Brothers White Paper

 

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLE

At Brothers we consider dogs to be family members. We are committed to the welfare of this noble species that so willingly give unconditional love and loyalty to the humans who care for them. We are dedicated to creating the most nourishing, healing, supremely health promoting kibble dog food possible - a food worthy of the trust these loyal animals and their owners place in us.

The intention we bring to all that we do, and plan to do, is to create the highest good for all involved...our customers... our family ...and every dog we feed.

From 2006 to 2021 our family owned and operated a Dog Food Store. The first 13 years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the final two years in Colorado. From the beginning we carried the healthiest dog foods available, including seven freezers of frozen raw food, educated our customers in nutrition, and encouraged them to provide their pets with the most nutritious dog food available.

Despite our best efforts we were distressed by the constant, recurring health problems we witnessed in so many of our customers' dogs. We saw the same problems over and over again. Something was wrong and the most logical place to look was the food they were eating.

Our customers shared what they were told by their veterinarian, the dog food manufacturer, or nutritionists regarding the suspected cause, along with the list of solutions that had been suggested and tried. 

Usually the symptoms were treated with the overuse of antibiotics or steroids which did not resolve the cause of the problems and, over time, only made matters worse.

What caused the problems was not really understood because the suggested solutions were ineffective. In the majority of cases the dogs were not getting much better, or they improved for a short time only to have the symptoms return.

Surprisingly veterinarians and nutritionists were not investigating the ingredients in the dog food as a possible cause.

COMMON SYMPTOMS

The following are a list of problems that we saw continually and were commonly being treated by veterinarians in the area.    

 

 

 

 

 

                   Dry, Brittle Hair

Based on years of experience with our customers and their dogs, as well as dog food industry inside information (which was available to us as a dog food retailer), we began to suspect the source of the problems was connected to the food they were eating.

This was very upsetting since our family operated a store that was recommending and selling dog food. We started using elimination diets to identify the problem ingredients and we soon narrowed it down to high-glycemic grain, potato, and high carbohydrates content with a reduction of animal sourced protein.

Carbohydrates were being substituted for animal protein and fat.

We experimented with elimination diets to the extent we could with the foods available to us and the results were promising but we needed a food that high animal protein and low carbohydrate and there were none on the market at the time.

We decided to design and make a food that eliminated high-glycemic carbs, was nutritionally balanced, high in animal protein and was formulated to restore and maintain a vibrant, healthy gut using prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes, soluble and insoluble fiber in nutritious vegetables.

Help came in the form of an Animal Nutritionist with a Ph.D. in Gut Biology and over thirty-five years experience in the dog food industry, including overseeing numerous clinical research projects on dog food.

We decided on a kibble because 97% of dog owners at the time were feeding kibble and we wanted to provide a solution for the largest number of dogs possible. 

We asked our Ph.D. Nutritionist to design the healthiest kibble dog food possible. 

He told us he had worked for almost every major dog food manufacturer at one time or another and not one of them had ever asked him how to make a dog food better - much less to make it the best it could possibly be. They would always give him a formula and tell him to make it cheaper. He was excited to apply his 35 years of experience and knowledge to help us create the absolute healthiest kibble possible.

The food he designed has not needed to change one bit in fifteen years.

It has resolved problems we were not even aware of back then and is so balanced and nutritious that it is even an effective weight loss food because dogs naturally gravitate toward their ideal weight when given an appropriate amount of an optimally nutritious food, without the high glycemic carbohydrates that are proving to be so problematic.

See the Blog Post "A BALANCED CALORIE DIET (ABC Diet).

https://brothersdogfood.com/blogs/blog/a-balanced-calorie-diet-abc-diet

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT AAFCO FEEDING TRIALS

Some of the worst food we tested passed the AAFCO feeding trial, which is often touted as the gold standard to determine dog food nutritional excellence.

It is revealing just how little this feeding trial actually tells you about nutrition - which AAFCO itself acknowledges in the small print.

AAFCO's mission statement declares that the feeding trials are NOT designed to “examine nutritional relationships to long-term health or disease prevention” but only to ensure that the food is not “harmful to the animal and would support the proposed life stage for 26 weeks”.

The trial is 6 months (26 weeks) long and only requires you to supply 8 dogs, which you get to choose yourself. At any point you can eliminate 2 of the 8 dogs from the test without explanation and without the need to replace them. At the end of the test as long as the 6 remaining dogs are alive and have not lost more than 15% of their weight - your food ‘passes’ the test and is declared “complete and balanced”.

In contrast, our unofficial feeding trials involved hundreds of dogs for periods of up to 4 years with the specific intention of examining nutritional relationships to long term health and disease prevention. 

What is more important to know about a food than its nutritional relationship to long-term health and disease prevention? Would you buy a food when the only thing it promised was it would keep your dog alive for 26 Weeks?

Brothers now has a  fifteen year history of providing long term health and disease prevention with advanced nutritional concepts designed to heal and sustain a healthy gut, combined with healthy, perfectly balanced, appropriate food, nutrients, and supplements that have stood the test of time like no other dog food.

To our knowledge the scope and focus of our research project on dog food - in the sheer number of dogs and the extended periods of time involved - has never been equaled. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: 

1 - PEOPLE & DOGS ARE DIFFERENT

2 - GUT HEALTH IS CRUCIAL

3 - 100 TRILLION BACTERIA

4 - LEAKY GUT

5 - CANDIDA + SYSTEMIC CANDIDA

6 - SKIN PROBLEMS

7 - BALANCING THE NUTRIENTS

8 - DIGESTIVE ENZYMES

9 - PROBIOTICS ARE IMPORTANT

10 - THE RAW DIET

11 - ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

12 - PRACTICAL DETAILS

PEOPLE & DOGS ARE DIFFERENT 

 1.  Dogs are designed to convert protein and fat into glucose for energy - (a process called Gluconeogenesis). People are designed to convert carbohydrates into glucose for energy. When dogs are continually fed high glycemic carbs like grain and potato their Pancreas works a lot harder than it was designed to. It must constantly produce insulin to bring the abnormally high blood sugar levels back down where they belong. Repeated exposure to insulin increases resistance to insulin, and can eventually lead to Diabetes. Pancreatitis and Diabetes in dogs has been on the rise since the accelerated use of high glycemic carbs and grain in dog food began in earnest soon after WW II ended.

2. People are omnivores designed to process carbohydrates and dogs have been carnivores for tens of thousands of years that have fairly recently developed a slightly increased ability to metabolize carbohydrates and are now referred to as (facultative carnivores) who have adapted to eating more than just meat and fat. Many veterinarians, nutritionists, and dog food manufacturers have started defining dogs as Omnivores (like people) due to their increase in the ability to digest carbohydrates. While dogs have adapted to make more of the enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates it does not mean the rest of their body has adapted to the change and dogs are probably healthier eating their historical diet that is primarily meat and fat. 

3. Domestic dogs are descended from wolves gone extinct a few thousand years ago according to the latest DNA research. The Mitochondrial DNA of the domestic dog is 99.8 % identical to that of a 10,000 year-old Gray Wolf and the mitochondrial DNA is what determines the cellular functioning and energy transfer in the body, which is what we’re talking about here. Nuclear DNA is different and is manipulated through selective breeding to produce different body types, personalities, and behavior.

4.  Omnivores have jaws designed to grind from side to side to crush their food. Carnivores' jaws do not go from side to side and cannot grind their food. Their jaws only open and close and are designed to rip off a chunk of meat and swallow it without much chewing. Dogs have mouths designed to eat meat.

5. Amylase is necessary to break down carbohydrates and while people have this enzyme in their mouth to begin the digestion process early - dogs do not. Dogs only create Amylase in their pancreas, an indication that dogs were not originally designed to process many carbohydrates.

6. People have small stomachs that do not vary much in size. People are designed to eat small, frequent meals. People need a steady supply of starches and carbohydrates to provide them with glucose for energy and cellular functioning. They need to eat regularly throughout the day.

Dogs have stomachs that are like accordions and can expand enough to eat up to 8% of their body weight in raw meat at one meal. Dogs are designed to be able to eat one big meal of meat and fat and then function well for as long as a week or two on water alone because their body is designed to convert fat to glucose to provide them with a steady source of energy. There are no guaranteed meals in the wild and this ability to produce glucose from fat enables them to hunt successively even if they haven’t eaten for a period of time. Their ability to easily convert fat to glucose is called Gluconeogenesis. This is why dogs have done quite well for thousands of years without the need for carbohydrates. People are designed to get energy from carbohydrates and dogs are designed to extract their energy supply from animal protein and fat.

GUT HEALTH IS CRUCIAL

The GUT (which is a Microbiome of ninety trillion bacteria, etc) is the CORE OF THE ORGANISM. A Healthy Gut equals a healthy organism and a gut out of balance (a state known as Dysbiosis) is the source of many health problems (Leaky Gut, Systemic Candida, Allergies, etc).

Most of the Immune System (70% to 80%) is generated in the mucosal lining on the inside of the gut wall so if the health of the gut is compromised the ability of the body to defend itself is compromised as well.

The gut wall is lined with hairs (Cilia) that effectively increase its surface area from 2 sq. ft. to about 1,200 sq. ft. If the cilia are not kept clean and functional then the ability of the body to absorb necessary nutrients from the food it eats is undermined.

The fecal matter in the colon is separated from the rest of the body by a layer of cells that is only one cell thick which line the inside wall of the intestines. These cells, called Enterocytes, are roughly rectangular and butt together like little blocks. If the joints between them are compromised and become porous, then a condition known as “Leaky Gut” is created in which fecal matter in the colon leaks through the gut wall and into the blood stream. This condition is quite common in dogs that have been eating grain or potato for any extended period of time.

The 100 trillion bacteria that inhabit a healthy colon function well when the beneficial bacteria outnumber the harmful bacteria, (such as the Candida Albicans Yeast/Fungus) that is always present, in the small intestine and colon.  

They maintain healthy functioning of the Enterocytes that line the inside wall of the colon and the Cilia that grow out of the enterocytes and extract nutrients from the food.

The PREbiotics, PRObiotics, and a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria (90 trillion or so) help keep the pathogenic bacteria, like Candida Albicans, from over populating, penetrating the colon wall, and leaking into the blood stream where the fungus proliferates fed by high-glycemic food and becomes Systemic Candida, a fungus that spreads throughout the body in the blood.

100 TRILLION BACTERIA

The number of bacteria in the colon is about 10 times the number of cells in the entire rest of the body put together.

There are roughly about 10 trillion cells that make up the body. In a healthy colon there are about 100 trillion bacteria - as in 100,000,000,000,000. 

How can you argue with 100 trillion bacteria?

The HUGE number of beneficial bacteria in the colon suggests that a correspondingly high level of importance be assigned to their purpose there which is to maintain the integrity of a healthy, functioning system. The massive colony of beneficial bacteria in the gut is not only 10 times the number of cells that make up the rest of the body  but they are crucial components of a healthy system - in fact, for all practical purposes IT IS THE SYSTEM when it comes to the origin and foundation of health in a mammal.

 

LEAKY GUT 

 

 “Leaky gut” is a condition where the rectangular cells (Enterocytes) that line the inside surface of the intestine separate enough to allow fecal matter into the blood stream. This is an unhealthy, dysfunctional state that creates a wide variety of problems.

A.    Leaky gut in a dog is usually caused by a diet with grain or potato in it. This is because grains and potato contain “Lectins” and other components like “Gluten” that can cause the cells that line the inside of the gut (Enterocytes) to separate (which is Leaky Gut). They also provide the ‘sugar’ that causes Candida in the gut to overgrow and develop the rhizomes that penetrate the joints between the cells lining the gut wall which also creates a Leaky Gut situation.

B.     Leaky Gut is caused by Candida Overgrowth. Candida Albicans is a Yeast/Fungus that is normally present in the colon and is usually kept in check by a healthy colony of beneficial bacteria. When Candida is fed by sugars from grains and potatoes, it overgrows and overpowers the beneficial bacteria in the gut that usually keeps it in check. Eventually Candida overgrowth produces fungal rhizomes that burrow into the joints between the cells that line the inside of the gut wall (the Enterocytes) and causes gaps through which the fecal matter, including the Candida Fungus, can escape into the blood stream.

C.   Leaky Gut Can be Caused by Antibiotics. Antibiotics indiscriminately kill bacteria - including the beneficial bacteria in the gut that keeps the Candida Albicans yeast/fungus under control. Without the proper number of beneficial bacteria to keep the Candida contained and in proper proportion the Candida overgrows and become a fungus whose rhizomes penetrate the joints between the cells that line the inside of the colon. This creates a space between the cells that allows fecal matter to get into the blood stream.

D.    Leaky Gut is a major cause of food ‘allergies.’ When Leaky Gut allows partially digested molecules of protein to leak through the lining of the intestine and get into the blood stream, the immune system records it’s amino acid sequence and creates antibodies to attack what it considers to be an invading pathogen.  When the dog eats this protein again the immune system reacts to it as a pathogen which is basically an ‘allergic’ reaction.  Food ‘allergies’ must be dealt with by removing the ingredients in the food that cause Leaky Gut and adding the ingredients necessary to heal the gut lining. Changing to a novel protein is NOT a long-term solution and will eventually add the ‘novel’ protein to the list of proteins the dog is allergic to and the suffering will continue.

E.     Leaky Gut puts a huge burden on the immune system and the overall system as well because as fecal matter continually seeps through the colon wall into the blood stream the immune system must work extra hard, and almost continuously, to clean up the mess. This overburdening of the immune system steals energy from the body that would normally have been used to grow or rebuild and the system as a whole becomes weaker over time.

F.     Leaky Gut can stimulate autoimmune responses in the body. When partially digested proteins leak through the gut wall their amino acid sequence is recorded by the immune system and antibodies are created to attack that sequence should it appear again. Occasionally the antibodies created will recognize that partial sequence in another body part and attack it. Leaky Gut causes auto-immune problems where the body is attacking itself.

G.    Leaky Gut can create a hyper vigilant immune system that starts over reacting to the least little thing. When the immune system is constantly having to react to a steady supply of pathogens leaking into the blood stream it can eventually become so overworked and hyper vigilant that it will over react to something that otherwise it might not have been concerned with. A flea bite to a healthy dog might be a small irritation but to a dog that’s had Leaky Gut for awhile it could drive the poor dog into a scratching frenzy if the immune system over reacts to each flea bite as though it’s a major attack on the system.

This is a list of common problems that can develop as a result of a Leaky Gut situation:

·      Systemic Candida

·      Food allergies

·      Redness or skin rashes

·      Itchy skin, excessive licking, scratching, and gnawing

·      Recurring hotspots

·      Hypersensitive to skin irritation

·      Bad odor and bad breath

·      Itching/red, irritated eyes

·      Coughing and bouts of asthma attacks

·      Frequent sneezing

·      Ear infections

·      Hair loss

·      Urinary tract/bladder infections

·      Hives

·      Diarrhea

·      Joint pain

·      Inflammation

·      Malnutrition due to inability to absorb sufficient nutrients

·      Fatigue and lethargy

 

 CANDIDA ALBICANS AND SYSTEMIC CANDIDA                       

Candida Albicans is a yeast/fungus that resides in the colon. It’s necessary to some degree and no real concern as long as it’s kept in check by the beneficial bacteria in the colon. However, it becomes quite problematic if it overgrows and escapes the colon and gets into the blood stream.

Candida Albicans can grow out of control in a dog that is fed a diet containing sugar, grain, or potato.  When Candida overgrows it morphs into its fungal form, and the resulting fungal rhizomes spread out like pointed black tentacles and penetrate the connecting joints between the single cell thick layer of square cells (Enterocytes) that line the inside of the intestines. This creates a Leaky Gut condition that allows the fungus to get through the gut wall, get into the blood stream, and spread throughout the system (thus the name Systemic Candida).

Antibiotics kill the beneficial bacteria as well as the pathogenic bacteria - which can lead to Systemic Candida. When antibiotics kill the beneficial bacteria in the colon to the point where they can no longer keep the pathogenic bacteria like Candida Albicans in check the system becomes very vulnerable. Given a supply of sugar, like grain or potato, the Candida fungus is quite opportunistic and will outgrow the beneficial bacteria. When it overgrows the Candida sprouts fungal rhizomes that grow into the joints between the cells (Enterocytes) lining the inside of the colon wall and cause gaps through which the Candida fungus can then enter the blood stream and spread throughout the body. Systemic Candida causes no end of skin conditions and other problems very similar to the ones mentioned under Leaky Gut.

 

SKIN PROBLEMS

In addition to the skin problems created by leaky Gut and Systemic Candida, which are detailed above, there are additional considerations that must be taken into account where skin health is concerned.

Skin issues are very common with pets that have grain or white potato in their diets. Some dogs develop problems early on, while others take years to develop problems to the point where they’re severe; but it seems that every dog that eats grain or potato will eventually develop health issues that often begin as skin related problems. So if your dog has skin issues (and it eventually will if it’s eating grain or potato) it is essential to get these starches out of their food first.

Once this is done there are nutrients that are very important to promote healthy skin and coat that should be in the food; and it’s crucial that they be in the proper proportion to each other. Primarily, there are three essential nutrients that must be in sufficient quantity and in the proper proportion to each other– Omega 3, Omega 6 and Zinc. Getting enough Omega 3 in a dry food is difficult and expensive, so most kibbles go light on the Omega 3. A healthy ratio is one part Omega 3 to between 3 and 5 parts Omega 6 (most commercial kibbles have between 7 and 15 parts Omega 6.

Zinc is another crucial ingredient where skin health is concerned. Grains contain a product called Phytic Acid, which binds zinc (as well as magnesium, calcium, and iron) in the intestines and takes it out of the body. Therefore, animals that are fed a diet with grain have an increased risk of developing zinc deficiencies and therefore increased skin problems. Meat protein has up to 15 times more zinc than a grain like corn which is yet another reason that dogs and cats do much better on meat than they do on grain.

 BALANCING THE NUTRIENTS 

The proper ingredients must be present in the food, be of high quality, be highly absorbable, and be in the proper proportion to each other.  Just as importantly, these nutrients must be in proper proportion to all the other ingredients in the food. Too much of one nutrient can interfere with the absorption of another nutrient. For instance, too much calcium will interfere with the absorption of zinc and magnesium.

It is not sufficient to just add a list of nutrients - BALANCE IS EVERYTHING. This is why we put so much work and time into balancing the nutrient profile of each kibble we design. Adjusting a single component can affect many other components and requires rebalancing of the entire formula.

There are seven pairs of nutrients (Ca/P, Na/K, Ca/K, Zn/Cu, Na/Mg, Ca/Mg, Fe/Cu) that have a synergistic relationship with each other and if the ratios are off it can have an adverse effect on the biologic functions and metabolic activity they influence. These relationships are not addressed by AAFCO.

 

DIGESTIVE ENZYMES

The pancreas in dogs has two jobs: First - To regulate blood sugar, Second - To secrete digestive enzymes to break down the food.

For thousands of years dogs got supplemental enzymes in the raw meat they ate but cooking food kills many of the natural enzymes. The Pancreas has a limited amount of digestive enzymes it can produce in its lifetime and it is important to supplement them so there are plenty of enzymes available especially with the greatly increased need for the enzyme Amylase to break down the increased amount of carbohydrates in their diet.

Humans have very long ‘small’ intestines that serve to help complete the digestion process. Dogs, unlike humans, rely on their stomach to complete the vast majority of the digestion process because their ‘small’ intestines are very short. Any digestion necessary beyond the dog's stomach must take place in the small intestine with the help of digestive enzymes supplied by the pancreas.

Digestive enzymes break proteins down into their individual amino acids, which the mucosal lining in the intestines is designed to allow through. They then enter the circulatory system and are transported throughout the body to wherever they are needed to rebuild or repair tissue.

Without sufficient Digestive Enzymes, and in the presence of a “Leaky Gut” condition, partially digested molecules of food can pass through the gut wall and get into the blood stream. These various sized sequences of amino acids will be identified by the immune system as invading pathogens. It will remember the sequence of the partially digested protein and attack that sequence the next time it appears. This is the primary way that dogs become allergic to the proteins it eats.

Adding Digestive Enzymes is a Huge Help to the System. Added Enzymes initiate the digestive process sooner and complete the breakdown of the protein into individual amino acids the body can use.

Adding Enzymes replaces the natural enzymes in the food that are damaged by the heat of cooking.

Enzymes help ensure thorough and complete digestion of the food so the nutrients in the food are available to be absorbed and utilized by the body and, in the presence of a Leaky Gut condition, reduce the chance that partially digested proteins  will pass through the gut wall and create an allergy to that protein.

Enzymes reduce the stress that the digestive process places on the overall system. Eating, digesting, and eliminating uses 45% to 50% of the body's available energy - but it can be much higher if the body is getting low quality ingredients and must process more food and create an excess of digestive enzymes.

Enzymes reduce the stress on the Liver which is responsible for cleaning up the effects of poorly digested food in the system.

Enzymes save energy that will go toward strengthening the immune system, rebuilding damaged tissues, and creating a healthier dog.

PROBIOTICS ARE IMPORTANT

100 trillion bacteria live in a healthy colon. The body itself is composed of only 10 trillion cells.

This massive colony of bacteria (known as the MicroBiome) is crucial to maintain a healthy colon, and keep the harmful bacteria from overgrowing and creating a Leaky Gut situation. Probiotics are different strains of the bacteria that inhabit the colon and are indespensible.

Adding probiotics to the formula is extremely beneficial; but only if they survive the extruding, bagging, and storage process and don’t activate prematurely. Unfortunately, tests show that the normal probiotics that are sprayed on kibble are activated by the warmth and 10% moisture in the kibble and are 99% dead by the time the dog eats the kibble.

Brothers buys probiotics with a special technology that encapsulates the probiotics and prevents premature activation which ensures that the bacteria will become viable in the colon where they are needed. Tests have shown that normal probiotics only deliver about 1,200 cfu (colony forming units) of viable bacteria to the colon, while Brothers, using the encapsulating technology, delivers about 21,000,000 cfu per lb.

For comparison, if Brothers restored 10% of the bacteria in the colon in a WEEK - it would take a dog food coated with normal probiotics 64 YEARS to do the same.

Prebiotics are food to feed the Probiotics (beneficial gut bacteria) to help the bacterial colony stays healthy, vibrant, and 100 Trillion strong.

Prebiotic’s can be very different in their function and effectiveness. In fact, most of them will do more damage than good under circumstances like Leaky Gut or Systemic Candida because they will feed the pathogenic bacteria, like Candida, as much as the good bacteria.

Brothers uses a special long chain prebiotic that, due to its structure, only feeds the good bacteria and is unavailable to the harmful bacteria, which is very important when healing a Leaky Gut condition and dealing with Systemic Candida. It prevents the overgrowth of Candida in the gut and helps starve the Systemic Candida in the blood stream until it is weak enough to be fully eliminated by the immune system; a process that can take up to six months depending on the concentration of the fungus in the blood.

THE RAW DIET

The Brothers family will be the first to agree that a varied, nutritionally complete, and balanced raw diet for dogs is very beneficial, and we will usually recommend some version of it to our customers who are motivated enough to learn what is necessary to make a raw diet that is nutritionally balanced. However, our experience is that most of our customers do not have the time, inclination, or circumstances to create a 100% raw food diet, which is nutritionally balanced, on a daily basis.

In these cases, we usually recommend a compromise where the diet is about 80% Brothers, to ensure a nutritionally balanced diet, and 20% raw. This compromise has worked extremely well for those that have tried it.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

1.    AAFCO Guaranteed Analysis, which is intended to be a standard for the nutrient levels required to keep a dog healthy is no guarantee. According to Richard Markham, DVD, PhD. AAFCO’s guidelines were once met by analyzing a combination of shoe leather, motor oil, and a multi vitamin.  Thus the claim “Guaranteed to meet or exceed all AAFCO nutrient guidelines” has little real meaning. At issue here is the QUALITY of the fats, proteins, and ingredients used in the food – not just the minimum and maximum quantities.

2.     AAFCO only addresses minimum and maximum values of certain individual nutrients but does not address the SYNERGISTIC BALANCE of specific nutrients AS THEY RELATE TO EACH OTHER. The ratio of certain nutrients TO EACH OTHER is far more important than the amount of an individual nutrient. For instance Calcium and Magnesium must be in the proper proportion to each other because too much Calcium will block the absorption of Magnesium.

3. Where the quality of the protein sources is concerned there are many levels of. In her groundbreaking book about the pet food industry, “FOODS PETS DIE FOR”, Ann N. Martin describes how millions of pounds of dead dogs, cats, and roadkill are reprocessed by Rendering Plants every week into protein sources for many less expensive dry dog foods.

4. A great many dog foods have Ethoxyquin in them. They add it to prevent the fat in their dog food from going rancid while it sits in hot warehouses for six to eight months. They are legally allowed to say their food has no Ethoxyquin in it if they do not put Ethoxyquin in the food themselves. They manage this deception by buying fish from wholesalers who soak the fish in Ethoxyquin before they sell it to the dog food companies.

Brothers does not use fish in any of their recipes for that reason. We use four natural preservatives (green tea extract, Rosemary extract, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E) and no chemical preservatives at all.

 

PRACTICAL DETAILS

PACKAGING AND LABELING

Brothers is packaged in the highest quality, light proof, foil bag available to deliver the best performance where freshness and shelf life are concerned. The foil is impermeable to air and the 1.5 lb., 5 lb., and 10 lb. bags have a re-sealable top. If a better bag is ever designed, we will use it.

FRESHNESS

Brothers Dog Food is made in small batches to ensure constant and short turnover times. Two days after it is made it is delivered to our air-conditioned storage facility where it is kept in the dark at 60 F until we pack it and ship it to you. This is important because normal commercial dog foods are made in such large volumes, to adequately supply the wholesalers who must keep enough on hand to supply the retail stores, that they are usually stored in hot warehouses for 6 to 12 months or more before they are delivered to stores. Under those conditions the Vitamin E preservative (or mixed Tocopherols as it is known) in them will have been partially or completely compromised and the fat already rancid to some degree. Vitamin E is oxidized by light, oxygen, and heat - the warmer it gets the faster it oxidizes.

GUARANTEE

Brothers is 100% guaranteed. If our food does not agree with your dog or meet your expectations, we will refund your entire purchase price graciously. Brothers exercises 100 percent control over the design, delivery, and storage of their products.  This ensures that their customers dogs receive a product that is extremely fresh and nutritious. Brothers guarantees their customers 100 percent satisfaction.

FEEDING

Your dog will most likely be much more excited about feeding time because it will enjoy the taste and freshness of Brothers Complete. Some people think that this implies that their dog is not getting enough to eat and is always hungry. In fact, by eating a good protein diet with enzymes and without the grain and potato, your dog will actually experience a much more consistent level of energy over the course of the day and definitely be more thoroughly nourished.

It’s easy to confuse a dog’s excitement about eating a food it finds extremely tasty with thinking the dog must be very hungry or not getting enough to eat. If your dog is maintaining weight then she is getting optimal nutrition and any extra begging on her part is purely theatrical and manipulative because she loves the taste of it - and she thinks she can control you - and maybe she can, but she’s not starving. Overfeeding can cause a loose stool and weight gain, so be strong. On Brothers your dog is getting an exceptionally nourishing, healing, nutritionally complete, totally healthy diet.

Written by Richard Darlington

Updated July 9, 2023