Hi and welcome!
Ingredients in Purina puppy Chow..
I am hoping this is the one you use...'brewers rice' was not one of the first ingredients you typed up, but check and see if any of this stuff is in there if it isn't the same type..
Lamb, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, oat meal, fish meal (source of DHA), whole grain corn, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), poultry by-product meal, non-fat yogurt, animal digest, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, caramel color, calcium carbonate, salt, choline chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
The second ingredient here is Corn gluten meal. Ingredients are listed from heavest to lightest...this means that the first ingredients make up most of the dog food. Corn Gluten Meal is basically what is left after most of the nutrients are removed. Corn in general is concidered a low quality grain and is thought to be the source of many food allergies.
Corn then appears a second time as whole grain corn.
Brewers rice is a processed rice product that is missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice.
Poultry by-product meal is from both an undetermined source and from low quality sources of protein. It could be any kind of bird, and poultry by-product meal is defined by the AAFCO as, “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.”
Fish meal is from an undetermined fish source.
Caramel Coloring isn't a natural coloring, and could be harmful.
Both Animal digest and animal fat are from undetermined sources, and can be ANY animal. This includes roadkill, dead zoo animals, 4D animals (dead, diseased, dying, disabled) and even euthanized cats and dogs. In addition, the chemical used to put cats and dogs to sleep makes it through the rendering processes and into the food, and the collars, tags, and plastic bags on the animals are not taken off.
Menadoine is a hazardous, synthetic version of vitamin K!! It is believed to cause:
- causes cytotoxicity in liver cells
- causes formation of radicals from enzymes of leucocytes, with the consequence of cytotoxic reactions
- considerably weakens the immune system
- possible mutagenic effects
- damages the natural vitamin K cycle
- has no effect on coumarin derivatives, which are often present in commercial food due to mold contamination (toxic when ingested)
- causes hemolytic anemia and hyperbilirubinemia, not just linked to large doses
- disturbs the level of calcium ions (Ca2+) in the body, which is an important factor fibrinolysis
- is directly toxic in high doses (vomiting, albuminuria), unlike natural vitamin K
- builds up in tissue and has been detected in eggs, meat and milk of animals supplemented with menadione derivatives
- causes irritation of skin and mucous membranes
- causes allergic reactions and eczema
Go here to read more about Menadoine:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione
Your dog may have dandruff because Purina is a low quality dog food that is not giving her the nutrients she needs. This type has a lot of grains and hardly any meat. "Lamb" is the first ingredients, however, anything in the ingredients just labeled as "Chicken" "Lamb" "Beef" ect, includes it's water content. Before it is cooked and processed, raw meat is made of about 70-80% moisture. After is is rendered, only 20% of the meat is left, so "lamb" should really be placed further down the ingredients list. The manufacturer gest away with putting it first because the ingredients are weighed before they are processed.
Also, most dog foods (even the better ones) don't have enough omega 3 and 6s, a lack of which can cause joint and skin issues. Try adding some fish oils to her diet and see if it helps.
It also could be a grain allergy...ratties seem to be especially suseptable to grain allergies.
I feed Canidae, and some other foods that many use on here include Innova/EVO, Taste of the Wild, and Natural Balance. All are very good dog brands.
If you want to read up a little on nutrition and what all those fancy food terms mean, check out this site:
www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php
...and one more thing. It is important to soak the kibble in water because of the lack of moisture in dry dog foods. Dogs do not know instictually how much moisture they need, and most dog foods only contain about 10% moisture. |