10-23-2011 at 9:50 PM

My dog's food is organic as the land it comes from. I don't buy all that fancy stuff that's $6.00 a can.

09-29-2011 at 9:04 PM

I know that applies to most people, Tiger, but common practice does not necessarily make something okay. There are a lot of things that I see happen every day that I don't think <i>should</i>. The tiniest amount of research on dog food can show a person better options.

09-29-2011 at 8:40 PM

We got Lucy, my "Agility Dane" as a pup and had her on Natural Choice. Then we got our second Dane from a rescue, the same age as her who had been on Alpo his who life and boy did we see the difference. Dirks fur was oily/grimy and his teeth were yellow and gross, he couldn't chew. We switched him to Natural Choice and he got better. His teeth and fur aren't quite as nice as Lucy's but boy is there a difference. His breath doesn't smell as bad now either. But they were eating us out house and home. Then we met another Dane owner who gave us the ingredient list and nutrition facts from Kirkland adult dog food. Its almost better than Natural Choice and its 30$ for one bag the same size as the 70$ bag we were buying for the dogs. So even if you don't have a lot of money, there are still good food options out there.

09-28-2011 at 1:26 PM

A <u><b>LOT</b></u> of people don't know the difference in good and bad food, they see "dog food" and figure its what they are supposed to give and since they're on a tight budgit buy what they can afford. I know its not an excuse, but its the truth.

09-27-2011 at 4:29 PM

Nath, you stole my words from my brain. :3

09-27-2011 at 11:32 AM

While I would not say anything like "poor people should not have pets," there's something to be said for knowing when to bring a <i>new</i> pet into the family and when to resist. If one is low on funds or has a high likelihood of being low on funds in the near future (ie, often has no money after bills), it's probably best they don't bring a new puppy into the house.<br /><br /><br />That isn't to say those of us with monetary problems are at fault for our problems...or that we can't be good owners/caretakers to pets we already have. But I would say it <i>is</i> irresponsible to bring a new pet into the house when there's not enough money for a good diet. Feeding what you have to to get by is one thing; planning to feed a diet you know is inferior from the beginning is another.

09-26-2011 at 5:31 PM

"If you have financial struggles you really shouldn't have a pet."<br /><br /><br />So your saying those of us who can't afford to feed our dogs like we eat then we shouldn't have pets? That's nice to know. <br /><br />I'm glad my dog doesn't care and he's happy and healthy no matter what he eats.

09-26-2011 at 9:01 AM

Also, my earlier comment wasn't directed towards anyone. And I wouldn't give up on just one food because they didn't like it. <br /><br /><br /> My grandmother's Toy Poodle was extremely picky, he wouldn't eat anything but chicken, hotdogs other human food. I convinced her to put him on proper dog food, she first put him on Pedigree, I later got her to have them on TOTW instead. <br /><br /><br /> For a long time he wouldn't eat, he'd pick up a piece and drop it outside the bowl. So I started leaving the bowl down for only 10 minutes. If they weren't done, it went up, and they had to wait until the next day to eat.<br /><br /><br />He eats very well now. =] Took him a bit to start, but he does.

09-26-2011 at 8:58 AM

That is false, there are hidden ingredients. This is from a veterinarian board.<br /><br /><br />ELISA testing for soy antigens in dry dog foods used in dietary elimination trials<br /><br />C. Willis-Mahn*, D. Raditic*†, K. Tater*, R. Remillard*<br /><br />*MSPCA Angell Animal Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts<br /><br />†University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee<br /><br />Abstract: Elimination diet trials are used to determine food allergies and intolerances. Contamination of<br /><br />the diet with a known food antigen, such as soy, nullifies the results of the trial whereas unintentional<br /><br />contamination confounds the results. The objective of this study was to determine if: 1) four over-the-<br /><br />counter (OTC) dry dog foods carrying a ‘made with no soy’ claim and 2) eight veterinary therapeutic dry<br /><br />dog foods designed for food elimination trials were suitable for a canine soybean elimination trial. A 100<br /><br />gram sample of each diet plus a soy foods carrying a ‘made with no soy’ claim and 2) eight veterinary<br /><br />therapeutic dry dog foods designed for food elimination trials were suitable for a canine soybean<br /><br />elimination trial. A 100 gram sample of each diet plus a soy positive control diet were submitted for<br /><br />ELISA testing to an outside independent food laboratory. The ELISA test is quantitative for soy flour<br /><br />protein concentrations between 2.5 and 25 ppm. The positive control diet contained &gt;25 ppm soy protein<br /><br />antigens. Three of the four OTC ‘no soy’ claiming diets were positive for soy antigen; two contained &gt;25<br /><br />ppm. Four veterinary therapeutic diets had less than the lower detectable limit of soy protein. Two<br /><br />hydrolyzed soy diets were positive (&gt;2.5 ppm). One veterinary therapeutic diet contained &gt;25 ppm soy<br /><br />but soybean oil was a listed ingredient and one diet contained 4.6 ppm with no soy ingredients listed.<br /><br />From these results we conclude that OTC dog food diets that claim to contain ‘no soy’ may contain high<br /><br />concentrations of soy protein antigen and therefore should not be considered for soy elimination trials.<br /><br />The veterinary therapeutic diet chosen for a soy elimination diet trial needs to be carefully selected based<br /><br />on these results.<br /><br />Study funded by an ACVD and AAVD Research Award.<br /><br />State conflict of interest: None declared.

09-26-2011 at 8:29 AM

"There's no such thing as hidden in if you read the ingredient list. Food companies have to by LAW list all ingredients put into any food product be it human or animal."<br /><br /><br />What I meant by hidden is dry foods claiming to be Lamb when they also contain chicken and/or poultry. <br /><br />
"What I've seen with the "if you're dog is doing good on it, fine" thing, is that people never tried a higher quality to see the actual difference. Also, the negative effects could be very subtle and insidious."<br /><br />
Uhm, I've tried 'higher' quality food for my two dogs. For a short period I fed them both Blue Buffalo Wilderness and they <i>hated</i> it. Lucy, my cocker spaniel, would actually pick certain kernels out of the food and set them beside her dish, refusing to eat them. Now this is a dog who lives to eat, I've never seen her do something like this before. Both of them also had softer stool, and smellier too, while they were on that food. Their breath also smelled rather foul too. So they were gradually weaned off that food and on to Authority, an 'average' dog food and both have been doing much better since. As I said, what food works for your dog depends on your dog.

09-26-2011 at 7:10 AM

<i>"And one of the few that offers a kind with zero chicken or poultry hidden in! "</i><br /><br /><br />There's no such thing as hidden in if you read the ingredient list. Food companies have to by LAW list all ingredients put into any food product be it human or animal.

09-26-2011 at 12:05 AM

What I've seen with the "if you're dog is doing good on it, fine" thing, is that people never tried a higher quality to see the actual difference. Also, the negative effects could be very subtle and insidious.<br /><br /><br />Also most people don't know a truly healthy coat when they see it. Dakota used to get a ton of compliments on his coat when he was a puppy. How healthy it was, how soft.<br /><br /><br /> In reality his coat wasn't that great at all (he was on Pedigree)<br /><br />People assume dogs like Labs should have oily coats that feel like oily hair, yes there should be oil but it should feel slick and smooth, not griddy.<br /><a href="http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad178/i_heart_dakota/Mypics040.jpg">Coat as a pup</a><br /><br /><br />And now, he's been on Taste of The Wild for about 1 1/2 years, and the people who knew him before think it's because we go swimming a lot. A few actually think his oil is gone and that's why his hair is soft and fine.<br /><a href="http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad178/i_heart_dakota/DSC_0176.jpg">Dakota now</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And I agree with Nath. :) As usual.<br /><br />I feed raw bones every two weeks or so, (beef knuckles and sometimes turkey necks) to clean their teach, and it gives me a break for a bit. lol<br /><br /><br />Dakota has purdy pearly whites, and no smell to his breath.<br /><br /><br /><br />

09-25-2011 at 11:00 PM

Pedigree won't necessarily poison your dog, but you can't really know if what the dog passes from was/was not food/nutrition related. If a dog dies of renal failure, it could be from years of poor nutrition taxing the kidneys. Same for liver, heart, etc.<br /><br /><br />As for bones: dogs are scavenger-carnivores. While they technically <i>can</i> digest the carrots you're giving them, it's not what they necessarily should be eating. And no matter the size, my dog would annihilate a carrot in probably 2 minutes, tops.<br /><br />Dogs eating raw bones is no more disgusting than a rabbit eating a raw piece of lettuce or celery or carrot. Bones and meat are made of things dogs have evolved to digest and process. Carrots are not.

09-25-2011 at 9:55 PM

I currently feed my dogs Authority dry food with a mixture of wet food. My shepherd gets the authority wet food while my Cocker Spaniel gets Nature's Recipe wet food. Authority is an average dog food with a fair price. :) And one of the few that offers a kind with zero chicken or poultry hidden in! My cocker is very sensitive to both chicken and pork. x_x While it's not the best food on the market my two dogs are both loving it and doing fine on it. If it's not broke don't fix it, right? <br /><br /><br />My future dog, which will be an Italian Greyhound, will be fed Earthborn as I've heard great things about that from many Iggy owners/breeders. Thankfully for such a small stomach the price for a smaller bag isn't outrageous. xD<br /><br /><br />I personally think if your dog is doing fine on a food then there is no problem. Expensive isn't better. Look at Science Diet brand, that stuff is pretty spendy and not all that great. Kirkland is a fine example of a cheap food being great, it's a wonderful dog food. :3 My sister has been feeding her two pit bulls that brand and they couldn't be healthier! <br /><br /><br />I fed my Dalmatian Pedigree for ten years, back when I was young and thought all dog foods were more or less the same. For those who don't know, Pedigree is kind of bottom of the barrel dog food. My Dalmatian was a perfectly healthy boy through those ten years and passed away from nothing food related in the slightest.

09-25-2011 at 7:05 PM

Well, my dog is allergic to pretty much everything so we have to buy her this special organic pet food from the vet.<br /><br /><br />But if I did have more of a choice without making my dog miserable I would probably buy organic because I've done my research on the other foods. They aren't as great as advertised. <br /><br /><br />I believe my dog is my little sister with a hair disorder. I know I wouldn't want to eat that crap that I know is made of crap. Why should my dog? It's cheaper. So? If you have financial struggles you really shouldn't have a pet. Organic pet food isn't that much more when you consider what you as a human eat.

09-25-2011 at 12:59 PM

It's illegal in the United States for animal food to be made of parts of animals of the same class, ruminants can't be fed ruminants, carnivores can't be fed meat from any other animals that eat meat, poultry cant be fed poultry..etc etc etc I think fish may be the only ones that don't fall in this law because fish eat other fish...

09-25-2011 at 12:43 PM

I'm getting a second dog soon. My current dog eats raw food - seriously, that dog has a stomach of steel! He hates kibble and loves human food! <br /><br />My second dog will be fed a pet food made locally in a human grade facility. I was doing some research on pet food. It's disgusting! <br /><br />Have you ever wondered where euthanized shelter animals go? Well, it turns out that they are sometimes sold to pet food companies, who grind them up and market them as 'Animal Meal'. That means the poor dog is being a cannibal and also eating the poison used to euthanize animals.<br /><br />Isn't that horrible? I'd rather feed my dog a diet of cupcakes than the commercial pet foods today.<br />
Also, instead of feeding my dog bones (which I find disgusting) I give him a giant carrot to chew on. It occupies him for maybe half an hour.

08-20-2011 at 11:58 PM

Kirkland brand dog food is pretty cheap, my friend said it was around $20 for a 40lb bag. It's actually a great dogfood for the price. I recommend to anyone on a low income budget.

08-20-2011 at 11:48 PM

If I mentioned what I feed then I'd get bashed.. but what some people don't realize is that that's all the person can afford. Not everyone can afford top of the line food but that doesn't make us horrible people and not be allowed to own pets. I've been feeding the same brand for many many years and I've never had a problem with it nor lost a pet because it didn't eat as good as others. They're all happy and healthy and get all the love I can give.<br /> If I could buy something more expensive and "better" I would. But unfortunately I can't.

08-5-2011 at 3:03 AM

Natural Balance :) unlike most dog foods, it has better quality and nutrition then taco bell