[Captbob]

I just listened to the latest program of Dog Talk the Radio Show that aired this past Saturday. The host discussed the problem with the rat poison contaminated food in detail and came out with a great deal of information that has not been in the mainstream press. You can listen to the show yourself at this link. It is show #16, dated 3-24-07 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/...svc=7&cxcat=13

This is some of the information from the this radio show.

1. The company. Menu Foods, is located in Canada and is set up like an off shore company so it will be highly unlikey that anyone can get ay kind of financial compensation for the loss of their pet.

2. The Wheat Gluetin was supplied by a Chinese Company, and that is in all likelyhood where the product was contaminated with the rat poison which is not even used in the US or Canada. ( As most of us know, the Chinese are not very worried about dogs and cats and just recently clubbed 50,000 dogs to death right in front of their owners because of a rabies scare) The Wheat Gluetin is used to glue the meat in the food, so that it looks like chunks of meat, so it is purely for esthetics and has zero nutritional value.

3. Menu foods makes 100% of the canned food for Iams and Eukanuba as well as many other brands of dog food. Almost none of the Ultra Premium foods like Natural Balance, Evo, Canidae, Timber Wolf, etc... use cheap ingredients imported from places like China. The problem could also be in dried food if it contains Wheat.

4. Menu foods had 7 test animals that died back in November of 2006 from this contamination, and did nothing about it, so the problem has been known for months.

5. They suspect that the deaths that have been documented so far, are just the tip of the iceberg. A few dog owners called an all night Talk Radio Program, Coast to Coast AM, talking about how their previously healthy dogs all of a sudden died of kidney failure. This was after the host , George Noery, stated that his 2 dogs were suddenly very ill with kidney problems and he had fed them one of the canned foods on the list of products that are affected. They suspect that this tainted food could eventually affect 10's of thousands of animals or more , but this data will probably not be compiled for awhile if ever, since nobody has any interest in doing it, certainly not the dogfood companies that are involved .

6. The Federal Government in the US, has no regulations as far as testing dog food products on an ongoing basis, so problems like this are strictly monitored, or not monitored, by the companies that make the food.

One more reason not to feed your dog dog junkfood from the supermarkets.....

[Chloef_2799]

I was watching a special on my local news station about this problem and the guy on the show (who claimed to be a top Canadian vet that I have never heard of or seen) said that when it goes bad certain kinds of wheat glutin can become poisonus and it is the same poison used in certain rat baits that is formed by the bacteria in the wheat when it does go bad. I don't know if I believe it totally but it makes sense. Wheat can grow toxic moulds so I could see it being extremely dangerous if it goes bad.

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by Chloef_2799

I was watching a special on my local news station about this problem and the guy on the show (who claimed to be a top Canadian vet that I have never heard of or seen) said that when it goes bad certain kinds of wheat glutin can become poisonus and it is the same poison used in certain rat baits that is formed by the bacteria in the wheat when it does go bad. I don't know if I believe it totally but it makes sense. Wheat can grow toxic moulds so I could see it being extremely dangerous if it goes bad.

That is what they thought before they figured out in the Cornell Vet Research Lab that it was a rat poison that is not found in this country or Canada.

[opossum]

Originally Posted by Captbob

The Wheat Gluetin was supplied by a Chinese Company,

Why am I not the least bit surprised.

[Captbob]

http://dogfoodanalysis.com/

This is a dog food rating system created to help people find a quality food. This is not concrete but to be used as a guide. This was created by Fredalina of the GDR.


Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade:
Start with a grade of 100:

For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points


For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points


If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points


If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

If the food contains barley, add 2 points

If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources), add 1 point


If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point



94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Natural Balance Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Pet (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Pet / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Merrick Grammy Pot Pie/ Score 118 A+

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+

Purina Beneful / Score 17 F

Purina Pet / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Royal Canin BullPet / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolf King Adult Pet (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Some foods that have all ready been rated:

[squirt1968]

Well as I have stated before I have switched Sadie to Wellness food and today I went to the Grange Supply and got a package of raw so I will be mixing the two. Befor I found this foum I knew nothing but grocery store dog food guess I did not know there was anything else. Well Sadie is no longer shedding and so we are waiting for new hair in the tail other than her tail she looks fine. thank you all for the great posts on feeding. Karen

[Captbob]

Originally Posted by squirt1968

Well as I have stated before I have switched Sadie to Wellness food and today I went to the Grange Supply and got a package of raw so I will be mixing the two. Befor I found this foum I knew nothing but grocery store dog food guess I did not know there was anything else. Well Sadie is no longer shedding and so we are waiting for new hair in the tail other than her tail she looks fine. thank you all for the great posts on feeding. Karen

Glad you are on a good food for your dog..

[ananimalover]

Originally Posted by Captbob

http://dogfoodanalysis.com/

This is a dog food rating system created to help people find a quality food. This is not concrete but to be used as a guide. This was created by Fredalina of the GDR.


Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade:
Start with a grade of 100:

For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points


For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points


If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points


If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

If the food contains barley, add 2 points

If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources), add 1 point


If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point



94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Natural Balance Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Pet (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Pet / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Merrick Grammy Pot Pie/ Score 118 A+

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+

Purina Beneful / Score 17 F

Purina Pet / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Royal Canin BullPet / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolf King Adult Pet (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Some foods that have all ready been rated:

Interesting scoring system, but does it actually corelate in a proven scientific way to my dog having a longer and healthier life? If you feed a dog straight steak every day, he will keel over from kidney disease way before a dog on a well formulated diet....

[Snowshoe]

Of course, animal. You are right.

Dogs are omnivores, right?

No one here feeds their pets straight steak, and if you look at the ingredients in the kibble the Captain recommends, you'll see how high quality they are.

They are easily recognizable, and many of the foods contain fruits like apples or blue berries. If you look at foods like Purina, I guarentee you won't have any idea what is actually in those foods. What is Corn gluten, anyway? What is Meat by product meal? I mean, I have no idea what that is, and I don't want my dog ingesting it.

The first ingredient on any of these foods will be a meat of some kind. It will say, Chicken, bison, duck, white fish, beef, etc. You don't have to wonder what the heck it is you are feeding.

RAW feeding does not mean you only feed steak. RAW feeding means yo ucarefully look at what nutritional values a dog has, then incorporate that into their diet,

Many people will feed RAW using foods such as: chicken necks, cow tripe, raw bones, and veggies and fruits which are blended in a blender.

Dogs cannot process cellulose, so you have to break the cell walls of the veggies for what's inside to be of any use to the dog, hence the blending.