Originally posted by Leah S:
The amino acid (what proteins are composed of)that comes from a plant is the same as the amino acid that comes from an animal. There are many amino acids that are only available in animal sources, but if the animo acid is present in both a vegetable and an animal, there is chemically no difference, and it is alot cheaper to get that amino acid from an ear of corn instead of a cattle, and then smaller amounts of meat can be used to provide just the essential amino acids. So, even though cats are carnivores (and remember, dogs aren't), I do not have a problem with Iams, or any other pet food, using corn protein, because they also have animal source proteins in their foods.
I know you guys get tired of hearing my opinions but here I go again! When did dogs stop being carnivores??? In the wild they eat other animals mostly and will only eat grains if nothing else is available. A carnivore is a meat eater and dogs are meat eaters so I believe a dog is a carnivore!

Again, while I think Wysong is comparable to some other premium dog foods in quality, there are a few things I do not like about it and I feel don't justify the cost. The main things being "Ground Corn and Ground Wheat". It is true that ground corn is an excellent source of carbohydrates, however; it is also a common cause of allergies in our pets. The same with ground wheat and soy products.

I have seen numerous skin problems in the Golden breed over the years. It may be with other breeds as well but I work mainly with Goldens so that is where I base my opinions on. I would estimate over 90% of the skin problems are due to nutritional allergies from the grains in dog food. I always recommend switching to a good quality meat based product such as Innova and the cases of skin problems almost always clear up and don't reoccur. For dogs that continue with skin allergies on primarily meat based diets (and this number is really low) then I recommend California Natural made by Nutura.

There are some dogs that do well on grain based foods. If yours are one of them then by all means keep them on it. They are less expensive and easier on the pocket book. But if you have a dog who always seems to have skin and coat problems then switch to a meat based product as fast as you can!

I checked the ingredients list in Wysong and the second and third ingredients are Ground Corn and Ground Wheat. It also had soybeans as the number 8 ingredient. This is enough for me to not try the product. Innova on the other had has Turkey, Chicken, and Chicken meal as the top three ingredients. Both products cost about the same so I will go with the Innova and get more meat with no ground corn, ground wheat, or soybeans!

If you want to feed your dog a raw diet then may I suggest BilJack raw frozen food. There are two reasons I don't feed this to my dogs. 1. It is very very expensive (even more than Innova) and 2. It is very very expensive.

Okay....I'm off the soapbox now. I think the bottom line is feed your dog what is healthy for them and what you can afford. If you have several dogs and one is having problems and the other is not then feed the one having problems a better diet and leave the others alone. Common Sense, I think?

I hope all you Pet Talkers don't boot me off the site for always being so opinionated.

[ November 12, 2001: Message edited by: Dixieland Dancer ]