# Bakers Complete...REVEALED!



## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

I often get asked "Why shouldn't I feed Bakers complete to my dog ?"

People often claim their dog does really well on it and LOOKS healthy but little do they know what damage is being caused as a result of feeding their dog this beyond shocking food...

Why you SHOULD NOT FEED YOUR DOG BAKERS -

E320 - has been found to be tumour -producing when fed to rats. In human studies it has been linked with urticaria, angioedema and asthma.

E321 - BANNED for use in food in Japan, Romania, Sweden, and Australia. The US has BANNED it from being used in infant foods. So bad McNasty's have voluntarily eliminated it from their products.

E310 - BANNED from children's foods in the US because it is thought to cause the blood disorder methemoglobinemia.

E172 - BANNED in Germany.
...
E132 - Can cause skin sensitivity, a rash similar to nettle rash, itching, nausea, high blood pressure and breathing problems. One of the colours that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of children. PROHIBITED in Norway.

E102 - TARTRAZINE -A trial on 76 children diagnosed as hyperactive, showed that tartrazine provoked abnormal behaviour patterns in 79% of them.

E110 - Sunset Yellow (E110) has been found to damage kidneys and adrenals when fed to laboratory rats. It has also been found to be carcinogenic when fed to animals.

E104 - One of the colours that the Hyperactive Children's Support Group recommends be eliminated from the diet of children.BANNED in Australia, Japan, Norway and the United States.

E171 - BANNED in Germany.

E153 -BANNED as a food additive in the United States of America. Suspected as a carcinogenic agent.

And which food contains ALL of these ? ....... Bakers Complete!

"low quality protein and carbohydrates used."
"It is packed with additives, preservatives and sugars."
"Bakers Complete is the equivalent of us eating McDonalds 3/4 times a day.
Quoted from;

http://almurray.hubpages.com/hub/Bakers-Complete-Dog-Food-Review

Need I say any more...


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2012)

Most of us on here will probably know that Bakers is not a good food at all but by saying the things in it are Banned because of something relating to humans isn't going to persuade some people as humans and dogs are totally different. We wouldn't feed our children raw meat as they would become ill with Salmonella, Ecoli poisoning etc but with dogs, Raw food is often considered best.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Not surprised Ive known several dogs whos owners have had them on it victims of the regular advertisements, with problems ranging from skin/ears to being hyperactive lunatics, and once changed to a more natural food with no additives the problems have stopped.


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## Shrap (Nov 22, 2010)

Maybe this could be moved to health and nutrition and made a sticky? I know I'm forever looking for that list.


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

MLB said:


> Most of us on here will probably know that Bakers is not a good food at all but by saying the things in it are Banned because of something relating to humans isn't going to persuade some people as humans and dogs are totally different. We wouldn't feed our children raw meat as they would become ill with Salmonella, Ecoli poisoning etc but with dogs, Raw food is often considered best.


Good point but then if they are not good for humans, they can't be good for animals - humans could eat raw meat, they eat raw fish and rare beef  I'm sure I've heard on here of a couple of people who eat raw meat and said they wouldn't give their dog what they wouldn't eat themselves...


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2012)

Hmmm I agree 

But I do love A McDonalds (or McNasty lol)


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## tiatortilla (Oct 1, 2012)

i knew it was bad but that's just something else! makes you wonder how they get away with advertising it the way they do..


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

New Puppy Mum said:


> Hmmm I agree
> 
> But I do love A McDonalds (or McNasty lol)


You never saw this documentary then of the guy that lived on Mackey Ds for 30 days and had med tests before and after

Supersize Me in 7 mins: How too much of McDonald&#39;s will make you feel! - YouTube


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

I just don't get why a dog food would need any additives etc. Let alone any of the above! Dogs can't get them in the wild lol! Not that they would want to...


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## pogo (Jul 25, 2011)

Born2BWild said:


> Good point but then if they are not good for humans, they can't be good for animals - humans could eat raw meat, they eat raw fish and rare beef  I'm sure I've heard on here of a couple of people who eat raw meat and said they wouldn't give their dog what they wouldn't eat themselves...


Me I eat alot of raw meat


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

pogo said:


> Me I eat alot of raw meat


I knew I wasn't going mad and had heard it on here! To me, additives are completely different to meat in comparison to the effects on humans and animals as they shouldn't be in any food!


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## Shadowrat (Jan 30, 2011)

I always knew it was a junk food for dogs, but never realised the specifics of why, I just thought it was crap because of its low meat content and amounts of filler. I didn't realise the harmful things in it.

Im glad I know now, as I used to occasionally (3 or 4 times a year) buy it to throw in with my rat's dry mix, thinking it would be ok for them as they are omnivores and don't need a high meat content kibble anyway, and the cereals won't affect them. Won't be doing that again, not if these things are proven to cause cancer in rats! They have enough trouble with that at the best of times!

Its gonna be premium quality kibble or dried meal worms for them from now on!


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2012)

Sled dog hotel said:


> You never saw this documentary then of the guy that lived on Mackey Ds for 30 days and had med tests before and after
> 
> Supersize Me in 7 mins: How too much of McDonald's will make you feel! - YouTube


Lol I haven`t seen that one actually, but I have seen similar ones I find them fascinating but it don`t put me off Maccys  I don`t eat very healthy at the best of times :scared:


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

I have also told other relevant people the above and they are so shocked! All the same answers being "I knew it was bad but no THAT bad" - I think alot of people will be changing now - This food really should be banned!


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

I wouldn't touch the stuff with a barge pole, let alone feed it to my dogs BUT my friend's labrador has never eaten anything else (oh, apart from another friend's lunch that day). He looks about 7, but is 11 and very fit and healthy. Another friend's dog (collie cross) lived on it for her 16 year life before dying suddenly of a stroke or heart attack a couple of weeks ago.


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## Samy (Mar 14, 2012)

Bakers made my Dodges hair fall out, he had perfectly round circles of missing hair, (to start with i blamed the other half i thought he must be letting the dog run into his ****) a week after we stopped it the hair grew back after months of baldness... evil food.


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

When I first got my dog, Cleo, I knew very little about nutrition - she was my first ever dog and it was all very new to me. I fed her what she was fed from her previous home - Bakers puppy and started her on Bakers Adult, thankfully I learnt Bakers was a rubbish food quite quickly and soon had her off it. She is now 4 and has recently been going through numerous tests for medical issues and she has to be fed only chicken or fish as they are easily digestible due to a liver disfunction and gastrointestinal problems (yet to get diagnosis) and I wouldn't be surprised if feeding her the Bakers is linked to these problems. I have now studied very hard into canine nutrition and into links between nutrition and behaviour. Nutrition has a huge impact on behaviour as well as health. Cleo was extremely hyper and bouncing off the walls all the time she was on Bakers - I am just thankful I know what I know now and can feed my dogs the right diet!


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

This was my answer to someone who said Bakers would be cheaper to feed than any "better" food;

For a 25kg Dog Bakers recommends feeding 380g a day
3kg of Bakers Complete Chicken is £7.20 (prices from Pets At Home)
Costing 91p per day to feed.

For a 25kg Dog Arden Grange recommends feeding 309g a day
If you buy 2x 12kg of Arden Grange (1x Chicken, 1x Lamb) its £52.99 (at Swellpets) it will cost you just 68p per day...ALOT cheaper than Bakers...And look at the ingredients of them both:

BAKERS:

Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives (min. 4% Chicken and min. 4% Fresh Meat In The Soft Moist Kernel), Vegetable Protein Extracts, Oils and Fats, Derivatives Of Vegetable Origin, Various Sugars, Minerals, Yeasts, Vegetables (min. 4% Vegetables In The Green Kernel). + Additives and Colourants.

ARDEN GRANGE:

Chicken meat meal (27%), rice (26%), maize, chicken oil, beet pulp, fresh chicken (5%), chicken digest, yeast, whole dried egg, linseed, fish meal, fish oil, prebiotic FOS, prebiotic MOS, cranberries, yucca extract, glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, nucleotides.

If you are really on a budget, take a look at whichdogfood.co.uk, just type in your dogs breed, age, weight and your budget and foods will come up listed by their star rating...for people on a really tight budget there is "Skinners Field And Trial Hypoallergenic Duck or Salmon and rice" as follows;

Duck and Rice - £22.29p (from vetuk.co.uk) for 15kg;

Ingredients:

Free from artificial flavourings, colourants and preservatives. Whole rice (40%), duck meat meal (20%), naked oats, peas, whole linseed, sunflower oil, sugar beet pulp, vitamins and minerals.

Yes it has grains, but far better than Bakers!

For a 25kg dog, Skinners recommend 318g daily.

Costing just 48p a day!!!


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## LahLahsDogs (Jul 4, 2012)

Jeeez that's bad... My parents used to feed their dogs Bakers a long long time ago before switching to Royal Canin and I must admit, they were all fit, healthy and thriving... BUT how can you put all this crap into an animal that means the world to you? Just yuck!


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

LahLahsDogs said:


> Jeeez that's bad... My parents used to feed their dogs Bakers a long long time ago before switching to Royal Canin and I must admit, they were all fit, healthy and thriving... *BUT how can you put all this crap into an animal that means the world to you?* Just yuck!


I'd argue the same could be said about Royal Canin I'm afraid!


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## LahLahsDogs (Jul 4, 2012)

SixStar said:


> I'd argue the same could be said about Royal Canin I'm afraid!


Yeh, i've been looking at it today... doesn't look good does it? Although they were all very healthy dogs who lives to a good age of 12, which is really good for giant breeds... So, yes, doesn't look good, but it never did them any harm. I wouldn't buy it for my boy though, don't like the look of it. ..and very over priced!


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## Hiafa123 (May 30, 2011)

When we got Haifa nearly 9 yrs ago I knew to stay away from pedigree so bought Bakers complete.she seemed fine for a few month then she started to be sick.She would be fed at 4.30/5pm ish and you could literally set your clock by her at 10pm she would get up and it would come gushing out of her mouth..no heaving, nothing. after a couple days of this I took her to the vets and after numerous tests ( £194 later) they said she could have a sensitive tum. They gave me a bag of James wellbeloved and the rest is history.

It was only years later reading about bakers that I finally put 2 and 2 together


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

Sled dog hotel said:


> You never saw this documentary then of the guy that lived on Mackey Ds for 30 days and had med tests before and after
> 
> Supersize Me in 7 mins: How too much of McDonald's will make you feel! - YouTube


I saw it, I still like the occasional Big Mac meal


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

I recently contacted Bakers Complete to explain what ingredients they actually use in their food, this is their reply;

Thank you very much for contacting Purina PetCare regarding the Bakers Complete range.* We have provided you below with information regarding the ingredients we use.
*
The cereals in our dog foods are an important source of energy and fibre for dogs and assist in maintaining a dogs healthy digestive system.* Cereals used, such as wheat, corn or broken rice contribute to the dogs protein requirements.
*
One of the category groups used in our pet food labelling is Meat and Animal Derivatives which is a term defined by law and refers to the animal based ingredients used in pet food.* The only meat used in our pet foods comes from animals that have been veterinary inspected and certified as fit for human consumption.
*
As a result of using material from the human food industry, our Bakers Complete range contains meat from the same animals normally consumed in the UK such as beef, lamb, chicken, pork, rabbit and duck. This has the advantage of using many valuable nutrient sources, such as heart, liver and tripe.* Additionally, raw material supplies can vary during the year.* We may therefore use ingredients from different animal species based on supply levels.*
*
Vegetables are another source of protein in our ranges.* The Vegetables category group includes for example, soy, beans, peas, chicory root and carrots. Derivatives of Vegetable Origin are feed materials resulting from vegetable products, such as rice starch, wheat bran, legumes, oil seeds and pea fibre. Vegetable Protein Extracts will refer to feed materials of vegetable origin in which the proteins have been concentrated to contain at least 50% protein as dry matter, for example pea protein or gluten.
*
The category term Oils and fats describe all animal and vegetable oils and fats, such as rape seed oil.
*
Sugar, in the form of glucose, fructose and sucrose is added in very low levels.* It reacts together with amino acids which produce a chemical reaction, resulting in a tasty smell being given off by the food so making it more attractive to the dog. A similar process occurs when you roast a joint of meat for example and it browns. As an energy source the usefulness of sugar is limited because of the small amounts used in Bakers.
*
Finally, a word on the description Additives, which includes vitamins, trace elements, flavours, preservatives, antioxidants and colours. All of these have been approved for use in animal feed, including pet food, in all EU member states.
*
Nutritional Additives refers to additives used to support the pets nutrition  for example vitamins and trace elements such as Zinc and Iron.* Within our Bakers Complete range, added vitamins include Vitamin K, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Folic acid and Biotin.
*
Technological Additives cover additives used for a technical reason - for example the preservatives and antioxidants we use help to ensure the product remains in good condition during storage.* Within our Bakers Complete range we use the following preservatives  Potassium Sorbate, Citric acid, Orthophosphoric acid, Mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids. The antioxidants used within our Bakers Complete range are - propyl gallate, Butylated hydroxyanisole and Butylated hydroxytoluene.
*
Sensory Additives refer to additives such as flavourings or colourings. We only use colours which are approved for use in animal food.* Colourants in our Bakers Complete range include Tartrazine, Quinoline yellow, Sunset Yellow FCF, Azorubine, Allura Red AC, Ponceau 4 R, Indigo Carmine and Titanium Dioxide.
*
The health and wellbeing of pets is our primary consideration at Nestlé Purina PetCare.* We strictly adhere to the stringent legislation that governs all aspects of the manufacture of pet food, including the regulations for manufacturing, labelling and ingredients.* Our products are produced in line with the Pet Food Manufacturers Association Guidelines and the National Research Council Guidelines.*
*
We hope that this information has been helpful and please do not hesitate to contact us again if you have any further queries. For more information on the Bakers Complete range, please visit Bakers Complete: Nutritional FAQs .
*
Kind Regards
*
Zoe Vincent VN
Pet Care Advisor


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Animal and vegetable derivatives, that will be code then for wheat and vegetables that are available (and probably cheapest at the time) (meaning the contents differ)

Sugar and artificial colourings too and wheat and maize. Technological additives is good too including preservatives

No surprises there then.


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

Sled dog hotel said:


> Animal and vegetable derivatives, that will be code then for wheat and vegetables that are available (and probably cheapest at the time) (meaning the contents differ)
> 
> Sugar and artificial colourings too and wheat and maize. Technological additives is good too including preservatives
> 
> No surprises there then.


I wasn't surprised at all - it really is beyond shocking!


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

Bump (I noticed another Bakers thread be bought back to life so giving this one a little nudge


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## Wilmer (Aug 31, 2012)

I just don't understand why dog food manufacturers add food colourings? I've never known a dog turn down food because it wasn't colourful enough!


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## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

Wilmer said:


> I just don't understand why dog food manufacturers add food colourings? I've never known a dog turn down food because it wasn't colourful enough!


Dog don't buy food. People do.


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## labradrk (Dec 10, 2012)

Does anyone else hate seeing people piling their trolleys up with Bakers at the supermarkets?

Horrible stuff and the ironic thing is you can get much better foods for less than Bakers.


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## GingerRogers (Sep 13, 2012)

labradrk said:


> Does anyone else hate seeing people piling their trolleys up with Bakers at the supermarkets?
> 
> Horrible stuff and the ironic thing is you can get much better foods for less than Bakers.


Lol, yes, I went to see a client the other day and saw a giant bag of bakers in the conservatory with a half empty one next to it. i was like ' ooh I thought she was quite nice and now see '


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## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

*I will admit i use to feed mine on bakers and they love/d it. No side effects either.*


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## Goblin (Jun 21, 2011)

JANICE199 said:


> No side effects either.


That's the tragedy. You don't notice premature aging, damage to internal organs etc until it's normally too late.


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

Or you could smoke for years and not see the internal damage. It contains known cancer causing ngredients (**** and the food!) Why the heck would you give that to a poor dog?


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## picaresque (Jun 25, 2009)

GingerRogers said:


> Lol, yes, I went to see a client the other day and saw a giant bag of bakers in the conservatory with a half empty one next to it. i was like ' ooh I thought she was quite nice and now see '


I wouldn't say feeding Bakers makes someone a _bad_ person...

I'm fairly easygoing about dog food but Bakers is one of the few I really wouldn't touch with a bargepole. It's not even that cheap considering and there are better alternatives out there that cost around the same or even less, but some people are still misled by the big name and advertising campaigns.


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## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

Someone I went to school with the other day put a photo on facebook of all tehe stuff she has brought her husky puppy.... in the photo was a box of bakers complete.

I advised her against feeding it but her reply was

'The family dog has been fed on it all of its life and the vet said its a good food'

:incazzato:


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## Born2BWild (Jun 6, 2012)

5headh said:


> Someone I went to school with the other day put a photo on facebook of all tehe stuff she has brought her husky puppy.... in the photo was a box of bakers complete.
> 
> I advised her against feeding it but her reply was
> 
> ...


I don't know a vet that would say Bakers Complete is a good food, all the ones I have met have said what an awful food it is (but some recommended Royal Canin - not much better!). If my vet recommended me to feed my dogs Bakers, I would walk the other way and find a new vet!


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

5headh said:


> Someone I went to school with the other day put a photo on facebook of all tehe stuff she has brought her husky puppy.... in the photo was a box of bakers complete.
> 
> I advised her against feeding it but her reply was
> 
> ...


Link her this, it mentions the carcinogens and how appalling the food is. Gives a thorough run down of the ingredients. 
Dog Food Reviews - Bakers Complete Beef & Country Vegetables - Powered by ReviewPost


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

labradrk said:


> Does anyone else hate seeing people piling their trolleys up with Bakers at the supermarkets?
> 
> Horrible stuff and the ironic thing is you can get much better foods for less than Bakers.


My neighbour caught me a few weeks ago and asked if I'd pick her up something from the local shop (childcare crisis .. or rather she asked if I'd mind the kids or go to the shop .. guess which I chose!) but imagine my horror when I found out it was B*akers



Born2BWild said:


> I don't know a vet that would say Bakers Complete is a good food, all the ones I have met have said what an awful food it is (but some recommended Royal Canin - not much better!). If my vet recommended me to feed my dogs Bakers, I would walk the other way and find a new vet!


Vets receive very little in the way of education with regards to pet food - how much they know is really down to how interested they are / the types of pets they have and whether they've done their own personal research.

I always remember my (old) vet trying to put Ben on some fancy diet food that cost an absolute fortune (think it worked out over £80 / month and that was _several _ years ago) ... despite it containing wheat and him being wheat intolerant!


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## 5headh (Oct 17, 2011)

cinammontoast said:


> Link her this, it mentions the carcinogens and how appalling the food is. Gives a thorough run down of the ingredients.
> Dog Food Reviews - Bakers Complete Beef & Country Vegetables - Powered by ReviewPost


I'm going too


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

I really do not stress over food, either human or animal. I feed/eat what suits and tastes good. There are so many controls over what is produced I very much doubt it anything is produced and sold that can do a lot of harm.

I cant eat ice cream, it gives me violent stomach pains - doesnt mean it should be banned. My husband is made ill by drinking milk - again should we ban milk.

My dogs have always been fed on cheap cereal based food because I was too poor to get them better quality food. They were all healthy and looked as well as any other dog. I had one over the years that it did not suit so I played around till I found something that suited her. One that I tried was Bakers but it laid the weight on her within two weeks so I would not use it again.
My current dogs are on Wainwrights and Nature Diet - I think most on here would agree that they are fairly good and not much difference between the two. There is something in Nature Diet though that one of them cannot cope with so she does not get it. I am not going to ask for it to be banned.

I have seen one or two people on here saying they buy expensive food for their dogs and live on cheap rubbish themselves - if they believe so strongly that quality of food is necessary to stay healthy why on earth do they want to risk killing themselves off instead of eating decent food themselves and middle of the road food for the dog.


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## Goldstar (Nov 12, 2011)

5headh said:


> Someone I went to school with the other day put a photo on facebook of all tehe stuff she has brought her husky puppy.... in the photo was a box of bakers complete.
> 
> I advised her against feeding it but her reply was
> 
> ...


Is this the same friend whose 6 month old husky howls through the night?

If so then you may have found the problem.


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## 2Cats2Dogs (Oct 30, 2012)

I remember when I got me doggies and went into a pets corner and I was there for an hour nearly where this guy ran through the evil that was Bakers!!  

It is just evil. He panned so many dog feeds it was unreal. I feed mine good old Acana and whilst it isn't cheap, I know it is a quality feed


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## Sarah1983 (Nov 2, 2011)

Lilylass said:


> I always remember my (old) vet trying to put Ben on some fancy diet food that cost an absolute fortune (think it worked out over £80 / month and that was _several _ years ago) ... despite it containing wheat and him being wheat intolerant!


One tried that with me too. Rupert couldn't have wheat or corn yet they wanted me to put him on a food containing both of them that would have cost me twice what I was paying for the food he was on AND would have given me a massive vet bill each month for the ear infections and skin problems the food would have caused :nonod:


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## Jez Sutcliffe (Dec 6, 2015)

Born2BWild said:


> I often get asked "Why shouldn't I feed Bakers complete to my dog ?"
> 
> People often claim their dog does really well on it and LOOKS healthy but little do they know what damage is being caused as a result of feeding their dog this beyond shocking food...
> 
> ...


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## Jez Sutcliffe (Dec 6, 2015)

7 days on Bakers! Until he fell ill I didn't know this shite was such poison


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## Jez Sutcliffe (Dec 6, 2015)

Born2BWild said:


> I recently contacted Bakers Complete to explain what ingredients they actually use in their food, this is their reply;
> 
> Thank you very much for contacting Purina PetCare regarding the Bakers Complete range.* We have provided you below with information regarding the ingredients we use.
> *
> ...


All the cereals they use cause fermentation in the dogs stomach. If my dog pulls through I'll never feed him any complete food again!


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