What Kind of Food is Best for my Dog?

But now, after learning how to read pet food labels and becoming educated about animal nutrition, I highly recommend Life's Abundance Pet Food to anyone who asks me. This is what I feed to my own pets because it's a premium health food, considered "human grade" quality, and is guaranteed to be fresh and contain no preservatives. And, it provides my pets with a 100% complete and balanced nutritional diet. And they love it!

Although we may think all pet food manufacturers have our pet's best interests in mind, this is not always the case. Current pet food regulations allow manufacturers to use ingredients that we would never knowingly give to our pets. In fact, you may be shocked to learn what some brands of pet food really contain. For example: the use of by-products (feet, bones and intestines, etc.), chemical preservatives (BHA and BHT) and grains that are often difficult to digest (corn, wheat, gluten and soy), which are often used as a protein source instead of meat.

Manufacturers need to put chemical preservatives into their pet food to extend the shelf life of the food. I was shocked to learn that some pet foods sit in non-temperature controlled trucks for up to a year before reaching the store shelf, not to mention our homes! In order to insure that we get the freshest food possible, Life's Abundance Pet Food makes their food in small, frequent batches. The Life's Abundance food that gets delivered to our door may only be about 6 weeks old.

When I started researching some of the actual ingredients in some of the most popular foods on the market, here are just a couple of things I learned:

Chicken By-Products: Consists of the rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chickens, such as the necks, beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines-exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. YUCK!

Poultry By-Product Meal: Consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines, and multiple organs-exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Can include buzzards, geese, ducks, turkeys, etc. YUCK!

I also learned that understanding what the ingredients actually mean is not enough. The quality of the ingredients used in pet foods can also be questionable. For example, many grains that are grown in poor soil will lack the needed vitamins and minerals and unfortunately, this is a common occurrence in the United States. Grains and vegetables can be polluted with fertilizer residues and pesticides of various kinds.

Poor quality pet foods can also be soiled with mold, mildew and fungus. The quality of meat can also be suspect. We have all heard stories of people finding bits of hair and other unsavory items in our hamburger, but the quality of meats used for dog foods is much lower. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said that there is non-mandatory federal inspection of ingredients used in pet food manufacturing.

Some states do inspect manufacturing plants, especially those producing canned pet foods. However, in the majority of states it is legal and a common practice for pet food manufacturers to use what are known as "4-D" meat sources-animals that are dead, dying, diseased or disabled when they arrive at the slaughterhouse.

Dr. P. F. McGargle, a Veterinarian and a former federal meat inspector, believes that feeding slaughterhouse wastes to pet animals increases their chances of getting cancer and other degenerative diseases. He said, "Those wastes include moldy, rancid or spoiled processed meats, as well as tissues too severely riddled with cancer to be eaten by people."

Not only does Life's Abundance Pet food use only fresh, natural wholesome ingredients, but they adhere to strict safety and quality control standards. Their manufacturer is APHIS certified to sell pet food in the European market, which has more stringent regulations than in the U.S. for pet food manufacturing.

Life's Abundance was scientifically formulated by Dr. Jane Bicks, a highly respected and nationally recognized holistic veterinarian. I believe this is truly a new generation of dog food. No where else can we find such a wholesome product for our pets that contains such whole foods as apples, spinach, carrots, alfalfa and whole garlic and is nutrient dense in antioxidants, phytochemicals and other health promoting compounds not previously found in processed dog foods.

I also found that the cost to feed my pets Life's Abundance was less expensive than the previous brand I was using. On average, the cost to feed a 50 pound dog is about 70 cents a day and about 27 cents a day for a cat. When you set up auto-ship with Life's Abundance, you receive up to a 20% discount on the food. And there is nothing more convenient than having my pet food shipped fresh directly to my home.

I love this food so much, I have become a representative for the company. If you'd like to try a sample of the food, or if you'd like to start using it for your pets, please call me directly at 863-557-0564. Or, you can click on the link below and you can order it on-line or get more information.