Did you know there are good
proteins for your dog that are essential for your dog's
health? And there are proteins that are practically
worthless to your dog?
Is your pet among the more
than 30 million dogs in America that is getting an inferior
diet because they eat commercial dog foods that contain
inferior proteins?
The good proteins for your
pets include muscle meat, eggs, organ meats and dairy
products such as yogurt and cottage cheese.
The inferior proteins come
from vegetable sources such as soy, rice, wheat and corn.
These vegetable proteins cannot be easily digested by your
dog. If his or her diet is made up of vegetable proteins
he/she will likely develop hormonal imbalances and other
health problems.
How does protein affect a
dog's body?
The muscular building
blocks of protein consist of twenty-three amino acids. A
normal healthy dog produces thirteen amino acids internally.
The other ten must be obtained through the food the dog
consumes.
If a puppy is denied these
ten outside amino acids it will simply fail to grow and
develop - it will eventually die.
An adult dog that
develops a deficiency of these essential amino acids will
grow weak and may develop symptoms such as weak or deformed
bones, chronic ear infections, skin infections, epilepsy and
tumors leading to cancer. He may also display behaviors such
as aggression or timidity, spinning and tail chasing
Protein is very important
for your dog's coat, skin and nails. Without protein, his
coat will dull and and he will eventually start losing hair
rapidly.
The immune system relies
on proteins to continue to protect the body from diseases
and infections. Without a properly developed immune system,
a dog is more susceptible to chronic diseases that can bring
early death.
For this reason the United
States requires all commercial dog food companies guaranty
their products contain a minimum of 9% protein. That figure,
by the way, is probably too low to sustain vibrant health
but has been established as the required minimum
nonetheless.
Manufacturers of
commercial dog foods often satisfy this guaranty by filling
their product with nutritionally inferior vegetable
proteins. Why? Because vegetables are much cheaper. They can
then meet the government requirement and still keep their
profits high!
That dog food companies
sacrifice the health of your animal for profits should not
be surprising. One investigator took a list of 68
requirements for a safe, nutritional dog food. She then
compared every dog food manufactured in North America to her
list.
What were the results? She
discovered only 9 commercial dog food brands that met the 68
point criteria.
At first glance this may
seem a stretch. But, then, how was it that thousands of our
pets were poisoned in the dog food scandal of 2007? Why are
more dogs dying at an earlier age from cancers and other
ailments?
Protein for dogs is an
essential part of their diet. Do you know if your dog is
being fed with good proteins or inferior proteins? Is his
diet safe or unsafe? Your pet depends on you to keep him or
her safe!
