IS YOUR DOG FOOD DEADLY | Pup-Tzu WNC

Don't buy foods with artificial preservatives, colorings, fillers or sweeteners.

Try to avoid the following additives:

PRESERVATIVES:

➡ Ethoxyquin (EMQ) -banned in Australia and the EU, BHA, BHT, and TBHQ. These preservatives have been connected to neurological, nervous sytem damage and cancer.

➡ Avoid Dicalcium Phosphate and Tricalcium phosphate at all costs (Breeder's opinion).

➡ Propylene Glycol

ADDITIONAL PRESERVATIVES:

➡ Sodium Nitrate

➡ Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium Glutamate (MSG)

ARTIFICIAL COLORING:

➡ Red #40, Red #3, Blue #2 (known carcinogens), Yellow #5 -banned in the EU and Yellow #6. Note: Red #40 (also "Allura Red"), Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 can cause changes in brain chemistry. Red #3-linked to thyroid cancer. Blue #2-brain tumors in rats.

Did you know the synthetic dyes mentioned above are all derived from petroleum (crude oil)?

ADDITIONAL COLORING AGENT:

➡ Titanium Dioxide

FILLERS:

➡ Sweet potatoes / yams (yam based treats are ok if given infrequently).

➡ Corn, Maize, Maize Starch, Soy, Wheat, Wheat Gluten.

➡ Rendered Meat, Meat Meal and Animal By-products.

• Rendering: This process takes various animal byproducts, including those deemed  unfit for human consumption, and processes them into ingredients like meat meal, bone meal, and animal fat, according to Feed Real.
• "Meat Meal*" and "Animal By-products": These terms are broad and often lack specificity about the animal  source. This can include animals that died from disease, were euthanized, or even found as roadkill.

*See "Breeder's Comment" below about "Meals".

Sodium Pentobarbital, the drug used to euthanize animals has been found in pet food.

[Paraphrased]: Veterinarians must also consider the proper handling and disposal of euthanized animals to prevent environmental contamination and potential harm to wildlife. Sodium pentobarbital is toxic to scavenging animals that may consume the remains, American Veterinary Medical Association

CLICK ▶ Rachel Ray sued for dog DNA found in her dog food.

BREEDER'S COMMENT (unverifiable):

And, we wonder why our dogs are developing central nervous system/neurological disorders? 

• No Federal Enforcement of Standards: There isn't strict federal regulation or oversight on what exactly goes  into pet food ingredients sourced from rendering plants.

*Breeder's Comment: "MEALS" If the name of the meat comes before the term "meal', it's generally considered better because the meat has to come from only that animal.

For example, "Beef Meal", "Chicken Meal","Lamb Meal", etc., are "meals" that contain only beef, chicken or lamb products.

*Do not buy products with filter organs in them➡ Liver, Lungs, Kidneys. 

SWEETENERS:

➡ Xylitol -highly toxic to dogs.

➡ High Fructose Corn Syrup

➡ Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucrose and Sucralose.

➡ Glucose, Glucose Syrup, Dextrose and Maltodextrin.

FOOD PRODUCT LABELING:

"USDA Organic" vs "Non GMO Project Verified", what's the difference?

◾ "USDA Certified Organic" and "USDA Organic" are the gold standard.

Their products cannot contain GMOs, Synthetic Pesticides, Roundup Herbicides, Hexane, Sewage Sludge, Antibiotics and Ractopamine.

◾ "Non GMO Project Verified" products cannot contain the following:

GMOs

"GRASS-FED BEEF" 

Less than 1% of beef sold in the U.S. is truly grass-fed.
How can you be sure you're getting 100% grass-fed beef ?
Answer: CLICK▶ GRASS-FED BEEF SCAM by Dr. Eric Berg DC

Please Google any of these additives or terms for additional information.

While the jury is still out on whether GMO products are harmful or not, this has been our experience...

Every time one of our parents say their Shih Tzu is suddenly itching and scratching, we ask the following question, "Have you changed their food?

9 times out of 10 when we switch them to a non-gmo food, the itching stops within 2 to 3 days.

*Did you know, 94 percent of all Soy and 92 percent of all corn produced in the U.S. is GMO?

Photo Credit: "Coco" (bred by Pup-Tzu WNC) -Prasenjit Banerjee

The following excerpt is from AllShihTzu: 

"Offering  a dog drinking water may seem like the easiest task in the world. But,  if you’re on city water and you’re filling up the bowl straight from  your kitchen tap, you’ll want to think twice about this (and most  certainly your own water intake as well, if you drink from the tap). 
In  the U.S. (and many other countries), the majority of municipal tap water violates laws that are supposed to keep it safe. You may be  surprised to know that a recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council  (NRDC) showed that U.S. community water systems amassed more than 80,000  safety violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA).  Here are just a few concerns:   

• Over 200 Americans in all 50 states have Chromium-6, a carcinogen, in their tap water (EPA confirmed).
• Around  6 million in the U.S. have PFASs (poly fluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl)  in tap water, linked to immune suppression and hormonal issues.
• Other  common contaminants include chlorite, chloramines, trichloroethane (1,1,2), various pesticides, and traces of drugs, impacting at least 41 million Americans.
• High levels of heavy metals are widespread."

Credit: AllShihTzu https://www.allshihtzu.com/shih-tzu-dos-and-donts

OUR THOUGHTS (Pup-Tzu WNC):

According to our vet, tap water (municipal city water) hurt our 1st Shih Tzu "Maggie".

In less than two years on city water, her entire bladder filled up with stones. Our vet operated and afterwards, asked us if we had her on city water. He asked because he claimed he "sees it all the time". So what caused it? His answer was not "hard water", it was "all the chemicals they put in the water". How did he know? He had been running chemical analysis tests on the stones he'd been removing for years.

BOTTOM LINE:

Not all city water is harmful but, you can find out about yours just by entering your zip code:

Click Here ▶ MyTapWater.org

◾ We do not give our dogs tap water. Instead, we use "purified" or "distilled" water only.

◾ "Purified" is another word for "Distilled" -same thing.

◾ Reverse osmosis removes fluoride, arsenic, chlorine and lead -so does distillation.

NOTE: "Spring Water" on the side of a bottle doesn't necessarily mean that at all. 

Click Here for Article ▶ Nestle Sued Again