When domesticating a dog became a way of life, I am sure processed dog food was what they ate. This is a really boring topic.

The dog article is the reference and definitely not what to feed the dog.

What's the difference between cheap dog and expensive dog food? Cheap dog food leaves a 70% aftermath and expensive dog food leaves a 30% aftermath. :)

When I worked as a butcher, we used to throw all sorts of animal parts in a big bin. These parts consisted of bones, fat, old nasty unsellable food like rotten chicken. Once a week a company would pick the waste up. The waste is used for dog food. They process that mess and sell it as dog food.

Chocolate- my dog loved chocolates! He didn't like beer like some other dogs do. He definitely wasn't a garbage disposal and hated vegetables. My mother made him toast every morning. Marijuana was one he got whether he liked it or not, same with cocaine. And wild mushrooms...he loved those of the halucinigenic form, in fact I got some for him special, the week he died. The last week of his life he didn't eat dog food at all. He was put to sleep. ;''(

It is a boring but necessary topic, because many people are not raised around pets and this article is news for them.

(Also, some sources have found that road kill is used in some pet food brands.)

That's exactly right. My dog only eats grass when her stomach is upset and she is visibly uncomfortable. I can hear her stomach making all kinds of noises. This is the only time she eats grass. And yes. She usually pukes if I let her eat it. What I've started doing is when she wants to eat grass, I give her plain Tums/Rolaids (the stuff without the drugs in it.) That usually settles her stomach in about 5 minutes.

Dogs do eat grass when they have an upset or nervous stomach. If you let them eat it, they'll puke it up. If you don't, they most likely will eject bile on your carpet. I vote for the tums approach.

Steve - my experience with my dog is different than yours as a Vet Tech. My dog eats a very little bit of grass every time I take him outside for a walk. At least 95% of the time - he does not puke it up nor does it effect his stool. I just figured he wanted to add 'greens' to his diet !

He's a Dachshund/Basset Hound, is now 7 1/2 years old, and has had occasional stomach or intestinal problems but they've always been short-lived and fixed quickly.

i think natural is better for animals and people. if the critter requires grass,eat it up! the longer you can keep people and animals off of the pharmaceutical merry go-round,the longer they'll have quality life.

Goodness! There is a lot of crap info out there...even among those experts who think they know. I am a CVT (Certified Vet Tech) and run a Veterinary Technology program in Colorado. 13 years in practice...here's my take:

1st: Dogs and cats alike vomit for many unknown and various reasons,..some due to upset tummys, some purely instinctual, some shoulder shrugging, ie: we don't know why. It is nature for them to void their stomach contents through grass ingestion. It's an oddity but won't hurt them. They do stop once they've vomited once for that outdoor grass eating session normally.

2nd: People food. Remember one thing experts: Animals (especially dogs) are instinctually eat to fill a void. WE'VE taught them taste is important. The more we feed people food, the less attractive dry kibble becomes. They are inherantly not made to eat it. Cat's most especially. For them we term it the "CatKins" diet. Protein, protein, protein!! Dogs and Beneful are okay, but the veg is a bit overkill. They are ominvores yes, but lean toward the carnivore side more.

3rd: The cats on baby's chest issue. I agree cats want to snuggle next to warm snuggly things, but I can personally attest that if my cats (I have 3) have a preferance, it is to lay on top of me rather than beside me. The myth that they steal the baby's breath stems from them loving to lay on top of anything! If there is a stack of papers; cats will lay on top of it. If there is a high shelf, cat's want to be on top of it. It's a dominance game for them...being "on top of" makes them feel socially "above" you or the item. As I speak my one cat Jerry is laying on top of a stack of books on my cabinet. They lay on the baby's chest, the baby can't breath, ...thus stole the babies breath. It IS a hazard, but it's an instinctual behaviour for cats.

and I'm spent....

We fed our dog Purina One and Pedigree dry and moist dog foods with plenty of fresh water every day. We also fed her whatever else she wanted to eat (with the exception of chocolate). We would give her a plate of what we had for dinner and she ate what she wanted and left what she didn't. Her favorite dessert was ice cream. Some people might not agree with that, but she was healthy all her life and lived to the ripe old age of 18 3/4 years old. So I always tell people not to listed to others who say not to feed table scraps. Feed 'em what they want - they only live once too!!

"I give my dog Brocolli". If your dog had any serious work to do, it would quickly sicken and die on a vegetarian diet. As someone who raced and fed sled dogs for over 30 years, I would like to point out that dogs are carnivores, and a healthy dog diet centers around meat. "Don't give your dog a high fat diet". BS!!! In winter, or when very active, a dog needs upwards of 30% fat in its diet. As in humans: dietary fat is used for energy and then eliminated. Body fat comes from carbohydrates, and a doggy diet should be low in carbs. Commercial dog foods MUST have a meat item as the first ingredient to be credible. They are good with the vitamins and enzymes, but out of control with carbs, for the most part.

Just because sedentary couch potato dogs can survive on carbo-crap diets, they still suffer. Recent research shows that the brains of human vegetarians can be up to 25% smaller than normal! The IQ of a vegetarian who is a former meat-eater can be 8-15% lower than when tested on a meat diet. Do you really want your dog to be dimmer than normal? Or your human friends and relatives?

Veterinarians are NOT the equivelent of human doctors. They are not trained as long or as deeply, the research and information is less than 10% of what a human-doctor learns about physiology, nutrition and performance. They mean well, but they have no research on which to base ridiculous comments on dog nutrition and long term health effects of various foods. People owning actively hunting dogs, herding dogs, sled dogs and racing Greyhounds, to name a few, are often considerably more knowlegeable regarding dog health and nutrition than the corner vet. They have to be!

Some "vegetarian" diet sled dog teams have tried training to run (various races), with disasterous consequences. The dogs do not grow stronger. With the onset of colder weather and harder work, they become weaker, lose weight rapidly and have to be re-introduced to meat to survive light workouts.

Dogs are not vegetarians. Nor are they people. Wolves and dogs (DNA proves that wolves, coyotes, jackals and "domestic" dogs are the same species) in the wild eat a diet rich in small rodents, including the vegetation the rodents have eaten. In this pre-digested form, dogs satisfy the small amount of vegetable needs they have with the meat of the rodents. You can feed some dogs candy bars, too, and they seem to love them. They are not the best at deciding what foods are acceptable. Just as we owners are. Dogs, if shaved down to Greyhound hair length, should show their bones through their skin. It is their natural condition. If they are much chubbier than that, they are overweight.

Rubbish. I don't believe for a minute that vegetarians' brains are "smaller". Sounds like utter nonsense. You make all these claims and say "recent research" but provide no proof at all. What research? Dogs can be very healthy on vegetarian diets. They have to be fed properly, though. As for people, there are vegetarian and even vegan body builders, like Robert Cheeke, who is one of many. He has a web site with lots of nutritional information on it. Google it.

As to sled dog racing, how many dogs have died in the Iditarod because it is an excessively extreme 'race' that doesn't even resemble it's beginnings of bringing much needed medicines? It's much longer (over 1100 miles) and much harder on the dogs. Dogs die because of this race every year. Five dogs died in this year's Iditarod race (six dogs, actually, one was post competition), as of a news article from yesterday, 3/24/09. Google it.

Obviously, MEME is a vegetarian. Try entering something like"vegetarian brain size" into your search bar. This story was covered extensively on all the national news networks about 4 months ago, and again brought up research by Ucal berkely and U of Ohio about 15 years ago regarding the intelligence of test subjects who were meat eaters, tested their IQ, and then went full veggie diet and tested again 90 days in. Disturbing drops in IQ were recorded. I'm not saying the research suggests they became idiots. I'm saying there is enough deterioration to be alarmed. Further, a "macrobiotic" diet is legally considered child abuse in several US states, due to the lack of proper fast acting protein and enzymes that are necessary for brain development in children.

But...it'll be hard for you to look it up, I'll bet. The first sign of mental deterioration? The adoption of the nonsense word "Vegan" (2 syllables) instead of the correct word "Vegetarian" (5 syllables) for obvious reasons.

As for dog deaths in the Iditarod: If 40 teams enter, averaging 16 dogs each, compute the death rate. Now, review the death rate at the pound among dogs cast off by vegetarian pet owners. If you can.

Try this: "According to a new study, vegetarians and vegans are six times more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than meat eaters.

The link was discovered after scientists at Oxford University ran memory tests, physical checks and brain scans on 107 people between the ages of 61and 87, and then retested them five years later.

Researchers speculate the loss of brain mass in vegetarians and vegans is due to a deficiency of Vitamin B12, which is found in meat, fish and eggs. This type of brain atrophy is linked to Alzheimer's Disease and other cognitive failings. "

Oh...uh....Oxford! Pardon Me, I thought it was a reputable university. Anyway, there is much, much more on this subject for those who can work the search bar.

It's one study, no matter who it's by, that's being quoted all over the place and it may or may not hold water. It's being used as a scare tactic. The participants were between 61 years old and 87 and likely didn't know as much about B12 as we do now or didn't have it as available as it is now. As to the IQ study you mention, I imagine if someone drastically changes their diet overnight like that it could temporarily affect you, no matter what the diet. It proves nothing. As a VEGAN, I'm well-aware of getting enough B12. As to vegetarians, some eat eggs. As to vegans, there are B12-fortified foods and B12 supplements. A vegan is a "strict vegetarian" whereas there are different types of vegetarianism: lacto-ovo or lacto- or ovo-vegetarian, etc. I don't consume animal products and don't use animal products and am a vegan. The word "vegan" is in the dictionary. Look it up.

I excel in my mentally-demanding job working for a medical facility.

I can't comment on macrobiotic diets because I've never been on one and don't read up on it. However, a vegan diet is perfectly safe from pregnancy through adulthood, which means it's safe for babies and children.

This is according to the American Dietietic Association (the pyramid food people), directly from their website. Note the health benefits of vegetarianism over meat eating: "It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Approximately 2.5% of adults in the United States and 4% of adults in Canada follow vegetarian diets. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat, fish or fowl. Interest in vegetarianism appears to be increasing, with many restaurants and college foodservices offering vegetarian meals routinely. Substantial growth in sales of foods attractive to vegetarians has occurred, and these foods appear in many supermarkets. This position paper reviews the current scientific data related to key nutrients for vegetarians, including protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, vitamin A, n-3 fatty acids and iodine. A vegetarian, including vegan, diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, use of fortified foods or supplements can be helpful in meeting recommendations for individual nutrients. Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."

From personal experience, I have several siblings. All are meat eaters and all but one have problems with diabetes and/or heart disease. I don't. My blood sugars and cholesterol, and everything else, are fine. As to the one sibling, I am unaware of that person's health one way or another. One relative had some health concerns and asked a neighbor (who is a hospital cardiologist) what the best thing to do for his health was and the cardiologist told him to "go vegetarian." This was just a few months ago.

Since you've made your living off the backs of sled dogs, it's not surprising you show absolutely no concern or care or the slightest bit of sadness, whatsoever, about the deaths and injuries that occur in the inane and cruel Iditarod race every year. It's like they're disposible pieces of equipment to you, which they probably are.

I'm also very aware of the millions of shelter animals put to death each year due to a lack of homes. Where do you get the notion that vegetarians are casting them off? Do they actually ask that question at shelters now? Many vegetarians/vegans (like myself) are v*gan for ethical reasons, because we love animals and "casting them off" would be the last thing we would do to a dog or any other animal. We are more likely to try to save and help them. But suppose, in this imaginary world of yours, even if all vegetarians were casting off their dogs at shelters that would be a tiny portion (4% or so) compared to the meat eaters who are casting off their dogs and other animals.

The Iditarod is just a human ego race where idiots use animals to do most of the work and to sacrifice their lives (the dogs, not the humans) so they can get some money and, most of all, some glory. It's a disgrace and should be banned.

Steve the dogman is entirely correct. Over millions of years of evolution, the animals that survived , were the more intelligent, meat eaters. Animals that ate nothing but vegetables/plants had smaller brains, were generally lethargic , slow moving and less intelligent.. Herbavores were and are prey.

Maybe their brains are smaller but horses, antelope and deer are not slow moving nor lethargic.

good luck with that

Eleven years ago when my son was born, I was under the impression that there was some basis to this myth. What didn't help was the stories I'd heard of female cat owners whose jealous cats latched on to a new boyfriend's face when he stayed over for the night.

Anyway, I ended up taking my son's first blanket ( yes, "first" as in it was a little messy ) and bringing it home so the cats could familiarize themselves with the scent, thus lessening any curiosity or shock. The reacted better to my son's arrival, nouse and all, better than they did any other strangers coming over to visit.

WNYcoog!

You are exactly correct! Cats smell milk & go after it! This FACT was validated years ago! Dogs will try the same thing but they are not as lithe as cats. They tend to attract alot of attention so they seldom get their noses into the danger zone.

baby pets need baby pet food, yes. and adult pets need adult PET food.

amen!

Actually, it is evident that Dr. Brazelton hates cats. His statements encourage violence against cats and help to continue to overburden unwitting shelters. Both dogs and cats, birds, iguanas, anything except tropical fish, should be accompanied around infants until the infant can talk.