frostfirestandards

Ok, someone please tell me WHY we need to feed our dogs godawful expensive foods. Grainfree, holistic,organic,limited ingredients...its mind boggling.

I feed Merrick, which is up there, but I have seen dogs fed strictly whatever was on sale at the grocery store the day they ran out of food, that are healthy, shiny, no problems.


so really, is it just the "you feed less, you clean up less" or is there another reason behind it?
Im not talking about having to feed a certain food because of allergies or whatever, just wondering if for normal,healthy dogs, the only reason to feed a high quality kibble is less poo, or if there is more to it.

Fluffyspoos

Well, they may look healthy and shiny, and I don't doubt that, but how much more improvement to their appearance and health do you think would be visible if they were fed a higher grade food?

partial2poodles

Foods that are NOT human grade are not fit for MY dogs. The meats are denatured with acids and peteoleum distillates. The carbodydrates are dusty, filthy fragments that are leftovers after the REAL whole grains are used for other things. Meat and bone meal are equivilent to crematory ashes. Corn is not little yellow kernals og Green Giant corn. It includes husks, cobs, silk, roots and stalks. What dog needs to eat corn stalks in its diet. Meats can range from cancerous cows to laboratory monkeys....its protein and its sold by the tonage to the BIG companies. The smaller companies are more conscientious about where their ingredients come from and they pay more for it in order to not subject their dlients dogs to KNOWN carcinogens etc. I am always on a rant about dog food. Check out my website page on dog foods. Www.barkingbeautiessalon.com

Rockporters

The food thing drives me crazy too. Jasper came with Innova Adult, which I've not been impressed with so far. Today I got talked into EVO Herring & Salmon for the puppy. I have to wonder how healthy the high protein diet will be in the long run for a breed that can be prone to kidney issues. It also escaped me when reading the label in the store that it has Glucosamine and Chrondointin in it :-/. Back to the drawing board I think. Innova was low in protein for a puppy, so I was supplementing with cottage cheese or chicken and veggies. With the high protein foods, I assume even more protein isn't necessary?? Confusing!

Eukanuba is the only food that my Golden could tolerate. She suffered for so long while we tried to find a food that worked. Innova, Solid Gold, Nutro, California Natural, etc... caused her so much misery :(. Once we discovered that she tolerated Eukanuba well, there was no way any other food was allowed in the house. (couldn't risk her getting a bite of it!) At 15 our Toy is doing well on Eukanuba Senior so we won't be switching him.

bigpoodleperson

Because my dog relies soley on me for his health and i take the responsibility seriously. I have the choice to eat crappy foods, he does not. I want him around for as long as possible too! It makes me sick what goes into some dog foods anyways that i could not consiously feed that to my dog.

frostfirestandards

Se thats what im wondering about. There are some dogs that only do well on things that are considered "Junk" by some owners.

I have tried EVO, TOTW ect I wasn't thrilled at all.
Dog food is beginning to be a really scary thing for me, I joke all the time that if I didnt have so many I would just cook for them.

it seems like every week there is a new recall being announced, and then you hear of silent ones... I mean seriously, something we NEED for our pets...kills them!!??

Its crazy and I personally will go nuts if I dwell on it for too long, it litterally makes my head hurt thinking about what I should or shouldn't feed them.
The best I can do by them, is provide something that agrees with their bellies, and provides good nutrition

frostfirestandards

MMMM ashes and silage sounds tasty

and monkeys? thats it, Im cooking for them I freaking hate monkeys!

LuckyPoodle

I try and feed the best food I can afford and that will work for my pet. My Miniature gets TOTW, but I am currently switching her over to BB. On the other hand - the other 3 poodles are on not so good foods, however they are healthy and happy. Zoe is 5 years old and has been on Hills I/D since she was 1.5 - no other food will agree with her super sensitive tummy. Sammi, who is 8 is on Hills R/D and has been since he was about 3 years old. He needs to stay on this food due to gall bladder diease. Spanky who is now 15 years old is on Purina and has been on it his who life - he is a very picky eater plus that is the only food that will agree with him. All of these dogs are healthy, happy, and with nice coats. However, even with them doing well on these lower grade foods and if they were able to eat a different food I would definitely try them on something better such as Innova, TOTW, BB, Wellness, etc.

Marian

I think what really sealed the deal for me was the last big recall of dog foods (including some brands I had previously held in higher esteem). I had no idea that so much of the filler was coming from China.

We had a chihuahua when I was a kid who lived to be about 13-14 years old. She was fed Ken-L-Ration (remember those patties that looked kind of plastic-y?). That was all we could get her to eat, so we let her eat it.

I feel very good feeding Wellness and I don't mind paying extra for it. If Teddy were to get sick from contaminated dog food, I would be devastated.

trj602

Nutrition is very important... I feed raw. I feed raw not only for less smell and smaller poops but also for better nutritional quality of the foods that my Spoos receive. There are several raw food co-ops and grocery stores that supply food at very economical prices. I feed whole foods as opposed to ground products.