Research on Dog Food & Information

[MS_PAWS]

Recommend Books
The BARF Diet by Ian Billinghurst

Raw Dog Food: Make It Easy for you and your dog by Carina Beth MacDonald

Dr Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats by Dr Richard Pitcairn

K9 by Monica Segal

Natural Nutrition for Dogs & Cats: The Ultimate Diet by Kymythy Schultze

Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog by Wendy Volhard

The Holistic Dog Book by Denise Flaim

Food Pets Diet For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food by Ann N. Martin

Protect Your Pet: More Shocking Facts by Ann N. Martin

Recommend Sites
Pet Food Ingredients Revealed!
http://www.newstarget.com/Report_pet...edients_1.html

Supplements Diets & what to feed and NOT feed
http://www.treshanley.com/cic/diet.html

Dog Food Project
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

Dog Aware
http://dogaware.com/

Food Allergies & Intolerance in Dogs
http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=143

About Pet Food List
http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/

The Dog Food Comparison Charts
http://www.doberdogs.com/menu.html

Dog Food: Action Againist Poisoning
http://www.actionagainstpoisoning.co...2/page292.html

Dogs keep dying: Too many owners remain unaware of toxic dog food
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/...dying.ssl.html

Get the Facts: What's Really in Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

Food Additives to Avoid
http://www.mihog.org/diet/preserve.phtml

What should I avoid in my Pet Food?
http://www.mihog.org/diet/foodingredavoid.phtml

High Quality Pet Food
The Honest Kitchen (Raw Feeding)

Eagle Pack Holistic Select

Canidae

By Nature

Wellness

Natura (California Natural, Innova, EVO)

Nature's Variety (Raw Feeding)

Go! Natural

Verus

Wysong

Low Quailty Pet Food
Iams

Eukanuba

Ol' Roy

Bil-Jac

Science Diet

Purina One

Purina Pro Plan

Purina Dog Chow

Purina Puppy Chow

Purina Beneful

Purina HiPro

Pro Pac

Purina Mills PMI Nutrition

Purina Mills Exclusive

Nutro Natural Choice

Nutro Max

Nutro Natural Choice Ultra

Pedigree

Royal Canin

Kibbles 'n Bits

Diamond

Alpo

Nature's Recipe

[Giselle]

I disagree. I do not think Nutro or Diamond are low quality foods. Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul is made by Diamond and it, imo, is just as good, if not better, than Wysong.

I've fed Wysong, Wellness, Innova, Innova EVO, and Canidae, and now I'm back to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. I used to feed raw, but that got too complicated. The big dogs are on CSFTDLS and Lucky is on homemade.

Besides - it's what food works best for your dog that really matters.

[Jessika]

Some of Diamond's formulas contain by-products and what-not and I would not feed them to my dogs, but one of their formulas (I believe it's the lamb and rice? Please correct me if I'm wrong) is actually really very good. And I disagree with Nutro being "low-quality" too. The two brands definitely aren't the best you can feed and definitely aren't up there with brands such as Innova or Canidae, but for the lower bracket price-range they're much better than other brands such as Science Diet or IAMS. I would classify them moreso... on the lower end of the high-quality scale. Nature's Recipe I had never thought to be a "low-quality" food, but I've never looked into that brand to know (it was a bit too pricey for me at the time when compared to Nutro).

But bottom line we must remember that we need to feed what works for us and for our pets. If a food works for you and your pet is happy and healthy on it, then don't worry about it. If you're interested in learning more about nutrition and which foods are better, then educate yourself, do your own research, form your own opinions and then decide which is best for you and your pets. Because in my honest opinion the only "bad" food is no food at all

[MS_PAWS]

You honestly think wolves, dogs that are wild in Africa are giving high fat, sugar, by product, peanut hulls, corn for dinner? I don't think so! If you study the food industry I think you'd have a full understanding what not, what is going in your dog's systems

[Jessika]

You honestly think wolves, dogs that are wild in Africa are giving high fat, sugar, by product, peanut hulls, corn for dinner? I don't think so! If you study the food industry I think you'd have a full understanding what not, what is going in your dog's systems

I'm actually going through school to become a veterinary technician, so while I may not specialize in that particular field, I HAVE been educating myself on this area on my own for years now.

It's all opinion. And honestly, I would rather someone feed their pet Ol' Roy and love them than leave them tied in the backyard their entire life and not feed them at all.

EDIT: And I'm sure you'll also find that many people on this board also "study" the food industry... or at least, have done extensive research on foods and what goes into them. Many many members on this board are not ignorant to pet food and nutrition.

[MS_PAWS]

Bravo to you Jessika! I'm so glad you're very aware, and Ol' Roy's are not the BEST food in the industry either

I'm actually going through school to become a veterinary technician, so while I may not specialize in that particular field, I HAVE been educating myself on this area on my own for years now.

It's all opinion. And honestly, I would rather someone feed their pet Ol' Roy and love them than leave them tied in the backyard their entire life and not feed them at all.

[Jessika]

Bravo to you Jessika! I'm so glad you're very aware, and Ol' Roy's are not the BEST food in the industry either

No, I'm agreeing that Ol' Roy is probably, in my opinion, one of the worst foods on the market, I would rather a dog eat that than not eat anything at all.

[MS_PAWS]

oh I misunderstood you. For a vet further in your hands PLEASE don't recommend science diet for prescription, my best choice would have to go with Royal Canin for prescription

No, I'm agreeing that Ol' Roy is probably, in my opinion, one of the worst foods on the market, I would rather a dog eat that than not eat anything at all.

[Giselle]

You honestly think wolves, dogs that are wild in Africa are giving high fat, sugar, by product, peanut hulls, corn for dinner? I don't think so! If you study the food industry I think you'd have a full understanding what not, what is going in your dog's systems

I never said that.

You claimed that Nutro and Diamond are low quality foods. CSFTDLS is made by Diamond. This is the shortened ingredient list of CSFTDLS:

Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, etc.

Is this high fat, sugar, by product, peanut hulls, and corn? In my opinion, this ingredient list is SUPERIOR to that of Canidae or Wysong (both of which I've fed).

I appreciate that you are attempting to educate us, but, please, I would advise you to refrain from making such blanket statements. I have read and "studied" on what goes in my dogs' systems and I choose to feed CSFTDLS made by DIAMOND.

[MS_PAWS]

I don't trust anything with Diamonds at all, and in case you forgotten some of their chain link products has been recalled

Made a oopies on the list, need to take off Wysong nothing but grain & grain
--------
Read this; Look what is on top of 5 ingrendients of each food
Canidae (All Life Stages)
Ingredients
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.

Infomature on Menadione (Vitamin K3)
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione

Nutro Natural Choice
Ingredients:
Lamb meal, rice flour, rice bran, rice gluten, ground rice, dried beet pulp, sunflower oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of natural vitamin E), poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of natural vitamin E), natural flavor, potassium chloride, dried kelp (source of iodine), dried egg product, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, taurine, choline chloride, biotin, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), manganous oxide, garlic flavor, niacin, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), calcium iodate, vitamin D3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), sodium selenite, folic acid

Wysong
Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken giblets, ground brown rice, ground wheat, ground corn, ground oat groats, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols as a source of vitamin E), eggs, plums, dried wheat grass powder, dried barley grass powder, whey, dried yogurt, lecithin, citric acid, natural extractives of sage, natural extractives of rosemary, dried kelp, fish oil, salt, garlic, black pepper, artichoke, l-carnitine, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation product, dried entercococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus lactis fermentation product, dried saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation product, dried aspergillus niger fermentation product, ascorbic acid, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, manganese proteinate, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper proteinate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, vitamin A acetate, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
INGREDIENTS
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecieum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Diamond
Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, whole grain white rice, wheat flour, rice bran, beet pulp, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, brewers dried yeast, potassium chloride, salt, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, chondroitin sulfate, beta carotene, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, L-Carnitine, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganous sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (source of vitamin K activity), riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid

[Spiritwind]

Just curious what formulas of Royal Canin you think are low quality?

Some of their formulas are very good. In the past I have fed Royal Canin Natural Blend puppy and adult formulas... the ingredients are quite good, not the best out there, but not horrible.. far better than many other brands..

Royal Canina Natural Blend Adult:

Chicken meal, brown rice, chicken, oatmeal, brewers rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), natural chicken flavor, dried tomato pomace, flax, fish meal, brewers dried yeast, dried egg product, canola oil

Currently I feed most of my dogs Canidae and Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice formula. While I don't care for some of the Diamond products, and wouldn't feed them to my dogs.... Diamond Naturals has very good ingredients and my dogs have done very well with it.

[MS_PAWS]

Looks like I'm doing your home work

Chain linked companies
Royal Canin & the Prescription Royal Canin has two different ingredients
http://www.mars.com/global/Global+Br...oyal+canin.htm

Diamond was on Recall List
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/diamond12_05.html

Also food chain linked by Schell & Kampeter, Inc.

Canidae is their own private companies and I trust them

[Spiritwind]

Looks like I'm doing your home work

Chain linked companies
Royal Canin & the Prescription Royal Canin has two different ingredients
http://www.mars.com/global/Global+Br...oyal+canin.htm

Diamond was on Recall List
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/diamond12_05.html

Also food chain linked by Schell & Kampeter, Inc.

Canidae is their own private companies and I trust them

You certainly aren't doing my home work, I know what I am feeding my dogs...

Yeah.. the recall back in 2005, they are fine now. Also the recall was for a toxin found in the corn. Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice has no corn, wheat, soy or by-products in their ingredients which I listed below:

Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

[Giselle]

*sigh* One more time. Take a gander at the 5 ingredients again:
Canidae:
-Chicken Meal
-Turkey Meal
-Brown Rice
-White Rice
-Lamb Meal

VS

CSFTDLS:
-Chicken
-Turkey
-Chicken meal
-Ocean fish meal
-Cracked pearled barley

Final rundown: Canidae has 3 proteins and 2 grains in its first five ingredients. CSFTDLS has 4 protein and 1 grain in its first five. How is the former necessarily better than the latter? I fail to comprehend. Perhaps you should do my homework for me, too.

After several years of doing this, I will not argue which kibble is better than which kibble. I will defend what I feed my pups, however, if you so choose to attack my choices.

ETA: As for private companies (not sure which company is public or government-run, anyhow), Petcurean makes Go Natural. Several years ago, Go Natural endured a mass recall. Doesn't instill too much confidence in me.

[Jessika]

Final rundown: Canidae has 3 proteins and 2 grains in its first five ingredients. CSFTDLS has 4 protein and 1 grain in its first five. How is the former necessarily better than the latter? I fail to comprehend. Perhaps you should do my homework for me, too.

My only thought on why that would be considered not as good as Canidae is because JUST Chicken and Turkey, not Chicken Meal or Turkey Meal, includes water and will fall down in the ingredient list once the food is cooked. The ingredient list, however, is made BEFORE the food is cooked, hence why it would seem those first two ingredients have a larger volume to be #1 and #2 spots, because they contain water, which will be cooked out in the cooking process.

Meals, though (Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal), contain no water and will remain the same through the cooking process.

At least that is my understanding, so please correct me if I'm wrong

EDIT: And MS_PAWS, just a helpful tip here, it's definitely OK to educate people, but it is certainly not ok to appear to attack them for their personal choices. I know you're just trying to help but maybe be a little less harsh in your replies. I know some people don't like seeing a "good" and "bad" list of foods and seeing their food fall under the "bad" list, so some may take offense to that, when I think it's meant as a learning/educating purposes, but we all just need to remember... these dogs are loved. They are being fed something, and regardless of what food that may or may not be, it's better than being fed nothing at all! But more importantly, they all have loving homes and families.

If I was judged by what I fed my pets... I must be a terrible person since my kitty is eating IAMS along with the rest of my in-law's cats... it's very hard to separate him from the food when they free-feed their cats, and I can't expect them to change their habits just for me, so I gave in and he's doing just fine, albeit a lot more shedding than when he was on Felidae lol. His coat is still as glossy as ever, and I am always getting comments on how he is one of the softest cats people have ever pet. My in-laws have around eight cats, nine including mine, and they just can't afford the higher quality cat food. I'll admit, it's a bit pricey, but at least they stick to one brand instead of just buying what's on sale every month.