The Dish by Darcy

Dear Darcy, What do you think of Pup-Peroni? (name withheld by request)

Hi Everybody, In my opinion, it’s not a good thing to put into a dog’s body.

Clever and heart warmingly emotional advertising works, we all know that. But will people who love their dogs bet their dog’s life on it?

I’m glad to see that most online pet food makers and supply stores have recently started adding ingredient lists, even the biggest stores are doing it now. You know that they are hoping the majority of pet owners stay in the dark and uneducated about what’s in that stuff and what it will do to a dog or that they won’t care and they’ll keep buying it.

Not all food and treat makers are made of the same cloth. Some really do care about the health and quality of your dog’s life and use only the best ingredients that they can, those are the ones you’ll see at SitStay.com. Ingredient lists will tell you so much about character, ethics and morality.

If you feed your dogs junk, you will be giving your money to the vet to try to make them well again, even to trying to save their lives from infections, kidney disease, heart failure, aggressive behavior, obesity, tooth decay.

Google.com the words “Pup-Peroni ingredients” to see first, who sells it and promotes it, and second, what is being reported about it. I was shocked to find which websites are promoting Pup-Peroni, I didn’t think it of them. Some of the stores who are selling it have always sold this kind of stuff so no surprises there but really, some of those sites who I thought were really here for the dogs seem to have caved to the almighty dollar. It’s simply hard for some to turn down a lot of money no matter the outcome. I find it very sad.

Del Monte’s Pup-Peroni Ingredients: Beef, Meat by-Products, Soy Grits, Sugar, Liver, Salt, Propylene Glycol, Garlic Powder, Caramel Color, Natural Smoke Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (used as a preservative), Sodium Nitrite (for color retention), Red 40, BHA (used as a preservative), Onion Extract. Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein 24%, Crude Fat 12%, Crude Fiber 2%, Moisture 24%

Del Monte spent $8 million dollars to get you to buy Pup-Peroni. Added sugar, Onion, Sodium Nitrite, flavors, colors, BHA. Ack. Don’t we all know by now that these things are not good for dogs? After Del Monte had to recall food in the 2007 recalls, I’d think they’d research and go the good direction, it was a perfect time to reinvent themselves as the good guys. You’ll have to write to Del Monte to ask if they use the 4D meats: dead, down, dying and diseased in their foods. I can’t find anything that will prove for or against that. Susan Thixton, in an article speaking of Pup-Peroni, wrote: “Meat by-Products. This is a rendered meat ingredient commonly used in ´grocery store´ type pet foods and treats. The FDA determined this ingredient to be a probable source of pentobarbital, a lethal drug used to euthanize animals. Thus, this pet food/pet treat ingredient more than likely contains rendered euthanized animals and the lethal drug used to kill them.”

According to the FDA, the drug pentobarbital used to euthanize animals follows the animal all the way through the process of making dog food out of them and into your home and into your dog. Drugs.com states: “Pentobarbital is in a group of drugs called barbiturates (bar-BIT-chur-ates). Pentobarbital slows the activity of your brain and nervous system. Pentobarbital is used short-term to treat insomnia. Pentobarbital is also used as an emergency treatment for seizures, and to cause you to fall asleep for surgery. Pentobarbital may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.” (Like euthanizing animals, including dogs.)

Here’s a survey and aside from all the disclaimers keeping the FDA out of trouble with manufacturing, it’s a lot of worrisome info: FDA Survey The FDA concluded at some point that your dog ingesting foods and treats that have pentobarbital in them are unlikely to cause adverse health effects. Hmm. I find that so interesting. Just how much would they have to eat and over how much time until there were adverse health effects? There is some research on the amounts but what about my individual dog? How much is okay for him? There’s no conclusive proof that I can find that tells me it’s safe and will help keep my dog well. Far from it.

Check out the makers making it and the stores selling it and see if you still want to do your business with them. Character of a company means so much.  – Darcy

P.S. Del Monte also make Kibbles ‘n Bits and Milk bone. Here’s the OMG!

Kibbles ‘n Bits Ingredient list: corn, soybean meal, beef and bone meal, ground wheat flour, animal fat (bha used as preservative), corn syrup, wheat middlings, water sufficient for processing, animal digest (source of chicken flavor), propylene glycol, salt, hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, caramel color, sorbic acid (used as a preservative), sodium carbonate, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), choline chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacin supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), calcium sulfate, titanium dioxide, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, BHA (used as a preservative), dl methionine.

Milk Bone: Ingredients: Wheat flour, wheat bran, beef meal and beef bone meal, wheat germ, beef fat (preserved with tocopherols), poultry-by-product meal, lamb meal, salt, chicken meal, dried beet pulp, dicalcium phosphate, bacon fat (preserved with BHT, propyl-gallate, and citric acid), brewers dried yeast, whey, artificial color (includes red 40, yellow 5, blue 1), vitamins (choline chloride, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate [vitamin e], vitamin a acetate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, vitamin b12 supplement, d-activated animal sterol

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), malted barley flour, iron oxide, casein, natural flavor (source of peanut butter flavor), sodium metabisulfite (dough conditioner), minerals (zinc sulfate, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, ethylenediamine dihydriodide

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), soy lecithin.

As an added bit for people who will read the bad news, Google the words “FDA pentobarbital”. Apparently to this day, and it doesn’t surprise me or others in the know, some dog food companies are still adding animals who have been euthanized with pentobarbital to their foods. Pentobarbital follows from the live animal into death and into food, intact. Generally before an animal is enthanized, it was ill or diseased and full of drugs and antibiotics to try for a cure. Then the pentobarbital shot to end the suffering.

Hi Darcy, I am confused about feeding amounts. I read in one of your posts raw food is 2% of body weight.

They were all rescues. Darcy, thanks for sharing your expertise. Linda

Dear Linda, I’m not a nutritionist or a vet. I do have a lot of good experiences with my own dogs and have helped thousands of people move to better diets and make their dogs well dogs. We are so lucky to have logical, practical, Mother Nature provided guidelines on our side, it helps us understand what dogs need. If your dog caught a rabbit, what would he be eating? Brain, bones, meat, and whatever was the veggie matter inside that rabbit’s stomach. That’s what we try to simulate when we assemble food for our dogs. Of course, a whole rabbit is easy if you have it available, most people don’t and they assemble dinner from several different groups of foods.

This may help you more than anything. Each dog is different, just like humans are different. Amounts of food mean different things to each body. For instance, if you feed all dogs the same every day, one may gain weight, one may lose weight and one may stay the same weight. As your dogs grow older, they may need less of one thing and more of another. Some people can eat huge amounts of food in a day and never gain weight, that’s not me, if I eat too much, my fat and body mass increases. The individual body determines how the dogs use the food, and how fast, depending on their metabolism and activity.

The guidelines are just guidelines to get you started. Rule of thumb for a raw diet daily is 2% adult, 10% puppy. Here’s the test of how to determine if your dogs are getting the right amount of food. Feel their ribs, every morning. I feel my dogs ribs every time I pet them, it’s a good habit to get into.

How to feel the ribs: Run your fingers across the ribs from head to tail and back again. A dog’s ribs in good weight means that you can feel the ribs easily but they are under a lightly padded layer. The belly should not be fat, but firm and svelte. I don’t generally share other websites but this one is pretty good for showing drawings of what a dog body shape should look like. Click here to go to the site.

If your dogs are fat or overweight from the amount you’re feeding now, cut it down. Add a raw bone with a little meat, like a knuckle or something small enough for them to chew on without getting to eat it. This is for chewing pleasure. It not only helps them feel like they are getting more to eat so calms hunger that they might feel but also increases calmness and mental health. Watching a dog get down and chew on a bone is a lot like watching a person doing what they love to do, it’s total happiness and complete concentration. It does wonders to calm the mind and emotions.

If your dog’s ribs are just right and they are getting plenty of bone chewing and activity, you’re right on with what you’re feeding. Watch each individual dog. You might keep a journal but really, feeling the ribs every day before breakfast will tell you how much food they should get. If you have a fatter dog, give a little less for breakfast. A skinny dog, a little more. You might have to alter food day to day for some until you start to understand how their body uses the food. It’s a lot easier than it sounds and with practice, you’ll know just what each needs. If you can feed yourself, you can feed your dogs.

I remember our Golden Retriever Kari, she was a rescue, too. She was an easy keeper, just like me. She didn’t eat much, chewed a lot!, and had to have tons of exercise to keep her body beautiful.

And then there is Oliver, also a rescue. I don’t know how that guy got so big, he’s over 92 pounds now. He didn’t eat very much until he was about 11 months, like many rescues who go through trying times, he was afraid of food. Before he was rescued, he was alone with his sister dealing with mange and a whole lot of other life threatening issues. My best guess is that she ruled the roost. In the garage alone with his sister and a bowl of food every day, my guess is that she was the stronger dog and personality and she got most of it on her schedule. He was too sick to fight her and probably submitted to her and eventually submitted to food as well. That seems weird but I hear more and more that rescue dogs are refusing to eat. It has to do with trauma in some instances. I believe that was what happened to him. The sister was adopted first leaving him alone but the damage had already been done. He was afraid to eat for a long time and had to be coaxed out of his skinny, skinny state. After a while of living with Kent and eating raw food, his fear of food went away and his appetite kicked in, now he really loves to eat. He eats a lot! He’s still growing and filling out and he’s a highly active boy. He loves to chew! He’s quite the sweetheart.

So, determine again by weight 2% raw food of adult body weight for each day. Then adjust to the dog’s needs. Maybe a little more meat, a little more veggies, a little more chewing. Each might need something else. Lots of chewing, lots of exercise.

Don’t lose sleep over feeding the dogs right. They definitely will not go hungry. Keeping them lean is the hardest thing.

If you need hands on guidance, go to the SitStay Dog Run Forum for raw diet. They are wonderful and helpful. And SitStay.com has some great books on the subject, too. – Darcy