Dog owners...(NF)

[ricoboxing]

am i the only one who goes to walmart or no frills and buys the cheapest sh1t available?

 

i've been feeding my dog Ole'Roy and the no name one at No Frills for the last 9+ years. So far so good. Dog is lean, has lots of energy, and has a nice looking coat. I giver her table scraps too.

[JPD]

I just recently switched to Taste of the Wild all natural food that is Salmon and Potato based on the recommendation of the vet and the dog is just loving it! The bags are not that cheap but the quality if great... I pay $65 for the big bag. I switched her because she had a couple of mild bouts of colitis and I thought the food was the reason... look for beet pulp as an ingredient in the food, if it has it, stay clear. Beet pulp is put into dog food to absorb water in the stomach and make their crap more solid....kind of makes up for poor quality ingredients... this was told to me by the owner of Beowulf kennels who raises world class Old English Mastiffs... she also started making her own food because of all the crap out there. She also said that Eukaneuba started going down the toilet when Effem foods bought them up... same company that makes Twix, Skittles, Mars and snickers to name a few... want a chocolate?

[ChrisK]

Rick,

I have been feeding my dogs the Kirkland brand from Costco fo quite a while now. Every time we take the lab to the vet she says whatever your feeding your dog keep it up cause his coat is beautiful....Theres another product I also have discovered you may want to know about although it has nothing to do with Kirkland....Its a product called "Hip Action" . Its made by a company called Zukes and what it is is a treat that has gluecosamine and chondrotin in it and it helps dogs with hip and other joint problems. Ive been giving it to my 13 year old dashund and now he's back to playing around with his toys again like he used to.....

So all in all, I highly recoment the Kirkland dog food and also the Zukes Hip Action to anyone with an older dog that is having joint problems.......

 

Cheers !!

[Jer]

I've been feeding Bear the Eukanuba since he was a pup and he has always done well on it. Long and lean at 100 lb (he's had his share of table scraps as well).

 

Lately, I've been hearing more and more bad things about the product. Last month I bought a bag of Iams (which is probably even worse) because the Eukanuba had jumped considerably in price and on the spot I didn't know what else to buy.

 

Bear is almost 12 years old now, and I don't wanna go through a whole experimentation with his diet. It seems by this thread, lots of differing opinions.

[John]

Hi Rick, we have been feeding our dogs (yellow lab and bichon/poodle X) Kirkland food for years. I did some research, probably 10 or so years ago, and discovered that it was in fact a better product than a lot of the $60-$100 a bag foods. Benson is now 12 and although a little arthritic, still thinks he is a pup. I for one would recommend it highly.

[TroutnMuskieHunter]

Just look at the ingredients. They list the ingredients in order or quantity, so there is more of the first ingredient then the second etc. You want to try to stay away from corn or any other corn variations especially as a top ten ingredient. Just think of how our stomachs digest corn, not very good, same as a dog.

 

I feed my pup Nutro Natural Choice Chicken meal, rice and oatmeal formula. It's about 30-40 bucks for 8kgs up here in North Bay at Pet Valu so it's pricey but my pup likes it. I'm sure you could find it cheaper in the city though. I found that when he was eating the Dog Chow from purina (corn was the top ingredient on this food) he would have the sh!ts really bad and take forever to crap but with this food he is relatively normal.

 

I use to buy the Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed for my 2 dogs for years until i came across the Kirkland Chicken and Rice dog food at Costco ....not only is it saving me money but it's healthier for them....the 1st ingredient is Chicken...then Chicken Meal, Whole Grain Brown Rice, Cracked Pearl Barley, etc.....NO CORN filler!!!!!

 

They LOVE it!!

Edited March 25, 2009 by TroutnMuskieHunter

[Jer]

Is Kirkland available anywhere else besides Costco?

[Gerritt]

My Labs are fed Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Lamb Meal & Rice... as recommended from the vet.

 

G

Edited March 25, 2009 by Gerritt

[FLEX ROD]

I have also had very good results with the Cosco / Kirkland brand. My guy eats it and the vet even recomended it a we were buying it the first time I started up a discussion with a lady that was buying 3 bags, she is a breader and a trainer and gave it a big thumbs up.

 

FLEX

[Bitsmith2k]

rick, you might wanna look at feeding him BARF.. theres lots of reading material out there on it, but you know exactly what he's getting and you dont have to worry about companies changing their recipes on a whim.. that said, and i imagine it will happen here now that i've mentioned it, there's lots of debate on it.. think tiller vs. console, braid vs. mono, 2 stroke vs. 4 stroke lol..

 

we feed our bulldog Orijen 6 Fish.. they're a canadian company and it's a little pricier but if he's got some good allergies and if an extra $15-$20 / bag is going to keep him from scratching his ears and paws it's worth it..

 

here's the system that you use to score the food you're feeding (pinched from another site)

 

"How to grade your dog's food: (Some brands are done at the very bottom]

 

Start with a grade of 100:

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

5) If the same grain ingredient is used two or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour" are

all the same grain), subtract 5 points

6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than two

meats in the top three ingredients, subtract 3 points

7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

9) If corn is listed in the top five ingredients, subtract 2 more points

10) If the food contains any animal fat otherthan fish oil, subtract points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

 

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points

2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points

9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one, count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

 

94-100+ = A

86-93 = B

78-85 = C

70-77 = D

69 = F

[Bly]

Hey Rick

 

I haven't any experience with the Kirkland food but you also mentioned Innova.

 

Innova (just one of Natura's brands) is my food of choice for Harley. I did a lot of research on dog foods many years ago and although it might be best to make my own, the Innova was an excellent alternative.

 

Innova may look expensive when you compare it to another bag the same size but usually the serving portions are very different. Example...... Harley is 18lbs, he gets almost 2/3 cup PER DAY. If I were feeding him say Purina Adult Fit and Trim, the suggested serving is 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 cups per day, big difference for a little dog. A $37 bag lasts almost approx 2.5 months for me. I haven't the information for the larger breeds handy but you can refer to Natura's website for an idea of the servings etc. One of the reasons for the portion difference..Innova does not use any fillers.

 

Harley is a small pek, shih tzu mix, 2 breeds that are prone to allergies and ear infections and a few more things, almost 5 and trouble free and his breeding was certainly not ideal.

 

A little side thing...the food sources used in Innova are human grade. They do not use seconds, thirds etc., as was/is the popular way to produce dog food and cut cost. Many of the big popular "better" brands (Science Diet, Euk ) were included in the list of foods that had to be recalled a few years ago, Natura brands were not. Even if the info I have is a lot of hype, the fact that they did not make the list while so many others did, makes me feel better

[JFR]

Rick,

 

I feed my lab pup Orijen Puppy food. I did all my research before hand. A little spendy, but you feed them less, so a large bag should last a little longer. (less poop)

 

Here is the web page for Champion foods. They have two brands "arcana" and "Orijen" http://www.championpetfoods.com/

 

These two brands are available to Global/Ryans Pet Foods.

 

I was very impressed with the company, All Canadian sourced ingredients, designed to meet Europe Union dictates for pet foods.

 

FYI, dogs are carnivores, and do not need grains such as corn, etc.

 

Whatever you decide follow the feeding instructions on the bag, and observe the shape of your dog. You should be able to feel her ribs, but not see them. She should have a tight waist, and her muscles should be defined.

 

There are only 3 or 4 companies that manufacture their own foods, all others contract the making of their food to outside sources, and this was the cause of the recent dog deaths and pet food recalls (tainted grains from where else...China)

 

Just my .02$ worth

 

John

[ch312]

Acana...simply the best

 

its from alberta and i picked up the Grasslands bag which is 60% meat, 40% veggies and fruit with NO grain or fillers.

 

this food has nothing but excellent reviews and its easy to see why. everything in this dog food is HUMAN GRADE. heres what they say on the site. one look at the ingredients and i knew this is quality food. the damn dog is eating better than i am! haha

 

 

Acana Grasslands Dog Food

 

ACANA GRASSLANDS natural dog food is a complete and balanced, grain-free formula made with ranch raised lamb (certified free of added hormones and antibiotics), fresh whole eggs and fresh wild-caught northern Walleye and northern pike to promote peak conditioning in dogs of all breeds and life-stages. As a high protein, low carbohydrate, grain-free food, it closely matches your dog's natural diet.

 

Grasslands also contains a healthy variety of vegetables and fruits supplying trace elements and phytonutrients while select botanicals - including juniper berries, red raspberry leaf and angelica root - provide an abundant source of natural antioxidants and phytonutrients to increase metabolism and strengthen the body.

Ingredients

 

Contains: Lamb meal, sweet potato, raw de-boned lamb, peas, fresh whole eggs, sun-cured alfalfa, sunflower oil, fresh de-boned walleye, pumpkin, fresh de-boned northern pike, apples, carrots, turnip greens, organic sea vegetables (kelp, bladderwrack, dulse), juniper berries, cranberries, Saskatoon berries, black currants, angelica root, chicory root, red clover, red raspberry leaf, dandelion root, peppermint leaf, marigold flowers,chamomile flowers, rosemary extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium.

Nutritional Data

 

Protein .....................................33 %

 

Fat ..........................................17 %

 

Moisture....................................10%

 

Fiber ...................................... 3.5 %

 

Calcium .................................. 1.8 %

 

Phosphorus ............................. 1.2 %

 

Omega-6................................. 2.2 %

 

Omega-3 ................................ 0.4 %

 

Vitamin E........................... 400 iu/kg

 

Glucosamine ....................800 mg/kg

 

Chondroitin .......................500 mg/kg

 

Carbohydrate ...........................28 %

[ch312]

a good tip for quickly finding quality food is to look at how much you are suppose to feed your dog with each food. cheap foods full of fillers require the dog to eat much more food to get the same amount of nutrients.

 

a perfect example would be my 2 dogs. the lab is allergic to most foods so she gets the high quality food and the beagle/hound gets cheaper stuff. the 80lb lab eats the EXACT SAME amount of food each day as the 20-25lb mutt! this is following the feeding recommendations on each bag of food. just goes to show you how much filler is in cheaper foods...

 

im in the process of switching the mutt over to good food now.

[Nailzz]

We are just in the process of getting a puppy and while searching various breeders we see alot are feeding their dogs and puppies TLC dog food. We will be continuing this when we get the puppy.

 

Here is the link.

http://www.tlcnaturalpetfood.com/

 

It is not in stores, but they ship for free anywhere in Canada and is reasonably priced. I found a few discussions on this food on pet forums and it seems there is nothing bad to say about it.

 

Slight hijack, but any one here have opinions on this food?

[Drew_10]

We feed our yellow lab Performatrin Large Breed. He's 110lbs without an ounce of excess fat on him.

 

I'm sure most people here know this, but just in case you don't - if you're ever planning on changing your dog's diet (from one brand of dog food to another) do it gradually! Their stomachs become accustomed to what they have been eating every day on a regular basis, and going directly from one brand of dog food to another can be very harmful in some situations. When in doubt, check with your vet. This is especially important with large breeds where bloating and stomach twists are not uncommon.

 

-Drew

[doubleheader]

We purchased a pup in September, our 4th lab. My wife did a ton of reseaccrh on dog foods as our previous lab died prematurely we believe, and we also believe it may have been related to the food even though we were feeding her "premium" food. Anyhow we've settled on Innova. Right now he's getting Innova Large Breed Puppy. It's not cheap by any means but rated a good food. Attached is a link to dog foods that are rated by an independent source.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

Click on Reviews and you can see how your food is rated.

[JFR]

I was surfing a dog/cat site and came upon this: Interesting to say the least

 

John

 

 

10 Secrets Pet Food Companies Don't Want You to Know

1. Pet food is NEVER mostly meat.

 

Many ads suggest that it is... In order to list a meat source first on the bag label pet food companies resort to a variety of gimmicks. Here are a few to get you thinking.

 

1st Listing, a "wet" ingredient in what ends up being an essentially dry finished product. Wet meat gets a lot lighter when the moisture is cooked out. This labeling loophole is blatantly deceptive to the general public. All ingredients should be weighed and listed in dry weight equivalents for you to know truly how much of each makes up the ration. If the label lists, "chicken" it means chicken weighed when wet. Drop 75% of the value. If, on the other hand, it says, "chicken meal" they play fairly. If it says, "meat (any type) by-product meal" or "meat (any type) by-products" it was never meat to begin with. Find another food.

 

Another gimmick is to "split carbohydrates" (grains) into multiple parts to get the "meat" to list first. Label ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. So, If you have 10 lbs. of chicken meal and 25 lbs. of rice, which should appear first on the label? Chicken of course! (if you want people to buy the stuff).

Here's how it's done...

 

1st- CHICKEN MEAL, 2nd- GROUND RICE, 3rd- RICE BRAN, 4th- RICE GLUTEN.

 

Pretty sneaky and obviously deceptive unless you know the trick.

Rice Flour, Brewer's Rice and Rice ala Ronny could also have been listed if they really wanted to be fancy. A related tactic is to use a variety of grains with different names to get meat listed first. This is slightly more valid since they have different amino acid profiles and are truly different ingredients. Grains cost a lot less than meat. Meat "by-products" cost a lot less than meat. Both also have considerably less food value. The last gimmick for now is the campaign to convince the public that meat by-products and meat are just about the same thing.

Hmm... "Honey, I'm having a ribeye steak tonight and you're having a nice pile of by-products, ok?" "Would you like the chicken breast or the intestine-cartilage-beak medley with your rice, Bob?" "Well gee Dear, doesn't really make any difference to me, they all sound equally delicious, nutritious and healthy!"

 

By definition, by-products may contain anything from the specified animal except, (in the case of chicken), feathers and feces and, (in the case of beef), hoof, hide and feces. Meat and fat are separated out first because they are costlier and are therefore not present in any appreciable quantity. What's left is the bones, tendons, cartilage, beaks, feet and innards. Proudly displayed and masqueraded as meat. A pet food bag is not a place for dumping stuff of unknown nutritional value. Some foods even use the term , "SELECT by-products". All these contortions serve one purpose; To make you think that you're getting more meat than you really are in your bag of pet food. After all, who'd pay $35 for a bushel of corn?! Well, keep reading!

 

2. The cooking process used in pet foods KILLS off a vital component: enzymes.

 

In order to eliminate bacteria and make cutesy shapes that pets care nothing about, processing temperatures in excess of 160 degress F are used to extrude or bake your pet's food.

 

So what? Well, glad you asked. This places the entire burden for digestion on your pet's pancreas to supply the enzymes necessary for breaking down nutrients for absorption. In nature, this is far from the case. Animals naturally follow the path of "least digestive resistance" in the wild. Consider the fox who catches a rabbit. First item on the menu is the contents of the gut. Let the rabbit do the digesting and enjoy! The rabbit spent hours nibbling grasses and grains readying them for the fox's easy absorption of carbohydrates. Quick and cheap fuel. Next the fox buries or hides the rest to stew a spell. What we call, "turning rancid" the fox calls, "just getting better". In a couple days, the live enzymes in the rabbit meat have broken it down into easily digested protein. Notice how no fire was used in this process? For dessert, a little bone gnawing for the marrow, the calcium, and the teeth cleaning, and it's naptime. Left for the lower animals in the hierarchy are most of the by-products and the hide.

 

Let's get back to your pet. In puppies and kittens, the pancreas is usually robust and up to the task of supplying sufficient digestive enzymes to make dead food somewhat useable and fulfill it's other vital functions. With age, however, pancreatic function is weakened and often can't keep up with this undue burden. If the pet food fed day in and day out is of low nutritional value to begin with, the taxing effect on the system will be all the greater and the pancreas will most likely give up that much sooner. The consequences to your pet's health are too broad in scope to cover here.

 

3. Giving "real food" aka "table scraps" is the RIGHT thing to do!

 

Stepping on a lot of toes here to smash the myth that you should only feed the stuff from the bag and nothing else ever, PERIOD. What is it they are afraid of anyway? That your pet will learn to beg? Unlearn that. That your pet won't eat the chaff they call "food" after tasting the real deal? Probably. Or that it will throw the delicate balance of their finely tuned "nutrition" out of whack somehow? He He Hoo, hardly.

 

Here's the scoop... Providing real food (not potato chips or other junk food) in its raw form counteracts some of the deficit that can be caused by only feeding commercially prepared pet food. It can provide the living enzymes to make digestion an easy rather than burdensome process. But, don't just go wild and throw everything in the feeding trough. Good bets for pets are raw carrots, broccoli, yogurt, cheese, garlic and meats. Cooked oatmeal, rice, corn, squash and the like are fine too. Don't feed raw grains, legumes, potatoes, onions, celery or chocolate which are either unusable or unhealthy. If you aren't comfortable with raw meat and fish, don't do it. Keep in mind, they aren't people and have an entirely different gastro-intestinal system than we do. Introduce new foods a little at a time about three times a week to start and give your pet's pancreas a much needed break.

 

4. Most "vet recommended" foods pay mightily for the "honor".

 

Does it matter that the majority of vets know very little about pet nutrition? The public is told to, "Ask your vet". The vet is told by the pet food companies, "we'll send you to Hawaii for a week of golf if you sell and endorse XYZ brand pet food". In school, vets-to-be could ELECT to take an overview course in animal nutrition. Or not. There have been changes of late to make this required study. AS IT WELL SHOULD BE!

 

You are miles ahead if you understand the pet food label yourself and take the time to learn some basic nutritional concepts. It's not that complicated! Find out for yourself, trust your own judgement and ignore what people say who are getting paid to say it.

 

5. The #1 vet recommended brand is probably the #1 worst pet food value.

 

Without mentioning any names, if it lists corn as the first ingredient on the label and gets blasted by the competition for it, you know the company. Read the label! Compare it to the cheapest stuff you can find. There isn't a dimes worth of difference in most cases.

 

How much does it cost them to make a 40 lb. bag of this stuff you may wonder? Right? Sit down.

How about less than $3 including the cost of the bag? How much does the duped public shell out for the bushel of corn and peanut shells most recommended by vets? About $35. "Have a nice flight to Maui, Dr. Cutter and thanks again for your support".

 

6. Feeding "Soft-Moist" diets will cut your pet's life expectancy in half.

 

Thankfully, these foods are on the steep decline but aren't gone yet. Perhaps killing your customers isn't a good way to develop long term brand loyalty. These toxic morsels are so loaded with chemicals to stay soft and prevent molding and so laden with sugar to cover the harsh chemical taste, they rip a pet's insides out. The sweetness is addictive and you'll hear owners say, "Fifi just won't eat anything else". Well, then better buy the small bag because who knows how long Fifi will be eating at all? Anybody feeding this garbage should stop at once and the manufacturers of it should be faced with a class action.

 

7. Many companies have "slithered" away from using ETHOXYQUIN.

 

The once popular, and staunchly defended as safe, preservative (antioxidant) called "Ethoxyquin" has been mostly abandoned because of "hushed" litigation and settlements with professional breeders. It formerly was championed by pet food manufacturers (and others) as an advanced and healthy inclusion in pet food in an attempt to hide the fact that it was never intended to be eaten, much less on a daily basis. It was originally formulated as a rubber stabilizer and a color retention agent. Tires stayed pliable and spices stayed red. Despite efforts to get it approved as a food stabilizing agent in people food, it is only allowed for extremely limited application with colored spices. The people who know the devastating truth about this ingredient when eaten daily by pets have been paid off and forced to never tell their stories. There are innumerable instances of stillbirth, sudden liver failure, kidney dysfunction, permanent pigment changes, tumors and death thought to be caused by the addition of this wonder substance to pet food starting in about 1987. Much of the talk about ethoxyquin has quieted since the major pet food companies jumped off the bandwagon and switched to safer (and less legally troublesome) preservatives like forms of vitamins C. If they want the trust of the public, they should own up to their mistakes and come clean. Fat chance. All you'll get is denial.

 

8. Nature didn't intend for pets to eat dry food devoid of enzymes.

 

Convenience is paid for in reduced pet health. Where is it written that your pet's bowl has to be filled with chalk dry nuggets of quasi-nutritious ground up brown stuff? We've been sold on a bad idea. We bought it because it made life easier. Until the real bill comes, that is. But doesn't kibbled food make their teeth shiny and their breath fresh? Won't their teeth fall out if they eat soft stuff? Yeah, right. Ever watch your dog eat? Does it look like some kind of teeth cleaning exercise? How about the cat? Really getting the old gum line clean huh? The truth about teeth cleaning is this... sticks, rocks, yarn, bones, toys and saliva primarily accomplish this task, not food. Commercial pet food has to be flavor enhanced with digest and sprayed-on fat to be even remotely attractive to your pet. Without these palatability modifications, the old dry kibble would just sit there and get dusty. People get paid big money to invent coatings to make your pet dive headfirst into the food bowl. Because then you smile and feel like it must be healthy and that Fifi loves the food and you too so you'll buy it again. Right? Remember, the fox didn't go in search of a crunchy rabbit. It ate the soft one and it has a dazzling smile and a fully charged pancreas.

 

9. Some companies sneak sugar into pet food to hook your pet.

 

Watch out for these guys! They call it other things of course... (cane molasses, corn syrup) but it absolutely does not belong in your pet's food bowl. Processed sugars are foreign to dogs and cats and over the long term can result in obesity, tooth decay and diabetes (along with other maladies). Until 2 years ago, propylene glycol was being used as a sweet tasting preservative by those who must have cared much more about shelf life than about pet health. Thankfully, it has finally been banned. Pet food companies will tell you that the industry is tightly regulated and that your pet's health is being fastidiously protected. Do you buy that one? The FDA can't even keep up with human food and didn't lift a finger on behalf of the pet owners during the ethoxyquin debate.

 

The regulating body for pet food ingredients is AAFCO. The American Association of Feed Control Officials. The rules and definitions they adopt are made by those with vested interests and are enforced through "voluntary compliance". The fox guards the rabbit hutch here.

 

10. Almost all manufacturers use stool hardening agents in pet food.

 

Convenience again triumphs over pet health. Stool modifiers make clean up easier and mask the effects of nutrient malabsorption. Who's going to buy a pet food if you've got to SCRAPE up after your dog? It's easier to just stack those little bricks into a pile or kick them elsewhere. Consider however the strain on your pet's innards. Would you put concrete mix in your pancake batter? How about sawdust? If you were dieting, would you mix ground peanut shells into your breakfast cereal? Well, they do all that and more for your beloved pet. See if any of these made it into your pet food bag: sodium bentonite, powdered cellulose, beet pulp, tomato (or any other) pomace, ground peanut shells? The explanation for including these usually is that they are fiber sources for your pet's well being. Maybe a little truth there but not the real reason they are added. Whole grains provide great fiber content. A bit of bran would do well too. The real goal is to make you buy the food again because clean up time is so easy and enjoyable with brand XYZ's designer stools. Before you do this to your pet, try it yourself for a few days. One question to ask a company representative is this, "Aren't there times when my pet needs to evacuate it's system rapidly such as when a toxin is ingested or when the kitty or doggy flu comes around? Is having a cork in there at all times really a good idea? You'll then likely hear mumbling about "Our research..." and "regulating intestinal transit time for optimal nutrient absorption". Do you buy that one? If the food is good and fed properly, stools will be fine without forcing your pet to work a brick through their digestive and excretory systems.

[OhioFisherman]

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecall/#Dog

 

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.HTML

 

Might help?

[tinbanger]

Wow lots of good info here .

 

Our last dog lived 14 years ( lab boarder colle mix,60lb).When she was a pup we were feeding her Puppy Chow .Couldn't seem to get her house trained.Vet suggested the high sodium ( to get the dogs to eat it ) was causing her to drink to much water , hence increasing the 'pee factor'.

Switched to Science Diet ,recommended and SOLD by the vet solved the house training problem .Year later it was discovered she had an alergy ( scratching , losing patches hair) and swithed to the Science diet Vegitarian.

 

Re-Run was a very laid back dog ( heart Murmer diagnosed in the first year) the veggie diet also controlled her weight .

 

We are planning on getting another pup this may . this info will be very useful

 

tb

[motv8tr]

That is why I have for the last 10 yrs fed my animals raw food....but to each their own....oh and don't forget, the vets learn animal nutrition from reps at the pet food compnaies, and it's a very small portion of their schooling....

 

 

 

Maureen

[Bitsmith2k]

That is why I have for the last 10 yrs fed my animals raw food....but to each their own....oh and don't forget, the vets learn animal nutrition from reps at the pet food compnaies, and it's a very small portion of their schooling....

 

 

 

Maureen

 

maureen, do you feed your dogs raw meaty bones, etc?

i've been looking to make the switch to a raw diet for a while, but the info is overwhelming..

 

mike

[corvette1]

i have 16 whippets and we lure course them we feed pro plan now we are trying sams club brand first item is chicken like pro-plan but 12.00 dollars cheaper plus 9 pounds more food lets see

[walleyejigger]

wow, great informative thread,

 

i have a jack russell terrier, apparently the pedigree i feed my dog is crap, although our kind wasnt even listed on the website, but all pedigree's are rated as crap, go figure

 

vet has always said my dog was in great health and to continue doing whatever i'm doing, he's never even asked what i feed her, he can never get over the muscle on my dog,

 

dang vet