Pet Food: Is Raw Right?

Pet food: Debate on raw diet continues
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
By Susan Banks, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Stacy Innerst/Post-Gazette

There is more than one way to feed a cat, or dog, for that matter. But choosing just what to feed a pet isn't always easy.

In light of the 2007 pet food recalls, and with even more confusion over the recent peanut butter/salmonella scare (many pet products contain peanut butter), many owners are becoming pro-active when it comes to feeding their pets.

Conflicting advice abounds. Pet food companies bombard the public with advertising, veterinarians sell food and proponents of biologically appropriate raw food (BARF for short) claim its superiority.

Dr. Lowell Ackerman, a board-certified veterinary dermatologist and a professor at Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine, discusses the subject in his book "Canine Nutrition: What Every Owner, Breeder and Trainer Should Know."

In it, he notes that there are six families of nutrients -- proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water --and more than 45 individual nutrients that healthy dogs need.

"Dogs have individual nutritional requirements as well as different requirements at different life stages and to meet different work or stress levels. No one food is suitable for all stages of a dog's life," Dr. Ackerman says.

The BARF or raw diet, which has drawn increased attention, is one of the most controversial ways to feed cats and dogs. Proponents swear by it, but many vets discourage it. Dr. Kenton Rexford of Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center in Ohio Township does not recommend a raw diet.

"No. 1, there is a risk -- for both the person and the pet -- for exposure to salmonella and other infectious diseases. No. 2, there is no scientific proof that a raw diet is healthier than a cooked diet or packaged foods," he says.

Dr. Rexford also notes that food preparation is very labor-intensive and requires pet owners to become nutrition experts.

"Unless the pet owner is perfect, there is a risk the pet will have nutritional deficiencies," he says.

Dr. Doug Knueven, author of "The Holistic Health Guide: Natural Care for the Dog" and owner of the Beaver Animal Clinic, feeds his own pets a raw diet. He discounts the danger of salmonella and other pathogens, noting that a recent veterinary journal report said that up to 36 percent of healthy dogs and 18 percent of healthy cats have salmonella in their stool no matter what they eat.

Another study showed that 33 percent of dry dog food samples and 8 percent of canned food samples tested positive for E. coli bacteria, he says.

For Dr. Knueven, the benefits of a raw diet outweigh the risks.

"There is scientific proof that cooking food destroys nutrients on the human side, which should apply to animals. Eating whole foods (unprocessed) has been shown to have many health benefits," he says.

"It is true that anyone preparing pet food needs to know what they are doing to avoid an unbalanced diet."

If you are contemplating feeding raw, get as much information as possible. Pre-packaged raw food can be costly, beginning at about $3.50 per pound, and is available at many pet stores. Diets made by one company, Nature's Variety, have been confirmed by the Association of American Feed Control Officials as appropriate for dogs and cats at all life stages.

If you decide to make your own, you'll need to bone up, and Dr. Knueven's book is a good place to start.

Most pet owners won't go the raw route. They want the best packaged food at the lowest price. There are ways to do that, without giving up quality.

Susan Thixton of Tampa, Fla., mans a Web site (www.truthaboutpetfood.com) that gives nutritional values for more than 1,000 kinds of pet foods and treats for cats and dogs. Ms. Thixton started investigating pet foods after her own dog perished from cancer that her vet told her was connected to the pet food preservative ethoxyquin. It is still an allowable pet food preservative and commonly used in foods and treats, says Ms. Thixton.

She charges $17.95 per year for use of her site, which publishes ingredient lists for most national brands. She also gives consumers information on any red flag ingredients and reports whether a food uses only U.S. products. (That's pertinent because the 2007 recall was for ingredients shipped from China.) This one-woman operation also provides information on shelf life, crude protein, crude fat, moisture and whether natural or chemical preservatives are used.

Foods are rated from 1 to 5 "paws" with 5 being the highest score. The scores are calculated by how many quality ingredients are in the first five ingredients, which make up the bulk of the food. Some foods get no score because none of their first five ingredients provide quality nutrition, she says. For example, by-products are leftover animal parts, not meat, and don't provide quality nutrition, she says. When comparing foods, consumers should pay special attention to the plus/minus segment of the reviews. That's where, Ms. Thixton, says things are spelled out, for instance, if the food contains animal fat, an ingredient determined by the FDA to be most likely to contain euthanized animals, and also the vestiges of the euthanizing drug Pentobarbital.

Ratings for some of the more popular foods on her site are surprisingly low. Walmart house brand Old Roy got no paws; Purina Dog Chow Complete Nutrition Formula Dry has less than 1 paw, as did Kibbles 'n Bits.

Even the "better" foods found in the supermarket aisle didn't fare well. Eukanuba and Iams averaged 2.7 paw prints, Purina One garnered 1.9 and Science Diet received just 1.5 paw prints.

While Ms. Thixton does not endorse any products, she does divulge what food she feeds her own pets and explains why. She hopes her Web site can make it easier for consumers to make an educated choice when purchasing pet foods and treats and perhaps save others from the heartbreak of losing a pet due to tainted food.

Susan Banks can be reached at sbanks@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1516.
First published on August 12, 2009 at 12:00 am