Behind the Paw: Part I
By John
We hunted down fellow dog owner John James Jacoby in hopes that he would remain an objective reporter at this particular event. Following a few free flights, hotel stays, steaks and bowling pins later, that went all out the window. Here’s the first part of a three-part series about our inside scoop behind the mega companies that feed your dog.
Very rarely does the opportunity present itself to get a guided tour through any facility, let alone one as highly guarded as the Iams and Eukanuba Research Lab in Dayton, OH. Avenue K9 and representatives for eight other really cool websites were fortunate enough to experience not only the guided tour, but to meet many of the amazing individuals that work “behind the paw!”
At “Behind the Paw!” we were awarded a very rare three-day look into the operations of Iams, Eukanuba, and Proctor and Gamble, and also some of the individuals that are responsible for creating, testing, packaging, branding, and marketing what eventually ends up in the bowls of our furry little friends in the form of yum-yums and din-dins everyday.
Coming down from this awesome adventure, it’s hard not to openly and wholeheartedly endorse everything that I&E do not just for our pets, but for the well being of all animals everywhere. Below you’ll find a list of what we feel are the most important pieces of information we walked away with from looking “beyond the paw:”
- “Animal Testing” does not mean helpless animals being plugged into the matrix. Of the hundreds of cats and dogs we saw, everyone of them was free to roam their controlled environments (which are much larger than our apartments) and were happy, healthy, shiny, well groomed, and well mannered.
- I&E take Animal Science seriously. They currently produce as much food for their on site animals as they originally did for their entire business.
- Corn isn’t filler if used correctly. Each ingredient in their products is hand selected as the most scientifically verifiable, healthiest option to provide our pets with all of the essential vitamins and minerals they require. We can say this because we walked through the lab, saw the product, saw where it came from, and saw how it’s all assembled.
- I&E employees love their jobs and believe in what they do. We got to visit a local animal shelter and see first hand the contributions I&E make to help promote animal wellness in a real world setting.
- I&E has joined forces with Mike Arms and are supporting Home 4 the Holidays, a super awesome way to flip the stigma about adopting pets during the gift giving season.
- I&E scientists helped discover and uncover what ultimately caused the recent pet food recall. Their discovery and quick response saved all of our animals from potential illness not only from the Iams and Eukanuba brands, but from all brands that also used that particular product from that vendor.
- Our friends in Eukanuba Marketing aren’t that good at bowling. Not that we are either, but, we’re still better than they are…
All in all, the trip was an amazing and eye opening adventure filled with lots of laughs and learning. On behalf of Avenue K9, I sincerely thank everyone for allowing us to tag along, and genuinely hope to stay connected with everyone in the future!
Really interesting defense they had for their use of corn. Did they elaborate on what “correct” use of corn was?
Sounds like you had an awesome time there =) Don’t mind the disclaimer… we’re just giving you a hard time. Welcome to the pack
I’m still not completely sold on animal-testing. There are other reputable dog food companies that don’t use animals to test their food at all, and still produce quality foods. Considering IAMS’ big bust just a few years ago (they were exposed for maltreatment of their test subjects, including dirty & unsanitary facilities and untreated medical issues), I’m glad to hear that their facilities have improved. Hopefully their “show” animal-testing facilities extend to wherever else (if there is another “else”) they have testing and experiments.
@Dustin, I’m no scientist myself, but the use of corn was something to the effect of removing the indigestible outer layer to extract the most nutrient rich portion of the inside of the kernel. I’ll try to get more details for you soon and reply back here with them.
In my opinion, when you consider the price of corn today compared to other potential “fillers” the theory of corn being used to cut costs or to fill a void that should or could be better filled with another nutrient doesn’t make much sense. Also, some animals may have allergies to corn products, so it’s important to have a professional diagnose the difference between “bad” ingredients and our individual experiences.
@mike, disclaim away. I think part of joining a pack involves some ritual hazing, right?
@Cindy, this article wasn’t meant to convince anyone that animal testing is good or bad. Certainly it’s a topic we could discuss endlessly and I will probably write up an entry with more details about my experience with Iams and Eukanuba specifically.
This wasn’t a before and after for me, and I have no idea what used to happen there, what goes on when the lights go out, or what will happen tomorrow, but what I do know is what I witnessed and my first hand account is meant to provide some comfort and perspective on what’s happening today, and feel comfortable knowing that people passionate about animal wellness are trying to keep our pets healthy going foward.
I mentioned it because it was largely eye-opening for me. It was meant to say that from my first hand physical experience, Iams and Eukanuba currently treat all of their on site test animals with the kindness and respect that they treat their own pets. Many employees end up adopting their “retired” test animals themselves, because they are totally normal, well conditioned pets.
I mean, they have names… They have controlled environments that look like tiny homes… They have real people that walk and groom them and their environments everyday…
Basically the ONLY “testing” I saw is the caloric content of the food going in compared to what comes out, if you catch my drift. Other than that, there isn’t anything else going on that I saw other than walking dogs, teaching them tricks, bathing them, socializing them, and the same with cats sans the walking and tricks because they are, after all, cats.
I don’t think what I saw was for “show” unless they’re trying to pull off a probable $20 million dollar, 120 acre magic trick. This place was huge and we saw all of it. From the loading docks, food processing, and research labs, to the point of putting booties on our shoes and walking through the surgical center where animals are spayed and neutered. I’m no state inspector, but I would have eaten off the floors pretty comfortably.
Let’s say you’re right, and this was all smoke and mirrors. Even if that’s the case, I’m convinced the magic is real enough to continue to use their products and recommend them to people that ask for food advice.
The best part of the trip, I think, is that we have real points of contact now to help us field some of the specific diet and nutrition related questions. Can’t say I’ve ever purchased shoes and gotten direct answers from the manufacturers scientists before.
I think it was great for them to let you view the site where the make the food and see what really happens as well as getting information about the product.
I would still recommened a raw diet for anyone who wants their dog or cat to live longer, have been joint health, better skin and coat, and poop a lot less due to digesting absolutely everything rather than just some of the food.
I am glad to see people researching this though because I get a lot of people asking about the different dog foods and this lets me tell them some good things about these companies so they can decide what is best for their pet.
Thanks for the info, John