Another Dog Food Post

http://rawfed.com/myths/feedraw.html

[quote]pittbulll wrote:
http://rawfed.com/myths/feedraw.html[/quote]

That’s a site I hadn’t come across. They do say, contrary to what I have learned, that wolves do not ingest stomach contents. I’ve heard this from so many sources, though.

I would imagine it would depend upon dietary needs, as well, since predators will ingest different nutrients depending upon they type of prey they are consuming.

I’m not trying to cover my ass, but this is really the first time I’ve heard something to the contrary. Anyway, thanks for the link, and the differing opinion is something to think about and to research.

There is so much info and dis info out there all you can do try to get it right, that is on any subject

This is from a mastiff-centric website, but applies across the board:

Octobergirl, not to slam your food choice, but as an example, here’s what the author of that food list has to say about Eukanuba - not that he’s the be-all end-all of gurus, but worth looking into, anyway:

[quote]Eukanuba is not a good food for a variety of reasons but here are a few of the top ones (by the way Purina is in the same category as Eukanuba). Let’s use their large breed adult formula as the example of what’s wrong -

  1. Look very closely at the ingredients on the label before the first listed fat. For Eukanuba that fat is chicken fat. Those ingredients make up about 80% of the food’s volume. For Eukanuba they are - chicken, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum, ground whole grain barley, chicken by-product meal, fish meal, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp.
    A. Chicken - That’s chicken with all of the moisture in it. Part of the manufacturing process is to remove all the moisture so while this appears as the first ingredient, if it were listed based on having the moisture removed it really would be much lower on the label.
    B. The next three ingredients are all grains. BTW, corn isn’t processed well in a dog’s small intestine. It turns to a gelatine-like substance that actually prevents many of the other ingredients from being absorbed by the dog.
    C. The next chicken is by-product. By-product is things OTHER than meat. So no protein there.
    D. Instead of chicken flavor (which is what makes the food halfway appealing to a dog because of the smell), I’d much rather have some real chicken meal in it (and not chicken by-product meal).
    E. Beet pulp is basically harmless but not very nutritional. It’s simply a source of fiber.

So those are your top ingredients. You’re paying for a bag of grains and leftovers with a little bit of real meat in it.

And Eukanuba isn’t all the inexpensive, either. Plus because of all these lower quality ingredients, Parker will have to eat more of it in order to try to get the nutrients she needs each day. [/quote]

[quote]eigieinhamr wrote:
I don’t understand how it can be bad for them when in the wild they would be eating more than 45% protein.[/quote]

They’ve been domesticated for so long now that it’s kind of hard to argue how they would respond in the wild at all.

That being said, I gave Innova Evo 1 month (one full bag) a try… my dog didn’t shit normally once. Blue Buffalo is cheaper, more easily found, creates healthy shits, and according to the dog food review site, is 4 stars which is about as good as you can get and actually be able to find it at a non boutique/specialty shop.

I buy a big box of raw chicken frames for a few dollars from the butcher every couple of weeks. Put a day’s worth to a freezer bag and chuck all the bags in the freezer.

If you have a smaller dog, or an inactive dog, you can break the frames in half by hand, no need to chop them up.

I also feed other stuff, but this is at least 90% of my dog’s diets.

Both dogs were started on raw meaty bones. I think if I had a rescue or I was feeding something else and wanted to switch I would have the frames ground up at first, or start with wings and slowly introduce bigger bones when I knew the dog was chewing and digesting properly.

As for protein content, there have been studies into protein and behavior. Notably, studies into aggressive behavior correlated to protein consumption have been contradictory.

[quote]NeelyDan wrote:
Octobergirl, not to slam your food choice, but as an example, here’s what the author of that food list has to say about Eukanuba - not that he’s the be-all end-all of gurus, but worth looking into, anyway:

Eukanuba is not a good food for a variety of reasons but here are a few of the top ones (by the way Purina is in the same category as Eukanuba). Let’s use their large breed adult formula as the example of what’s wrong -

  1. Look very closely at the ingredients on the label before the first listed fat. For Eukanuba that fat is chicken fat. Those ingredients make up about 80% of the food’s volume. For Eukanuba they are - chicken, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum, ground whole grain barley, chicken by-product meal, fish meal, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp.
    A. Chicken - That’s chicken with all of the moisture in it. Part of the manufacturing process is to remove all the moisture so while this appears as the first ingredient, if it were listed based on having the moisture removed it really would be much lower on the label.
    B. The next three ingredients are all grains. BTW, corn isn’t processed well in a dog’s small intestine. It turns to a gelatine-like substance that actually prevents many of the other ingredients from being absorbed by the dog.
    C. The next chicken is by-product. By-product is things OTHER than meat. So no protein there.
    D. Instead of chicken flavor (which is what makes the food halfway appealing to a dog because of the smell), I’d much rather have some real chicken meal in it (and not chicken by-product meal).
    E. Beet pulp is basically harmless but not very nutritional. It’s simply a source of fiber.

So those are your top ingredients. You’re paying for a bag of grains and leftovers with a little bit of real meat in it.

And Eukanuba isn’t all the inexpensive, either. Plus because of all these lower quality ingredients, Parker will have to eat more of it in order to try to get the nutrients she needs each day. [/quote]

You know what is crazy! The more I look, the more differing opinions I encounter. The same foods are on good food and bad foods lists.

I have also purchased Avoderm, and am actually mixing that with these frozen Bison burgers that I bought at Healthy Pet Pantry. I also bought the Beef, chicken and rabbit.

The dogs seem pretty happy.

But it does seem like something that is going to take some attention.

Thanks for the link!

I only skimmed the post but if this has been posted before please forgive me.

Pretty good site for reviews of dog food.

I switched my dog from bil jac to orijen, and then to taste of the wild. Taste of the wild is kinda a floater between 5 and 6 but they put it in the 6 category. It’s the cheapest 6 star I have found, my dogs love it.

Also I got a boxer puppy who I started on Wellness puppy. He loves it and his shits are solid. Very nice!

One other peice of advice. If you feed dry kibble, Please put water in the bowl with it. At least a little to moisten it.

And finally, The only knock I have heard that I think is credible about protein is that too much in a large breed puppy could cause to increased growth rate and bone problems specifically in the hips down the line. I I would shoot for 25% in a puppy food and 45% in an adult food.

V