. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration has regulations that indicate the percentage of ingredients of canned dog food must be meat as per the label. Note: the mere fact that we’re pointing this out should be cause of concern in the first place.

beef stew must be 25 percent beef
beef dinner must be between 25 and 95 percent beef
beef should be 95 percent beef
all beef must contain only beef and therefore not additives or supplements
beef flavor should have enough meat to give the canned food the flavor of beef

The quality of meat in itself is cause for discussion as well. How is quality of meat defined? Typically the meat used in processed food falls under the 4-D category, representing when an animal is delivered to the slaughter house, disabled, diseased, dying, or dead. While the FDA says this meat is suitable for your dog since it’s subjected to high temperatures during the rendering process, this makes us wonder.

While processed foods in general are not deemed to be healthy or nutritious, there are more responsible companies which attempt to make healthy dog food with natural preservatives. When in doubt, however, it may be time to consider the BARF Diet where your dog will only be digesting raw, fresh ingredients. Plus, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that it is free of contaminants, preservatives, additives, or chemicals.

At The Dog Bowl, nothing is more important than your dog’s health and well-being. For more information about processed foods and the above mentioned healthy BARF diet click here.