Three Dog Blog

Feed vs. Food

Three Dog Bakery was founded in 1989 by three dogs, two guys, and a 59¢ biscuit cutter. Because Gracie (Mark Beckloff and Dan Dye’s Great Dane) was born deaf, blind in one eye, and had a delicate constitution, Mark and Dan made all of her own food. After researching what is allowed by regulation to be put in dog treats and food, Mark and Dan made a commitment to create a dog bakery that makes all-natural, oven-baked food and treats with 100% human-quality ingredients for dogs. Three Dog Bakery products contain no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, or other artificial ingredients.

How Dog Feed is Allowed to be Made:

Dog food companies fall under the auspices of the feed industry, which includes both agricultural feed and pet feed. Feed is different than food by definition in that feed is allowed to contain rather unsavory things that food may not contain.

While federal regulations ensure that dog feed meets certain minimum standards for keeping dogs alive, the same regulations also allow pet feed and treats to be made from all manner of things that we wouldn’t generally consider edible. They even allow parts and pieces that have been condemned for human consumption to be included in dog feed. These byproducts may come from animals that died in transit, died from disease, or were euthanized. To reach minimum crude fat requirements, dog feed is also allowed to contain the grease that is collected at restaurants.

Most dog feed is extruded. That is, meat, meat by products, and offal are scooped up and placed into the back of an unrefrigerated flat-bed truck. The truck can take about three days to a week to fill up. Once full, it is transported to the rendering facility where its contents are ground up into a paste and boiled at very high temperatures to kill harmful bacteria. Required nutrients are then added per government standards, and the food is extruded (puffed up with air) to create the kibble shape.

At this point, roughly three weeks may have passed from the time the truck started filling up; and a dog won’t eat the extruded kibble. Although dogs may eat something that’s three days old, they’re smart enough not to eat something that’s three weeks old. So, to make the kibble palatable, it is often sprayed with digest, which is exactly what it sounds like: emulsified guts. Digest gives extruded kibble its greasy texture, and is why most food bags are lined with a sort of waxed paper. This is also why many commercial brands do not have a window on their packaging to see the kibble. Although palatable to dogs, it’s also what makes us wonder why they eat it. It certainly doesn’t smell appetizing.

Some companies use terms like holistic and organic to make their products appear more wholesome than they are. In reality, there is no government-endorsed definition for the term holistic. At the end of the day, a dead animal in the gutter could be called ”holistic”. And the term organic is only a certification of how the grain was grown or the feed was raised prior to harvest or slaughter. It says nothing about the quality of the finished product. Many so-called “organic” dog foods contain ingredients that have been condemned for human consumption.

How Three Dog Bakery Food for Dogs is Made:

At Three Dog Bakery we believe in feeding our furry friends like they are a part of the family. Three Dog Bakery food for dogs exceeds government minimum standards by containing only the finest ingredients.

Our food includes premium-quality meats such as chicken, lamb, and fish made with whole, unadulterated parts that are refrigerated until such time as all ingredients are combined into a dough, dye-cut, and baked 5-10 times more slowly than most brands to preserve nutritive value and flavor. We add no animal fat, no meat meal, and no byproducts. Loaded with anti-oxidants, essential fatty acids, and wholesomeness, Three Dog Bakery food is ready to eat when it comes out of the oven. No digest is sprayed on our food! And rather than being artificially preserved, Three Dog Bakery food is preserved with natural ingredients.

So it’s not dog feed; it’s all-natural, oven-baked food made with premium-quality ingredients—for dogs!

You want to provide the best for your pups. They’re family (your babies) and you want them to be healthy and happy.  However, let’s face it, trying to figure out the best dog food to feed them is confusing and somewhat scary. 

 Have you ever read a dog food label and thought what is this stuff and what does it mean for my dog’s health?   Does dog food really need all those chemicals? Should my dog eat that much corn?  What are meal and meat by-products?

 In this article, we answer several of the most common asked questions about dog food ingredients and dog food labels.  If you don’t see your questions answered, bark back  and we’ll “dig up” some answers.

What are meat by-products?

They are the left over stuff from the human food industry. The items you don’t want to eat such as beaks, heads, feet, undeveloped eggs, feathers or intestines.  GROSS! You wouldn’t feed these to your dogs in raw form, so why would you feed it to them as a dried up pellet?

There are all types of “meal” on dog food labels, what does “meal” mean?

Meal means coarsely ground. For example, corn meal is just coarsely ground corn. There isn’t anything wrong with meal. However, you want to see Chicken or Lamb listed before Meal.  You never want to see Meat or Meat Meal listed. It could be anything, including dying, diseased or dead animals.

Remember to look for chicken meal or lamb meal.

Why is there so much corn and corn filler in dog food?

Corn is a cheap protein source used to keep down the cost of the dog food. As with humans, corn is known to be hard on dog’s digestive system.

Are chemical dyes and preservatives necessary?

The simple answer is no. In general, foods will spoil without some form of preservative, however there are many all natural food coloring dyes and preservatives available. Beet, tomato and spinach powders make great coloring dyes and citric acid (vitamin 0C) and tocopherols –a natural antioxidant that slows the oxidation process of fats and oils—are perfect for preserving yummy-for-the-tummy dog food and treats.

Does my dog need a full balance diet?

Yes, your dogs should eat a well balance diet (just like yours). It should consist of healthy protein, vegetables, fruit, and wholesome grains. 

Why is oven-baked dog food so important to the quality of my dog’s food?

Many pet foods are mostly made from grain fragments mixed with meat by-products, (both left over from the human food industry). It is then cooked quickly at an extremely high temperature until it is tasteless. To make it palatable they then coat it with fats. YUCK!    

Three Dog Bakery uses only premium, wholesome ingredients, like you would for your family.  We slow bake our premium dog food and treats to seal the natural flavors, aromas and nutrients into our all natural ingredients.  The slow baking process creates highly nutritious and palatable healthy dog food that works naturally with your dog’s digestive system.

There is a lot of contradictory information about dog diets. Just like humans no two dogs are alike. You have to find what works for you and your dogs.

We at Three Dogs Bakery, believe our premium quality dog food and treats are something you can feel good about feeding to your family–the four legged ones. Remember, Three Dog Bakery dog food and treats are made in the USA.

Get Three Dog Bakery premium dog food today at http://www.threedog.com