If you love your dog and we know you do, you might want to start thinking about his food the way you do. Do you wonder why every piece of kibble is exactly the same shape? Are you curious how the kibble can sit in the pantry for years and not break? Have you ever thought about how kibble squeals affect your dog’s health? Just like human food, not all dog food is created equal.
If you’re one of those curious pet parents with questions about kibble, learn 4 things you didn’t know about kibble and an option that might be more effective for you and your dog.
1. How Kibbles Are Made
You certainly don’t eat them every day, but over the course of your life, we’re guessing you’ve eaten most of your chicken nuggets. We know that meat of questionable or indicated quality is ground into a paste and injected into rooster shapes for grilling. While they are delicious and convenient, we know that we won’t feel, look or be at our best if we eat them every day.
Kibble and chicken nuggets are not all that different. However, we often don’t think about feeding our dogs every day, throughout their lives.
When making kibble, raw meat, vegetables, carbs and fillers, are mixed together to form a dough, which is then fed into the machine. Hot water or steam is applied at extreme heat and pressure, which will ‘cook’ the dough. Extreme heat and pressure strip moisture and nutrients from the chicken, salmon, or other combined ingredients in your dog’s food.
The dried brown crumbs of the kibble are unpalatable to even the most aggressive dog, so they are then sprayed with tallow to make them palatable. Vitamins are added, to make up for what is lost in the cooking process, and artificial colors (such as caramel) and preservatives are added to ensure the food stays the same and looks ‘tasty’ to the human body. buyer. By the time it’s finished, it pretty away from all the components that were originally used.
2. What ingredients go into Kibble
You’ve read tacos and hotdogs, and you know that regulations on what counts as ‘meat’ in human foods are flimsy and at worst questionable. Knowing that, do you think dog food regulations would be better?
What is considered a source of ‘meat’ in dog food can fluctuate. Whole ground carcasses can be used, and animals can include sick, sick or dead ones. Vegetables are usually limited to whatever is the cheapest and more expensive superfoods are not used, not that they will survive the high heat processing. Carbs play an important role and provide the body with solid food.
Vitamins are added to many dog foods to compensate for the loss of vitamins during cooking. However, not all vitamins are created equal. An unstable source of vitamins is often an indication that a multivitamin has been used, often sourced from China. If your dog is fed multivitamins that they cannot process, side effects can include malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies. Key point? The ingredients are of low quality, synthetic and possibly from diseased sources.
3. How Kibble affects health and wellness
Poor quality kibble is like any unhealthy diet. It opens your dog up to long-term health risks that are becoming increasingly hard to deny. Have you ever wondered why so many dogs are overweight or obese as children, or why food allergies are so high? Could low quality kbble be the cause?
Many of the ingredients in kibble have been linked to a wide range of conditions, and research has clearly shown the benefits of alternative diets, such as the home-cooked dog food diet, in reducing the incidence of diseases. this. Here TedxTalk by Rodney Habib has done an excellent job in exploring the correlation of junk food and other processed foods with short lifespan in dogs.
4. Is your veterinarian a registered dietitian?
Many of us rely on our veterinarians to recommend food for our dogs. Veterinarians focus on a wide range of topics in veterinary school, nutrition being a small part of that.
Veterinarians passionate about nutrition can earn an extra degree to earn the title of ‘Veterinary Nutritionist’. There are only 100 veterinarians with this additional qualification in the entire US, and you can find the full list here.
Is your veterinarian a Veterinary Nutritionist? If so, you should absolutely follow their instructions on the right diet for your dog. Otherwise, you may need to rely on a variety of sources to make the best decision for your pet dog.
While veterinarians often care deeply about animals, they may not have the resources or even the time to do a full assessment. all of dog food on the market. Add to this often recall and fear health and the dog food market can be downright confusing.
A Healthier Option
If you think dogs deserve to be fed the right Like any other family member, there is a healthier option for you. Fresh, real, whole foods can be delivered right to your door, perfectly portioned for your pet dog. Food with ingredients you can see and trust in recipes prepared by a Veterinarian at home. Fresh food from Nom Nom is a healthier option.
Justin Shmalberg is a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist, Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Florida, Medical Director at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital, and Nom Nom Nutrition director. He guides Nom Nom In all of Formulate and advise on animal nutrition.
If you’re ready to switch to real food to fuel and protect your dog’s health, check out Nom Nom. They are the official fresh food partner of iHeartDogs because we believe they are the best on the market and they provide iHeartDogs community-only special offer with 50% off your first order. Sign up today and see the difference fresh food can make to your pet’s health! ”
