There are a lot of things that could threaten your dog.
A hot car, chicken bones, chocolate and so on.
But, if you were to ask me what the numero uno, biggest threat to a dog is I could answer with one word.
Food.
Or more specifically – dog food, the brand, what’s in it and how long you’ve been feeding it.
Dogs generally eat the same food every day and it could slowly be killing him. I know, sounds like I am exaggerating, but hang with me a second more because I want to show you how dogs get slowly poisoned by well meaning owners.
One of the most popular brands of dog food here in the good Ole US of A is LOADED with killer ingredients. Here are the ingredients straight from the label:
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, propylene glycol, meat and bone meal, tricalcium phosphate, phosphoric acid, salt, water, animal digest, sorbic acid (a preservative), potassium chloride, dried carrots, dried peas, calcium propionate (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine.
The main ingredient is corn and it also contains soy, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Blue 2.
Let’s just look at the dyes used in making this dog food: Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Blue 2. Many of these dyes and preservatives are banned in other countries and are linked to cancer and other devastating problems.
An 8/27/12 Article In Forbes Magazine “Living In Color: The Potential Dangers Of Artificial Dyes” States:
“After Halloween In 1950, The Government Banned Orange #1 When Many Children Became Ill After Consumption. In The 1970s, Scientific Testing Pointed To Red #2’SPotential Carcinogenic Properties (Caused Intestinal Tumors In Rats), And It Too Was Banned. Yellows #1, #2, #3, And #4 Are Among The Others That Have Since Been Made Illegal, And Yellow #5 Is Currently Undergoing Further Testing For Links ToHyperactivity, Anxiety, Migraines And Cancer (The Color Has Already Been Banned In Many European Countries).
The sad part is that the colors are added to make the human feel good about feeding the food. The dog could care less what color the food is but the brands have cleverly used different dyes and coloring agents to make the food look like little peas and carrots which everyone knows is healthy.
UGH!
My advice?
Educate yourself about dog food. Become a label reader. Read what the dog food is made of. You do have choices and can feed your dog a healthy diet loaded with nutrients that improve your dog’s health and well-being.
Best,
Eric