NYT on Dog Food Research

Check out "They Eat What We Are," by Frederick Kaufman in the Times Magazine, who is disturbed by the research on dogs that he witnesses, but is quickly comforted knowing that other dogs might some day be helped. The final couple of lines, an exchange between vivisector Dr. George Fahey and Kaufman, are chilling. And yes, I saw the part about how dogs can do fine on a vegetarian diet. But I didn’t need Fahey to torture dogs to figure that out.

Note also the implication that people want fewer grains in their dog’s food so they can leave the house all day and not risk the dog having to relieve himself in the house. There is a huge movement toward grain-free dog food, the reason being that dogs wouldn’t eat grains if they were in the wild, and their digestive tracts aren’t made for grains. And one of the main selling points is tiny, infrequent poop (and I can attest to that result, as I have fed my greyhounds a raw, grain-free diet). Meanwhile, as we all know, dogs on vegan diets poop frequently and the volume is much greater.

I’m not sure when or why people were sold on the idea that dogs shouldn’t be pooping. Do we think we should have to strain and shake and produce chalk-like, pebbles? (That’s what happens with dogs on raw food diets that have no grain.) Would we consider that healthy for us?

I know this isn’t exactly dinner conversation, but dog food is like anything else we buy. It’s a consumer product and there are trends that corporations decide will be trends and proceed to find ways to sell you them and convince you you’re doing the right thing. And because our dogs cannot tell us what makes then feel better mentally and physically, we must guess based on our observations and evidence they provide us with, such as stool, breath, coat, eyes, weight and energy level. And if we don’t trust our observations, we must trust the "experts."

I understand the idea behind grain-free diets, from a marketing perspective as well as from an evolution perspective. But the evolution people don’t take the idea to its natural conclusion. Dogs have evolved and been domesticated into companions who don’t live in the wild, have their meals handed to them, and eat regularly. To give them the diet of a wolf, regardless of whether they came from wolves, makes no sense.

I have found "experts," all of whom are veterinarians, to support the prepared raw food diet, only raw food that is not already prepared (this would be the true Bones and Raw Food, or BARF diet), raw meat with grains and veggies, cooked meat with grains and veggies, grains, fruits, and some dairy and eggs, and several varieties of vegan diets. Trust me, you can find an expert in this area to support practically anything (after all, dogs are scavengers, so they can survive on just about anything).

I look at my dogs as individuals. I look at what they like to eat and all of the evidence they give me after they’ve eaten. And if I ever purchase dog food that is already made rather than home cook, I make sure that the company does not test on animals. I call them or e-mail them and ask for their policy. And if they don’t give it to me, I assume they do test on animals and I don’t buy their products.