Is your dog food safe?

Newsflash… Just because your dog food comes in a packet, from a reputable brand and is on a supermarket shelf, does not mean your dog food is safe.

Recently, multiple pet food brands have been investigated after recalls and euthanasia drugs were found in commercial dog food.

Locally, pet owners were urged to return the popular dog food brand’s ‘Advance’ Dermocare dry food, after learning a number of dogs were affected by megaesophagus (an enlargement of the oesophagus), which sadly also resulted in a few deaths.

Overseas it’s happening too. E. coli and salmonella were found in samples of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products and ZooLogics Raw Dog Food. Around the same time, two kinds of Milo’s Kitchen Dog Treats were recalled, because of potentially elevated levels of beef thyroid hormone.

And millions of cans of pet food were pulled from shelves in America after discovering the euthanasia drug, pentobarbital, in multiple varieties of dog food.

Sadly, there is no authority to regulate pet food. Pet food manufacturers have guidelines on labelling, ingredients and manufacturing practices from the AAFCO but it does not authorise, certify or test the food.

What’s worse, we don’t have a guarantee where the ingredients are sourced. Some ingredients often found on a pet food label such as ‘meat and bone meal’ (poultry or beef) means the legal definition of these ingredients can be sourced from dead, non-slaughtered, diseased or euthanised animals. Horrific, right?

So what are we pet parents to do? Cook for our pooches as we do for ourselves?

Enter Doggy Grub. Our house made dog food is full of high-quality meat, fresh fruits and vegetables (nothing that you wouldn't eat yoursef!) with all our 100% fresh and human-grade ingredients, sourced in SA. And because our formula follows a balanced and healthy guideline, this means there are no fillers, no by-products and no preservatives! Yup, we care about what goes into your dog’s bowl.

We’re also 100% transparent about our cooking process. Want to know what’s in our famous casseroles? See the ingredients here

If you do continue to buy dog food from the shelf, here’s a few tips on what to look out for:

- Any ingredient you can actually recognise!

- A good protein source: The more described the better.

- Healthy carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes or carrots.

- Antioxidants such as blueberries, blackberries in small quantities, and/or leafy greens

- Fatty acids (omega 3 and 6) from flaxseed or fish oil.

- Natural preservatives such as rosemary extract and if possible Natural supplements (vitamins and minerals) as they are often replaced by synthetic supplements, which can be dangerous to dogs in the long term.

- Look for food grade (meaning human grade ingredients safe for human consumption) vs feed grade (which can be human grade ingredients AND “illegal” ingredients).

If in doubt, don’t be afraid to question the pet food company and ask the origin of their ingredients, are they approved for human consumption and how are they sourced and manufactured?

And with that… hello happy, healthy dogs!

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The Doggy Grub blog is dedicated to help dogs and their owners achieve happier, healthier lives, changing the way we feed our dogs one bowl at a time! If you would like to know more about our fresh food head to Doggy Grub