Food Pet Die For

As I have said before, my husband drives about 10,000 miles a month all over the USA and he laughs at the idea of there being enough road kill to make dog food, or more than one kibble per bag..  I think it possible things like deer  or cattle or horses killed could be sent to dog food making place, but considering the amount of food that is made every single day,  the amount of deer, horses & cows hit & killed, to depend on that meat  would be like tryng to float Noah's Ark in a bucket of water.
 
I do not believe for one second they go along picking up week old, maggot ridden greasy spots and dog food companies buy it.  And I can't see where it would be profitable to drive 500 miles to the nearest plant to deliver one of two deer bodies. Animal food plants aren not on every street corner.
 
I know deer are hit and killed everywhere--both my brother-in law and years later his daugher, have hit them in NC.    My husband hit that one with his rig and the high patrol took it to a "needy family"..only its head appeard to be injured.  Of course, they could be shipping all the deer bodies to the companies that use venisen in their food.  Even so, I don't think it would amount to a hill of beans in the amount of "road kill" used.  And if it is fresh deer, cow or horse, i wouldn't care if it were in my dogs food. Around here small animals are left to grease the road, large ones picked up and taken to the dump.

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

I do not believe for one second they go along picking up week old, maggot ridden greasy spots and dog food companies buy it. And I can't see where it would be profitable to drive 500 miles to the nearest plant to deliver one of two deer bodies. Animal food plants aren not on every street corner.

Of course, they could be shipping all the deer bodies to the companies that use venisen in their food.

It doesn't go directly to the food companies. Roadkill is gathered and sent to rendering plants. It's just one of many methods of disposal of roadkill. In August, they said these traditional methods 'may be being slowly replaced' by composting. Anyway, rendering plants make generic animal & poultry meals, generic fats and tallows, and animal digest. If the Federal Highway Administration says they send roadkill to rendering plants, they probably do.

And I would commend you for the excellent care you have provided for your dog.
 

Thanks ron2[] btw that is Cassie in the picture below on the opposite end of Athena my Rottie.  Cassie is 11 in this picture...not bad looking for an old girl. Most Newf's around this age start getting gray on the muzzle. 

They are beauties.  On the AIHA group i belong to, one  has a champion black & white---Landseer didn't you call it-- named Blossom.  She developed AIHA after vax and I am thinking it is the rabies vax.  She can never been shown again, to much stress.  With AIHA you don't dare stress your dog. Anything can send them into a  relapse. Her picture is on the www[linkhttp://www.dogsadversereaction.com].dogsadversereaction.com[/link] site under the vaccince reations.  She is a beauty.  There is also a Newf in the moxidectin secion--I think her name was Zebby.  The ProHeart6 killed her.  i don't remember off hand which reaction she had.  She was black like yours.Breaks you heart to look at the pictures of all these dogs that died--muts to goldens, Newf to yorkies, pugs to Mastiff, pits to shih tzus.  So very sad.

ORIGINAL: jessies_mom

Also, someone on this forum has a BF that works for Purina and said thier quality control is very strict so even though many of us don't approve of the ingredients in foods like Science Diet and Purina it's unfair to assume they use the 4D meats, etc., as described in the book.

It's not the quality control - it's the QUALITY of the ingredients.

SD makes a food called g/d® Canine  For the Nutritional Management of Older Dogs

They use Ethoxyquin - a known carcenogen.  Why would you want to subject an older dog, one already more at risk for caner to something like that??

Oh yeah, I forgot to comment on that. I think she was talking about me. My SO has a job that brings him into the Purina plant quite often. Their quality control procedures and standards are stricter than most of the human food plants he goes in. I'd never wory about finding a staple or piece of plastic in their foods. That said, I think Lauri is right, quality of the ingredients is just as important as quality control.

I looked it up the other day and at least 8 of the Science Diet prescription foods contain ethoxyquin. None of their regular foods do. It's really sad that the sick dogs get exposed to the worst ingredients.

It's really sad that the sick dogs get exposed to the worst ingredients.

Ironic isnt it [8|]

Lauri's got a point though.Sure,Purina may run a clean plant,doesnt mean they produce super foods,and i wonder if their employee's pick ingredients right off the conveyor belt and eat them??[:'(] I know someone who did just this and was encouraged to do so by the plant manager whilst touring natura's(innova) plant.

They use Ethoxyquin - a known carcenogen. Why would you want to subject an older dog, one already more at risk for caner to something like that??

 
  I had forgotten about ethoxyquin when I posted that and I agree; my mistake.

Oh yeah, I forgot to comment on that. I think she was talking about me

I had forgotten who it was but the statement about Purina's quality control stuck in my mind. I would like to say though that companies like Iams and Science Diet consider ethoxyquin perfectly safe;

[linkhttp://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=A&articleID=348]http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=A&articleID=348[/link]
 
In thier mind there's nothing wrong with using it.

I just checked Buck's Purina One senior and ethoxyquin is not listed.  Menadione sodium bisulfate complex is..  I didn't look at the girls Purina One weigh managment bag as I had emptied it into the contrainer and tossed bag a few days ago.  I stopped smoking over 7 years ago because I didn't want my dogs breathing in the stuff I was getting off pictures, windows, walls.  But I do not worry at all about those two additives.

Menadione was a subject we were discussing last weekend during our demos.  The Nutro demo rep and I.  We were checking all kinds of food for it.  I believe someone posted quite a bit on the subject and how its a German study that caused a ban of this in Europe.  I am positive that if it was proven a problem here in the US that we will follow the same.  I have been told that Purina has NEVER had a quality control issued in the companies history.  Dating back to the Ralston Purina days.  And that Nestle has even more stringent controls in place now.  All grains are safe.  And your reply might be....there are enough of them in there!  I did see it in the premium purina foods but if I recall it wasn't in the chow line.  Which was interesting.  Its in Nutro and I also trust that they too would remove it if the studies were something that they considered a problem.  Hell most of what I eat, breathe and wear and enjoy are dangerous in someone's mind.  Just walking out the front door is.  Its called life.  I want a good life for my dog, but I am not a fanatic about it.  I don't freak out if my kids play video games or eat candy.  They also watch good wholesome things and eat good healthy food too.  Its all balance.  If Purina Pro Plan is midgrade that about sums up my life then.  I am interested very much in this subject, but its not the end all be all of life.  There are so many other important things to freak out about.

I agree with you mostly - except for this,

I am positive that if it was proven a problem here in the US that we will follow the same.

Why would it matter what country it was proven toxic in? It's the same substance, no matter where it is.

I do agree about not being a fanatic about everything, but if there is something dangerous that is easily avoided, like the bunches of products that don't have it, *I* don't see why to take the chance.

I thought this was interesting; Ann Martin is opposed to a raw diet; [linkhttp://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FKA/is_6_67/ai_n13788104]http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FKA/is_6_67/ai_n13788104[/link];
 
" Dogs and cats have been domesticated for thousands of years. They have eaten file residue of man's diet, which, since the inception of fire, has been cooked. In the past 15 years, a number of purported natural diets for dogs and cats have grown in popularity. Although the Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF) diet is cited most often, many variations exist. Basically, the diet is composed of raw meat, bones, vegetables and, sometimes, grains.
How safe are these diets? In 1995, I began researching them and sought opinions from veterinarians, breeders and people who had, or were, feeding this diet to their animals. I also consulted research studies. What I found convinced me that I wouldn't be feeding a raw diet to any of my pets."
 
 She discusses her reasons in the article if anyone is interested in reading it; it's two pages. I'm not trying to start a raw food debate; I give Jessie raw bones and Nature's Variety raw medallions.
 

I took nutirtion in high school, along with cooking of course.  I learned all about the dangers of raw or almost raw meat for humans, but i had never  really considered it as being dangerous at all for dogs.  I have never been able to eat anything less than well done--no pink at all--and could never bring myself to feed my dogs raw either even tho I didn't really think raw meat would hurt them at all.
 
I am not saying this article is right or wrong, BUT questions do come up.  She only quoted ones who were against it.  How about those for it?  This is exactly why I don't put much faith into these studies, etc.  i will probably never give my dos raw, but not because of studies like this.  I did find it interesting and i do have doubts about raw bones and it does raise questions about raw feeding, but it doesn't prove anything to me....and i don't feed raw!