Interesting article ... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyl...rawn-over-the-nations-favourite-dog-food.html and interesting site it links to ... http://www.whichdogfood.co.uk/ which I think has already been posted here?
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK The whole dog food issue is a minefield and such big business these days as we all want to feed the best but often have scant information , articles and websites who have no vested interest can at least help us to make informed decisions
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK Here's a related article I came across today ... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ood-killing-dog-feeding-parsnips-yoghurt.html
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK The programme might be interesting to watch , its big business these days : Looking back at the dogs we had when I was a child and when I had my own first dogs ( long time ago ) our dogs were fed on biscuit meal, Winnalot I think, plus scraps , didnt seem to do them any harm either x
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK When I was a young boy my parents used to feed the dogs butcher's lights which was offal that was unfit for human consumption. I can still remember the distinctive smell when lights were being boiled up in the kitchen but the dogs enjoyed their food and seemed to thrive on it! Roger
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK I also used to boil them up , all frothy on top and quite revolting, not to the dogs though
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK They are lungs and associated pipework Helen , rather disgusting to look at x
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK I have nothing against dogs eating stuff that humans don't want to eat - lungs, heart, tripe, pigs trotters, ears, etc. Some of the other stuff that is put into dog food is a lot more problematic, imo. OH always maintains that dog food HAS to be fit for human consumption. He says it's an EU law - but then he may just have made that up (he is prone to that a bit, I think it is his basic optimism that convinces him that the world MUST be the ideal way he WANTS it to be : ). Does anyone know if this is true?
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK Would like to think so Karen, but have my doubts I`m afraid, or maybe it is law and some dubious manufacturers dont comply :
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ Done quite a bit of study of this. I'm embarrassed to admit that! there should be an anorak emoticon. There are different grades of foods that are heading into the pet food market. If it is to be placed into the pet owner's home and then fed to a dog unprocessed, uncooked etc etc then it HAS TO BE HUMAN GRADE. However, human grade includes washed green tripe that people wouldn't actually want to eat. there is a difference between want to and can without potential harmfulness. food that goes into kibble is treated at very very high temperatures and therefore does not have to be as free of contamination etc before it is processed. what the government is actually doing is securing your health rather than the animals and when this food is processed commercially it needs to be treated with HACCP plans etc just as it would be if you were opening a cake shop / human butchers. we often store dog food in the fridge / freezer alongside food we are going to eat ourselves so it is crucial from the government's point of view that this food is as free of contaminants as your own food is becuase there is such a risk of blood dripping etc etc. Hope this helps. Can bore people with government acts and websites etc if anyone is really interested but i suspect not! :-\ Sarah
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK Sarah, if you could point us to any websites, that would be great! And a little hooded anorak emoticon would be perfect... : Clare
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/disease-control/abp/food-feed-businesses/pet-food-manufactures/ here we are! this is the boring element of it - the purchasing, manufacture, movement and storage of raw dog food either on a commercial basis (ie buying to resell) or if you wish to buy from an abattoir directly. if you are planning on purchasing from abattoirs this is the information / forms that you need. http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/form/ab117/
Re: The low-down on dog foods in the UK Watch "The Truth About Your Dog's food" tonight on Channel 5 at 2100 Roger
