Did you know that your pet’s poop is the best way to determine his health? A dog under the weather will convince you he feels fine. This behavior comes from thousands of years in the wild where sick and weak animals are easy prey, so they do their best to cover their weakness.1
Your dog’s stool can also tell you about his diet. Fillers in a pet’s food such as ground corn, corn gluten, wheat, and animal or poultry by-products can be linked to excessive waste. That’s right, fillers will make pets poop more. Not only do fillers contribute to the bigger, messier stools, they can also lead to poor nutritional absorption and skin problems like hot spots, excessive scratching and hair loss.2
Corn actually metabolizes in dogs much the same way sugar does in people.3 4 Paws University in Sacramento states that when you feed your dog a corn based diet, it is similar to feeding a child a diet high in corn syrup. If you have ever been around small children high on sugar, you know the impact it has. This holds true for our four-legged friends as well.
Research also shows that a corn-based diet makes pets eat more. The fillers do not “fill” them up. They pass through the system with little nutritional absorption leaving pets unsatisfied and hungry–and pooping more!
Animal by-products are another common pet food filler. “In Healing Animals with Nature’s Cures,” Henry Paternak states that chicken by-products include head, feet, entrails, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver stomach, intestines and any other part of the carcass not fit for human consumption. Meat by-products can contain a variety of things that we consider unacceptable for human consumption as well states Jessica Smith in a recent article entitled “The True Horrors of Pet Food Revealed”. This is the unfortunate reality of pet foods on the market today.
Fortunately, there are also many holistic pet foods available that take care of our animals from the inside out. Look for foods that provide such wholesome ingredients as whole meats and brown rice, and do not list fillers. Also look for natural preservatives like Vitamin C, E and rosemary extract, instead of chemical preservatives. This will provide your pet with a highly digestible food, maximum nutrition, and significantly less poop!
Shelly Weaver’s lifetime passion for dogs led her to a career in pet health with Nature’s Select Pet Food. She is the proud mom of two Goldens, Dixie and Delilah, and can be reached at 888-MY-DOGGY.
Source: 1) Veterinarypartner.com the canine behaivor series. 2) Nature’s Select manual. 3) 4 Paws University “What Are You Feeding Your Dog” article.
Comments (1)
How about adding pet vitamins to their dietary needs.