There is no need to change - as long as you are happy with what you are feeding... have you researched what is in your dog food?

Asda were selling tins of Irish stew last year, it's not dog food but mine loved it, less than a £ a can too, and full of veg. Nice wee change for them once or twice.

LOL, you know going back years ago lots of dogs were fed soley on kitchen scraps, this included our first dog! She was a mongrel who lived until she was about 12yrs old and never ailed a thing!!! (and she never went to obedience classes or had clicker-training etc, but was very obedient too!! My second Mongrel was another matter like!!)

I think feeding and training are the two issues which have the most varied opinions. I guess when it boils down to it, you feed what you feel (and can afford) what is best for your dog, simple as!!

I wondered if these research papers would be any use regarding the feeding of dog food, citied with a summary of the findings:

PubMed - “Hypercalcaemia in two dogs caused by excessive dietary supplementation of Vitamin D”. This says: “Subsequent analysis of the dogs’ diet revealed that the food contained excessive amounts of Vitamin D.

Journal entitled “Food Additives & Contaminants” Vol. 19, issue 12 December 2002, pages 1180-3 paper headed “Occurrence of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 in some pet foods” says “The presence of cereals and grains in the formulation of pet foods suggests the need to control aflatoxin contamination in these foods. The paper says “Aflatoxins are carcinogenic and their consumption might be a risk for domestic animal health.”

PubMed - J. Am Vet Med Assoc. 2003 Oct. 15; 223 "Taurine deficiency in dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy" says that dogs fed a commercial dog food were found to have low blood taurine which gave them DCM, even though dogs produce taurine. The paper says pet food companies should perhaps add taurine even to dog food. Feeding the dogs raw food would give them taurine.

PubMed- Veterinary Record 1967 Mar 18;80(11):364: “The dangers of poisoning domestic pets with meat from animals subjected to barbiturate euthanasia”.

Journal of the American Medical Association 1975 Feb 3; 231(5):484-5 “Lead in pet foods and processed organ meats”. This paper says: “The finding that canned pet foods contain considerable amounts of lead is important’’

PubMed – Res Vet Sci. 2002 Oct; 73(2): 177-82 “Determination of bisphenol A in canned pet foods.” The study says that 15 samples of cat food and 11 samples of dog food were studied and the result was that Bisphenol A was found in the pet food and was found to have come from the inside coating of the can.

PubMed – Vet Med Small Anim Clin. 1979 Nov; 74(11): 1609-10 “Lead, arsenic and cadmium levels in commercial pet foods”.

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation Vol 19 Issue 2, 168-175 “Aflatoxicosis in nine dogs after exposure to contaminated commercial dog food”. Four dogs died and 5 were euthanized after signs of liver failure. Analysis of feed and liver samples confirmed exposure to aflatoxin. Of the 9 dogs, 8 had classic signs of liver failure and 1 had signs of liver failure.

A paper in the Journal of Food Protection 2001 May; 64(5): 741-3 entitled “Mycoflora in commercial pet foods” says that the level of moisture in dry pet food allows mould growth.

PubMed, Pol J. Vet Sci. 2004; 7(4): 337-41 “Dietary origin of mycotoxins and estrogenic potential and possible health implications for female dogs”. This links mycotoxins in cereals in pet food with causing endometrica pyometra complex (EPC) and fertility problems and links feeding pelleted dog feed with causing the mycotoxins.

PubMed – J Anim Sci 1999 Mar; 77(3):693-700 “Overt signs of toxicity to dogs and cats of dietary deoxynivalenol”. This paper states: “Studies were conducted to determine the dietary amounts of deoxynivalenol in dog and cat food that are required to produce overt signs of toxicity (eg. vomiting or reduced food intake). Vomiting by dogs and cats was commonly observed at the 8 and 10 mg deoxynivalenol levels”.

Journal of Agric Food Chem. 2006 Dec 27; 54(26): 9623-9635 “Mycotoxins in Pet Food”. This paper states: “Mycotoxins contaminate cereal grains worldwide and their presence in pet food has been a potential health threat to companion animals. Aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and Fusarium mycotoxins have been found in both raw ingredients and final products of pet food around the globe.”

PubMed – Aust Vet J. 2005 Jul; 83(7):408-11 “Thiamine deficiency due to sulphur dioxide preservative in pet meat”. This paper says that 3 puppies were diagnosed with thiamine deficiency caused by feeding sulphite treated meat.

PubMed - J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2006 Jan-Feb; 42(1): 28-36 "The effect of ingredients in dry dog foods on the risk of gastric dilatation volvulus in dogs". This paper states: "An unexpected finding was that dry foods containing an oil or fat ingredient (eg. sunflower oil, animal fat) among the first four ingredients were associated with a significant, 2-4 fold increased risk of GDV". GDV can kill a dog.

Blackwell Synergy - Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, Vol 16, June 2006 "Diet-associated hepatic failure and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in a Weimaraner" and says "A 4 year old male castrated Weimaraner developed signs of IMHA, hepatic failure, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and malnutrition after consuming a commercial dog food".

Blackwell Synergy – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, Vol 85, August 2001 “Residues of ochratoxin A in pet foods, canine and feline kidneys”. The occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in canned (26 samples) as well as dry pet foods (17 samples) for cats and dogs was investigated. In addition 26 feline kidney samples with or without kidney alterations were surveyed for OTA residues…OTA could be detected in 47% of the pet food samples….Low concentrations of ochratoxin A could also be found in tissue of cat kidneys, with 16 of the analysed kidneys being positive.

PubMed - Tijdschr Diergeneeskd 2003 Dec 15; 128(24); 785-7 "Health claims in dog and cat feed". "The number and diversity of health claims for dog and cat foods have increased markedly over the past few years. There is no explicit legislation as to these claims. Many claims are insufficiently supported by research and are vague and suggestive". This paper says that rules should be set up to stop pet food companies making false and unsubstantiated health claims for their food.

PubMed - N Z Vet J. 1997 Oct; 45(5): 193-5 "Nitrite poisoning in cats and dogs fed a commercial pet food". "The death of 3 cats from two separate households was linked to toxic concentrations of sodium nitrite used as a preservative in a commercial pet food. In a further incident, ataxia and weakness were noticed in 2 of 4 dogs after they were fed the same brand of pet food."

PubMed - Vet Record (Britain) 2004 Aug 7; 155(6): 174-6 [B]"Accidental poisoning of 17 dogs with lasalocid". [/B]"Over a period of 10 days 17 dogs became weak and developed neurological deficits of different degrees of severity. About 12 hours before these clinical signs appeared they had all eaten a particular brand of commercial dog food from a recently opened bag.......Five of the dogs died but the others improved gradually".

A Harvard Law School paper written by Justine S. Patrick who is now a qualified lawyer in Pittsburgh, said in April 2006: "Trusting but uneducated consumers purchase these commercial pet foods under the assumption that the FDA or some other regulatory body has ensured that the foods contain "balanced" meals and "complete" nutrition. These consumers naively believe veterinarians that endorse and sell pet foods from their offices while neglecting to mention that these "pet doctors" are often "on the take" and can earn up to 20% of their total income from such sales. This paper will examine the ways in which inadequate regulation results in confused consumers and sick, malnourished pets." The paper says many American Vets have shares in Hills pet food and this is why they tell clients to feed it. It also states that the American Veterinary Medicine Association is the biggest shareholders in Hills Pet Nutrition.


The Pet Food Manufacturers Association in writing tell me (Fiona McCann) that Ethoxyquin (a carcinogen) is still used in British pet food.

Food for thought as they say.
----------------------------

Converted another last night. 4 year old Rottie who had brittle hair and 'grey' with dandruff. A month ago he had a check up and a Vet said he was healthy and to put him onto Hills Science Plan.
Owners think that feeding real food sounds logical, but were led to believe human food was bad for their dog. They threw it out then and there and he got sardines to eat for dinner.

Jess the original poster came on here to ask if anyone else fed tinned food, I may be wrong but I don't think she wanted a lecture and a lot of quotes relating to events surrounding pet food that took place in many instances some years ago/in other countries. A more recent pet food health scare in the USA was discussed on this forum at the time.

You have been given an entire section of your own in which to discuss Raw/Barf feeding without intervention from people who do not feed that way.
I think if people choose not to feed Barf that is their choice and I don't think it is very nice coming on here and trying to make them feel bad about the food they choose to feed!

I have read about problems with Barf and my own vet calls it 'the barmy Barf diet' , so I think unless asked to recommend a diet we should allow people to make their own choices.

Thanks Mini...
Sorry, but heard the horror stories about BARF diets too and i still wouldn't tell anyone not to feed it... All this thread was, was asking if people fed canned and really what was the best canned food... it wasn't about kibble or raw etc...
Every food can harm a dog if they are intolerant or given too much...

at last we have got back to the original post, and although I don't feed cans to my dogs, everyone has the right to choose, there are pros and cons to all diets. My father feeds his gsd on cans and mixer,

Mine used to have Chappie chicken and rice mixed in with their dry food and loved it (now they have a dry food they will eat without it) If they have a dickie tummy I give them Chappie Chicken and Rice for a few days which always helps. The dogs love it.

I was always led to believe that Chappie was, quite frankly, a crap tinned food. I cant remember where I got this impression from, possibly my Mum, but then when I did my HND in Animal Science, the lecturer raved on about it.

I thought no more on the subject until I got my own dogs and rediscovered Chappie. I hear far far more positives about this food than the negatives. It's not fancy or expensive but as far as tinned goes, I think it's a great food.