Another dog food thread..

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

missyscove wrote:

You folks are probably going to want to hang me in the town square for what I'm about to say.
I'm certainly no expert on the subject. I am taking an animal nutrition class, but we won't cover dog nutrition until later in the semester (I can tell you all about how to feed your cows though.) We did talk some about dog foods in my other animal science classes though.

Dog nutritional requirements are very similar to those of humans. In essence, a dog could do very well eating a portion of exactly what you eat. If every night you sat down to a family dinner and your dog got a plate full too, they'd do fine. Granted, we like dog food because it provides a complete nutrition that's easy for us to feed and that doesn't let the dog be selective.

There are strict requirements (at least in the US. I assume New Zealand has them too.) on what nutrition a dog food can provide.
The list of protein, fat, ash, etc. that irishbunny posted is how you should be determining what your dog eats, IMO. Dogs have specific requirements for levels of protein, fiber, minerals, etc.

Basically, I don't care what sort of corn or soybean meal or chicken or chicken by products my dog is eating.
I think it's great that we can take by products of human foodstuffs (soybean meal, feathers, etc.) and use them in animal feeds (be they for pets or for production animals). It creates more sustainable industries by using products that would otherwise go to waste.

My recommendation to you would be to go with absolutely any dry dog food. I recognize that some dogs have more specific requirements. That's what prescription dog food is for - dogs with allergies, diabetes, kidney issues, etc., but if you have a completely healthy dog, any dry dog food will be fine. Trust me, all your name brands of dog food go through rigorous testing to make sure they're providing your dog with complete nutrition. IMO, it's not worth the money to pay more for the same nutritional levels.

I agree and disagree with you. Yes dog food companies go through tests that make sure food meet the nutritional values and standards, thing is those standards are sometimes just ridiculous... Like I commented before about the worm infested thing YUCK. Its like asking your children, "honey, while I have a nice steak for dinner you can eat corn and chicken beaks and feathers." But yes sometimes some people are silly to pay a heck heap of money for fantastic dog food. This is why I now prefer homecooking. Its less hassle haha

 

[missyscove]

I don't go to vet school - hopefully I will, but right now I'm just an animal science undergrad.

While we're on the topic of vets, I forgot to mention, Hills definitely does not pay vets to recommend their feed. They do, however, provide them science diet at a slightly cheaper price than you would pay in the pet store. All the vets I've worked with have said that they feel that science diet is a great feed that they would give to their own pets (or do, but some don't have dogs/cats.)

Mc Donalds is a great analogy because it isn't necessarily just a quality change - it's what you're eating. Humans shouldn't live off just burgers and french fries because then we wouldn't be getting the appropriate levels of vitamins and minerals that we need, not to mention our diet would have way too much fat in it.

I recognize that different feeds have different calorie contents and thus require different rations of food. That's exactly why they're required to print that information directly on the bag/feed tag.

The evolutionary structure of a dog's teeth may indicate to you that they can only eat meat, but their digestive system definitely indicates that they are omnivores and they can get their nutririon from grains and other plants if processed correctly (Don't freak out when you hear the word processed - just like cows get more nutrition out of cracked or ground corn than whole kernel corn which might come out looking just like it did when it went in). Domestic cats, on the other hand, must get the majority of their nutrition from meat.

The manufacturing of dog feed is probably about 10% what the dog needs and 90% what the consumer wants. The consumer wants a food that looks good, smells good and that sounds like what they would eat themselves when most of the time, the dog and its digestive system could care less. (Like how your dog would eat roadkill but you wouldn't want him to.)

 

[undergunfire]

missyscove wrote:

Mc Donalds is a great analogy because it isn't necessarily just a quality change - it's what you're eating. Humans shouldn't live off just burgers and french fries because then we wouldn't be getting the appropriate levels of vitamins and minerals that we need, not to mention our diet would have way too much fat in it.

Just like dogs/cats shouldn't be living off of corn ....which is what Pedigree, Hills, Purina, etc is mostly made of.

If I am going to pay money to feed my dog a commercial food....you better bet I want to be paying for MEAT...not corn and grains.

I think a lot of us have experienced dogs on a lower quality food, then being switched onto a higher quality food.....the difference is phenomenal. My dog came to me on Pedigree....his craps were nasty and he went multiple times a day and he smelled bad. Switching over to Innova EVO (grain free)...and my dog is healthy, poops 2 times a day, and doesn't smell!

Dogs need meat, bones, organs......hence the reason why feeding raw makes more sense then feeding a commercial diet....it isn't natural for them to eat processed kibble. I know a lot of stuff isn't natural for any living thing now a days...but if we can feed a diet that mimics what dogs eat in the wild...then it just makes sense. I have heard so many happy stories from people when they switched over to raw!

 

[fuzz16]

Canidae and exclusive and wellness are all the best foods i know, and taste of the wild. wellness is super expensive but great for the dog. better the food, less they eat, and less the waste amount too. royal canin is a decent food.

if you have a feed store around you they should carry these foods

 

[undergunfire]

I wouldn't trust TOTW after what it did to my cats and the recent dog food issue on it. Canadea is fine, as long as it is grain free. Wellness is great, but the CORE is extremely expensive!

My feed store just got in "Earthborn"....it the grain free kind looks pretty good! I got a 1lb sample bag of the small dog formula (not grain free) and I have been using them as training kibbles...my dog loves them.

 

[irishbunny]

My new puppy is on Royal Canin puppy, but we are switching her over to the food that has the ingredients I posted above, Red Mills Leader Puppy.

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

It's interesting to see both side of the story about kibble.

I have Royal Canin around (common) and Canidae (from the good food list) but Canidae is really really expensive here, since they don't sell it in stores only the canidae site.

I'm still not sure if I want to do raw since when i switch its dumb to switch back.

 

[myLoki]

Anyone heard anything good about Wellness CORE dog food? They claim to be a grain-free protein focused dog and cat food.

Opinions? :stikpoke

t.

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

I heard lots about it but never actually tried it. Someone come and rescue?? hehe

 

[undergunfire]

myLoki wrote:

Anyone heard anything good about Wellness CORE dog food? They claim to be a grain-free protein focused dog and cat food.

Opinions? :stikpoke

t.

I really like Wellness CORE....but, it is waaaay too expensive for me to feed.

I always wondered about the cat formula, though. I have read/heard that cats shouldn't eat fish varieties of food..but yet CORE's only variety is fish from what I have seen.

 

[MyLOVEABLES!!]

YUSSS!!!!! I found Orijen!!! Maybe i'll get it for X-Mas?

 

[irishbunny]

So now my puppy is totally switched over to Red Mills Leader Puppy and seems to be doing great on it! My older dog we are switching to Royal Canin Senior or Red Mills Leader Senior. I'm going to wait till I can get to the pet shop and compare the ingredients. Sadly, I can't find a food that doesn't contain maize/corn, these foods seem to be some of the best.