Pet food manufacturers are not required to list the NRC requirements (National Research Counsel, which helps reside over pet food regulations) on their labels, but they must – by state and federal regulations – list the ingredients contained in the package, whether it is a can, bag or box. These ingredients show the consumer –…
Labeling in the pet food industry is carefully controlled by state and federal regulations. Words such as “complete” and/or “balanced” cannot arbitrarily appear on a label. Before any labeling claims that a product is complete and/or balanced, manufacturers must prove it to the satisfaction of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The AAFCO…
The nutritional guideline standards for dogs, as set forth by the NRC (National Research Council), state that pet food manufacturers must have the minimum amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. They include meat, meat by-products, corn, wheat middlings, barley, oats, rice, brewer’s yeast, vegetable and/or animal fats, fish meal, poultry, bone meal, cereals,…
Big cans, little cans, heavy bags and cute packs, soft foods, dry food, semi-moist, candies, biscuits, chewies, people-like crackers and gourmet bon-bons… Today’s dog owner is confronted with a bewildering array of food for his pet. Years ago, when such a variety wasn’t available, dogs were fed foods that were most plentiful in the region.…
Owners of unsprayed females may at some time be faced with a diagnosis of pyometra in their dog. Pyometra means a pus-filled uterus and it affects primarily dogs that are five years old and older. It is a very debilitating disease and will often result in death unless the infected uterus is surgically removed. The…
God forbid you ever have to face the day if your family pet gets one of its limbs torn off by a hit and run. This nightmare happened last year to our four-year-old Beagle. Here is what happened: Every morning we had the same routine; Cleopatra would scratch at the door to wake me up…
Many eye diseases in dogs can be successfully cured surgically if non-surgical treatments do not help. In the condition in which the tear glands and ducks are not producing tears, for example, a medication is put into the dog’s food in the form of drops. If there is any function at all left, the medication…
Most dog owners, if not all of them, never consider looking into their pet’s eyes for signs of illness, especially dogs with hair over their eyes. There is a myth that cutting the hair away from a dog’s eyes will cause blindness, but, in fact, a dog’s eyes are much less likely to become diseased…
The eye, in dogs, as in all animals, is the most specialized of the sensory organs. As such, it is highly sensitive to trauma, infection and disease, both acquired and hereditary. Because dogs can’t tell their owners when they are suffering irritation or pain in their eyes, the eye is an often overlooked area of…
The most common allergic skin disease in the dog develops when certain dogs become hypersensitive to flea bites. The allergic agent is contained in the saliva or mouth parts of the flea and is injected into the dog when the flea feeds. The disease usually occurs during the warm months and is commonly called “summer…
