Kibble brands

[admin]

What's everyone feeding their dogs these days? Our dogs are currently demanding a rotation (every other feeding) of Kibbles'n Bits and Science Diet!

[no-id]

my dog eats practicly everything grass,vegys,chips,yogurt, anything and everything and she seems healthy :) we have some 2 types of dog food one of them being kibbles n bits i beleive but she doesnt like that no where near as much as she likes human food :D

[cokker]

Yes i know what you mean! My dog love human food too! But he has bakers complete as normal dog food, its the only stuff he will eat!

[PCNerd]

My dogs are not really into human food, which I guess is a good thing! They seem to down Iams really fast though :)

[murphydog]

hi i feed my dogs burns food it is totally holistic and not tested on animals! my old dog is on brown rice and fish and my pup is on the mini bites as he grows then i will change him on to one that they both can eat

[Doberman's]

Both my dogs are on a BARF diet. I do not feed commercial dog foods.

[keeks62]

We are currently feeding Natural Balance Venison and Rice. I have been trying to find foods that have the first ingredient of meat (few and far between :) ).

[katsnk9s]

Start by reading this :



http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/petfood1.html

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0106-04.htm

http://www.volhard.com/holistic/artbywv.htm

http://betamillion.homestead.com/files/ingredientsavoid.htm

http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/

THis is just to get you going. There are thousands of sites about nutrition that will confirm these opinions. It's only unfortunate that there are so many pets out there who's owners don't take the time to do any research or even think to read the ingredients on the bags of poison they're feeding their pets.

#1. If it's not FIT FOR YOU TO EAT.... IT'S NOT FIT FOR YOUR PET TO EAT.

#2. REAL HUMAN FOOD IS THE BEST THING TO FEED YOUR PET, a natural holistic kibbleis the next best.

#3. 99.9% of all VETS know NOTHING about pet nutrition. They take ONE nutrition course in vet school which is subsidized and all the texts are written by personnel from Hills Nutrition ( Science Diet) and other big corporate petfood companies. THerefore their information is completely biased towards their own products. Hence the reason vets PUSH SD and Iam's products which are some of the WORST on the market.

#4 Remember.... there is NO money to be made in keeping your pet healthy. Big companies spend big advertising $$ to lure you into thinking you're feeding your pet healthy food. It's all a con game. There is NOTHING healthy in any of these foods. They do NOT use fresh meats & vegetables. They are loaded with nutrionally void 'fillers'. They contain loads of toxic chemicals, rancid fats, diseased meats, diseased grains ( just look at Diamond Pet Foods.... over 200 dogs have died because of Afloxin contamination from fungused corn ).


Mordanna's website is about the best online as far as what is and isn't good about pet foods and what's in them. Almost ALL educated dog-owners are familiar with these sites and others like them. It would pay to start doing some research. There are MANY benefits to feeding your dog
healthy food. You may THINK your dog is doing "okay" but how do you know if you have no idea what "optimum health" is for your pet ??

Does your dog SMELL like a dog ?

Dose your dog have bad breath ? Tartar ? Gum problems ?

Dose your dog have allergies ? Itching ? Flaky skin ? Inflamed skin ? Rashes ? Hot Spots ? Hair loss ??

Is your dog constantly licking it's paws, biting or gnawing at their skin ?

Does your dog have digestive problems ? Gas ? Bloating ? Throwing up undigested food ?

Does your dog have frequent, runny, large, loose or smelly stools ?

Does your dog shed alot ? Have a dull , thin coat ?

Does your dog have a bad temperament, is difficult to train, is lethargic ?

Does your dog have medical problems ... liver, kidney, intestinal, joint, bone, eyes, ears, etc ?

These are ALL problems of feeding POOR QUALITY PET FOOD !


A healthy dog has NO odor. NO bad breath, NO tartar build up, BRIGHT, CLEAR eyes, SHINY, THICK and LUSTROUS coat, very little shedding, virtually NO yeast or skin infections, SMALL, almost ODORLESS, very COMPACT and INFREQUENT stools ( meaning that because there is NO junk fillers in holistic premium foods, your dog is absorbing more nutrients ) just think,....GARBAGE IN... is GARBAGE OUT. Feed your dog crap, you get crap in your yard as a result. A properly fed dog has VITALITY, Good Temperament, is easier to train, is more energetic, will RARELY see a vet except for a normal wellness exam, meaning $$ in your pocket.

Holistic premium foods are NOT ( as mistakenly assumed ) more expensive. They are in fact LESS expensive to feed because:

#1. They have REAL whole, quality ingredients, are NUTRIENT DENSE, have NO fillers therefore
you feed LESS.

A 33# bag of super premium holistic pet food at an avg of $45 /bag will last a 50 lb pet
7 wks. ( 106 cups per bag , a 50lb dog eats 2 cups per day on average )

A 40 lb bag of $20 pet food will last a 50# dog 2 wks because the majority of the
ingredients are fillers, grains and other nutritionally void ingredients so the dog has to eat
two to three times as much just to get the same nutrition (which by the way is
ARTIFICIALLY added by pumping it up w/vitamins and minerals instead of getting them
naturally from quality whole fresh in gredients. So in 7 weeks you will have spent
$70 to feed your dog the equivalent of McDonalds quality food as compared to having
spent $45 to feed your dog the equivalent of a filet mignon dinner.

I'm no rocket scientist Would you feed your kids junkfood/fastfood day in and day out ? Well why do you think it's ok for your dog who should be treated as a valueable member of your family ?

[Jonathan]

If you have just joined this forum to insult and offend other members about what they feed their dogs and how they treat them etc, then maybe you should just stay on the forum that you are currently on. Your post basically points out the message "You are a rubbish dog owner because you don't feed your dog right" to me and almost puts a sense of guilt on the owner. To me, this is very hurtful. As that is your first post, it's clear to me that you've only joined this forum to ridicule members and to ask them to join the forum that you put in your post. And as far as I am aware, advertising is not permitted. I understand that you are just giving advice to the dog owners, but couldn't you have worded your post a bit more nicely? If you do think that this forum is a bit 'rookie', then maybe you shouldn't be here...

[zoe08]

I feed my dog Nutro Lamb and Rice. It is doesnt have corn as the main ingredient like most foods. I switched after being told by my dog trainer that it was better for them.

[ChipsDad]

I feed my guy Wellness as seems to be the best

I would be interested in some more data on the topic of nutrition etc

[ChipsDad]

I liked the long post... although seemingly aggressive, there is some good information to yeild

lets just assume that the spirit of the post above was intended to be firm and thorough!

[keeks62]

I personally couldn't get past the unbelievable rude comment that I was feeding my dog "garbage". People should not comment negatively on what other people are feeding their dogs! You have no clue what I have been through trying to find a food that doesn't make my dog puke all over the floor. Ultra premium foods ($15 for a 5lb bag) and other foods included. Yes, I did change foods, but not because of someone's negative remarks.

I really appreciated the kind and helpful information provided by cyclefiend2000. Thank you to Johnathan for your reply! No one appreciates being lectured when they are only trying to do the best for their dogs. I hope that everyone keeps that in mind when they are posting their replies!

It's not what you say, but rather how you say it.

[MrsRottie]

I use Purina ProPlan for my two. I've tried just about every other on the market with no luck (runny stools, vomiting etc)

The rant about the BARF - maybe he's right - I know a lot of dogs fed on BARF alone and they are in wonderful condition. We are all entitled to our own point of view, and just because we either don't agree or don't subscribe to the same ethics it doesn't mean we are wrong. But I didn't like the attitude either. Jonathon was totally right in saying they imply a feeling of guilt on us.

I can't feed my two BARF. I've tried, persisted and failed. Oscar got a near fatal stomach infection and no is very sensitive. So I'm going to continue to poison them with Purina rather than kill him outright with BARF.

[MaryGrace]

My black lab Max eats Purina One Large Breed Formula. He seems to like it. We have experimented with Science Diet, IAMS, and Pedigree, but he seems to like Purina One best. It also seems to be pretty good for him, too. :)

[Becky]

I also agree than katsnk9s post could have been far more polite; one might say you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar... she did, however, provide mostly accurate information. With the exception of those who've tried everything else and *insert brand here* is the only one that will work, there really are better foods out there.

My family used to have an Akita and a Malamute and we bought whatever was on sale at the grocery store : Purina Dog Chow, Kibbles 'n Bits, Ol' Roy, etc, etc. As they got into their later years, starting around 8, they started getting an oder, they had horrible breath (even before they were getting old), and, after you petted them, you had to go wash your hands before there was a greasey, smell film on them. Bathing them helped for a few days, but then the problems returned. When I got Maddi, her breeder gave me a sample of Nutro NC LB Puppy. I was going to change to Science Diet until I started reading the Nutro Pamphlet, there were things in it I never would have thought of... By-products? Possible carninogens? Possibly euthanized pets? What? The first ingredient is corn? These things were in foods I had thought and been told were "good."

My parents and I, like many had been told by the commercials and the bags of Purina and Kibbles 'n Bits that their food was healthy and nutritious. We had no reason to believe that might not be the case. I couldn't believe they might be going as far as lying (although this is just a *feeling* on my part) just to make a buck on my dog.

Some further research indicated that even Nutro, although far better than what'd I'd find at the grocery store, wasn't really all that good. I switched to Natura's Innova. Switched wasn't a biggy for me, bag for bag, the Innova costs less than a bag of Nutro, and has something like 2/3 more Kcals per cup. I only have to feed Maddi 3.75 cups of kibble per day on Innova, and something like 6 cups of Nutro. I won't lie though, Maddi DID get sick on a bag of Innova, which I believe had gone bad. I Switched to Eagle Pack Holistic's Fish meal formula for a few months. Now I am back on Innova and I am trying to determine which is better for her. Both have given her an amazing coat, the best I've ever seen on a Mal in person. She is also full of life and energy, no bad breath, and has fairly small feces for a dog her size.

Please, do read this website, http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/
The woman that makes/made the site has done a lot of work into researching foods.

Here is also a list of some higher quality foods:
Eagle Pack (Esp the Holistic line)
Canidae
Innova
Californa Natural
Wellness
Natural Balance
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold
Timberwolf Organics

HTH

[Cheetah]

one might say you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar

Heyyyy there's that quote I was thinking of!

Eevee eats Canidae Platinum, due to weight problems. She cannot eat anything with corn in it (science diet, purina, pedigree, IAMS, etc are mostly corn... ewww). I also would not feed her anything like that because of the questionable ingredients. Mystery meat? By-products? Chemicals? ick... none for me thanks lmao...

[pittiegirl]

katsnk9s post may not have been presented in the most effective way, but it is important information for dog owners to have, and it is 100% true

I feed a rotation of grain-free kibbles to my two older girls, Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon, Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural, and Innova EVO. The puppy gets a rotation of the other Timberwolf Organics formulas. They all get green tripe added to their meals once or twice a week and salmon oil and vitamin E supplements.

[MaryGrace]

Do you guys think I should switch food? The first ingredient is chicken, but the second is brewers yeast. The information on the site Becky posted seemed honest and helpful. Should I feed a different food?

[ChessieLvr]

I use Canidae. It's a premium food, and my dogs do quite well on it.

[pittiegirl]

Do you guys think I should switch food? The first ingredient is chicken, but the second is brewers yeast. The information on the site Becky posted seemed honest and helpful. Should I feed a different food?

Hi Mary, the chicken that is listed as the first ingredient in the Purina One Large Breed Formula is up to 80% water. Pre-cooked weight , 80% water, moves this down the ingredient list most likely to after the fat source after cooking, making grain the #1 ingredient.

You want to be looking for a food with chicken (or other protein source) meal as the first ingredient. Meal is basically dehydrated meat and provides much more "bang for the buck".

Chicken (natural source of glucosamine), brewers rice, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), pea fiber, oat meal, non-fat yogurt, fish meal, animal digest, dicalcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, potassium citrate, Vitamin E supplement, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ascorbic acid (source of Vitamin C), ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

The following is a breakdown of the first few ingredients, ingredient descriptions come from here:

http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=ingr-wiz

This isn’t exactly an unbiased site, but their ingredient descriptions are generally true and accurate.

Brewer's rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.

Brewer's rice is a lower quality rice product that is missing many of the nutrients found in ground rice and ground brown rice. (See the descriptions for those ingredients.) Natura uses only whole ingredients, with their nutrients still intact.

Poultry by-product meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcasses of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

This is a low-quality, inconsistent ingredient, with multiple organs used, constantly changing proportions, and questionable nutritional value. The origin can be any fowl (turkeys, ducks, geese, buzzards, etc.), instead of a single source, like chicken. Poultry by-product meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal, which Natura uses and which is considered the single-best source of protein.

Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.

Corn gluten meal is a low ash source of protein and acts as a urine acidifier in HealthWise Cat 'N Kitten formula. Cats vs Dogs: While not the best quality source of protein, the use of corn gluten in small amounts offer preventive health benefits for cats. In addition, unlike dogs, cats do not usually show signs of allergic reactions to corn products. Natura does feel strongly, however, that there is no justification for the use of corn gluten in dog foods and considers it to be only a cheap protein filler when used in this manner.

Whole grain wheat consists of the entire wheat kernel.

Whole grain wheat is a good quality source of carbohydrates. Because it includes the entire wheat kernel, it contributes additional protein, wheat oil, bran, and vitamins and minerals to the diet.

Whole corn is the whole corn kernel or the entire ear of corn without husks.

While the whole corn kernel is nutritious and follows Natura's philosophy of supplying whole grain nutrition, corn is considered to be highly allergenic.

Animal fat is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.

Animal fat is a byproduct of meat meal processing. The origin of the contributing animals is never known, and the resulting oil is very low in linoleic acid -- an essential fatty acid that is important for skin and coat health. Natura uses high quality chicken fat which has the highest levels of linoleic acid.

Since the majority of a kibble is made up of the ingredients listed before the first fat source, I’ll stop here, but you can see that of all those, only one (whole grain wheat) is a decent ingredient, but many other sources consider wheat an allergen as well. This food is mainly fillers and your dog probably isn't getting the nutrition that it claims to provide.

Also, please read Mordanna’s information on menadione.

By the way the site Becky referenced now resides here www.dogfoodproject.com

And just for the fun of it, here’s the definition of animal digest:

Animal digest is a material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind or flavor(s), it must correspond thereto.

Animal digest is a cooked-down broth made from unspecified parts of unspecified animals. Any kind of animal can be included: goats, pigs, horses, rats, etc. The animals can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. :eek:

Sorry for the long post, all in all I guess I’m saying it would be in your pet’s best interests to switch.

[BratBoxers]

I feed Innova EVO to my adults and Innova Large breed puppy to my pup.

They love it!!

Its an awesome food I would recommend it to anyone.

[pittiegirl]

For comparison, here are the ingredients for Canidae All Life Stages, an excellent premium food that's very reasonably priced

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

[MaryGrace]

Thank you very much for the information, pittiegirl. It was very helpful. Do they sell Canidae at PetsMart? Is Wellness a good food, also?

[Cheetah]

Wellness was a good food, but they went from baked to processed/rendered I believe and it apparently changed the way dogs were able to handle it... many people had to switch because their dogs suddenly stopped doing well on it... Other than that I'm not sure if it's any good now.

They don't sell Canidae at Petsmart, but if you go to http://canidae.com/company/storelocator.html and type in your zip or area code it'll find the nearest store that does. It'll most likely be sold by a small private pet store.

[MaryGrace]

Thank you Cheetah, I found a local store :) I will get Canidae as soon as possible! :)

[EnchantedGypsy]

Here is also a list of some higher quality foods:
Eagle Pack (Esp the Holistic line)
Canidae
Innova
Californa Natural
Wellness
Natural Balance
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold
Timberwolf Organics
HTH

Here are a few others not mentioned....

Precise (http://www.precisepet.com/)
Natures Variety (http://www.naturesvariety.com/)
Breeders Choice (http://www.breeders-choice.com/)

[opokki]

My dogs eat and do quite well on Timberwolf Organics.

[dogsouth]

My Jed eats Canidae as a base. I am mixing in some CA Natural Herring and Sweet Potato. At first he wasn't so sure about the CN. First he took a couple of pieces of it in his mouth, placed it on the floor in the den, and rolled around on top of it :confused: Then he ate it. Now he slams it all back :D

[sandi]

My dogs have never had any of the above problems. The dogs I have came with genetic dispositions, except one from an injury to his spine. Look int o dodgerslist a group that attends talks, we submit dna cultures, Dr. Neff is giving a talk this week, he is at the Univ of Davis about genetics and dachshunds with back problems. Also, as with children who do not have a certain enzyme to clear timersol a mercury toxin that has been removed from shots, dogs and cats have been affected in many the same way. Different illnesses surface. Autism may be dropping in this country, but, in China and Africa as Merck sent their vaccines over there they have autistic children.

A study was done involving cockers and springers in this country and over seas to see about rage, ear infections on and on. The above breeds who were allowed to do what they were bred to do, despite having come from lines of rage and ear and skin problems, did not have many of these problems, as they were allowed to hunt, either on a very long lead, do lure coursing and other things instinctive to them. Shepherds who eat a diet with moderate protein and fat, do in many cases bring on their genetic pre disposition for pancreatic insufficiency. You have to look at studies, also geneticists have not found any cat or dog in food. It is like the rest of the stock market, money, for the stock market. There is more than platitudes. They are repeated over and over again. When dogs kill a chicken and they do, they do not say I will wait till it is made into meal. Dogs also eat the innards, also many raw or home cooked use the innards.

There are many studies, that influence what happens to cats and dogs.

Genetics, yes, diet, should be a good one, but, going over board.

Also, I do not l ike comparing children to what cats and dogs are fed.
Many think that cats and dogs are their children, they need a dose of reality.


Sandi

[MaryGrace]

Is Nutro Naturals any good?

[dogsouth]

Is Nutro Naturals any good?

IMO, I don't like it. It contains ingredients (http://forums.dogfoodproject.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=31996&an=0&page=0#Post31996) that I rather not feed my dog, such as menadione sodium bisulfite complex (fake vitamin k), corn gluten meal, poultry fat (an unnamed fat), and, to me, is too grainy.

It's not a terrible food. I used to feed it to Jed. After learning more about dog food ingredients, I switched to Canidae.

[BratBoxers]

IMO, I don't like it. It contains ingredients (http://forums.dogfoodproject.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=31996&an=0&page=0#Post31996) that I rather not feed my dog, such as menadione sodium bisulfite complex (fake vitamin k), corn gluten meal, poultry fat (an unnamed fat), and, to me, is too grainy.

It's not a terrible food. I used to feed it to Jed. After learning more about dog food ingredients, I switched to Canidae.

I agree not a food I would feed.

[Cheetah]

Natural Choice does not contain Corn Gluten meal. Nutro Max does. That list is probably a little outdated. Maybe the food used to contain it.

But I agree about the menadione and the un-named animal sources. I used to feed it myself until I did more research. I also found out that the place they have their fish shipped from puts in ethoxyquin as well.

[bananas123]

Is Royal Canin a good choice? My vet recommended it but I'd like some feedback.

[Zoes_mama]

I used Natural Choice too and it wasn't good for Zoe at all. I switched to Eagle Pack - Original formula, though, and it works very well with her sensitive stomache :)

[ChipsDad]

thanks for the information PittieGirl

I think I may need to try this canidae brand! :beer:

[lassie]

Is Royal Canin a good choice? My vet recommended it but I'd like some feedback.
Its very popular over here in the UK.;)

[Aurora]

My dogs are on the BARF diet, I do occasionally suppliment with a small amount of Autarky & only use that as it is 100% natural, and doesn't contain a lot of the rubbish that other brands do.

[livin4thelord8]

Wow... this is REALLY a 'rookie' forum. Hopefully those of you here that are feeding your dogs junkfood ( Iams, Science Death, Pukanuba, etc ) will learn something about proper nutrition as it seems mostly all of you are very uninformed as to what is in the foods you're feeding and the consequences your pets will suffer as a result. The only informed posters are the one who feeds holistic and the other who feeds BARF. Good for you ! You are the ones that actually care about your dog's health and well-being.

For those of you who think the garbage you're feeding your poor dogs is "good food" I suggest you seriously do some googling to find out what damage you are really doing to your dog's health. You have ALOT to learn. You can start by reading this :

Whoa there pardner! You need to step off that high horse a bit and take a look around. I read your post and decided I was stopping there and making a comment. If someone before has already said this, forgive me for being repetitive. I have been breeding/showing/training/studying/loving dogs my whole life. I will agree with you on a lot of the 'cheaper' dog foods having too much corn and therefore being unhealthy. But, there are a lot of other healthy dog foods that people can buy. I would be in total agreeance with you if there have been dogs since the beginning of domestication living for only a couple years, being horribly unfit and miserable. Fact of the matter is, there are millions of dogs out there on store/vet bought dog food that are completely healthy and lead very long, active, happy lives...going by your description.

A healthy dog has NO odor. NO bad breath, NO tartar build up, BRIGHT, CLEAR eyes, SHINY, THICK and LUSTROUS coat, very little shedding, virtually NO yeast or skin infections, SMALL, almost ODORLESS, very COMPACT and INFREQUENT stools ( meaning that because there is NO junk fillers in holistic premium foods, your dog is absorbing more nutrients ) just think,....GARBAGE IN... is GARBAGE OUT. Feed your dog crap, you get crap in your yard as a result. A properly fed dog has VITALITY, Good Temperament, is easier to train, is more energetic, will RARELY see a vet except for a normal wellness exam, meaning $$ in your pocket.

When I was more actively breeding cow dogs, I needed a good, high energy diet that would keep them fit, minimize waste and vet visits, and help them look and perform well. After careful research I started them on Purina Pro Plan. The results were astounding!!! Everything, YOU said were signs of a healthy dog were evident in my dogs. Even my old Blue Heeler really perked up, got in shape, and her arthiritis problems lessened a bit. Another reason I refuse to buy your holistic dog food is it is not available in my part of the country. I don't see a reason to feed a meat eating animal plant products and if you think Purina or any of the other reputable feed companies don't feed real ingredients...maybe it is YOU, my friend, who should do some reasearch. I know plenty of vets who pour their heart and soul into properly educating themselves on canine diets. Having looked into vet school myself and knowing what they took in college, I know that the nutrition part of their schooling was more involved than you presume. I'm glad you are concerned about the health of your dog. But before you go making accusations and assuming that everyone who does not agree with you is an animal abuser...check into somethings...and watch how you come across. God bless!

[livin4thelord8]

Okay, now that I got all that off my chest and read the rest of the posts I will say something else. I'm presuming a lot of you guys with all the other brands live in cities so I would assume your dogs do great on it. That's awesome!!! Out here in the sticks, we're lucky if we can find anything higher priced/quality that IAMS. Our places to buy dog food are WalMart and some vet offices. That's it...nadda else. Our dogs out here work hard moving cows, guarding gates, herding sheep and being great companions. They have to deal with -40 (yes that's a negative) weather and blinding snow when they are working. They do just fine on your basic store bought dog food. If anyone comes to me saying that their dog is losing weight or having other problems such as low energy, many stools, dim dry coat, etc. I suggest them switching to anything that doesn't have corn as the main ingredient. Face it folks, they're dogs, descendants of wolves...not holsteins. lol I think it just matters what you dog does everyday and how much energy it needs to work/stay warm, etc. There definately are better brands of plain ol' dog food than others...but it doens't mean that those of us that don't have all your holistic options aren't taking care of our dogs. Not to be graphic, but many a ranch dogs dine on bovine afterbirth on occasion. Fact of life...and they do well. So, I'm not going to worry about what animal parts are in dog food. Ranch dogs work hard and eat hard. As long as my pooch shows all the signs of a healthy dog quoted in my above post and lives a happy long life, not going to worry about it. Fact of the matter is, most city people wouldn't agree with the way my kids and I eat either. I'm so glad to see there are so many wonderful dog owners that care so much about their dogs. KUDOS TO US!!! God bless!!!

[Schlep]

When I was more actively breeding cow dogs, I needed a good, high energy diet that would keep them fit, minimize waste and vet visits, and help them look and perform well. After careful research I started them on Purina Pro Plan. The results were astounding!!! Everything, YOU said were signs of a healthy dog were evident in my dogs. Even my old Blue Heeler really perked up, got in shape, and her arthiritis problems lessened a bit. Another reason I refuse to buy your holistic dog food is it is not available in my part of the country. I don't see a reason to feed a meat eating animal plant products and if you think Purina or any of the other reputable feed companies don't feed real ingredients...maybe it is YOU, my friend, who should do some reasearch. I know plenty of vets who pour their heart and soul into properly educating themselves on canine diets. Having looked into vet school myself and knowing what they took in college, I know that the nutrition part of their schooling was more involved than you presume. I'm glad you are concerned about the health of your dog. But before you go making accusations and assuming that everyone who does not agree with you is an animal abuser...check into somethings...and watch how you come across. God bless!

katsnk9s was a bit over the top and condescending, but I think at the same time you're being too trusting of the big companies. Purina is definitely a dumping ground for Nestlé's byproducts from manufacturing foods for people. This is especially true in their Chow line (eg. Dog Chow). Probably the only Purina formula that I would ever feed would be Purina ONE Sensitive Systems, and I would have to be pretty broke and in the middle of nowhere. This isn't to say that certain dogs don't excel on the formula, just that it's not something I feel comfortable with.

On dogs being only meat eating animals, that's not really true. Cats are true carnivores; dogs are not. If left to their own devices, dogs will eat grass, sticks, and other plant materials. I've heard of dogs that will bumrush a corn field and tear down/eat the whole thing. This is why even high protein formulas like Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon or frozen raw have ingredients like potatoes, fruits, and other vegetables.

That's awesome that your dogs do work in -40º weather. We've got customers around here with ranches who buy our Eagle Pack/Prism power formulas, and it's always fun to hang around a bit and watch the dogs work. Where are you at in South Dakota? I'm originally from about 50 miles outside of Sioux Falls.

Re: the original question of the thread, I feed my 5 month old golden retriever a combination of Solid Gold Wolfcub (w/ Seameal) and FarMore Raw Frozen Buffalo Diet.

[BratBoxers]

I'm sorry but living in the sticks is no excuse! I live in the sticks also and have to drive 1 1/2 hours to get Innova it is worth the time and money even though I could just drive 30 min to walmart and get there full of crap dog foods.

[Schlep]

I definitely don't live in the sticks, and I had to drive an hour to get my dog's food before I started reselling it. Just as an example, you can get Eagle Pack in South Dakota in either Sioux Falls or Ft. Pierre. If you don't live near either of those, you're not getting it without paying $20 shipping.

[skunkstripe]

Boy there is nothing like the topic of feeding dogs to get people hot under the collar on dog forums!!!
I think livinfor4thelord8 is right, there are plenty of dogs who eat grocery store food who do just fine. Heck I saw an 11-year-old Dalmatian the other day at the vets, this boy was straining at the leash, hopping up and down like a puppy. I asked the owner what she fed him and she smiled and mumbled "Ol' Roy". There are humans who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day too and live to be 99.
I started out on the grocery store stuff and fed my dog whatever was on sale. What got me looking at 'premium' dog food was his skin and coat. He was scratching himself way too much and had dry skin. I fed Canidae for a while because it is "good" and only costs about $1/lb. I switched to Nutro only because our dogs strew the %^#% kibble ALL OVER the place and the Canidae kibble size is very small, whereas the Nutro is more like marbles.
I also buy stuff like heart, liver, tripe if is has been marked down and put about a cup of that into the bowl every evening. I am happy with our dogs' health and energy level. I do not live in a city, this is more like the sticks. Three hours to the nearest large city. Sometimes places like hardware and building supply stores will carry the really good dog foods. I know there is an ACE hardware store in a little town that carries Eagle Pack.
I am also convinced that giving your dog bones is the best way to clean their teeth and clear up bad breath problems. If all they get is kibble and canned dog food, the yuck seems to stick to their teeth and gums.
But I am not a fanatic or a fetishist. What I feed my dogs works for me and for them. They get raw bones, frozen bones, cooked bones, and -can you believe it- chicken bones. This does not mean I recommend what I do to anyone. They are medium to large dogs and chew slowly. If I had a small dog who wolfs everything down I would not give him/her chicken bones.
It is chic to badmouth IAMS, but I ran into someone in the grocery store one time who was looking at a special offer in the dog food section. HE was being friendly and pointed out what a good deal it was, being on sale. I replied that I didn't feed Iams, not nasty, I just said that I didn't think Iams was all that great and would not feed it to my dogs, and he replied that he had a dog with an allergy to something, and Iams is the only dog food that doesn't have the ingedient his dog is allergic to. So you really have to watch that you don't judge someone too quickly by what they are feeding.
Sorry this ended up so long....

[3 goldens]

On another board there is one with a dog with kidney problems and the only food that keeps her alive is Science diet for kidneys. The owner has tried a couple of times to switch her and she got deathly sick each time. Science Diet RD was the only one that pulled 15 pounds off my chubby golden girl. I was not crazy that it was such a high percentage of peanut hulls, but heck, it worked and was the only thing that did.

When my grandmothe went into nursing home at 95, she was most upset because they refused to let her have two eggs fried in butter each morning --something she had had her entire life--and gave her either skimmed or low fat milk. She was use to REAL milk straight from the cow. But she was told the eggs fried in butter, the whole milk (and believe me if you have ever drank milk straight from the cow, what you get in the grocery store as whole milk as FARRRRRRR from the real thing) green beans with bacon drippings was bad for her and would cause this, that and yonder. She put up such a fuss they finally started letting her have eggs friend in butter and "whole" milk. No bacon drippings seasoned green beans, tho. Well, she died in Aug. before she would have been 100 in Dec. All that "bad food" she eat for almost 100 years.

It is simple, what is not good for one person doesn't hurt another at all, and that is true of dogs and dog foods.

[Lucky]

Breakfast= 2cups Iams "Lamb and Rice" with milk
Lunch = 1 cup Iams "Lamb and Rice"
Dinner= 2 cups Iams "Lamb and Rice"

Raw egg on dinner 3 times a week, Lucky loves eggs

Cooked red meat once a week with dinner.

[Becky]

I have another story.

I think I already mentioned it.

I had (well they were my parents, but that's beside the point) a malamute and an akita. They were fed the lowest of the low end dog food; Dog Chow, Ol' Roy, Kibbles and Bits. If you had asked me then if my dogs were doing "fine" I would have said yes. They both lived to be 13 years old. Now, it would be a resounding no. "Fine" is a relative point of view in most cases. If you have nothing to compare Iams to, then your dog will seem fine, but, if you went from say Canidae down to Iams, then your story might not be the same. The same holds true for me. I used to hardly drink any water during the day. If you asked me how I felt, I would say "fine." Now, I drink more, and I wouldn't say I felt fine before, because I didn't!

I, personally, do not live in a "big" city by any means, although I have 3 stores to choose good food from. Keep in mind that Feed Stores often carry better foods in them. So, if you have access to a feed store, then you should check it out.

I'm not out to shame anyone into "better" foods, although I would be very happy if they would give them a try. I know if I couldn't get Innova, Canidae, or Eagle Pack, then I would be feeding Maddi homecooked or raw.

[KatzNK9]

I just want to go on record here as saying THAT ... I AM A DIFFERENT PERSON THAN katsnk9s ... so, please do think that post was from me.:eek:

[MyDogShelby]

I just want to go on record here as saying THAT ... I AM A DIFFERENT PERSON THAN katsnk9s ... so, please do think that post was from me.:eek:

We all know you aren't anything like katsnk9s ;) We love ya Katz :D

[sheplovr]

Ok people lets keep this sane and not insulting as all have what they find to work and can afford. Nobody needs to come and insult anybody here we are doing just fine.
First of all learn to read the small print also on bags of kibble. Learn to ignore corn n wheat. Learn to find the first two ingredients to be meat products. Some of the top sold brands for top prices are pure junk I would not feed a pig. I know you all know those, vets profit from promoting the brands also. Feed your dogs a decent brand you can afford, maybe not the best but just what is the best, Solid Gold, Flint River Ranch, Innova, Wellness, Eagle Pack, if anybody is a pure authority let me know just what is the very best and I will stay on it as I have tried most all of them. Junk. I have spent months researching, reading etc. It makes me ill to find what junk is put into our dogs food. If I had time I would cook for my dogs, no bones, only RAW but I just cannot do it now. I am old and not so well so I must find what I think works, digests well and my dogs like and thrive on, one is Chicken Soup for the Chicken Lovers Soul, Nutro Ultra, we live in a small town with no contacts but shipping via the net and it costs when I have 7 Shepherds.
My dogs look great but I spend alot of good supplements also. Lets be normal about this thread and choose what we can afford and believe in, nothing is perfect, trust me.

[Doberman's]

Katz, we know who you are . :):)

[S-J]

Does any one know which may be the better dryed food in the UK?
We feed ours Jameswellbeloved and our own cooked meat morning and night.

[kw_5kids]

I feed Chicken Soup for a Dog & Puppy Lovers Soul

[alibob238]

Does any one know which may be the better dryed food in the UK?
We feed ours Jameswellbeloved and our own cooked meat morning and night.
Arden grange is good, you should check out what the ingredients are! I have never looked at james wellbeloved but only because we have always used arden grange as our dried food. Check out other people's tips for finding a good food, and check the ingredients on the james wellbeloved food

[PurposelyVague]

Hemi eats Flint River Ranch.

[nikki_alaska]

hey, my girls eat James Wellbeloved too, i hope this is good for them! they love it.

[MixedBreed]

Cassie eats Natural Blend. I mix it with grated carrots/other veggies, and ground beef. It's a holistic dog food, but I feel it's important for her to also have 'fresh' food. She gets very few table scraps - even though she would gladly eat anything - because, well, it makes her poop funny :p

[MyDogShelby]

I've been feeding Shelby Solid Gold :)...there are many dog foods out there nowadays that are very healthy and natural. :thumb:

[golden-lover]

I prefer: http://www.naturesvariety.com/

only because it shuman grade quality food and they list meats, vegatables, and vitamins instead of "chicken bi-products, whole grain, vitamin supplement" they have "lamb meat, liver, peas, corn, water, gravy, ect" It's basically what I would eat if I were a feline/canine. They also do freeze dried, canned, and raw for both species. Its more than anything else, but since Kira started it shes behaved better, coats better, and she doesn't have bloodshot eyes on this, yet with "Iams" she had horrible coat, eyes and teeth. I haven't had t brugh her teeth since I put her on this (canned

[eilenej1]

Katz, I was wondering but it didn't sound like any of your other posts. So I thought it was someone else or you'd grown into a nicer person since then :).

I just switched Max to Innova Large Breed Puppy. He'll eat anything, but I figured Innova is a good food and available at a very easy location for me. The store also does a special where you buy 8 (can't remember if it's really 8) bags and get the next one free.

[cassandra_andy_anderson]

Wow....

I didn't realize how super flamming a topic on dog food could get. I started a topic asking for advice for my new German Shepherd X Lab and I got some really great advice. Sheplovr gave me a link to her site that had some great scientific-heavy information (The kind I like).

Val is on Iams Puppy Chow right now as It was what he was on at the Shelter...So after I asked for some advice I started looking more into Iams. So I typed in 'Iams' in google and I got their site...and this PETA site.

Im not an activist at all...I'm probably a big anti-tree-hugger if there ever was one...but I was curious as to why there was this whole anti-Iams thing (I thought bashing Iams was just...standard) and I watched the undercover footage of the Iams contract lab. Being someone thats worked plenty with animals in a laboratory setting (Everything from euthanizing to sterotaxic brain surgery assisting) and am certified to work with them I found the footage more than disturbing. I found it to be just plain bad science which offends me deeply. Working with higher level organisms is just part of science, but its not a right or a task to take lightly and certainly not to be done without anything but the utmost respect for the creature that will die for your advances. I don't feel Iams has respected that staple of good life-science.

So I've decided to discontinue Iams specifically for the evidence that was presented to me. I love Val (already) but its not fair to mistreat hundreds of dogs just so I can buy cheap semi-decent chow for him. I'll find something else for him. I wouldn't tell someone else they were terrible for supporting Iams if its what they have found works for them. If they were interested I would share with them why I wont, but everyone is entitled to their own standards I think.

[tophat]

I've been feeding two of my Old English Sheepdogs on Robbies made by The Land of Holistic Pets. Tess the 12 year old has been on the Robbies for eight months and since she's been fed Robbies, she's not suffered with any flare ups of the colitis(she only has mild colits) Charlies skin has settled down and improved since the change over to Robbies(she's been fed Robbies for 10 months). I then decided to change the other three over to the Luaths, also made by The Land of Holistic Pets. I'm happy that what I'm feeding my dogs is right for them. The Land of Holistc Pets is owned By George Burns Who is the brother of John of the Burns dog food, so I'm confident in the quality and ingredients of both the Robbies and the Luaths. I should point out that the Robbies is a dehydrated food and the Luaths a traditional kibble.

[zjzoggy]

Natural Choice does not contain Corn Gluten meal. Nutro Max does. That list is probably a little outdated. Maybe the food used to contain it.

But I agree about the menadione and the un-named animal sources. I used to feed it myself until I did more research. I also found out that the place they have their fish shipped from puts in ethoxyquin as well.

I checked the ingredients list on Nutro Natural Choice today, and it does contain Corn Gluten Meal. Infact, out of the 13 bags I looked at, 11 contained it.

[tuffles]

Well i feed 3 of my dogs natures variety chicken and brown rice which is hollictic i would never go back to science diet and iams and all of that once i found out what those kinds of ingridients can do to ur dogs and my forth dog is on natures balance sweet potato and fish as he is allergic to chicken

It is very important to look in the ingrients of what ur dogs eating brown rice is fine for them to eat but white rice is not good for them my dogs use to bee on science diet until i discovered the hollictic pet foods and ill never go back...!!!!

[golden-lover]

Well i feed 3 of my dogs natures variety chicken and brown rice which is hollictic i would never go back to science diet and iams and all of that once i found out what those kinds of ingridients can do to ur dogs and my forth dog is on natures balance sweet potato and fish as he is allergic to chicken

It is very important to look in the ingrients of what ur dogs eating brown rice is fine for them to eat but white rice is not good for them my dogs use to bee on science diet until i discovered the hollictic pet foods and ill never go back...!!!!

Glad to meet another NV feeder.

[ritabooker]

The list that Becky posted is a real good guide for those who want to feed kibble...and someone else added a few to that list.

To a anyone who has problems with vomiting and bad poops from the dog: Abby had all kinds of digestive problems before we switched her to Canidae. We are in Southern California and our Petco carries it. We have to drive 20 miles one way, but we take her for the outing and it is so worth it. The Canidae has digestive enzymes and other great stuff in it. Abby has had no food related problems on Canidae and has nice tidy lil turds, now. Also, we grate a couple tblspoons of Nature's Balance dog food roll into the Canidae.
They cannot resist the flavor of the dog food roll. There are other quality kibbles, too.

Somewhere in another thread there is a reference to a site to grade your dogs' food. I am going to find the sight and return to post it. Forgive me if I am duplicating information.

[ritabooker]

There is a thread "Grade your dogs food", posted by Jdogg, about 7 or so down from this thread, in this same category. This is the best information I have found regarding kibble. If you haven't already seen it, this is a must read for kibble feeders.

[KatzNK9]

Katz, we know who you are . :):)

LOL :D ... whew!


Katz, I was wondering but it didn't sound like any of your other posts. So I thought it was someone else or you'd grown into a nicer person since then :).

Hehehe ... thank you!:) I'm not here to say that I'm above getting my panties in a wad every now & then over an issue but I try to disagree with respect.:p I was a little worried ... right after joining, I decided to take a look through the membership & saw the similar name & didn't want to be confused for somebody else. And, then, I took a look at posts under the similar name.:eek:

[Ishie]

We feed a mix of:
Innova (mostly) or Advance, and occasionally Pedigree Natural.

He mostly gets cooked human food though. He has a bowl of kibble out all day and then cooked or raw human meat (chicken, steak, etc) at night. He also gets raw chicken wings very often. He has lovely breath (and I'm not saying that cause' he payed me...)

:)

[Ishie]

Ew.

It sounded like I'm feeding him dead humans! NO! He gets human GRADE foods, like steak and chicken breast from the supermarket! Just had to get that clear, lol!