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If you are worried about bladder stones, you can feed a good quality dog food (usually sold at feed stores, not pet stores) and supplement with a product like Solid Gold Berry Balance (which you can also buy at a lot of feed stores) to acidify the urine and cut down on the stone formation or eliminate it. You don't have to feed as much of the quality foods as the corn based junk that is cheaper. You will save money over the Science Diet food you are using now.
Not necessarily true.... any nutritionist will tell you (I was a dairy science major at Cal Poly SLO and took quite a few nutrition classes before switching majors) that corn is good for dogs as long as it's processed correctly. If any type of wheat, barley or corn is in a meal, ground, or gluten form it's easily digestible and provides antioxidants, vitamins and essential nutrients. In addition, AAFCO defines by-product as "The non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hoofs. It shall be suitable for use in animal food. If it bears name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto." Basically, any food that contains an organ (beef liver, anyone?) but still maintains that it contains no by-products is not entirely telling the truth. A certain brand touts that they are by-product free, and the main ingredient is beef tripe. Also, the word organic, by law, has certain things that must be done before it can be labeled organic, holistic foods do not. Anyone (including Ol Roy, and Pedigree) could label their food holistic and not get any flak from AAFCO or the USDA. Science Diet may not be the best food out there, but it doesn't claim to be anything it isn't. It doesn't claim to be organic, or holistic or anything but what it is just to keep up with the hype. Just thought I'd throw in a couple of things, I know many people swear by raw diets, or home cooking meals and if I had time I'd do the same for my dog.
We'll have to agree to disagree here. Corn is rated very highly as far as being one of the more frequent causes of allergy in dogs. There is also no way for a consumer to easily tell whether the corn or wheat has been processed properly. Also, the cheap no name dog food that you can pick up from the dollar store meets AAFCO standards. Doesn't mean much when you look at it that way. Like I said, I feel raw is best but it's not for everyone. At least you know what your dog is getting.
My Jack Russell was having some "so called" allergy problems and kept an ear infection, which the vet had to keep treating and treating (and they kept returning). Along with the treatments he suggested a Lamb and Rice food since it is supposedly less likely to attribute to allergies. I asked about the pricey brands and he said, "Purina has been making pet food longer than anyone else, so they know what they're doing and it is as good as any pricey ones." After many (unnecessary in my opinion) allergy shots and office visits, his ear was not getting better, I changed vets. The new vet said the same thing about Purina foods, also the new vet cleared up the ear infection after one visit! He never requires unnecessary testing or shots, just the yearly boosters and check-ups. He's very reasonable, too! When I or my husband are sick, we put off going to the doctor because of the cost, but when our furry baby needs attention, we take him without regard to the cost.
purina, sci-die, eukanuba...cardboard flavored like meat...
do you know what "byproducts" are? in chicken its beaks feet and feathers...in beef and pork and lamb its snouts, hoof and occasionally tail...
theres no meat in meat byproducts lol.
corn is not digestable, its a filler, bulk, fiber yes, but it comes out (just like in people) the same way it goes in. it has no nutritional value and is the biggest grain allergen.
read the bag...would you eat it? the byproducts alone are enough for me to say hell no...and thats before we get to the tonns of salt and multiple chemicals further down the list (and yes i do try to apply this same thing to my own dietary needs too)
raw is the best you can do for your pet, its as close to natural as possible...
beyond that there are plenty of good foods for a much lower price, look at the bags and avoid corn and byproducts...the first ingredient should be identified meat or meat meal (ie chicken or chicken meal, lamb, beef ect (meal is simply boiled, ground meat))
if your on a realy tight budget, and have a costco neerby, kirkland is a good food for a great price, its certainly not the best food but it is a GOOD food, no byproducts, no corn...and you can get a 40lb bag for about $25!
do you know what "byproducts" are? in chicken its beaks feet and feathers...in beef and pork and lamb its snouts, hoof and occasionally tail...
theres no meat in meat byproducts lol.
I eat chicken feet, tail meat is a delicacy, the snout and head of a (beef, pig, lamb, goat etc) animal is one of the choicest parts one can cook.
I also eat the internal organs except for liver and brains. If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for Nanners. (except for the poisonous-to-dogs food items of course)
Guess I feed myself non-nutritional byproducts then?
You need to be careful as to the type of food as you say your dog has special dietary needs, unfortunately, I can't offer any advice on that one. Personally I would stick with the vet's recommendation. Hopefully other members will be able to advise on a cheaper alternative.
Our dog doesn't have any digestive issues or inbalances that I know of, so I can feed him just about anything.
What I have found is certain dog foods cause my dog to be loose so those are a no, no. Certain dog foods he simply doesn't like and its usually the high/better quality dog food.
The dog food he loves encourages his hyperactivity so again I try avoid those foods where possible. My dog is like a child if you were to compare a McDonalds to a good wholesome Sunday Roast, he would choose a McDonalds everytime.
I give my lad a portion of our home made meals (onion free of course), as a supplement to his own food. I don't feed raw, I don't know enough about the correct nutritional balance for dogs. So I get him a knuckle bone from the local butcher at least once a week which I also class as a supplement. I believe it helps to clean his teeth too (not certain though - but for a dog who is almost 6 he has a nice clean set of teeth).
Pet food is expensive here in England too, the special veterinary diet food is exceptionally expensive. I hope there is a cheaper alternative for your dog.
font...could you healthily survive on chicken feet as your source of protein for every day of the rest of your life?
what about ground beaks and feathers? do they sound apealing too?
the point being the meat content of the items that "byproduct" is composed of is not realy "meat" but more cartlidge and fat.
not to mention theres the processing that goes into those items first, its not human food grade.
We recently switched our dogs to Bil-Jac. I was very impressed with the way they make their food. Our dogs really like it.
Of course, they get a lot of raw veggies when we are cooking. As soon as the cutting board comes out of the cabinet, they are in the kitchen staring at the floor - waiting.
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