A conscientious dog owner is one who performs a dog food comparison with health and nutrition in mind. There are those who insist on feeding their dog a certain diet just because of price or a popular name. They may take on a certain dog food diet because their vet recommended it or because their neighbor uses the same product. However, a dog cannot gain its nutrition from cost or brand. The truly concerned dog owner knows a food source must be well assimilated by their dog’s digestive system as well. This means exploring all the options between raw meat diets and commercial dog foods.
One major dog food comparison to make is that commercial dog foods are a fairly new area of dog nutrition. When comparing it to a raw food diet that canines have thrived on for millions of years, how can vets possibly insist on commercial diets as the superior choice? Maybe this has to do with the fact that dog food companies fund veterinary organizations and pay vets to promote and sell their product. Take a look at the statistics for commercial fed dogs:
o Cancer is now the number one cause of death for the domesticated dog.
o 85% of dogs by age four will suffer from periodontal disease.
o 25% of dogs the world over are obese (National Research Council).
o In the U.S., one in five of dogs suffer from arthritis.
o Nearly a third of all dogs suffer from allergies that cause scratching and ear infections.
o Surveys in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Denmark put the average life span of most dog breeds at ten to thirteen years when the average age of a natural fed dog is seventeen to nineteen years.
o Over 70% of blocked anal sac gland cases are due to canned and packaged food.
It would seem that the ingredients of dog food, the spoiled rejected grains, rancid commercial cooking oil, shop spoiled packaged food waste unfit for human consumption, dead, disabled, diseased and dying animals do not help a dog thrive.
Another dog food comparison to make is that Mother Nature created the canine species over millions of years ago when there were no veterinarians or pet food companies in sight. Yet somehow, the species managed to survive. It is true the path between wild dogs and domesticated dogs has split, yet nothing can change the physiology set in place millions of years ago. Domesticated dogs are still designed to assimilate the nutrients they need from raw meat diets. They are simply unable to stay healthy on a diet that has been cooked and is comprised of a congealed, chemical laden grain base.
As stated by Dr. Tom Lonsdale BVet Med, MRCVS, “The procession of sick and bedraggled dogs and cats visiting my veterinary practice all had one thing in common- they were fed on the commercial canned and dried foods.”
A feeder of a raw diet had the following to say:
“For years I thought it was ‘normal’ to expect the odd health problem but somehow my share seemed to be growing along with the vet fees …My veterinarian bills were huge as more or less continually there was one problem or another to fix……now in the thousands per year…Every single condition I had a problem with vanished after several months …My vet bills shrank from literally thousands to almost zero within a couple of months… just wonderful.” Madeline, Blaze, Cody, Sky, Star and Keisha
Obviously when making a dog food comparison between natural and commercial diets, there is no comparison. Natural diets are the clear winner.