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Actually, I consider them to be very good dog owners because of that. I cannot believe that people give their dogs rabies vaccines annually (or even every 3 years), especially since we know how detrimental that is to their health. Study after study shows that immunity from the first rabies vaccines lasts at least 7 years. But, Big Pharma needs the money at the cost of our dogs, so they make it either annual or every 3 years, which is way too often. If people were told to vaccinate their human kids for say MMR every single year, I'm sure there would be an uproar. Why don't people think twice when it comes to dogs, especially given their short life spans? There are legals ways around the rabies vaccine, just sayin'...
And I'm totally against vaccinating every single year. PC hasn't had a shot since he was 8 months old and he is done for the rest of his life. I'm so glad to have a vet that doesn't believe in over-vaccination. His titers are off the charts, that's how high his antibodies are to some of these specific viruses. And this is almost 2 years after most of these vaccines were administered!
For anyone interested about learning about modified vaccines schedules and which are worthless, check out this site.
Thanks for the link. I actually just found a vet last week that staggers puppy vaccinations. I had never heard that before, and when I asked she told me because it wasn't healthy to over-immunize dogs, especially puppies. After using "traditional" vets for over 20 years, I was excited to find one that truly seemed to care about animals. I had suspected all those annual shots weren't healthy, in fact our 15 year old Border Collie has had no shots other than rabies for the last 4-5 years, at my insistence. However, I think we'll still have to keep up with 3 year rabies shots, due to laws etc. We did have a sick raccoon in our yard a couple of years ago, I had to call out the town to come get it. We are surrounded by woods with a lot of wildlife.
I am in no way saying that I thought my brother and his wife were bad owners because they did not get the dog vaccines but more for what they were feeding him as I would gasp at say Thanksgiving how they scrapped all the plates and they usually had a big crowd and give him all of it then take the skin from the turkey and hand it to him the food often even had cooked bones in it. He was their everyday garbage disposal. He also was a dog that lived in their backyard. I always played with him when I went over or tried to walk him as once he was no longer a cute puppy my 3 nephews pretty much ignored him. He was terrifed once you walked him around the corner and would get very protective and lunged at people because of that fear . They never taught him anything yet the bullies know a million tricks the way the bullies are raised is the way the Shar pei should have lived.. but back then my sister in law that did not really like dogs Yet she brought home the puppy becuase my oldest nephew wanted a dog...no prior reasearch done on the breed so in a big way they were VERY lucky as he was healthy and he really was a sweet boy.
As for the Vaccines back in the time they got him the reduced vaccine thing had not really become a big issue and there also were not as many vaccines a there are now. I have been a huge supporter of Modified ( reduced )vaccines or checking titers since I got Jazz 14 yrs ago and now my vet is too. It did take until she was about 4 for him to start doing that but he had been following the reasearch being done back when I first asked him which was the day I took her for her first puppy exam.
So in a way I feel the vaccines may be a bigger issue then the food as I said that dog lived to be 13 and was doing well up until he seemed to have a stroke. In comparison Jazz and Dash got reduced vaccines so had at last 3 years between them and even longer,ate great food, got lots of love and exercise and by 11 Dash had nasal cancer and at 12 Jazz had the nerve sheath sarcoma and at 14 has a few fatty tumors etc...so I do find myself at times thinking Hummmm how could it be that the Shar pei and my sisters 16 yr old Collie escape cancer and any big illness?
I certainly hope by asking a question about dog food I have not created a judgemental debate, as that was never my intention. I am trying to educate myself and nothing more.
Oh No, ask and ask as much as needed.
A few things for you to know:
1. The ingredients in dog food are only those included by the manufacture. Some of those expensive fancy foods that say no preservatives, chemicals or whatever, well they may be LOADED with them. So long as the items were put into the base products by the supplier and not the manufacture, it's not required to be listed. A secret is many dog foods need preservatives or it will rot before you buy it. The manufacture of some fancy and expensive "premium" dog food will not want preservatives listed as an ingredient so they do not add any to their food, but they have the supplier of the meat products add it on their end. This legally allowes them to omit that preservative from the label. Neat trick huh?
2. Dog food manufactures can also introduce chemicals into their finished products through packaging. They inform the manufacture of the bags that they are concern that the packaging could accelerate the spoiling of the food, make it smell funny, allow insect eggs and larve to hatch, and any other thing that is normally controlled in the food manufacturing process. So the package maker introduced certain items into the package to avoid causing problems with the items added to the package. Since this is NOT the food manufactures products, they are not listed on the label. Another neat trick.
3. Dog food manufactures can have a product that is 75% grain but list fish as the main ingredient. They do this by breaking down the grains into individual items until it's weight is below the product they want listed first. If fish is only 16%, they can make the 75% grains dissapear to be replaced by white rice 15%, brown rice 15%, yellow rice 15%, beige rice 15%, just slightly grey but not quite white rice 15%. See how it's done?
Before spending any money on one of those fancy named dog foods with all the claims of this and that, you need to research to find an independent breakdown of the food as it stands in the finished package form and not as the manufacture manipulates the info. You may find the $20 a bag and the $50 a bag food are the EXACT same thing when it enters the dogs mouth.
A few things for you to know:
1. The ingredients in dog food are only those included by the manufacture. Some of those expensive fancy foods that say no preservatives, chemicals or whatever, well they may be LOADED with them. So long as the items were put into the base products by the supplier and not the manufacture, it's not required to be listed. A secret is many dog foods need preservatives or it will rot before you buy it. The manufacture of some fancy and expensive "premium" dog food will not want preservatives listed as an ingredient so they do not add any to their food, but they have the supplier of the meat products add it on their end. This legally allowes them to omit that preservative from the label. Neat trick huh?
2. Dog food manufactures can also introduce chemicals into their finished products through packaging. They inform the manufacture of the bags that they are concern that the packaging could accelerate the spoiling of the food, make it smell funny, allow insect eggs and larve to hatch, and any other thing that is normally controlled in the food manufacturing process. So the package maker introduced certain items into the package to avoid causing problems with the items added to the package. Since this is NOT the food manufactures products, they are not listed on the label. Another neat trick.
3. Dog food manufactures can have a product that is 75% grain but list fish as the main ingredient. They do this by breaking down the grains into individual items until it's weight is below the product they want listed first. If fish is only 16%, they can make the 75% grains dissapear to be replaced by white rice 15%, brown rice 15%, yellow rice 15%, beige rice 15%, just slightly grey but not quite white rice 15%. See how it's done?
Before spending any money on one of those fancy named dog foods with all the claims of this and that, you need to research to find an independent breakdown of the food as it stands in the finished package form and not as the manufacture manipulates the info. You may find the $20 a bag and the $50 a bag food are the EXACT same thing when it enters the dogs mouth.
I may have missed it if you already shared, but based on this info, what food do you buy?
Me personally? The Costco by me has several dog foods in those monster bags. I buy the Adult red bag, green bag and that new premium bag. I mix them all together and thats what they get. But they also eat birds, fish, rabbits, lizards and whatever else they catch.
I was told by my vet that most dry foods are fine for dogs so long as its matched to their energy and needs. You won't feed large breed active food to some foo-foo designer dog that sleeps in a mink bed. She has no problem with mixing brands and types to get whats best but overall she laughs at claims made by some of those fancy brands or the raw only thing. The number one thing she said is never ever feed your dog your food from the table. Never cross that line. They have their food, you have yours. My dogs get regular leftover meat, but it's never from the table or kitchen. I can have them in the dining room during supper and they will never expect to get anything from the table.
I use plain old common sense and not try to follow some clever marketing campaign just because it makes me look smarter. Anyway, I've seen the addative factories in Asia and I know who buys their stuff. I have seen factories producing a chemical preservative for animal food and suddenly without the line stopping or the raw material changing, the bags went from ABC Preservative Extender Inc, to Oh-La-la All Natural Omega Something-Or-Another and the stuff was all the same.
But that is just me, my main point is people need to know the truth behind things so they can best make their own decissions. Just like the Diamond issue, fact is, that same ingredient was in many other products under some of those fancy brand names. Some processing houses are contracted to prepare and package many brands but some of the side ingredients are not supplied by the brand but by the processor and if it's a bad batch, it could be in several barnds. We spend too much time trying to believe in a product but never take the time to really know the product.
Last edited by PacificFlights; 07-01-2010 at 05:45 PM..
Wow so the research continues. One thing I am finding is that there are hundreds and hundreds of different brands of dog foods that have been recalled at one time or another. So making a decision based on a recall, so it seems will eliminate just about every brand. One wonders if the companies that have had these recalls are more cautious now and in some respect "safer" because they have had a devastating blow?
NCPUPLOVE, have you considered raw? It's 100% preservative free and the one I feed is grass-fed, without hormones. Can't get healthier than that. My Bulldog thrives on this stuff!
Wow so the research continues. One thing I am finding is that there are hundreds and hundreds of different brands of dog foods that have been recalled at one time or another. So making a decision based on a recall, so it seems will eliminate just about every brand. One wonders if the companies that have had these recalls are more cautious now and in some respect "safer" because they have had a devastating blow?
I was thinking that, too, that perhaps they have higher safety measures now. At least I hope that's the case!
NCPUPLOVE, have you considered raw? It's 100% preservative free and the one I feed is grass-fed, without hormones. Can't get healthier than that. My Bulldog thrives on this stuff!
I have yet to look into the raw yet Mak. That will be my next research project! I don't know anything about it but it seems that if cooking on my part is involved it won't be a great fit for us. I have a house full of kiddos who are all highly involved in things so half the time we humans barely make it out the door with little more than a sandwich!!! I am definitely going to look into it though!
I have yet to look into the raw yet Mak. That will be my next research project! I don't know anything about it but it seems that if cooking on my part is involved it won't be a great fit for us. I have a house full of kiddos who are all highly involved in things so half the time we humans barely make it out the door with little more than a sandwich!!! I am definitely going to look into it though!
No cooking at all. In fact, almost zero prep time. Freeze the meat, pull it out of the freezer the night before, and feed. Simple as that! This is a great site to learn all about it.
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He also was a dog that lived in their backyard. I always played with him when I went over or tried to walk him as once he was no longer a cute puppy my 3 nephews pretty much ignored him
. He was terrifed once you walked him around the corner and would get very protective and lunged at people because of that fear . They never taught him anything yet the bullies know a million tricks the way the bullies are raised is the way the Shar pei should have lived.. but back then my sister in law that did not really like dogs Yet she brought home the puppy becuase my oldest nephew wanted a dog...no prior reasearch done on the breed so in a big way they were VERY lucky as he was healthy and he really was a sweet boy.
