Saving one dog at a time..

I tend to go over the top when I believe in something. This mission, means more to me then anything I have ever done in my 47 years on this planet. This journey of making dogfood & making a difference came from most like any other passions, it came from loosing my own dog.

I am a mother of two boys, when they were young, I was a single mom and worked allot. Therefore, we did not have allot of time to devote to a family dog, which we always wanted. The time came nine years ago that we gained a fuzzy, white and spunky westie that we named “Jax”. I remarried not long after that and gained another brown, loving and majority of time stubborn dachshund named “Jack.” We went on to rescue another dachshund that we named “Lil J”. These three furry creatures became my side kicks in everything I did and everywhere I went. Jack was my morning dog, he was up with me when everyone was still sleeping. I enjoyed my walks, talks and they licked the tears away when I lost my dad and mom.

My dad died in 2016 and couple years later my mom died in November, 2019 to (NASH) Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis, which is simply liver disease. This a horrible disease to watch your family member go through. In January 2020, while my husband was away at work, I walked into our family room to see our Jack having seizures. We rushed him to our family veterinarian, to tragically discover Jack also had the same disease my mom had just passed of, NASH. We were informed that Jack was very sick, and we needed to change his diet immediately to a prescription diet or a homemade diet. Without question, I knew that we had to make his food. I called my dear friend who is a vet and she advised me what to do. Sadly, our Jack bled out that very night and died. Therefore, being the over the top person I am known to be, I sought out to learn everything there was to know about making fresh dogfood from home and also what is in commercial dogfood. This is where Waggin Meals began and why I became a Pet Nutrition Coach, animal advocate and some some my call me an activist against commercial dogfood companies.

This blog is not about Waggin Meals though, I just want you to know my back story. This blog is to educate you as a dog owner about commercial dogfood and what they are “not” telling you, and also what the majority of consumers are completely unaware of.

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Foremost, In pet food dialect, the word ‘food’ does not mean the same thing as in English. The word ‘food’ on pet food labels and websites translates to ‘feed’ – such as in cattle feed or chicken feed, a lesser quality than what consumers understand of food. “Dog Food” is manufactured differently (held to lesser safety standards) than the English understanding of food, and “Dog Food” (and Cat Food) ingredients are not held to the same quality standards as the English understanding of food. Some ‘Pet Food’ ingredients are allowed by FDA to violate federal food safety law. How so? It is so mind blowing….be prepared to loose your last meal as you read this.

The words “beef” and “chicken” translates to another different meaning. Beef and chicken in human food must be USDA inspected and passed, edible. But the translation of beef and chicken in pet food world allows these meats to be sourced from USDA condemned – inedible – animal material. We are not warned as the consumer that condemned ingredients are included in the ‘food’.

But isn’t this against the law? Condemned animal material in any food would be a violation of law…right? NOPE!!! Did you know that? Don’t worry, again majority of consumers have no clue.

Law does clearly say ANY food is adulterated (illegal) if it contains any part of a diseased or non-slaughtered animal (condemned/inedible). But in the pet food world that DO NOT have to disclosed any of this and no law enforced to consider it a violation. The images on these bags sitting on the shelf at your local store intends to make the consumer believe actual slices of chicken and beef are in the pet food. But majority of time the meat in this pet food are probably fabricated meat with wheat, flour, soy and modified corn starch, with small amounts of “feed” grade chicken or beef. Okay you are thinking right now, “ I buy an expensive food that my vet recommends”, just wait this gets worse.

Regulatory authorities openly allow this to happen and deceive pet food consumers. The AAFCO Pet Food Committee has been asked to require the disclosure of fabricated meat on pet food labels – they said “No”.

Ready for more? Now let us get to that expensive and “superior” brand your vet recommended.

“Super Premium Food for Dogs” is a false term my friend. “Super Premium” is a commonly used pet food term meant to imply to unknowing consumers the pet food is of higher quality. This is a feed grade pet food, made with feed grade ingredients – the exact same quality of ingredients as all other feed grade pet foods. ‘Premium’ is a marketing term allowed by regulatory authorities which results in misleading pet food consumers.

The seal on this label that claims “Safely USA cooked with the world’s best ingredients” is not more than often not true. Again, feed grade pet foods use feed grade ingredients. Pet food terms does not grade or rate ingredients – they are all considered feed grade unless they meet the legal requirements of food (human grade pet food). Allot of companies like mine are told my the FDA we are not allowed to use the Term ”Human Grade” and was instructed to take that off my website and any marketing materials. I will tell you, the circus they put me through as a small pet food company was simply crazy- it was about money $$$$. Yet these large companies are getting away with not feeding our pets “food”, they are feeding them “feed”.

‘World’s Best Ingredients’ is a marketing term allowed by regulatory authorities which results in misleading pet food consumers. Ready for me to blow your mind???? Heard of Royal Canin- ???? Yup, the one you pay mucho $$$$$ for? They qualify it as “Natural”.

The word “Natural” is defined within pet food world, however the definition allows unprocessed ingredients OR highly processed ingredients to claim ‘Natural’. Natural on a pet food label is more often than not false to pet food consumers, misleading many to believe the product contains minimal processing. Royal Canin Health Nutrition Dachshund Loaf in Sauce even contains meat by-products that are cheap fillers used to bulk up the protein content of your pup's grub.

Still holding down your lunch….not for long- lets dig into by-products.

Although protein is good for many reasons, unfortunately, animal by-products aren't. These ingredients can be animal carcass remnants. So if you see chicken by-product, that can be code for ground up feathers and beaks. Yum? Animal by-products are all the remnants of the animal carcass after all the meat and bones have been removed.

The issue with animal by-products, is that they are nutritionally inconsistent. Unnamed animal by-products can be so heavily processed that little to no nutrition is left for the pet.

Additionally, by-products are often cheaply sourced, so you'll never know if the by-product used in your pet's diet is actually providing valuable nutrition. 

If you want to stick to healthy animal by-products, look for foods that use named animal parts, like heart, liver, or kidney as opposed to unnamed and questionable animal by-products.  

Want me to name a few off the top of my head that you might be using that have by-products….well honestly, there is not enough room in this blog to do that. Here is a few: Pedigree Dry Dog Food Small Dog Roasted Chicken, Rice & Vegetable Flavor; Purina Beneful Incredible Bites With Real Beef Dry Dog Food; Purina Bella Natural Bites; Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Dachshund Loaf in Sauce; CESAR Canine Cuisine Filet Mignon & Porterhouse Steak (Variety Pack), Iams. SO SO MUCH more….

My next blog post will dig into more exposure of what is being put into commercial dogfood- but please note- it is not “food” it is “feed”.

Until my next rant- all I want to to is save one dog at a time.

-Christie W. Stewart