Did you know you could be wasting up to 70% of the cost of your dog's food every day?
How much do you know about
your dog's poop?
Learn what your dog's poop can tell you
about his or her health . . . .
Dog poop – let’s probe further | Commercial canned or dried foods
Dog food manufacturers and carbs | The poop of raw fed dogs
The Experiment | Think about it – how much poop can you hold in one hand?
Dog poop disposal hazards | So, next time, you’re at the dog park
Dog poop – let’s probe further
Those who already feed a raw, natural diet will be well aware of the numerous benefits of feeding as Mother Nature intended, but many non-raw feeders may not be aware of one major pluses to feeding a biologically appropriate diet, is much less poop!
Commercial canned or dried foods
Many commercial canned or dried foods contain an often significant amount of fillers and carbohydrates – some as much as 70%. Dogs are generally held to be carnivores, given their teeth, digestive systems and behavior, although this is a fiercely contested issue between pet foodmanufacturers, vets and raw feeders.
I frequently tell dog owners that if their beloved pet ran off for the day, he or she would not be found chewing a corn cob in a corn field, but rather out chasing and or eating rabbits!
Most raw feeders are of the opinion that their dogs have everything to gain and nothing to loose on a specie specific diet as Mother Nature intended. Why not give it a go by trying some delicious raw food bred from animals reared on the fresh pastures of New Zealand, such as Freeze-Dried-Dog-Food as shown in the photo below.
Dog food manufacturers and carbs
Many dog food companies fill their products with carbs because they:
- are usually cheap
- have a very long shelf life
- help bind their other ingredients together
- Feeding too many carbohydrates can result in the exacerbation of yeast issues, such as itchy feet and ear infections
- Starchy carbohydrates stick to the dog's teeth, Causing Plaque and Calculus (Tartar) to form. Unlike humans, Mother Nature has not provided dogs with an enzime called amylaze in their mouths to start the digestion of carbs, or any other mechanisims to keep dogs teeth clean from carbs, unlike when fed a raw diet
- Cancers feed on sugars found in carbohydrates
- And finally, (and some might say most importantly), if the dog cannot fully process the food it is fed, it is wasted, and becomes poop – lots and lots of poop!
However, given that our dogs do not possess the digestive system or enzymes necessary to process these carbohydrates, feeding a diet packed with grains, rice or potatoes can have a number of serious repercussions:
Have you ever been to a dog show and noticed a poor dog being dragged along on a lead whilst leaving behind a very large, very smelly, very runny strip of poop?
Who hasn’t felt that pang of sympathy for the the poor dog, and indeed the poor owner, trying to scrape up a small lake of soupy waste with one hand in a hastily found grocery bag, whilst with the other hand trying to control their dog? I guarantee you that somewhere in the crowd watching this cringeworthy spectacle is a group of raw feeders, knowingly nodding at each other, saying, that’s not a raw fed dog!
The poop of raw fed dogs
For those who don’t know, the waste of a raw fed dog is usually much firmer, smaller, less smelly and generally easier to pick up as a result. The reason why is simple, the dog hasn’t eaten anything it cannot process or the body cannot use, therefore very little is wasted, resulting in very little waste.
The Experiment
Someone I know once carried out a simple experiment. Personally I think she just had way too much time on her hands, but I have to applaud her efforts in the name of science!
She weighed the dried food she was currently feeding her dog, and then weighed what came out the other end. She repeated that experiment for a number of days before changing her dog’s diet to a pre-made commercial raw diet, and then carried out the same procedure.
The results made for a very interesting discussion and one which I have often repeated to encourage others to switch their dog’s diets
On a dried food diet, it turned out that her poor dog was excreting up to 70% of the ingredients which it had eaten the previous day.
Just imagine going into your local pet shop and buying a huge bag labelled “dog food”, only to find that it contained 70% dog poop – which you then had to dispose of. You wouldn’t do it would you? It is a complete waste of your hard earned money, and another excellent reason for changing your dog's food to raw food. A good starting point would be Raw Kniblets.
Many people already complain about the cost of feeding their dog – imagine the realization that 70% of that money spent could just be taken straight from your wallet, wrapped in a poop bag and chucked in to a landfill site!
After the change to a more species appropriate, raw diet, the percentage of waste excreted by this canine test subject plummeted to 30% – and most of that was undigested bone.
It may not sound a huge amount, but that 40% difference can be extremely noteworthy, especially for those with larger dogs. It can mean the difference between struggling with a shopping bag and a tiny plastic bag.
Keep updated with all that's
right for your best friend!
click on this link
to subscribe to our free mailing list.
Think about it – how much poop can you hold in one hand?
Let’s be honest, no one likes picking up dog poop, and we’re all a bit icky about handling that warm soft package our pets leave us on a daily basis, even if our hands are safely wrapped in layers and further layers of poop bags. It’s a chore we put up with because its the right thing to do, a very minor downside to the otherwise joyful life-changing experience that is being the guardian of a dog.
Dog poop disposal hazards
There are serious issues with dog waste about which every dog owner should be aware of, no matter what diet you choose to feed your best friend:
- Did you know that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies dog waste in the same category as oil spills? It is actually considered a major pollutant. To quote the EPA website: “Pet waste carries bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can threaten the health of humans and wildlife. Pet waste also contains nutrients that promote weed and algae growth (eutrophication). Cloudy and green, eutrophic water makes swimming and recreation unappealing or even unhealthy”.
- American dogs alone create more than 10,000,000 tons of waste per year.
- It has been estimated that a single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which are known to cause cramps, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and serious kidney disorders in humans.
- It can also contain campylobacteriosis, E.coli, giardia, parvo, tapeworms, roundworms, salmonella and coccidia. Unless scooped up, some of these bacteria can hang around in the soil for years
- Waste water treatment facilities are usually unable to filter bacteria from dog poopx. Therefore don’t flush it!
- Dog waste is also a known major contaminant of our water – once washed from your lawn or yard in to the water system, the waste breaks down releasing ammonia and bacteria which use up the oxygen in the water causing damage to fish and other wildlife – and making water unsafe for recreational use.
- 20% to 30% of the bacteria in random water samples have been shown to have originated from dog waste!
- According to the EPA, two to three days of dog poop from 100 dogs has sufficient nasties to close a 20 mile stretch of coastline to swimming or the harvesting of shell fish. (Anyone else never eating clams again?)
- A study of air samples in Cleveland, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan found that 10-50% of the bacteria in the air came from dog poop. I doubt they put that in their tourism leaflets.
Based on the above US statistic, one must assume similar stats exist for Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
So, next time, you’re at the dog park
- Don’t leave it for someone else to pick up. If it’s your dog, it’s your poop too. Contrary to popular belief in some areas, the Dog Poop Fairy does not exist
- Don’t flush it. Our water treatment systems are designed for us, not your dog. Poop is biodegradable, after all, no matter what you feed your dog – so a landfill site is ultimately the best place for it
- Once you’ve conscientiously scooped your poop in your poop bag, put it in a bin! Do not hang it on a nearby bush. Nothing spoils a lovely walk more than having to stroll through a lane decorated with colorful bags of dog waste hanging in the trees
- If you find you’re picking up more than a handful, or it runs through holes in the bag, its time to consider changing your dog’s diet. Although it is frequently said that “you only get out of something what you are prepare to put in”, the converse is true when discussing the subject of poop – put the right stuff in (species appropriate, natural food) and you get (almost) nothing out! You’ll not only be doing yourself and your wallet a huge favor, but also your dog and the environment
Always carry at least two poop bags with you. You know that little poop machine on the end of your lead is more than capable of doing it at least twice on a walk, usually in the middle of crossing the road if anything like my Maggie, or you may just be able to help out another dog owner caught short.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I had to go in to a store to beg a second plastic bag because one of my dogs has left a parcel on the pavement outside. It is mortifying – especially if it’s one of the posher designer clothes stores.
I once had to shut my dog’s lead in the door of such a store (dogs were not allowed inside) with the dog on one side and me on the other, whilst trying explaining to very a snooty assistant across the shop floor that I needed one of their expensive cardboard bags to pick up my dog’s poop – and I did not want to buy anything.… No more, however. I now often look like a hobo with plastic bags overflowing from every pocket, but better safe than sorry!
This article and information forms part of the Carole's Doggie World Holistic Library and is presented for informational purposes only.The information is not intended to be a substitute for visits to your local vet. Instead, the content offers the reader information researched and written by Carole Curtis for www.carolesdoggieworld.com