Here at Earthblend we feel it is important to ensure the consumer is educated and aware of the high cost of today's market and how it not only affects you, but most of all, your dog.

In the pet food industry there are two types of dry pack dog food. One is commonly referred to as "fixed Formula" meaning the ingredients you see on the bag never change or fluctuate. Most if not all people already assume this is always the case with any food, however most dry dog foods are not a fixed formula. What does this mean?

Most dog foods that fall into the non-fixed formula category are allowed to make changes or substitutions to their foods. They are only required to exactly match the ingredients on the bag once every six months. What? Why would anyone do this? Well, because they are allowed to do so for one, selling you a product that may in fact be less quality than what you think. Another major reason is something that most of us are already feeling in this tight market.

The fact is, costs of commodities are rising. How does a dog food company compensate for the rising costs of basic commodities required to make their food. There are three things that a company may do to help cut costs and save money.

First:
Pass the increase on to the consumer. The cost of meat, corn, or wheat goes up, so the cost of the food goes up for you.

Second:
With the non-fixed formula foods, they can change and make substitutions to cheaper lower grade ingredients at almost anytime. This has a negative impact on your dogs health and may also explain digestive changes in your dog even when it's diet hasn't changed.

Third:
When the companies produce their food, there are screens in the manufacturing process that only allow certain parts of fillers or ingredients through. These screens can be replaced to screens with larger holes, allowing more of the non-desirables through, providing an extra cheap filler to help make weight.

The sad thing is that most of the foods won't choose just one of these scenarios to help save money, but will do all three to really cut costs and increase margins. Another down side is that it doesn't take a sagging market to initiate these practices.

So keep your eyes peeled and check and see if your food is a "fixed formula" dog food. Earthblend prides itself on this, but regardless of particular brand, you owe it to your dog to do your homework and find the food that your dog will thrive on.

Labels: Fixed Formula

Earthblend Super Premium Dog food is all about the health of your dog. We have recently undergone a web makover in a stride to make ourselves known. We aren't just here to sell dog food. We want to make the general public aware of what to watch out for when choosing a food.
We would also like to take advantage of this great tool called the internet to reach out and have some fun with dog lovers everywhere.