I found this great article on Rawhide bones for dogs on the CupOFdog blog.

We used to give our dogs rawhide, but since going raw they only get marrow bones or dried trachea to chew on.

Here’s a little snippet of the article:

Rawhide, that chewy treat available in almost all pet stores (and some grocery stores, I have noticed) is a hotly debated dog treat, one of the most common treats in the pet industry. Is it safe? What are the issues? Let’s explore.

How Rawhide is Made
Rawhide is the dried out raw hide of an animal. Rawhide chews are usually made from bulls, pigs, cows and sometimes horses. The hides are obtained from slaughterhouses, as they are a by-product, un-edible for humans. The hide is scraped of all meat, hair and fat. Originally, Native Americans used rawhide as a material in cabin and boat construction becauseSkinning a Pig of its extreme durability.

Here’s the link to the whole article: http://www.cupofdog.com/2008/08/05/rawhide-danger-in-disguise/ I think the article is worth a read.

Rawhide can be dangerous. Be careful and if you chose to give it to your pooch(es) please don’t do so unsupervised.

Here’s a link to some alternatives to rawhide for chewing: http://www.k9rawdiet.com/Treats-for-Chewing-c-5.html

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This was posted on a forum online. Here’s the link: http://forums.dogfoodproject.com/

After “Lassie Natural Way Dog Food” and Disney-endorsed “Old Yeller“, here’s the next product that attempts to ride on nothing but a famous name:

Rachael Ray Nutrish Dog Food

Rachael comments:

Look, we all want the best for our furry family members. And that’s exactly why I worked with experts in pet nutrition to create Rachael Ray Nutrish. My Isaboo loves food and treats made with simple, natural ingredients. So, what are you waiting for? Take a look around. See just how good these foods are and learn a little more about my pet charity, Rachael’s Rescue.

Let’s have a look at the ingredient list of these “simple, natural” foods:

Rachael Ray Nutrish Beef and Brown Rice
Beef, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Corn Gluten Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Peas, Dried Tomatoes, Dried Carrots, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Olive Oil, Iron Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Dried Parsley, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Mixed Tocopherols, Niacin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid

This “beef” formula actually contains more chicken than beef, more corn and soy than rice, a larger proportion of grain and soy ingredients than meat ingredients, generic animal fat, corn gluten meal as a cheap protein booster, and more salt than dried peas, tomatoes or carrots.

Rachael Ray Nutrish Chicken and Veggies
Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Corn Gluten Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Peas, Dried Tomatoes, Dried Carrots, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Olive Oil, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Oxide, Dried Parsley, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Mixed Tocopherols, Niacin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid

Again, the major part of this food consists of grain and soy, we also see the generic animal fat, corn gluten meal as a cheap protein booster, and more salt than the touted “veggies”.

These “delish” creations are brought to you by Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, part of Dad’s Pet Care, a major sponsor of the “Dogster” community, which also makes a number of other, poor quality lines of pet food.

As a reminder, here’s a list of ingredients to avoid – these are not present in quality products!

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I have been reading on my dog forum and on other sites around the net that not only did Canidae change their dry formulas, but they also are now being manufactured or partially manufactured by Diamond.

We don’t feed this to our dogs any longer, but my mom feeds Mickey their canned food (that’s really all he’ll eat) and so I still try to keep up with the recalls and what’s going on in the pet food world.

This really concerns me because we lost two cats to the Diamond recall of 2006 and frankly, I just will never trust any brand made by Diamond again.

So I emailed Canidae…and here was my response from them.

http://www.canidae.com/new-formulas.html
Dear Heidi,

Please click on the above link, we have updated our site to insure all your questions are answered about our newly improved formulas. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of that page.

Due to overwhelming customer support and increased demand on our products, we have been faced with unique production capacity challenges. Our growing customer support and demand has pushed for increased capacity, therefore we have outsourced additional production from Diamond Pet Foods. Our customers demand and deserve no less than the highest quality safe ingredients, as well as state of the art consistent manufacturing. Outsourcing additional production from Diamond comes not without first carefully instating and accepting only the strictest testing protocols, as well as mandating stringent operating procedures to ensure the highest quality products possible at every level of production. We are very happy with this relationship and the high quality formulations we are able to bring to you. Expect Excellence!

Our quality of raw material as well as quality control has actually increased not decreased. Yes we have diversified our complex carbohydrates as rice continues to climb and high quality availability decreases. Our products are better than ever and more consistent. Yes we have cut costs on shipping rates as fuel continues to go through the roof. To ship pet food from one location is no longer cost effective. Our economy is facing some challenging times and we are being proactive in offering you the highest quality products, yet affordable enough for our consumers to purchase. We are not sure about other companies and their plans for change or their reasons in the past, however we feel we are being open and honest about our changes. We are getting alot of positive feedback from our customers that are actually feeding their pets our improved formulas.

We thank thank you for your comments, and hope your pets are able to receive the benefits of our products.

Personally, I still wouldn’t trust them. But that’s me and it’s really a personal preference.

Added 8/11/08.…many people have come to my blog to read this post so I thought I’d also include a list of foods that are made by Diamond. I copied this list from a dog forum I participate at and so I cannot account for it’s accuracy. But thought it was worth adding.

• Kirkland is made by Schell and Kampeter who also is dba for Diamond. (imo pretty sneeky way of not coming right out and saying what foods Diamond does make)
• TOTW
• Solid Golid
• Country Value
• Diamond
• Professional
• Natural Balance
• Artemis
• Chicken Soup for the Soul
• Canidae
• Nutra
• Premium Edge
• Menu foods makes canned Nutro

Like I said, I cannot account for the accuracy of this list. I hope that a food like Artemis is not made by Diamond, but I have no clue and cannot say. I’ll have to look into it.

Here’s a site that has a good list of many foods and their ingredients: The Best Dry Dog Foods

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