speaking of dog food..... (stomach, symptoms, protein, cocker)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A quick comparison of a "premium" and not premium food:
Purina One Adult Dog Food: Ingredients to RUN from...Poultry by-product meal, animal fat, and animal digest.
So called "premium" food Science Diet Adult Dog also contains Animal Fat
Google Animal Digest and Animal Fat... you will puke!
Whether a manufacturer uses the term "premium" or not, a person has to be able to understand the ingredients listed to know what is TRULY in a food.
Our dogs will eat anything, but that doesn't mean I want them to eat anything. Example: One food we used to feed our dogs contained cellulose powder. In layman's terms, that is sawdust!
and as I said, My dogs thrive on Purina One. Not exist - THRIVE! Their coats are shiny and full, their eyes are bright, their bloodwork with every annual exam is right on the numbers. Bottom line, my dogs are healthy, happy and I expect they will lived well into their teens without my having to budget an extra $1,440 per year on food that does nothing for them except give one of them the runs. As long as their nutritional needs are met and they continue to thrive, I'll continue to feed them Purina One.
Oh and by the way, cellulose is NOT sawdust. It is naturally occuring in a lot of vegetables including tubers, root vegetables and squashes. Have you ever given your dog a carrot as a treat or used pumpkin to help with diarrhea? You've fed them cellulose!
I used to feed my dogs Innova and they did great on it, but I switched to Canidae because it is much more cost effect (not that much different in price than other "normal" brands) and it still has great ingrediants. My dogs do great on it also. People sometimes give me a hard time by saying I am "throwing" money at my dogs food to prove I care about them, which isn't the case, but they're entitled to their opinion. I always chock it up to people getting defensive because they feel they feed their dogs cheap food, even though no one's ever implied that to them. I chose to feed it to them because it works great for them and because I feel better about the quality of ingrediants, not because it makes me feel warm & fuzzy inside, lol. As stated, I'm not spending much more for the Canidae than other people spend for Iams, Science Diet (it's actually less than Science Diet) or Purina, so the argument doesn't make sense to me, but it persists.
My previous neighbors are the perfect example. They always gave me a hard time when they would see me carrying in my dog food after I purchased it by saying their dogs have been doing great on Ol' Roy for upwards of 10 years and they spend 1/10th what I spend on dog food. They would say the same things about what I ate, compared to what they ate. (Actually they would compare everything and everyone to themselves, but that's another story). They ate nothing but take out all the time, & I'm talking McDonalds, Burger King, etc. They always bragged about how healthy they were stating what people eat isn't important, it's the amount of exercise they get, etc. etc. and the food has no ill effects on them. They claimed all the bad publicity about McDonalds was just hype and they were walking proof of it. They were both in their mid 40's. Since they were so healthy, they never went to the Doctor for check-ups until the husbands job required a complete physical. The blood work came back and even though, in his words, he was one of the healthiest people he knew, his cholesteral was through the roof, his thyroid was off and he had various other issues that his doctor said were serious matters (he would never admit this, convinced he was perfectly healthy & the tests were wrong. His wife is the one who spilled the beans to everyone). He didn't make a single change to his lifestyle because he refused to believe he was anything but healthy. Within a year, he'd had a heart attack. He still refused to believe it was his eating habits, because "My wife eats the same thing and she's just fine", so to my knowledge they both still eat crap everyday.
My point is, people are going to feed their dogs whatever they feed them, but when you apply the same logic to people ('been eating this my whole life and had no ill effects') its easy to see how silly that stance is. A dog, just like a person, can look and act like the picture of perfect health, but that doesn't mean that's the case and that doesn't mean it isn't shaving time off of their life span. Everyone has the right to feed their dogs what they deem is appropriate, as long as the dog is not being malnourished or sickened by it, but the argument that a dog has been doing just fine on cheap foods for xx number of years so all premium foods are hogwash doesn't add up. Feed your dogs what you can afford to feed them and know that there is always a better solution out there for them. I know that making my own dogs food would be much healthier for them, but I'm not prepared to do that, even though I can admit they would be better off. I'm certainly not going to talk down to people who do take the time, put in the effort, & spend the money to do it though. I applaud and respect them for it.
Last edited by AMidnightSoul; 04-07-2011 at 04:43 PM..
Reason: adding paragraph break
I will say this one last time then I'm through. My dogs are healthy. That has been certified by a vet. My dogs normally live to well in their teens. For 80 pound retrievers that considered a long life. I do not feed them the doggie equivalent of McDonalds. Their diet is healthy and they thrive on it. OK - I'm done
Moderator - please close this thread. We have gotten way off the original topic of alternate brands for an experiment.
I will say this one last time then I'm through. My dogs are healthy. That has been certified by a vet. My dogs normally live to well in their teen. For 80 pound retrievers that considered a long life. I do not feed them the doggie equivalent of McDonalds. Their diet is healthy and they thrive on it. OK - I'm done
Moderator - please close this thread. We have gotten way off the original topic of alternate brands for an experiment.
Sorry! My reply wasn't to you specifically in regards to your dog, it was in regards to all the replies about premium vs. non-premium and I was trying to be polite about it. You just happened to reply at the same time I did.
Va-Cat, you raise a interesting point. Ingredients are not always what people think they are. One brand may say "cellulose fiber" and another says "carrot fiber", the exact same thing is the cellusole was derived from carrots. Just like one product many hawk on this board list a bacteria. That bacteria is often listed a specific way in the ingeredients because if you research that name, it mentions it as a benficial item to aid in digestion. Most of those premium labeld and marketed foods only mention the benefical bacteria as a digestion aid. But if you read what is beneficial about it, it basically comes down to being a stool hardner to prevent the runs and dehydration. They have to add this "beneficial bacteria" because their food gives dogs a bad case of the water works! I bet the manufacture spend money and time to decide to use that item versus adding the brand name of Kaopectate.
Amidnightsoul, You are also correct that there are cheap dog foods that people shouln't be buying and feeding their dogs. Just like there are foods that are identical to others but cost 3 times the amount wioth absolutely no diffrence but a fancier package. Anything in between isn't wasted or saved money, its just being a good shopper. Its not hard to find out what a dog really needs and matching that to products is the best way to shop. If it cost a bit more, so be it. If it cost a little less, so be it. My point was those who buy based on the marketing hype of the manufacture and can't tell they are just paying way more than they need to because there are identical products that cost less.
the best thing people can do is educate themself on actual facts about pet foods based on indepenedent research not marketing money. I also caution people on making decissions on a person's claims unless you know the person's true understanding. One brand or method that use to be pushed a lot has dropped from the scene because the poster turned out to be connected with the manufacture of that item. When they found out others knew their true reason for hawking that item, suddenely they dissapeared.
PacificFlights, I agree. There are definitely brands out there that cost a bundle and aren't any better than brands you can get for way less and, in my experience, they seem to be some of the most pricy foods. The key is to check the ingrediants and gain a knowledge of where the ingrediants are derived from. A big problem I have with foods is Vets who push certain products when the quality is the same as grocery store brands and the cost is double or more. I have a friend who's a Vet and she admits that most Vets don't know better because they aren't nutritionists, but that doesn't make it right.
Another thing I've noticed about food is that it can take some dogs longer than others to adjust. My last rescue had gas for 5 months after I adopted her, due to the food. It was horrible and stinky and embarrassing. I didn't think I would make it through it, but after the 5th month, her body adjusted, the gas went away and I started seeing major improvement in her coat, her crustiness (she was majorly crusty-lips & paws), her breath and she pooped & pee'd less. I almost gave up after the 4th month, but knew I wanted to give it a full 6 month window, since it was really only a minor problem and I'm glad I did. Then I switched from Innova to Canidae and had to start all over again, but it worked out fine. My other dog has no adjustment period with new food. As long as I switch it over gradually, he adapts right away. It's amazing how different it can be from one to the next.
Oh and by the way, cellulose is NOT sawdust....Have you ever given your dog a carrot as a treat or used pumpkin to help with diarrhea? You've fed them cellulose!
There are various forms of powdered cellulose available from trees like pine and beech to bamboo and cotton. By and large, the cellulose used in petfood applications is derived from pine trees.
Cellulose in pet food (http://www.petfoodindustry.com/Columns/Ingredient_Issues/2376.html - broken link)
No matter what one chooses to feed, there is nothing wrong with people merely being informed. And when they share it on a public, open forum in a polite and helpful manner (as all the responses have been in this thread), it's there for anyone this forum is open to (which is everybody) to take or leave.
Last edited by Pamina333; 04-07-2011 at 06:18 PM..
I think maybe I didn't make my point clear. I do NOT believe a so-called premium food (such as Science Diet that I used in my example) is better than Purina Adult Dog food. My point was they both have some serious nasty ingredients. No matter what the brand of food is, a person has to understand the ingredients list. I'm STILL learning. I think I have found the "perfect" food and then learn a specific ingredient is yuck.
I found this book (written by vets) to be very informative, if anyone is interested in learning what truly goes into our pets' food and the "hoopla" (to put it nicely) about the pet food industry.
Not Fit For A Dog: The Truth About Manufactured Dog And Cat Food
I truly was NOT attacking the OP for what she feeds her dog, I thought maybe she (and others) would be interested to learn more about some of the more ickie ingredients that are found in pet food.
There are various forms of powdered cellulose available from trees like pine and beech to bamboo and cotton. By and large, the cellulose used in petfood applications is derived from pine trees.
Cellulose in pet food (http://www.petfoodindustry.com/Columns/Ingredient_Issues/2376.html - broken link)
No matter what one chooses to feed, there is nothing wrong with people merely being informed. And when they share it on a public, open forum in a polite and helpful manner (as all the responses have been in this thread), it's there for anyone this forum is open to (which is everybody) to take or leave.
The source you are quoting are the people that are promoting the premium petfood craze. You are correct - its best to be informed. Don't believe one source of information is gospel. Especially when it is coming from someone with something to sell.
The source you are quoting are the people that are promoting the premium petfood craze. You are correct - its best to be informed. Don't believe one source of information is gospel. Especially when it is coming from someone with something to sell.
Found this info (concerning another brand of dog food) on the above website as well:
"The sixth item mentions powdered cellulose… a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from cotton or sawdust. Cellulose is sometimes added to dilute the number of calories per serving and to give the feeling of fullness when it is eaten.
Except for the usual benefits of fiber, powdered cellulose provides no nutritional value to a dog."
I am just trying to peek your interest a bit for you to have the desire to "dig in deeper" concerning ingredients in pet food. All pet food. Not just Purina Dog Chow.
Last edited by Lola4; 04-07-2011 at 09:07 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
