I have just shared the following with breeders but feel obligated to pass along

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

So skip the parts as they are related to breeding and food ~ or not, but consider putting to your food company or those you consider to the 'written test' as suggested many a time by Karen. Here is the entire original post I made:


irregular cycles, missed conceptions, stillborns, fading
Puppy? Such tragedies and definitely that which represents probably the
hardest part of what we do as breeders. That which many hesitate to talk of
while silently it rips their hearts out.

It has been a while friends. In addition to 'life' I have been spending
much time with some in depth examinations of pet food, specific
ingredients, numerous chemicals we handle often if you are around dogs,
potential alternatives and more. Take it for what you will, I have been
trying to bring this particular look to a more complete status and I have
recently taken an enormous amount of heat from an anonymous (?) source so
have been reluctant in my posts. But as this is flowing in I cannot in good
conscious not share it with those I often share these thoughts with,
especially breeders.

So we all know of ethoxyquin right? Well I'll tell you it is bad enough
that the *not so premium* foods still have garbage in it, but when you
think you are getting a *premium* product at a premium price it really
fires me up. More info. to follow that I do want to share and you may have
even seen this before my day around here but it is worthy of a look for
those that have not seen it.


The excerpt below has been taken from a letter you will want to read on
this site ~ http://www.holisticvetpetcare.com/ethoxyquin.htm by Gloria Dodd
DVM

"Not only are chronic degenerative diseases of pets on the increase, but
breeders complain of increasing frequency and numbers of reproductive
problems: irregular estrus cycles, missed conceptions, stillborns,
“fading puppy” syndrome, increased neonatal deaths and malformed
puppies with missing limbs, organs, hydrocephalus, cleft palates, etc."

Coincidentally a similar excerpt from Jean Dodd DVM ~
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/Ethoxyquin.htm

"Since the late 1980's, the incidence of chronic disorders in purebred dogs
appears to have increased. These disorders include dysfunction of liver,
kidney and thyroid, reproductive problems, autoimmune diseases and other
immune dysfunction, birth defects in pups, increased stillbirths and
neonatal mortalities, neoplasia, allergies and problems with skin and coat
condition. Most concerns have focused on inbred or closely linebred dog
families."

Now for the cringing stuff because I know so many rely on this product. I
have recently been permitted to view correspondence from Diamond Pet food
to a consumer I know of locally in regards to a no grain food popular among
families and breeders alike, especially for cost. I am not going to name it
because I do not need any legal hassles right now, but I am certain you can figure it
out ~ if not email me privately.

"XXXXXXXXXXX does not add ethoxyquin to any of the formulas.

Fish meal is required by law to be preserved with ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin is
most effective at preventing rancidity in the highly volatile fish meal.
Rancidity in ingredients can lead to severe illness.

Most of the ethoxyquin is destroyed in the cooking process, requiring other
preservatives to be used. Tests for ethoxyquin are run routinely on
XXXXXXXX products. The results are typically less than 5ppm. The amount
allowed, and considered to be safe, by the FDA is 75ppm."


This was dated July of 2009 and I have since found similar copies of letters posted
around the web. As a follow up we have contacted many manufacturers
verbally and in writing and have asked if they can guarantee that there is
NO ethoxyquin present in their products. Some have replied they cannot,
some have not responded and others have said they can say there is none.

Coincidence in regards to health concerns and breeder noted difficulties
with this chemical? Maybe, but we each deserve to have full disclosure of
our choice and make the decision that works best for us. It is my
recommendation to our puppy families that they initiate written
communication with any company in question and ask them the same question ~
can you guarantee there is no ethoxyquin in your product? You may wish to
do the same or at the very least explore your options and have a plan B.
Look for any fish meal ingredient (in many brands it is in formulas you
would not anticipate it like chicken, etc... and it is present in all 3 varieties of referenced above XXXXXXXXXXX brand), I think you will be stunned
with the results of your closer look.



Dianne
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dianne Carter
Trinity Doodles
http://www.trinitydoodles.com
[e-mail]

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sure it is:
http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/storeLocator/Texas.aspx

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And here's the Fromm' store locator:

http://www.frommfamily.com/dealers.php

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

The following have been aquired by conglomerates over the last year or so ~
Nature's Variety
Eagle Pack
Wellness
*As a rule* conglomerate = more focus on profit and less on quality. Ingredients often cheapen. Formulas sometimes are altered and prices go up while bag size goes down. It is also VERY important to remember that the law does NOT require a pet food company to change the packaging/label/ingredients for six months! This means that your bag of ABC brand food, might look the same, read the same, etc... but suddenly Fluffy's stools are different or he is sick and the connection to the food is never made. How many pets and their humans do you suppose may have been unknowing victims of such situations?

[Shanthala Rajagopala]

Dianne, Thank you for posting this information. My dogs are on TOTW salmon variety for a while now...so, now you have got me thinking. You wrote as quoted, i guess,
"Fish meal is required by law to be preserved with ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin is
most effective at preventing rancidity in the highly volatile fish meal.
Rancidity in ingredients can lead to severe illness".

I looked at the ingredients of couple of foods that are mentioned in this thread(Fromm, Orijen). Now, both of them have some form of fish meal( salmon meal, herring meal etc). Don't they need to be preserved by ethoxyquin as well? Or else, do they something else as preservatives in these food? But that doesn't make sense since the quote says that they are supposed to use ethoxyquin by law...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The quote is from Diamond Foods; it is not a proven fact that fish is required to be preserved with ethoxyquin by law. Does anyone have any factual info on whether or not this is true?

[Janie]

I need to get a dog food today as they are out of the TOTW but having a hard time making up my mind. I thought I would try NV since they sell it so close to me but Dianne said it had been bought out. I have been trying to call the company but can't get them. Karen thank you for the links you gave me . Dianne,thank you, for telling me about NV.

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Great question! Orijen and ACANA make their own meal. As for the others I am not certain but clearly they do not purchase their fish meal on the secondary market as do the foods in question from Diamond. I am not certain it is LAW either as I have yet to find the supporting evidence, though did see something about the *coast guard* and ethoxyquin.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here is some information from Flint River about the use of ethoxyquin. It is evidently not required, but is cheaper than other forms of preservatives, and hol;ds up under high heat food processing better than other safer, more natural preservatives. Foods like Orijen which are not subjected to extreme heat to not have to worry about the breakdown of vitamin E.
http://www.aplus-flint-river-ranch.com/define-ethoxyquin.php?win=small

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And more info on ethoxyquin from the FDA:
Ethoxyquin is a quinoline-based antioxidant used as a food preservative and a pesticide (under commercial names such as "Stop-Scald"). It is commonly used as a preservative in pet foods to prevent the rancidification of fats. There has been some speculation that ethoxyquin in pet foods might be responsible for multiple health problems. To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only found a verifiable connection between ethoxyquin and buildup of protoporphyrin IX in the liver, as well as elevations in liver-related enzymes in some animals, but there are no known health consequences from these effects.[2] Until further evidence is reported, the FDA has asked pet food manufacturers to voluntarily limit ethoxyquin levels to 75 ppm.[2] However, most pet foods that contain ethoxyquin have never exceeded this amount.[2]

Ethoxyquin has been shown to cause mortality in fish.[3]

Ethoxyquin is also commonly used in spices to prevent color loss due to oxidation of the natural carotenoid pigments.

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in 1997 requested a voluntary reduction of ethoxyquin from 150 ppm to 75 ppm in complete dog foods. The work used to make the reduction request was never published in peer reviewed journals or made readily available to public or scientific scrutiny.

[Janie]

I find this very upsettig I thought I had found a great dog food close enough for me to buy and now this...it is not worth taking a chance so I am switching (but to what). I can not thank you all enough for the information.

[Sue]

Have you tried Fromm Salmon? Ive used it for a long time. It gets high ratings from the WDJ Also, it's fairly reasonable in price.

http://www.geocities.com/rottndobie/wholedogjournal2.html

[Janie]

Sue,thank you for the link.... I went over it and there are a lot listed that are made by Diamond....am I to understand all dog foods on this list is good dog food? TOTW is listed so is NV.