The Dog Bowl Pet Supply and BARF Raw Food Blog

Ok.... We are officially announcing our next "meet the BARF truck" day!

We are expecting a truck of BARF at The Dog Bowl (storefront address: 2431 Sunset Blvd.), Tuesday, 5/1/07. **The driver has informed us we are looking at an approximate time of 1:30-2pm for delivery. Please call us to confirm: 713-529-0334. We will be in close communication with the driver the day of scheduled delivery - 5/1/07

Here are the benefits & stipulations for The Dog Bowl's "meet the truck" discount:

• 10% off already discounted case pricing;
• Client must be here "to meet the truck" at the time of the BARF delivery to pick up the un-opened box/case. Sorry, but if we have already put away your case, the discount cannot be given - Offer is good until the cases are unpacked!
• No limits on quantities of cases purchased!
• Only will be given with a case purchase only (again, no limit on how many cases is purchased);
• Does not apply for a purchase of less than 4 bags or a mix-matched case; What is a case? Clarification of how The Dog Bowl defines a case: 1 case = 4 bags of the same flavor (choose from Chicken, Beef, Combination, or Lamb) or a variety pack (1 of each flavor).
• Good while supplies last - quantities will apply to what is physically available (does not apply to online orders).

When food is cooked, that fats, the proteins, the carbohydrates, that is, all the MAJOR nutrients are changed! The greater the degree of cooking, the greater the changes. The greater the changes, the more indigestible that food becomes to your pet. Also, the more the body regards such molecules as foreign.

These foreign chemicals can result in allergic reactions, including auto-immune diseases like arthritis. Many of these "new chemicals" are carcinogenic or cancer forming! Yikes!

In other words, modern cooked foods, such as commercial dog foods, not only lack many protective nutrients (vitamins, enzymes, anti-oxidants and other anti-ageing factors), but also are full of dangerous chemicals which actively promote cancer and other degenerative diseases.

Did you know The Dog Bowl has raw pet food? Yes! And we can ship it right to your door! Click here and shop now. As we always say..... "Think Outside of the Bag!"

Your pet's nutrition is the best investment/purchase you can possibly make!

Want more information about raw pet food? Click here for further information about Barf or raw pet foods.

Excessive cooking results in proteins becoming indigestible.

It also causes the loss of two essential amino acids, lysine and methionine. That loss results in growth problems, bone problems, skin problems, problems in pregnancy, milk production, and general poor health and reduced resistance to disease.

Just another reason to feed raw food! We ship right to your door - click here to shop now!

The pet food recall has made a lot of people think about what they are feeding their pets.

The Dog Bowl would like to invite you, the pet owner, to learn how nutrition is the MOST IMPORTANT EFFECT on your pets' health.

The Dog Bowl will continue to research and offer the best possible products - click here to shop. And if you need more information we will post it! Click here to learn about raw diets for pets.

Cooking destroys vitamins. Heat destroys many vitamins. Particularly a number of the B vitamins and vitamin C. Many are lost with cooking water.

Cooking destroys enzymes. All living tissue contains enzymes in abundance. Enzymes are proteins which control the chemical reactions which in their totality, constitute the life of an animal. The enzymes in raw food are now recognised as important nutrients. As nutrients they have two basic functions: Firstly, they aid the digestion of the food they are found it, and secondly they help slow the ageing process. The destruction of enzymes in food forces the pancreas to work harder. It has to produce more digestive enzymes. The result is several diseases in dogs, including Pancreatitis, Pancreatic Insufficiency and sugar Diabetes. Closely linked with this problem is the poor availability of zinc in modern processed foods, particularly the dried dog foods. Enzymes in food are absorbed whole into the bloodstream. Once in the body, they help slow and even reverse the damaging effects of a process in the body called "cross-linking". Cross-linking is one of the most damaging of the ageing effects. It causes skin to become wrinkled and inelastic, arteries to become hard and brittle, and is one of the mechanisms by which the molecules found in genes become damaged, resulting in cancer and birth deformities. In other words, by cooking your dog's food, you are contributing in no small way to your dog's ageing processes and in the case of stud dogs and bitches, you are contributing to reproductive problems.

Anti-ageing factors called anti-oxidants which are present in raw foods, are destroyed by cooking. That is why cooked food is less able to slow the ageing process, and is involved in all of the degenerative diseases of old age, including cancer, kidney disease, heart disease, arthritis, etc. etc....

Click here to read about available raw foods from The Dog Bowl for your dog and cat.

Most people are very confused about this.... They hear conflicting advice from the commercials, their friends, their spouse, their vet, etc. Most commonly they are advised to cook their dog's food. Rarely are they told why!

People cook their dog's food for all sorts of reasons:

• One belief is that dogs are "supposed" to eat cooked food. Somebody told them, or they "heard" it somewhere.
• Often the food is cooked "to prevent worms or distemper or... something.... ?"
• Some people cannot cope with their dog eating raw meat and offal.
• Many cook their dog's food because they believe it will become more nutritious and more easily digested.

Most people admit they have no idea at all what they should do. Sometimes they feed it raw and sometimes they feed it cooked.

So why is food cooked for dogs? There are some very good reasons why food is cooked.

1. Food is cooked to kill germs and the toxins they produce. Is there are any dangerous germs in your dog's food, proper cooking will destroy them.
2. Cooking your dog's food kills any parasites. Cooking prevents the transfer of parasites from the dog's food to humans. Particularly the hydatid tapeworm. Hydatidosis is a potentially fatal disease which can be transmitted to man from various animals including sheep, pigs, kangaroos, wallabys, cattle, etc.
3. Food is cooked so it can be stored and transported. Raw food "goes off" or self destructs due to the activity of it's own enzymes. Cooking stops this process by destroying enzymes. This allows food to be transported and stored.
4. Food is cooked to make it more nutritious and more digestible. It is that a valid reason? In general the answer is no. There are exceptions to this - grains and certain vegetables require to be cooked for various reasons, but in most cases cooking food does not make it any more digestible or nutritious. Cooking physically breaks food down, making it more easily "got at" by your dog's digestive enzymes. This includes meat and vegetables. Apart from that digestive aid, cooking does nothing to make food more nutritious. In fact, cooked food for a variety of reasons loses much of it's nutritive value. It is popularly supped that dogs cannot digest raw vegetables. However, if raw vegetables are physically broken down such as with a food processor or juicer, your dog can easily digest them.

Myth #1: The digestive system of the modern domesticated dog is much "weaker" than a wild dog's, and tat is why modern dogs have to be fed differently to their wild cousins.

That belief is based on nothing other than opinion. There have been NO scientific studies to back it up.

On the contrary, the experiences of both scientists and numerous dog owners the world over confirm that the internal workings, including the entire digestive system, and the way food is utilised for growth, maintenance, repaid and reproduction, is fundamentally the same in ALL dogs, both wild and domesticated.

Partly on the basis of that supposedly weaker metabolism in the modern dog, which in many people's minds includes their teeth, there have developed two further myths...

Myth #2: Dogs should NOT eat bones, and....

Myth #3: All dog food should be cooked.

Unfortunately these ideas are self-perpetuating. Dogs fed cooked and processed food and no bones will ALWAYS develop a weakened immune system and poor dental health.

The next myth, number four suggest that the intelligence of the modern dog owner has declined at about the same pace and degree as the modern dog's internal workings.

Myth #4: It is impossible without a university education in dog nutrition to be able to successfully feed a dog.

Because people have believed that modern dogs cannot be fed like wild dogs, they have attempted to feed dogs in all sorts of unnatural ways without bones. The results have often proved disastrous.

Those disasters have lead many people, including lots of vets to believe that feeding dogs is very difficult. This idea is reinforced by massive "education" campaigns launched by the major food companies.

Myth #5: The best way to feed a dog is with commercial dog food. (Now the label "organic" is being pushed as the best commercial food.)

As if that were not bad enough, such a myth gives rise to myth number 6....

Myth #6: Each meal you feed your dog should be complete and balanced.

On the face of it, that one sounds OK.... However, it too, like the other five myths is a modern idea devised for no other reason than to enable the sale of processed pet foods. It has NO SCIENTIFIC basis. On the contrary, it violates many natural feeding laws, and in the process lays the foundation for sick dogs.

As yourself the question... is that the way you design your own meals? Each of them balanced with every conceivable nutrient present which you require? Of course you don't. No creature since life began has eaten that way.

The attempt to put all the nutrients a dog requires in one product results in much ill health.

It is by reference to those six myths or beliefs that the majority of dog owners decide how their dog(s) should be fed. The result, as I have already mentioned, is a dog population which suffers numerous unnecessary and preventable health problems.

To read more about what is right for your dog click here - no myths here!

Do not feed just one type of raw meaty bone (such as chicken) to the exclusion of all others, unless you have an excellent reason for doing so!

Health problems can stem from pets being offered a too limited range of foods. The key to the BARF Diet is variety!

For example, where raw chicken bones is the staple, also feed raw lamb ribs, raw lamb necks, and raw lamb shanks. Raw, smaller pork bones of various kinds are excellent. Ox tails and beef ribs may also be used. Use young soft and healthy meat covered raw bones from whatever species are cheaply available in your area. ***But we caution you to be VERY AWARE of any preservatives, or salts, or gases, and/or dies used to make these product look "fresh" to the consumer. Preservatives (such as chicken broth are very common) are very harmful to your pets and may cause liver and kidney failure.

Sometimes whole chickens will become available to you, but don't feed them all the time, as there is not enough bone and too much flesh, particularly in the case of young growing dogs. And again, please be aware if the chickens are packaged with broth or other preservatives - do not feed this to your pet!

Use common sense when buying fresh meat items! If you had an animal butchered you would not store it in the refrigerator section of your frig for more than two days. (You would put it in the freezer!) Two days in the refrigerator and it would start breaking down & going bad. Ask yourself - How is that raw meat able to stay at the grocery store refrigerator for a week? Answer - Preservatives: Sealed with special gases, salts, broths, and/or dies are added.

One of the easiest raw meaty bones to source is chicken, another is turkey. Pieces available include wings, necks, backs and carcasses. The ratio of flesh to bone, cartilage and fat is usually ideal in wings. Chicken wings and backs can be high in cartilage and low in bone. Inspect these pieces and judge for yourself. Then weigh up the needs of the pet you are feeding. For example, if you have a young rapidly growing giant breed dog, chicken necks and backs may be too low in calcium (being mostly cartilage), particularly if they are from very young birds. If this is the case, the pup in question may begin to show signs of insufficient calcium such as "splayed front" feet and perhaps "cow hocks". To remedy this situation, you should fee wings, together with other more substantial bones in preference.

When supplying raw meaty bones for your pet, the ratio between bone and meat should be approximately one-to-one on a weight basis for dogs and one-to-two on a weight basis for cats. For cats, approximately seventy five percent of the diet should be raw meaty bones and for dogs, approximately sixty percent of the diet should be raw meaty bones. These figures are from Dr Billinghurst's book "The BARF Diet" and based on a best approximation of the average evolutionary diet "enjoyed" by out pets' ancestors.

Fats are an essential and biologically appropriate part of our pets' healthy diet.

Fat is a major source of energy in the evolutionary or BARF Diet. Fatty acids, together with protein, are part of every cell membrane and take part in the majority of bodily processes. Life does not proceed without fat in the diet and healthy life depends on healthy fat.

Our pets' ancestors derived healthy, raw unprocessed fats from the bones, flesh, organ meat, eyes, brains, spinal cord, testicles and adrenals of animals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects and also from the crushed raw vegetable material in the intestines of their prey. The raw meaty bone component of the BARF Diet continues its brilliant role as the most important food item for our pets by supplying the bulk of our pets' lipid or fat requirements. (It should be noted that the BARF diet also supplies essential fatty acids in organ meats, glandular materials and crushed raw vegetables.)

However, because most modern farm animals are not raised on their evolutionary diet (particularly those animals "fattened" with grain), their fatty acid profiles will not be optimal for the health of our pets. For that reason, it is often necessary to supplement the BARF Diet with biologically appropriate supplementary fats or oils.

Beware of the fats found in pet foods or the oils on the supermarket shelf! They are both supply heat-damaged fat of poor biologically value. This type of denatured fat causes massive biological damage, which actively promotes degenerative disease in our pets.

As a general rule, cats need more fat than dogs and cats need animal fat almost exclusively. Dogs can generally use fat from both animal and plant sources, although some dog breeds and some individual dogs need most of their fat from animal sources.

When considering how much bone to feed our pets keep in mind that bones are rich in fat. If your pet is overweight, then of course you must feed less fat and often means less bone. If your pet is underweight, then extra fat may be required. Bones may help solve this problem. Active pets need more fat whereas sedentary pets need less. A diet that is richer in fat (and that could mean more bones) is required in cool areas or in the colder months, etc.

To maximize our pets' health, we should supply them with the same spectrum, balance and form of minerals as eaten by their wild ancestors. (Perfect example: The zoos do not have stoves in their kitchen!)

Our pets' bodies are designed to use bones as their main source of minerals. They have been doing this for millions of years. This is another reason raw meaty bones are the perfect staple of our modern pets. Raw meaty bones deliver our pets' balanced supply of minerals, including calcium and phosphorus in a unique and irreplaceable way.

The two minerals needed in greatest abundance are calcium and phosphorus, but there are many more minerals such as zinc, magnesium, manganese, iodine, selenium, chromium, iron, etc., which your dog and cat requires.

Your pet will not, cannot, suffer mineral deficiencies, imbalances or excesses, when raw meaty bones make up the bulk of its diet. Raw meaty bones enable modern pets to grow normally, reproduce normally and remain healthy into advanced old age.

This is because bones are the storehouse of all the minerals your pet requires in perfect balance and in a perfectly available form. This applies to cats and dogs in ALL breeds and ALL ages, including puppies and kittens!

Excellent levels of minerals (other than calcium) in a biologically appropriate form are to be found in the other components of the BARF diet - that is, in the meat, the vegetables, the organ meat and the kelp powder. Kelp is particularly useful as a source of iodine. These other components of BARF act as a "fail safe" mechanism, not only for minerals, but also for many other nutrients.

Click here to read more about the B.A.R.F. Diet.

To maximize our pets' health, we should supply our pets eat protein that mimics the protein eaten by their wild ancestors.

From that standpoint of modern nutrition, when assessing a food as a protein source, that food has to supply adequate levels of protein, the correct balance of essential amino acids and allow optimum digestibility/availability of the protein.

Feeding out pets raw meaty bones fulfills all the above criteria.

The protein from raw meaty bones is superior to that found in modern processed pet foods in every way. It is not heat damaged, it is easily digested, it is not derived from rendered animal products, grains or legumes, and it is high balanced levels of the essential amino acids. Basically the protein from raw meaty bones is of high biological value. It actively promotes good health. Other excellent sources of high quality protein apart from raw meaty bones include (raw/not cooked): eggs, fish and cottage cheese.

The problems seen when food contains poor quality protein include a failure to grow or reproduce properly, anemia, poor hair coat, weak thin muscles, a poorly functioning immune system and badly formed bones and joints. In other words, when a diet contains poor quality protein (as with processed pet food), any part of your dog (or cat) could be badly made and function poorly.

Ingredient #2: Raw meaty bones

Raw meaty bones from the central and major food source in the evolutionary diet of our pet animals. As such, they form the central component of the BARF diet. It is the failure to feed raw meaty ones as the bulk of their diet that to a large degree compromises the health of modern pets.

From a purely nutritional point of view, raw meaty bones supply the bulk of your pet's energy requirements, water, protein, fat, mineral and vitamin requirements, together with enzymes, antioxidants and other anti-aging nutrients. To put that in perspective, raw meaty bones are the one single food item that could be considered an almost nutritionally adequate (almost 'complete and balanced') diet for our pets. Dr Billinghurst says, "Long experience with this food tells me that our pets may live on this one food item for most, if not all of their live and remain in excellent health."

The ideal situation would be to seek out organically raised meat and bones. However, if this is impossible, it is important to realize that a diet containing fresh raw meaty bones from a reputable source, even if it is not organic, will always product far superior results to a diet based on cooked grain.

Whole raw bones have benefits beyond nutrition. They play a major role in maintaining the health of your pet's immune system and also its mouth, teeth and gums. They also provide unique psychological and physical benefits, not available from any other source.

Barf ingredient #1:

Drum roll please! Ingredient number one is... Water - Much of it should be in the food!

Dogs and cats (especially), are designed by evolutionary pressures to find the bulk of their water in food. However, most modern pets eat a dehydrated (dry) food product.

This is another biologically inappropriate feature of processed food and a cause of much ill healthy in out pets, including kidney disease and/or 'stones' in their urinary tract.

May we suggest you supply your pets with water an integral part of a whole raw food such as meat or vegetables? This should be supplemented with water from a healthy source, such as spring water, or artisan water. This will take your pet another step closer to the evolutionary diet, which means taking your pet closer to maximum health.

Ok.... We are officially announcing our next "meet the BARF truck" day!

We are expecting a truck of BARF at The Dog Bowl (storefront address: 2431 Sunset Blvd.), Tuesday, 4/10/07. **The driver has informed us we are looking at an approximate time of noon-1pm for delivery.

Please call us to confirm: 713-529-0334 We will be in close communication with the driver the day of scheduled delivery - 4/10/07

Here are the benefits & stipulations for The Dog Bowl's "meet the truck" discount:

• 10% off already discounted case pricing;
• Client must be here "to meet the truck" at the time of the BARF delivery to pick up the un-opened box/case. Sorry, but if we have already put away your case, the discount cannot be given - Offer is good until the cases are unpacked!
• No limits on quantities of cases purchased!
• Only will be given with a case purchase only (again, no limit on how many cases is purchased);
• Does not apply for a purchase of less than 4 bags or a mix-matched case;
  What is a case? Clarification of how The Dog Bowl defines a case: 1 case = 4 bags of the same flavor (choose from Chicken, Beef, Combination, or Lamb) or a variety pack (1 of each flavor).
• Good while supplies last - quantities will apply to what is physically available (does not apply to online orders).

The Basic ingredients you will need to produce the BARF Diet: Because there is NO PRACTICAL WAY we can exactly duplicate a dog or cat's evolutionary diet, the solution is to mimic that diet - as accurately as possible - with substitute foods.

These we select from whatever suitable foods are conveniently available, from the local supermarket for example.

In the case of the cat, an obligate carnivore and a hunter, the BARF diet is based upon the whole fresh raw carcass of a small mammal or bird.

In the case of the dog, an omnivore, a hunter and a scavenger, the diet is based on that same carcass, together with a carcass stripped of most of its flesh, plus a range of whole raw foods of both animal and plant origin.

The very simple foods that we choose as the basis of the BARF diet include such things as muscle meat, bone, fat, organ meat, vegetable materials and a few supplements such as oil, yogurt, kelp, and various vitamins.

Because the evolutionary diet relies on these whole raw foods, it delivers nutrients in a unique and essential way. The more we provide food items to our pets in their original unprocessed form, the more health promoting those food items will be. The most notable example of this is the use of raw meaty bones, which supply out pet's calcium and phosphorus requirements in a manner which cannot be duplicated by any other means. Even the form in which we supply water has a major impact on health.

It is simply: Raw Meaty Bones, the Vegetable Material, the Offal and the Supplements!

Ask out cats about feeding cats: When asked, our cats will impress upon us that they are slightly different to dogs. They are not scavengers or vegetarians. They are not omnivores. However, they are most definitely raw food eaters and like dogs, they are definitely NOT grain eaters.

Cats will tell us they are hunters and carnivores and to some degree they are opportunists. Our cats are telling us that they are "obligate carnivores". Their whole "design" compels them to dine on food that is principally of animal origin.

The cat will tell us all we need to do to feed them is devise a diet that mimics the make-up of any small mammal such as a mouse or rat or chicken, etc. To put that in nutritional terms, the cat, compared to the dog needs a higher protein and fat diet and much lower amount of vegetable material. It needs slightly less in the way of bones than your average dog, and more offal type food, particularly liver. The majority of its food MUST come from animal sources. This means constructing a diet for cats is simplicity itself. However, getting an adult cat to switch diets can be another matter! That is why the best time to start feeding your cat properly is at weaning time. The bottom line is... Our cats are asking us to feed them a raw diet - which mimics the evolutionary diet and contains:

• 75% raw meaty bones
• 50% offal
• 5% crushed vegetable material
• The remainder as supplements to mimic feces and soul

Our cats will strongly request for their health's sake they not be fed any grains in large amounts, and no grain based products such as processed cat foods. The question remains... will we do it?

Click here to shop for BARF - We ship anywhere in the U.S., right to your door!

THE CAT'S NOT OUT OF THE BAG - YET!
For Immediate Release. Source: BarfWorld, 4/4/07

As pet food recalls widened this weekend it has become blatantly clear -NOBODY really knows what happened. Nobody really knows what ingredient has killed hundreds and perhaps thousands of animals. Thousands of anecdotal reports have been received (to date the FDA says they have received over 8000 complaints) not to mention calls to vets and the pet food companies all over the country.

WHAT WE DO KNOW:

• Over 100 brands including some top name brands and private label brand shave
  been affected.
• Previously the recall included only wet foods produced by Menu Foods' plants in
  New Jersey and Kansas but now a brand of dry cat food has also been recalled
  (Prescription Diet m/d Feline - Hills Pet Nutrition ) - recall announced on March
  30, 2007. The recall widened also with the announcement by Nestle Purina on
  March 30th that it was voluntarily recalling all sizes and varieties of its ALPO Prime
  cuts in Gravy wet dog food (with specific production dates). This comes only two
  days after Purina advised the public that Mighty Dog 5.3 ounce pouch-packaged
  products were the only Purina brand product affected by the Menu Foods recall.
• A New York State Food laboratory and testing facility announced on March 30, 2007
  that it had identified AMINOPTERIN, a rat poison in samples of the recalled cat
  food by Menu Foods.
• FDA claims that it did not find rat poison in the samples it tested but it did find
  melamine. FDA is not focusing on the rat poison theory (Aminopterin) but rather on
  the melamine found in wheat gluten imported from China.
• Animal Health Lab at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada also confirmed the
  presence of AMINOPTERIN in samples of the food.
• Researchers at Cornell University said they could not find evidence of the rat poison.
• No one is discussing food safety, HACCP and trace back systems (that we have been
  able to find) but food safety/traceability sessions have just been added to the agenda
  at the upcoming PET FOOD FORUM meeting to be held in Chicago mid-April
  2007.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW:

• How many dogs and cats have been affected nationally by the tainted foods.
• Which plant(s) in China the tainted wheat gluten came from?
• If the tainted wheat gluten has also affected products in the human food chain -
  FDA officials said they "didn't believe the contaminated wheat gluten had
  entered the human food supply, however they are NOW testing all wheat gluten
  imported from China for Melamine.
• How pet food manufacturers and co-packers of branded pet foods control
  traceability/food safety from outside manufacturers? Purina recently stated:"We
  have a sophisticated traceability system that enables us to track all ingredients
  from time of receipt at our plant through their inclusion in finished products and
  on to our customers to which the finished products were shipped." - And
  before they enter the plant?
• Why FDA is choosing to ignore the rat poison theory and is only focusing on
  Melamine? Clearly there is justification for testing both. Why not test/search
  both? Jessica Chittenden, a spokeswoman of the NY State Department of
  Agriculture and Markets stated: "Melamine is not a known toxin. There's not
  enough data to show that it is toxic to cats. We are confident we found
  Aminopterin and it makes sense with the pathology."
• From Dr. Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the FDA: "At this point in the investigation we are not focusing on aminopterin" but the added he was not certain that melamine was the chemical causing the illness in dogs and cats.
• We don't know how the CEO of Menu Foods can assure consumers that all
  products manufactured since March 6, 2007 is safe just because melamine was
  NOT found in gluten his company uses from other supply sources - when the
  FDA has not yet confirmed that Melamine is the culprit.
• WHEAT GLUTEN,
• MELAMINE, and
• AMINOPTERIN

WHEAT GLUTEN: It appears that the same supplier(s) or source of tainted wheat gluten (from China) supplied Menu Foods, Hills Pet Nutrition and Purina - all companies involved in the recall so far. Here's an interesting fact - about 70 percent of wheat gluten used in human and pet foods comes from the EU (European Union) or Asia. The International Wheat Gluten Association is made up of 16 members that produce 90 percent of the world's gluten supply. (We located 9 suppliers of wheat gluten in China but could not confirm at the time of this writing if they were members of the association or independent suppliers or if they had supplied any wheat gluten to U.S. importers recently). Wheat Gluten was first developed in China as a human food and is a natural protein from wheat or wheat flour. If it is extracted in the wet form it is known as gum gluten which can then be dried into high protein powder. When it is re hydrated it regains its natural character. Where might you find wheat gluten? In pet food and fish food as a protein source and a binder, in human cereal products and specialty bread and bakery items.Gluten provides the elasticity of kneaded dough and you could associate the chewiness of a bagel with gluten. Wheat flour is a co product of wheat gluten and it is used in many food applications. The current price for wheat gluten in the US domestic market is .65-70 cents per pound - up from .55 cents in the spring of 2006. Chinese wheat gluten is about 10 cents per pound cheaper than domestic product.

• But it's not the wheat gluten that's the problem - it's the MELAMINE that they found in
  the gluten that is the issue.

MELAMINE: Melamine was found in the urine of cats and also in the kidney of one of the cats who died after eating the recalled foods. Melamine is a white powder /chemical compound consisting of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen. It's a very strong and versatile material which when used in plastic or Formica products is heat tolerant and often used for floor tiles, kitchenware and in the manufacture of fertilizer. You may remember MELMAC dinnerware - made from this very compound. It has proved toxic in lab tests on rabbits and rats but there is very little information in scientific literature on melamine exposure in dogs and cats.

AMINOPTERIN: Scientists found drug levels of at least 40 parts per million of Aminopterinin some cans of the tainted cat food. Veterinarian Dominic Marino, chief of staff at Long Island Veterinary Specialists in Plainview, indicated aminopterin is being tested in clinical trials by the National Cancer Institute for some rare human cancers. "When aminopterin is used inappropriately, in large doses, it forms crystals in the kidneys, forcing them to shut down,which his how it is used as a rat poison." Kidney failure or related condition is the reason attributed to most animal deaths as a result of eating the tainted food.

SUMMARY: Looking at what we do and don't know it's impossible to reach a conclusion at this time. It's very difficult for any company or agency to pinpoint the culprit with the amount of testing and research available right now. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. Why have more cats died than dogs?

On April 1, 2007 the AP reported that Steven Hansen a veterinary toxicologist and director of the ASPCA Poison Control center in Urbana Illinois stated: "I am concerned we have a situation where we have a sensitive species and it is the cat".

Melamine has a very low toxicity in rodents but apparently the cat is different - and there is no history on cats. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has already sent the FDA its data base on Melamine and the FDA acknowledged the only study they have is a single study in 1945 that tested it on dogs. "That study suggested that the chemical increased urine output when fed to dogs in large amounts". Nothing more.

And we can't ignore the rat poison found by two different laboratories in the canned foods - that was certainly real. However, the only thread of commonality is the melamine at this point which was found both in the wheat gluten (apparently found by the FDA and Cornell University in raw form in concentrations as high as 6.6 percent) and kidney tissue of the dead cats.

And nobody has any idea how melamine got into the wheat gluten in the first place.

It took months to get to the bottom of the Dole human organic spinach recall earlier this year and trace it back to a contaminated water supply on one farm. They will eventually find the cause but it may take much longer if indeed it is the wheat gluten from China.

While the official death toll still remains at 16, it is expected that hundreds and thousands of
animals may die of kidney failure as a result of eating the contaminated products. According
to the Veterinary Information Network website over 104 deaths have already been linked to
the food and many others are still being treated.

In the meantime why not try feeding an alternative pet food like a natural, raw food diet.

• Consider buying foods with ingredient listings that you can pronounce and understand - for both human and pet food purchases.
• Be sure to contact the company you intend to purchase from if you have any concerns about any of the ingredients listed.
• Buy gluten and grain free foods - you're pet wont suffer, they were not raised on grain and corn in the past.
• One final thought - don't attempt to make a human food version for your pets or just feed human food. Pet diets require very specific ingredients that will provide them a proper complete and balanced nutritional meal which is not easy to achieve at home in the kitchen unless you are certain about what you are doing. (Click here to shop for "how to books.)

Unfortunately recalls and contamination in any food chain, animal and human can and do happen and this situation is not reflective of the industry as a whole.

Ok ok..... We love our clients! Especially our raw feeding, BARF clients.

It is so good to hear the reactions from our clients who feed raw say, "When the processed pet food recall happened they had NO worries!".

Yes, we love ALL of our clients and yes, this especially includes our Houston, TX storefront clients. And we have hear your feedback of how "unfair" it is that the website is giving a special on the BARF food and the storefront is giving the "usual" case pricing deals.

So here is goes..... Come into our storefront and mention that you saw this Blog and we will give you an additional 10% off our BARF case prices!

**Specifics of this special:

• Good until closing time (6pm) Monday, April 9th;
• Only will be given with a case purchase only (no limit on how many cases is purchased);
• Does not apply for a purchase of less than 4 bags or a mix-matched case;
• What is a case? Clarification of how The Dog Bowl defines a case: 1 case = 4 bags of the same flavor (choose from Chicken, Beef, Combination, or Lamb) or a variety pack (1 of each flavor).
• Good while supplies last - quantities are limited and the special will apply to what is physically available in the storefront! (As of this morning, 10am on 4/4/07, everything is in stock!)

The bottom line so our dogs tell us, is that because they are carnivores, vegetarians, scavengers, hunters and opportunists, they are omnivores. As omnivores, our dogs assure us they can eat practically anything in the way of food, including most human food.

This ability to eat similar foods is one of the reasons the dog has remained a companion of man for so long. The dog will survive on just about anything we care to throw at it, even processed dog food! The bottom line is... Our dogs are asking us to feed them a raw diet - which mimics the evolutionary diet and contains:

• 60% raw meaty bones
• 50% crushed vegetable material
• 10% offal
• 5% fruit
• The remainder as supplements to mimic feces and soil

Our dogs will strongly request, that for their health's sake they not be fed any grains in large amounts, and NO grain based products such as processed dog foods. The question remains... we we do it? Click here to shop for BARF! (The Dog Bowl will ship anywhere in the U.S.)

Dogs tell us they will not only eat but will do well on just about any food that is available. They can be vegetarians on an all fruit and vegetable diet such as the gut contents of ruminants. They are equally at home as carnivores, dining on all steady diet of other animals. Dogs roaming the streets will survive happily on the contents of garbage cans. These street dogs "enjoy" a wide range of foods; some of it raw, some of it cooked, some vegetable material, some animal products, some of it whole food and some of it processed food.

As opportunists our dogs are telling us they are extremely versatile when it comes to what they will do well on. The most important issue they are raising however, is that the greater the variety of food we can feed them, the better off they will be - health wise! This brings us to the seventh key word, which emphasizes the variety issue one more...

As hunters, our dogs are assuring us they enjoy fresh, raw whole food of animal origin.

They are telling us they will eat just about any animal that moves, swims, flies, walks, or crawls. They are suggesting that we might feed them fish, insects, reptiles, rodents, birds, pics or any other mammal including ruminants such as deer, sheep, cattle, goats, etc.

In other words, our dogs are asking us to feed them a wide range of fresh foods from different animals. It is important that we listen to this request. Many people attempting to feed an evolutionary diet to their dog stick to just one food source such as chicken.

For maximum success with the BARF diet, listen to your dog and feed what he or she is crying out for, as VARIETY of fresh whole, raw foods!