I'm on an email list from the AKC (American Kennel Club) and they recently sent out an email introducing Hills Science Diet Small & Toy Breed Dog Food with the title "Does your dog's foods truly fit his needs?" Of course I had to take a look at the website to see what Hill's was saying the small and toy breed dogs really need and this is what they state:
Hill's® Science Diet® Adult Small & Toy Breed dog food provides precisely balanced nutrition to meet your small breed dog's special needs. It contains high levels of antioxidants to help build a healthy immune system with ideal levels of vital fatty acids to promote healthy skin, coat, ears and eyes. It also contains high quality proteins and calcium to promote strong muscles and bones.
That sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Then, I took a look at the ingredient list and it made me shake my head that they can even give the description above. Apparently, a small or toy breed dog doesn't need any sort of good nutrition according to this ingredient label:
Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Flaxseed, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Dried Carrots, Dried Spinach,Dried Grape Pomace, Dried Tomato Pomace, Dried Citrus Pulp, Soybean Oil, Vitamin E Supplement, Iodized Salt, Oat Fiber, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Potassium Chloride, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.
Whole Grain Corn – Corn is generally used as inexpensive sources of protein. Corn products are also a cause of many allergies in dogs and cats, have little nutritional value and are very difficult for animals to digest.
Chicken By-Product Meal – AAFCO: Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines — exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Chicken byproducts are much less expensive and less digestible than the chicken muscle meat.The ingredients of each batch can vary drastically in ingredients (heads, feet, bones etc.) as well as quality, thus the nutritional value is also not consistent. Don't forget that byproducts consist of any parts of the animal OTHER than meat. If there is any use for any part of the animal that brings more profit than selling it as "byproduct", rest assured it will appear in such a product rather than in the "byproduct" dumpster.
Soybean Meal – AAFCO: The product obtained by grinding the flakes which remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans by a solvent or mechanical extraction process. A poor quality protein filler used to boost the protein content of low quality pet foods. Has a biologic value lof ess than 50% of chicken meal.
Pork Fat – It's also called lard. While it adds taste to a dog food, it's not what you would call a high quality fat. It's also an inexpensive way to cure constipation. Hmmmm?
Grape Pomace – AAFCO: The mixture of grape skins, pulp, and crushed seeds. An inexpensive byproduct left over from pressing grapes for juice or wine. The product contributes some fiber but otherwise has little to no nutritional value. Grapes have also shown to contain a substance that is toxic to dogs, so they should not be fed at all.
Citrus Pulp – Citrus Pulp is the dried residue of peel, pulp and seeds of oranges, grapefruit and other citrus fruit. This inexpensive byproduct is mainly used as a bulk carbohydrate concentrate in cattle feed but also added as a source of fiber in dog food. Since the peel and some twigs and leaves are also included, there is a possibility of residues from pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
Apparently the description writer never read or understood the ingredient label when developing the information about how "good" the food was. It's ashame that foods can be marked with special wording to make an unsuspecting parent think they are doing the best for their furbaby.
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