Are Commercial dog foods(canned and dry) responsible for the rapid deterioration of dog health since the 70's?

Question

Vets report more disease and much greater level of dental decay in dogs over the last 20 years. I hear in US they even have dog dentists for god's sake!

This coincides with the introduction of the widespread use of commercial dry and canned food.

I often work in the country and I notice dogs fed on meat, bones and scraps seem to be in superior health to those feed the convenience diet of a can or some dry.

Some country vets have told me the natural, unprocessed diet is the best.

Can man produce food in some factory as good as nature or is he just having him self on?

Some owners who feed the commercial stuff tell me their dog likes it and he seems ok but I wonder about the long term effects on a dog of a diet that may be internally foreign to him.

I encounter a lot of old dogs who develop degenerate diseases which some vets suggest is due to a processed diet with is unbalanced and deviod of a lot of enzymes.

CDF is convenient, cheap and less work for the owner.

Many dogs may live longer but it is usually not a quality life.

Emmy duck I am looking for the truth and sane and rational debate. I will keep asking questions until I get that.

Thank you Adriel I will check that resource and your observations. Much appreciated!

Mustanglynnie that is not truthful. Dogs are not living twice as long as in the 70's. Maybe longer but twice? Dogs in my area lived till 15 years plus in the 70's. Are you saying they are living to be 30 now?

Answer 1

Diet does play a part, because people tend to buy the cheap quality foods such as Pedigree, IAMS/Eukanuba, Dog Chow, Alpo, etc. These foods don't contain the proper sources of protein..they are laden with corn, wheat, soy, beet pulp, by products and some even have dyes and chemical preservatives. Dogs aren't designed to be grain eaters or to derive proper nutrition from grains.They aren't designed to process grains, they are meat eaters. Dogs fed these cheap foods have more allergies, UTI, bladder/kidney stones, etc. Studies are also leaning towards corn and soy as being responsible for unexplained seizures in dogs.
Good quality foods that contain at the very least 2 meat protein sources and no corn, wheat, soy, beet pulp, dyes, preservatives are much healthier and dogs fed these types of foods have far fewer health issues.
In an ideal world dogs would be fed raw diets or homecooked diets, however this isn't feasible for a lot of people,therefore they need to find and feed the best quality foods that they can..those with meat sources as at least the first two ingredients and that don't contain corn, wheat, soy or beet pulp.
Also the reason it seems there is a rise in pet illness is because within the past 20-25 years more and more people are seeking medical attention for their pets and are seeing their pets as family instead of just dogs out in the back yard. Also veterinary medical advances have come a long way. I've worked in the vet field for 34 years and I've seen a lot of changes.

Answer 2

I definitely believe commercial dogs foods are the number one cause of health problems with dogs and cats since the 70's. Even the pricier commercial foods such as Science Diet and Iams have such high corn, grain and meat-by-product additives that they are slowly killing our beloved pets. Even most vets will not tell their patients of the dangers of certain foods. I remember last year, Diamond Dogs pet food was actually found as the cause of death for several dogs because of the mycotoxins in the corn meal in the dog food.

My dogs definately love the commercial food, the cheaper the better, but I have them accustom to eating at least corn and grain free, human grade food to help give their immune systems a break. The only other suggestion is to make and feed them a raw food diet, but even then, owners have to make sure they provide food that covers all nutrional needs.

Answer 3

I feed raw but also feed innova when my kids feed my dogs (maybe once a month)
You are going to find so many differant opinions on this subject and yes it is a touchy subject. I do believe the commercial dog foods are a big factor in the health problems in pets. when you feed food that has cancerous, diseased, rotten meat in them what do you get???? Health problems simple as that..........
It is a fact that euthanized cats and dogs have been rendered into dog food that means the chemical to euthanize them and diseased livestock is in the dog food you feed your dog. Olroy is a big one that does this and so is a brand named dads. commercial dog food is a convenience, but also there is people that cannot afford to buy the natural dog food as it is quite expensive, this does not mean they do not love their pets. They just cannot afford to feed the better brands. People that buy iams, pedigree, science diet, eukanuba pay a high price for a poor quality food, even though it is better than some, it is poor quality. The money they spend on it they can buy a healthier food like canidae, innova, solid gold or california natural better food for the money. I have to agree with the argument you have on dog foods but not every person can feed the better quality diet their pet deserves.

Answer 4

Ah..the dreaded dog food debate. Everyone has their own opinion on what is "the best" food. Personally, I think it all depends on the dog.

When I got my dog, 17 yrs ago. I fed her Dads (*gasp*). It was the food we had always fed our dogs, and my dad had raised his quality Shorthairs on. I fed her this until she was 10 yrs old. Then I started to learn more an more about foods, and rendering plants. According to "experts" Dads was crap food and caused all kinds of problems (cancer, liver and kidney) so I switched her to Pedigree and fed her that for the next 3 years. I learned more about what food was considered good and bad, and heard that Pedigree was not up to par. So, I switched her to Natural Choice.

She is 17 yrs old now and her skin and coat are great. Her teeth are decent (for a 17 yr old) and other than slight arthritis, she is in great shape for the most part.

She (a Rottweiler) is getting "old dog signs"..moles and fatty lymphomas etc. When I noticed a couple lumps on her, I had them checked out. Given that she had been fed Dads for the majority of her life, my vet told me that more than likely they were cancerous tumors. Much to the vets surprise..they weren't. In fact, my vet is amazed that at 17 yrs of age, my dog still plays fetch and gets around as good as she does and does not have any sort of major health problems (except for the arthritis)

Answer 5

Actually, dogs live almost TWICE as long as they did in the 70s -sheesh! Canine health knowledge & food have changed significantly since that time due to thorough scientific research. So, just like people living longer, they get geriatric health problems - they are on this earth long enough to get them now. Do the math & think about what you said here...

Don't know what the heck CDF is, but of course you like it if YOU make money when it sells...why else would you post a free advertisement for it (in the form of a question for discussion) here? Hmmmmmm?

Answer 6

i quite agree,commercial dog foods are filled with additives and sometimes,decayed,cancerous meat unfit for human consumption is added to these foods.i have read that dead dogs and cats are even ground up and added to pet foods,which,if true,is horrific! i cant say i have ever heard of or seen a "doggie dentist ' per se,but if my dogs/cats have infected teeth /gums as they age,my regular vet cleans and treats them.yes,so many dogs/cats seem sickly,compared to my childhood-which wasnt all that long ago.look up dog trainer dean rankin,he has an interesting book about the abuses of the pet food industry.i have 4 dogs,2 cats,a hamster,a hedgehog,a betta and am soon to get a horse.ive been lucky,ive had 2 dogs live to 17 and 18,respectively,and currently one of my cats is 17.

Answer 7

i have heard dry dog foods are better for the dog's health ,compared to the canned variety's? tin dog foods and cat foods especially contain far too much sugar in them,Dog books and top breeders books will recommend certain brand name foods as the best nutritional option for your pet,but a lot of this is down to company sponsership and a hefty size cheque for the author of these books!

Answer 8

I think it's very possible that todays dog foods are not very good for the pets. I worked for a while in a meat packing plant, and I saw what went into the trailer bound for the dog food processor. I have a couple of dogs and a couple of cats, and I make sure (with the recommendation of my vet) that I balance their diet with meats and vegetables from my table, as well as vitamin supplements.

Answer 9

This is the second "question" along these lines that you've posted today.

Do you really want opinions on dog food, or are you just extolling the virtues of a raw food diet?

If you want to feed your pets bits of meat, bones, etc, that's fine, but most owners are better off using a packaged food, rather than trying to balance a dog's diet themselves. I know I don't have that kind of time, besides, all my dogs have always eaten good dry food, and they've all lived long healthy lives.

Please stop preaching.

Answer 10

Why are most breeds actually living longer????? The increase in vet reported disease can be due to more people actually GOING to the vet.

How are they not living a "quality" life??? My breed was living anaverage of 6ish years in the 70's...so data says. Today, we are having the average be 9.5 years, and MANY are living to be 12+. These are GIANT dogs!!! They are still getting titles at 9 and 10. They are INDEED living to a ripe old age in a quality way. I have no idea where you are coming about this information...but data by most of the breed clubs would not support that.
Of course old dogs develop degenerative conditions!! They are OLD!!!!!!!!!! Old people develop these problems also. The dog has to eventually die of SOMETHING!!!!!