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For years, the pet food manufacturers have been allowed to smudge over exactly what's in their food by using words and phrases such as "Cereals" or "Meat & Animal Derivatives".  This was great for them as very few people actually knew what that really meant.  "My dog likes it" I would hear people say "and so that's what I buy"

That's fine, but my children love a McDonalds but I wouldn't let them eat one every day!  Would you?.  And the same should go for your beloved pets too.

So lets have a look what really goes into your average bag of dog food shall we.

Meat and Animal Derivatives or Animal By-Products
Most dog and cat foods will use meat and animal derivatives as their only source of animal protein.  These consist of heads, feet, guts, lungs, feathers, hair, wool and unborn eggs.

Cereals
Cereals are used in abundance by manufacturers. They will inform you that they are an excellent source of necessary dietary fibre and carbohydrate. Of course this is true but some products contain up to 80% cereals!  The use of cereals in a pet food is an alternative to more expensive ingredients. Cereals are generally described as "bulking agents".  A bulking agent is an ingredient that provides a lot of bulk but has little nutritional value and is very cheap

By-Products of Vegetable Origin
This term allows manufacturers to use anything that is not classed as a cereal!.  It is generally material from the human food preparation industry.  By the time it is processed at high temperature it contains no nutritional value but just serves as another fibre source.  This product is inexpensive and is classed as yet another "bulking agent".

Bakery By-Products
Bakery By-Products are waste material from the human food chain.  The term allows the use of any bakery, bakery derivative or waste material that was used in the manufacture of baked goods and often includes stale goods, rancid goods and pre-frozen goods.  Yet another bulking agent!

Water
The cheapest ingredient available.  It mainly applies to frozen, semi-moist or tinned foods although some companies take advantage of the water content in how they describe the ingredients in dry foods.  It is usually described as moisture, jelly or gravy.  Just as shampoo manufacturers describe the water in their products as "aqau".  The reason companies use these terms is to hide the total water content in their products.

Chemicals
Nearly all companies use a mixture of synthetic preservatives, antioxidants, flavourings and colourings.  They are necessary to these lower grade foods because as a result of the poor quality of ingredients used to keep the manufacturing costs to a minimum.

Added Sugar
If dogs and cats have a complete and balanced diet, they do not need added sugar. The reason this is added to lower grade foods is because it is extremely palatable which gives that extra benefit to the company only and not to your pet.  Sugar is also extremely habit forming to your pet - akin to addiction.

As the ingredients on any food product are listed in the order from most to least content so when the first line on an ingredient list on a bag of dog food is "Cereals" or Meat and Animal Derivatives" then you know that this is what makes up the bulk of the food.

Have a look at the ingredients on the bag that you are feeding your dog.

Premium Foods. A phrase used by the pet supplies and dog food and cat food industry to indicate that their food is of a much higher quality than the cheaper brands.  Where most people get confused here though is that they automatically think that this means the cost will be greater.  Well, in a way you are correct.  For example a "Supermarket Brand" dog food may cost £26 a bag but a bag of Nutro Choice will cost you £36 a bag.  However what you are not seeing is that whilst you may need to feed your dog 800gms a day of the cheaper food, with a premium dog food like Nutro Choice, you would only be feeding 400gms a day.  HALF THE AMOUNT. 

Why?  Because these premium foods are not packed with "Bulking Agents" that only serve to fill your dogs tummy and have little or no nutritional value, hence why they are pooing so much because their bodies are just expelling the "crap"  Also in premium foods, the protein quality is much higher and so the protein amount is often quite a lot less thus helping control "Hyperactivity" in dogs and cats.

So there you have it.  The truth about what is actually going into your dog and cats food.  Have a look at the bag you have although I can save you some time as if the bag is Nutro, Burns and a few select other brands, then you can guarantee that the content is good.  But make no mistake, the use of these cheap waste products is not reserved for the cheaper pet foods.  Take a look on the back of a bag some of the more expensive foods and you may just get a nasty shock.

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