What’s The Scoop On Pet Waste

pet waste

It’s first thing in the morning and the dog wants to go out right NOW, the cats are standing by their litter box waiting for some fresh kitty litter, and your toddler is demanding a trip to the park to feed the ducks. While none of these activities may sound like a major threat to the environment, animal waste is one of the many little sources of pollution that can add up to big problems for water quality and may cause human  health problems as well. While most people connect animal waste problems to agriculture, studies have shown that pets, waterfowl and other urban wildlife waste can cause significant water pollution problems. Animal waste contains several types of pollutants that contribute to water quality problems: nutrients, pathogens and a naturally toxic material, ammonia. When animal waste ends up in a lake or stream it decomposes, using up oxygen and releasing its pollutant load.

 

During summer months when the water is warm, the combination of low oxygen levels and ammonia can kill fish and other aquatic organisms. The nutrients cause excessive growth of aquatic weeds and algae. When these conditions make the water murky green and smelly, or when the surface of the water is completely covered with a thick mat of vegetation, the area becomes unattractive or unusable or swimming, boating or fishing.Pathogens, the disease-causing bacteria and viruses associated with animal waste, can also make water unsafe for human use. If pathogens or the indicator bacteria associated with animal waste are found during water testing, shellfish beds may be closed to harvest, beaches may be closed to swimming and drinking water supplies may require expensive filtration or disinfection.

 

Fortunately, there are some simple practices everyone can do to help prevent pollution by keeping animal waste out of the water. While it may seem easier to ignore the problem of animal waste, remember that you are protecting not only the environment but also your own health.

Keeping Animal Waste Out of the Water

Pick up after your pet.

 

   Preventing water pollution can be as simple as remembering to take along a plastic bag or pooper scooper when you walk your dog. For both “quality of life” and public health reasons, many communities actually have laws requiring anyone taking their animal off of their property to immediately clean up the waste after the pet relieves itself. Your choices once you have picked up the waste include:

 

·         Flush it down the toilet so the septic system or sewage treatment plant will treat it in the same manner as human waste.

 

·         Put it in the trash. This is less effective, as waste that ends up in a landfill may still cause pollution problems. For this reason, putting animal waste in the trash is actually against the law in some communities.

 

·         Bury it in your yard. The microorganisms in the soil will break down the waste and release the nutrients to nearby plants. Make sure the hole is at least five inches deep and located away from vegetable gardens, children’s play areas, or any lake, stream, wetland, well or ditch. CAUTION: Don’t bury waste in your compost pile. The pile does not get hot enough to kill the pathogens and using the compost could cause illness.

 

·         Install an underground pet waste digester. These function like small septic tanks. Before buying one, check for local laws that may restrict their use or location.

 

Keep your yard clean.

 

   While there are no laws requiring you to clean up animal waste on your own property, there are good reasons to be careful where you leave it to decay. Some diseases can be transmitted from pet waste to humans through soil contact. Children who play outside and adults that garden are most at risk for infection, so cleaning up waste from play and garden areas is especially important. Washing hands with anti-bacterial soap and water after working or playing in the dirt is the best protection from disease. Some of the more common waste-borne diseases and their symptoms are the following.

 

Camplyobacteriosis – A bacterial infection carried by dogs and cats that frequently causes diarrhea in humans.

 

Cryptosporidium – A protozoan parasite carried by dogs, cats, mice, and many other mammals. Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and dehydration. May be fatal to people with weak immune systems.

 

Salmonellosis – Symptoms including fever, headache, vomiting and diarrhea.

 

Toxocariasis – Roundworms usually transmitted from dogs to humans, often without noticeable symptoms, that may cause a rash, fever, and cough or vision loss.

 

Toxoplasmosis – A protozoan parasite carried by cats that can cause serious birth defects such as mental retardation and blindness if a woman becomes infected during pregnancy, is the reason pregnant women are told to avoid handling used kitty litter. This parasite can also cause problems for people with weak immune systems. Symptoms include headache, muscle aches and lymph node enlargement.

 

Don’t feed the waterfowl.     

      

    While one of the pleasures of a trip to the park has always been taking stale bread to feed the ducks, the environmental and health impacts of this activity for both humans and birds can be serious. Ducks, geese and swans all love bread, but bread lacks the nutrients and roughage of their natural diet. Feeding the birds bread is similar to feeding a small child a diet of candy and soda. Feeding waterfowl also tends to cause the birds to concentrate in numbers higher than can be supported by the natural food supplies. This can cause problems in the winter months when fewer people come to the park with food. These large flocks of birds also create large quantities of waste and the serious water pollution problems described earlier.

 

Dispose of kitty litter properly.

 

   When cleaning out the litter box, a two-step approach is most effective. Cat waste may be scooped out and flushed down the toilet, and the used litter should be bagged, sealed and placed in the trash. Dumping the entire contents of the litter box down your toilet will cause plumbing problems and prematurely fill up your septic tank or sewer system with indigestible material. Sending untreated cat waste to the landfill can cause pollution problems, too.

 

   While it may not seem like a big deal if one more dog, cat or bird “contributes” some waste to the neighborhood environment, think about how many animals there are out there. Animal waste may not be the biggest or most toxic pollutant going into your local waters, but it is one of those little problems that, when all the pieces are added together, lead to serious environmental and health problems. So please think twice about your pet’s bathroom habits and do your part to help keep our waters and environment clean.

 

References: J.A. Hill and C.D. Johnson. Pet Waste and Water Quality. Wisconsin Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Abatement Program. January 1992.

 

Written by –

            Heather M. Crawford

            Coastal Resources Educator

            CT Sea Grant Extension Program

 

The Connecticut Sea Grant College Program, based at the University ofConnecticut, is part of a national network of university- based programs sponsoring coastal and marine-related research, outreach and education.Connecticut Sea Grant, 1084 Shennecossett Rd. Groton, CT 06340

www.seagrant.uconn.edu

 

* Please note that the opinions of the dog lessons articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of any or all employees of dog-bed-directory.com. 

Dog Quotes Of The Day

thinking dog

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole………….Roger Caras

If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them…………….Phil Pastoret

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all.
It’s the best deal man has ever made…………….M. Acklam

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult…………..Rita Rudner

A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down…………Robert Benchley

Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog………….Franklin P. Jones

If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons……….James Thurber


* Please note that the opinions of the dog lessons articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of any or all employees of dog-bed-directory.com. 

Dog Tires? It Could Be Your pooch.

sleeping dog
You’ve heard that your spouse’s snoring can cause you to lose sleep, but what about your pet’s? John Shepard, M.D., medical director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, recently asked that question to 300 patients who came to the center for a routine consultation. He found that many people with sleep problems were sharing their bedrooms with their cats and dogs.

“The results indicate that 22 percent of our patients are likely to have pets sleeping on the bed with them,” Dr. Shepard says. “That’s a significant number.”

Dr. Shepard notes that many common things in daily life affect sleep. The sleeping environment — especially sound, movement, light, temperature and humidity in the bedroom — plays a significant role in the quality of people’s sleep. Dr. Shepard became interested in how pets can disrupt people’s sleep after one patient reported that she frequently got up in the middle of the night to let the dog out and waited up to 15 minutes before returning to bed with her pet.

“After hearing that anecdote, I began to wonder how many of my patients were sleeping with pets and how much the pet interrupted sleep,” he says.

Between February and September 2001, Dr. Shepard surveyed 300 patients seen at the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center to determine the frequency and severity of sleep disruption that may result from family pets. He found the following:

* 157 of 300 patients (52 percent) had one or more pets, primarily cats and dogs.

* Nearly 60 percent of the patients with pets slept with their pets in the bedroom. When a dog was permitted to sleep in the bedroom, it had a 57 percent chance of being allowed to sleep on the bed.

* Of the pet owners, 53 percent considered their sleep to be disrupted to some extent every night, but only one percent felt that their sleep was disrupted for more than 20 minutes per night on average.

* Snoring was reported in 21 percent of dogs and seven percent of cats.

* Cats were more likely to be allowed in the bedroom and on the bed.


* Please note that the opinions of the dog lessons articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of any or all employees of dog-bed-directory.com. 

What Influences The Condition Of A Dog’s Coat?

dog coat

What influences the condition of a dog’s coat? There are many factors that influence a dog’s coat. Below is a list of some of these factors:

• Genetically, a dog can inherit coat quality

• Diet

• Exercise

• Housing and bedding

• Grooming regime

All coats can be improved with effort and consideration of the dog’s individual needs.

Feeding

What you feed your dog does influence the quality of your dog’s coat. It is always advisable to listen to your breeder’s advice about feeding. A reputable breeder is careful to give new puppy owners a diet instruction sheet to follow through from puppy hood to adult age. Excellent breeders will support the new puppy owner and provide after-sales advice throughout the dog’s lifetime.

It is possible for two pups from the same litter to have completely different dietary needs. This is unusual, as dogs are basically scavengers. Some dogs do, however, have special needs. Your breeder should be able to suggest a suitable diet. Your vet would be the next logical advisor about diet for your particular pup or dog.

What does being a scavenger mean? Dogs retain many of their original characteristics from when they were living in the wild. They are largely resistant to food poisoning. They have large teeth for cutting meat and tearing tough tissue. Even a small dog will relish a good meaty bone or a chunk of chewy meat.

Natural Diet

Many people believe the more they spend, the better the results, which is not necessarily always true. Dogs are what they eat. Feeding the dog is important to skin and coat care. It is essential to point out that needs of individual dogs can and do differ. No matter what your preference is for dog food, not all dogs are suited to your personal preferences. If a natural diet is fed, there is far less likelihood of adverse reaction. The coat of your dog will tell the story of the quality of his diet. A meal made from brown rice and chicken is a healthy, natural diet for a dog that can be fed two or three days a week to enhance the quality of the dog’s coat.

Some dogs may benefit from additives such as evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil or starflower oil at a dose of 500 mg daily. This is especially beneficial when the coat is poor from a previous diet, if the dog has a flea allergy problem or has suffered inherited or environmental effects that leave the coat looking far from good. Natural food also rarely attracts fleas. The dog’s skin is less pleasant for parasites.

Cheese has many essential nutrients and is a good source of calcium. Most dogs love cheese. Vegetables can be given to a dog as treats. Packs of mixed vegetables from the freezer at the local supermarket are easy to feed occasionally and as a treat. Most dogs love mixed vegetables. Feed in small amounts to small dogs only 2 or 3 times per week.

Dogs also love fruit, even raw cabbage and raw broccoli. Avoid grapes. Grapes are toxic to dogs. Fiber, such as oat bran, will help to prevent anal gland trouble. Cider vinegar is useful in helping the immune system.

Avoid raw meats.

 

* Please note that the opinions of the dog lessons articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of any or all employees of dog-bed-directory.com. 

Dog Lessons – Pet Food Game

dog eating bone

About 25 years ago I began formulating pet foods at a time when the entire pet food industry seemed quagmire and focused on such things as protein and fat percentages without any real regard for ingredients. Since boot leather and soap could make a pet food with the “ideal” percentages, it was clear that analytical percentages do not end the story about pet food value. I was convinced then, as I am now, that a food can be no better than the ingredients of which it is composed. Since this ingredient idea has caught on in the pet food industry, it has taken on a commercial life that distorts and perverts the meaning of the underlying philosophy of food quality and proper feeding practices. Is health reducible to which ingredients a commercial product does or does not have? As contradictory as it may seem to what I have just said, no it is not. Here’s why.

AAFCO Approval
The official Publication of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) gives wide latitude for ingredients that can be used in animal foods. As I have pointed out in my book, The Truth About Pet Foods, approved ingredients can include*:
dehydrated garbage
undried processed animal waste products
polyethylene roughage replacement (plastic)
hydrolyzed poultry feathers
hydrolyzed hair
hydrolyzed leather meal
poultry hatchery by-product
meat meal tankage
peanut hulls
ground almond shells
(*Association of American Feed Control Officials, 1998 Official Publication)

Simultaneously, this same regulatory agency prohibits the use of many proven beneficial natural ingredients that one can find readily available for human consumption such as bee pollen, glucosamine, L-carnitine, spirulina and many other nutraceuticals. It would be easy to conclude that reason does not rule when it comes to what officially can or cannot be used in pet foods.

From the regulators’ standpoint, they operate from the simplistic nutritional idea that the value of food has to do with percentages and that there is no special merit to any particular ingredient. They deny the tens of thousands of scientific research articles proving that the kind of ingredient and its quality can make all the difference in terms of health. They also are silent about the damaging effect of food processing and the impact of time, light, heat, oxygen and packaging on nutritional and health value.

The 100% Complete Myth
Consumers are increasingly becoming alert to the value of more natural foods. Everyone intuitively knows that the closer the diet is to real, fresh, wholesome foods, the better the chance that good health will result. Unfortunately, people do not apply this same common sense to pet foods. Instead they purchase “100% complete” processed foods, perhaps even going the extra mile and selecting “super premium” or “natural” brands, thinking they are doing the best that can be done. They surrender their mind to a commercial ploy (100% completeness) and do to their pets what they would never do to themselves or their family – eat the same packaged product at every meal, day in and day out. No processed food can be “100% complete” because there is not a person on the planet who has 100% knowledge of nutrition. The claim on its face is absurd. Understanding this simple principle is more important than any pet food formulation regardless of the merits of its ingredients. Everything that follows will begin with that premise, i.e., no food should be fed exclusively on a continuous basis no matter what the claims of completeness or ingredient quality.

Genetics Is The Key
Pets need the food they are biologically adapted to. It’s a matter of context. Just as a fish needs to be in water to stay healthy, a pet needs its natural food milieu to be healthy. All creatures must stay true to their design. What could be more obvious or simple? For a carnivore the correct genetic match is prey, carrion and incidental fresh plant material, and even some fur and feathers, as well as the occasional surprise of unmentionables found in decaying matter. It’s not a pretty picture to think that “FiFi” with her pink bow and polished toenails would stoop to such fare, but that is precisely the food she is designed to eat. Since that is her design, matching food to that design (minus the more disgusting and unnecessary elements) is also the key to her health.

The Disease Price
We may prefer to feed a packaged, sterile, steam- cleaned, dried, farinaceous chunk cleverly shaped like a pork chop, but let’s not kid ourselves, that is not the food a pet is designed for….regardless of the claims about ingredients on the label making one think it is five-star restaurant fare. Pets may tolerate such food for a time, but in the end nature calls to account. The price to be paid is lost health in the form of susceptibility to infections, dental disease, premature aging, obesity, heart and organ disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and other cruel and painful chronic degenerative diseases. Because our pets are not out in the rigors of nature where they would quickly succumb to such conditions and end their misery, they languish in our protected homes and under veterinary care that does not usually cure but merely treats symptoms and extends the time of suffering. That suffering begins with the way in which we are feeding our pets, not the ingredients in a supposed 100% complete pet food.

The Perfect Food
What is the solution? It is simple and something I have been preaching for the past 25 years. Return pets to their environmental roots. They need – daily – interesting activity, fresh air, clean water, romps in nature, lots of love, and food as close to the form they would find in the wild as possible. Fresh, whole natural foods fit for a carnivore and fed in variety are as good as it can get. Anything less than that is a compromise. Compromise the least if health is the goal. (Same principle applies to you and your family.) To get a packaged food as close as possible to that goal requires the right starting philosophy of feeding (described above) and the expertise to design and manufacture such foods.

Enter The Profiteers
Elements of these principles (often distorted or misunderstood) have been taken up by an endless line of pet food entrepreneurs. The low fat craze led to low fat pet foods. The high fiber craze led to high fiber pet foods. The “no corn, wheat or soy” craze led to no corn, wheat or soy pet foods. The “omega- 3” craze led to pet foods with fish oil. The “variety” craze led to pet foods supposedly offering variety. The “four food groups” craze led to all four bundled into a package. The “raw” craze has led to raw frozen pet foods. The list is endless and the race for pet owner dollars is at a fever pitch.

One can only feel sympathy for a concerned pet owner as they stroll along the huge array of pet food options in pet food aisles. Unfortunately, armed with only sound bites and lore they may have heard from a friend, breeder, veterinarian or on a commercial, they make choices that not only do not serve the health of their pet but may directly contribute to weakened immunity and disease.

The first thing consumers should keep in mind is the ideal diet for pets as described above. No packaged product regardless of its wild claims is ever going to equal that. The next best thing is to home prepare fresh meals. (Contact Wysong for recipes and instruction.) If that is not always possible, then products should be selected that are as close to the ideal as possible. (More suggestions below.)

Raw Frozen Pet Food Dangers
At first glance, considering the perfect feeding model I have described – raw, natural, whole – the best food may seem to be one of the raw frozen pet foods now clamoring to capture the “raw” craze. I’m sorry to say that some of these purveyors even use my books and literature to convince pet owners that their frozen products are on track. They take bits and pieces of good information and distort it into something that pretty much misses the point and misleads consumers. Also, these exotic frozen mixtures of ingredients of unknown origin, manufacturing and freezing conditions are most certainly not economical nor the best choice. They may, because of the water content and raw state, be outright dangerous.

Human Grade
Then there are claims about “USDA approved” ingredients, “human grade” ingredients and ingredients purchased right out of the meat counter at the grocery store. Again, at first glance – and superficiality is what marketers like to deal with – it may seem that such foods would have merit over others. But such labels only create a perception of quality. People would not consider the food pets are designed for in the wild – whole, raw prey and carrion – “human grade” or “USDA approved.” Because something is not “human grade” does not mean it is not healthy or nutritious. For example, chicken viscera is not “human grade” but carries more nutritional value than a clean white chicken breast. Americans think that chicken feet would not be fit for human consumption but many far eastern countries relish them. On the other hand, “human grade” beef steaks fed to pets could cause serious nutritional imbalances and disease if fed exclusively. Pet foods that create the superficial perception of quality (USDA, human grade, etc.) with the intent of getting pet owners to feed a particular food exclusively is not what health is about.

Pet Nutrition Is Serious Health Science
Pet nutrition is not about marketing and who can make the most money quickly. Unfortunately an aspiring pet food mogul off the street can go to any number of private label manufacturers and have a new brand made. These manufacturers have many stock formulas that can be slightly modified to match the current market trend. Voilà! A new pet food wonder brand is created.

Pet foods are about pet nutrition, and nutrition is a serious health matter. There is an implied ethic in going to market with products that can so seriously impact health. But the ethic is by and large absent in the pet food industry. Starting with the 100% claim and on to all the fad driven brands that glut the shelves, health is not being served. Nobody other than our organization is teaching people the principles I am discussing here. Instead, companies headed by people with no real technical, nutritional, food processing or health skills put themselves out to the public as serious about health … because that is what the public wants to hear and what sells. Never mind whether producers really understand or can implement healthy principles. The façade sells and selling is the game. Ingredients are important, true, but not less important than the expertise and principles of the producer who is choosing them, preparing, storing, processing and packaging them. Consumers place a lot of trust that nondescript processed nuggets are what consumers are being led to believe they are. Many a slip can occur between the cup and the lip. There are many slips that can occur between the cup of commercial claims and what ends up in the lips of the pet food bowl.

Consumer Blame
The consumer is not without guilt in this unfortunate – steady diet of processed pet food – approach to pet feeding. They want everything easy and inexpensive. They don’t want to learn or have to expend too much effort, and they want something simple to base decisions on like: “corn, wheat and soy are evil,” or “USDA approved,” or “human grade” or “organic is good.” They also want something for nothing and think they can get it in a pet food. People want prime choice meats, organic and fresh foods all wrapped up tidy in an easy open, easy pour package, hopefully for 50 cents a pound. They may even pay $1 or a little more if the producer can convince them about how spectacular their product is or how much cancer their pet will get if they choose another brand.

Are By-Products Evil?
In the processing of human foods there are thousands of tons of by-products that cannot be readily sold to humans. Does that make them useless or even inferior? No. Such by-products could include trimmings, viscera, organs, bones, gristle and anything else that humans do not desire. Should these perfectly nutritious items be buried in a landfill? As I mentioned above, while Earth’s resources continue to decline and people starve around the globe, should we feed our pets only “human grade” foods and let perfectly edible – and sometimes even more nutritious – by-products go to waste? How is that conscionable or justifiable for either the consumer or the producer?

Road Kill and Euthanized Pets
This shift to “human grade” for pet foods is partly due to a variety of myths that have gotten much stronger legs than they deserve. Lore has spread in the marketplace that road kill and euthanized pets are used in pet foods. I have never seen the proof for this outrageous claim and after twenty years surveying ingredient suppliers I have never found a supplier of such. However, fantastic myths easily get life and the more fantastic they are the more life they have. It’s the intellectually lazy way and what lies at the root of so much misery. Sloppy superficial thinking is what leads to racism, sexism, religious persecution and wars. People would like to think the world is sharply divided into right-wrong, good-evil, black-white. Marketers capitalize on this by trying to create such sharp distinctions for consumers to easily grab on to: human grade = good/all others = evil; organic = right/all others = wrong; rice = white/corn and wheat = black. Such simplistic and naïve distinctions are quick and simple for advertisers and salespeople to use to sway public opinion. But nobody stepping back and using common sense would ever think that something as complex as health could ever come from what is or is not in a processed bag of food. Reality is not black or white; it is in shades of gray. Grayness requires some knowledge, judgment and discernment before making choices. It’s a little more work but is what we all must do if the world is ever to be a better place and people and pet health are to improve.

What To Do
How do concerned pet owners wanting to cut through all the marketing clutter negotiate a path? It is very simple if the basic principles I have discussed above are kept in mind. Here are tips on how to implement an intelligent health and feeding philosophy:

1. Learn how to feed fresh food. Alternate these with honest processed foods fed in variety, and complement these foods with well- designed supplements.

[How To Apologize To Your Pet] http://www.wysong.net/PDFs/apology_pamphlet.pdf

Don’t get all particular and paranoid about balancing nutrients and ingredient do’s and don’ts. Rotate, vary, mix it up and fast once in a while. Trust in nature, not some marketing hype. (Use the same principles for yourself and your family if you want optimal health as well.)

2. If you must have human grade or organic foods for your pet, go buy the real thing at the grocery meat counter. Take it home, cut it up and feed it raw. Freeze the remainder into small meal portions and use them for subsequent meals. Don’t turn your brain off and go buy “organic” or “human grade” pet foods that for their cost could only contain hints of the real thing. Pet food manufacturers may be clever at marketing, but they are not magicians. One thing is certain; they do not buy ingredients and then sell them to you for less than what they buy them for.

3. Use appropriately designed supplements such as Call Of The Wild™ and Wild Things™ to balance raw meals and help make them safe if you are not skilled at such meal preparation.

4. The best raw, processed food alternative to fresh foods from the grocer is non-thermally processed dry foods – not raw frozen ones. (See Wysong Archetype™.) Use this food for alternate meals and as top dressing to heat processed foods.

5. Check the credentials of the person making the decisions in the company whose products you buy. Don’t go to a plumber for brain surgery and don’t expect serious healthy products from business people.

6. Steer away from brands that are pushing any particular hot buttons such as “natural,” “no by- products,” exotic ingredients (quail eggs, watermelon, persimmons, etc.), organic, omega-3, rice and the like. Although these features may bring some merit to a food (if they are put in at other than “pinch” levels), they are not an end in themselves and if the packaged food is fed exclusively can cause more harm than good.

7. Steer away from brands that fear monger. For example, there is the no corn or wheat scam – “buy our brand; it has no corn or wheat.” (Just saying a product has “no” something is enough to scare the non-thinking public to the brand that doesn’t have the boogeyman ingredient. Profiteers know this and play it to the hilt in the pet food industry.) The truth is, grains are put in dried nugget foods because they contain the starch necessary for the extrusion process. Starch is pretty much starch regardless of whether it comes from corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, millet or whatever. Grains also help decrease the cost of pet foods. They contribute some nutrition but in a properly formulated meat-based pet food the majority of the nutritional value comes from the meat. It is true that animals may develop allergy to corn or wheat but that can happen with rice or any other grain or ingredient as well. Problems are prevented by varying the diet. That is why Wysong has developed the range of formulations it has and puts them in small portion packs so the foods can be rotated. Of all the Wysong formulations, the ones with corn are chosen on almost a 5:1 ratio over all others and are the diets we receive the thousands of raves about, even in those pets supposedly allergic to corn!

[Wysong Testimonials]
http://www.wysong.net/testimonials.shtml

This is not to tout the merit of corn, or any grain in pet food for that matter. They are sort of a necessary evil in dried extruded foods and any of them can bring some benefit if rotated in the diet.

8. Do not feed any product exclusively. Variety is the spice of nutrition and the road to good health.

9. Features to look for in a packaged product would be those that bring the product close to the raw-whole-fresh-natural standard described above: active enzymes, probiotics cultures, natural preservation and protection against food-borne pathogens, proper packaging, intelligent formulation and balance, micronutrient dense, freshly produced, fresh ingredients – and the expertise to do all of this, not just say so on a package or brochure. (Some brands trying to get on the raw food bandwagon make outright false claims about “cold” processing.)

10. The company should be able to intelligently explain what they are doing in terms of processing, packaging, product preservation and prevention of food-borne pathogens. It is one thing to simply put a certain ingredient into a food, quite another to protect it until it is consumed. For example, Wysong owns its own manufacturing facilities in order to go beyond industry standard techniques. Special portion pack, light- and oxygen- barrier bags, modified atmosphere flush and natural ingredients to prevent oxidation and food- borne pathogens are part of all Wysong products. (See technical monographs on Packaging, Antioxidants and Wyscin™.)

11. Most important, learn. Support a company that helps you learn the truth and teaches you how to be at least somewhat independent of commercial products. Demand that producers provide proof for their claims in the form of good logic, evidence and science. Try to discern the company’s true motives, your pocketbook or your pet’s health. Learn how to go beyond The Pet Food Ingredient Game.

Wysong R. L. (1993). Rationale for Animal Nutrition. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.

Wysong, R. L. (2002, June 19). Why Modern Medicine is The Greatest Threat to Health. The Wysong e-Health letter. Wysong Institute, Midland, MI.

[The Wysong e-Health letter] http://www.wysong.net/health/hl_884.shtml

Wysong, R. L. (2002). The Truth About Pet Foods. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.

Wysong, R. L. (2004). Nutrition is a Serious Health Matter: The serious responsibility of manufacturing and selling. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.

Wysong, R. L. (2004). The Thinking Person’s Master Key to Health (60 Minute CD Discussion) Wysong Institute, Midland, MI.

Wysong, R. L. (2005). Comparing Pet Foods Based Upon What Matters: The First Study of its Kind in the Pet Food Industry. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.

Wysong, R. L. & Savant, V. (2005). The Case AGAINST Raw Frozen Pet Foods. Midland, MI: Inquiry Press.

For further reading, or for more information about, Dr Wysong and the Wysong Corporation please visit www.wysong.net or write to wysong@wysong.net. For resources on healthier foods for people including snacks, and breakfast cereals please visit www.cerealwysong.com.

 

* Please note that the opinions of the dog lessons articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of any or all employees of dog-bed-directory.com.