Humans just don't read.

OK, sometimes I just can't take it. Guy came into the shop yesterday and needed some food for his dog.  Great, food we have. And good food too. Not that dreck you find in the big box stores. (Big box. I hate that term. Like I can't name names.) But good quality foods. The gentleman says that his dog is on a prescription diet and he needs something low protein. OK, I swallow hard on that one and walk with him to the food aisle.  We pick out a small bag of Wellness, look at the protein content, chat a little and he goes on his merry way.


Now I am not one to push my opinion on someone so I didn't tell him that the food he is feeding his dog is crap but the first thing I did was pop open my lap top. 


Brewers Rice, Pork Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Powdered Cellulose, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Beet Pulp, L-Lysine, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, Calcium Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Threonine, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Tryptophan, Magnesium Oxide, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.


This is the ingredients list for the food he's currently feeding his dog.  Granted, at 14% it is low in protein compared to a standard dog food. But if you get past that fact, the stuff is pretty frightening. Look at the first few ingredients: rice, PORK FAT, dried egg product (if you fed me that I'd pee on you in your sleep) flaxseed, corn gluten meal, chicken liver FLAVOR (who said that was a good idea?!?!) and powered cellulose.  Honestly, I know that when they were putting this food together all of this probably came out of the committee looking and sounding pretty good. "Look, we now can offer a low protein food." But really people this is really nasty stuff when your looking at the needs of an animal who's traditional diet was game meat. (OK, maybe there was some chicken coup raiding but a group of us could take down a deer. For some of us it would have to be a slow, sick deer but that's beyond the point. Could you just see a pack of ferrel Pugs?!?!) I just don't get it. Do any of you out there read labels? Do any of you ever think to question our doctors? "Hey, why is it a good thing for the second ingredient in my dog's food to be PORK FAT?  Why do you want me to feed my dog, not corn which is a problem to start with, but corn gluten meal? Why do you want me to feed my dog rice? Rice is the first ingredient in this food. My dog is a carnivore. Somewhere there should be meat in his/her diet...DON'T YA' THINK! "


But hey, I'm not a doctor. I'm just someone who has a little store in Roscoe Village. My education was not funded by a huge corporation that just happens to make dog and cat food. I simply take the time to pick up packages and read labels. READ LABELS PEOPLE!!! Sit down and ask questions. I dare all of you, ask the question, "Just why is this food prescription? What drugs does it contain? Honestly, are there little ground up percodans in this kibble?" Or is it just marketing gone amok. You can only get this through your vet, therefore it is prescription. Such a load of crap. Maybe you could go out and get a second opinion. Stop spending a fortune to feed us, your best buddies, crap. Hell, the whole dog and cat food thing is pretty dicey the least you can do is feed us the good stuff.


Like I said, I'm not a doctor. I'm just a dog. If you're sick or broken, I'm going to be of little use except for sympathy. I will never question you doctor or the choices you make. These are personal decisions between you, the vet and your best buddy. What I am doing is telling you it's your responsibility to ask questions. It's your responsibility to read labels Your choice in foods for your family is an investment in their futures. Think Read Ask and Act. 


Zane