Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 4, 2009 at 9:01pm

This is from a place called "The Dog Food Project":

"►Corn often gets an undeserved bad reputation. While it is not acceptable as a main source of protein in a dog food (as it is used in combination with corn gluten), as a source of carbohydrates it is no better and no worse than other grains in terms of nutritional value and digestibility. The starch part of corn is highly digestible but the whole ground product has a higher fiber content than other grains (around 7%), which results in slightly larger stools - often incorrectly interpreted as lack of digestibility. Unless an individual dog is intolerant or allergic to corn, there is no need to avoid products which include it in reasonable amounts."

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts

To each his own. We had a fairly lengthy discussion about this in another thread, and I posted some links to scientific studies about digestibility of corn.

I wonder, sometimes, if people pay as much attention to the diet of the critter at the handle end of the leash as they do to the one at the clip end. LOL Ever read the ingredients on some of the foods WE are eating. And I'm not talking about "junk" foods either.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 4, 2009 at 9:22pm

Unfortunately sometimes people go by what has been suggested and many companies have changed owners and what may have been "good" no longer has the same ingredients as they may have and so people may buy thinking it's a good brand. I have been very surprised when I have read the label and found out that corn was a 2nd ingredient in a brand but more expensive food!

If you think of it...the same thing happens with the handle end of the leash ( I like that). I know exactly what you are saying as I make our food from scratch (and dog treats) but it's very sad to see what advertising has done to entice people and mislead them! I won't say more as I could go on for pages!

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 4, 2009 at 9:43pm

I think the important thing is to maintain respect and an open mind, and I must say you have always been very pleasant about your beliefs! I don't like being accosted by the Dog Food Police, and who would? There is a difference between advocating a belief and laying a guilt trip on people. I believe you do the former rather than the latter.

I feed what I honestly think you would consider a lower quality food, but we are happy with it. It does have lamb meal as the first ingredient (NOT by-product, and I realize those are two different things) and rice as the second, but it has some of the things you probably say to avoid.

My own experience with corn as the main grain wasn't great. Jack was fine on it til he was almost two, then all of a sudden he started getting messy poops. Not diarrhea, just a bit soft, but since he has a bad habit of walking off in mid-poop, he was making a mess. We also were looking for a food with a slightly lower calorie count (for weight control) but still with meat or meat meal as #1 ingredient, and that is how we switched to lamb and rice. So if I were to go just on my own experience, I would say "Oh, corn, yuck!"

But my parents' dog is 6 and she is very active; she is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and swims and retrieves and runs in the woods for miles several days a week. She uses a chicken-and-corn formula (the same one that did not agree with Jack) and is in fabulous condition, and as you may or may not be aware Chessies have very special oil-infused coats, so any sign of ill health quickly shows in a bad coat. And her breeder also feeds chicken-and-corn, and she shows and field trials and is very successful.

I don't think all dogs are nearly the same in their energy requirements or feeding requirements, and I think it's up to each of us to find what our own dog thrives on, or does not.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 4, 2009 at 10:05pm

Thank you....I try to be careful with what I say....and that sometimes is difficult for me! I can't afford to feed the "best" food...whatever that may be...so the food I buy is probably mid-grade but has the foods I believe to be good just as you feed the food that you works for you.I started this because I feel that some people have no idea what dog food can include and that is my point. I did not know that sometimes the reason a higher protien food has the higher amount is do to feathers ground up in the food...this is what my vet said. Years ago most dog foods were probably the same and I bet they all had corn. Same with people food...we all have our opinions and some will never know whet they are eating.

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 4, 2009 at 10:14pm

Personally I am more concerned with people feeding stuff like Beneful, with no actual meat to be found and food dyes to make it pretty colors, and sugar (!!!!) in the ingredients.

I think there is a difference between having corn included in a list of several ingredients, with a few high-quality protein sources near the top; and having it be the primary ingredient. Feeding a dog what is the equivalent of Kix is probably not really the best thing.

Having said that, my cat has for years been fed Friskies. I only recently thought to check the ingredients and I never would have started her on it if I knew then what I know now, and yet she is 16 (moderately old for a cat) and in fabulous health except for some minor cataracts. I won't switch her now since she's done so well for so long on it.

I think the key is that people should not be afraid to try something different if their dog isn't in the best coat, or doesn't seem to hold muscle tone, or has bowel issues or gets hot spots, etc etc.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 4, 2009 at 10:53pm

I have a 12 year old cat that threw up almost daily for years and I finally switched him to Taste of the Wild ( after trying many foods)and he hasn't thrown up since! They also have this for dogs!

Permalink Reply by Cindi on August 4, 2009 at 9:54pm

We don't feed food with corn. We feed a grain-free diet since a couple of our dogs have issues with allergies. As one who taught nutrition classes, I'm not a fan. This is a website some might find interesting. If it affects humans, it will affect our dogs.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/04/Corn-...

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 4, 2009 at 10:01pm

The article you linked to is primarily about high fructose corn syrup, which is mainly glucose (that is, sugar).

Corn and corn syrup are not at all the same thing. Is there a different article you meant to link to?

Permalink Reply by Cindi on August 5, 2009 at 10:24am

My main thought here is how corn has been subsidized over the past 30 or so years. I've noticed a marked difference in when our children enter adolescence since that time, as well as an increase in certain cancers and diabetes. If it will affect us that way, the possibility that it will affect our animals adversely is a consideration. I'm certainly not a food nazi when it comes to how we feed our animals. But I am a firm believer in buying the best I can afford. If all one can afford is Iams, then by all means feed it. Actually, considering meat content, of all the less expensive brands, Iams, Eukanuba and ProPlan seem to have a good meat content.

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 5, 2009 at 12:39pm

I agree with you and that is part of being a label reader...another food recommended (or ok'd as a good dog food) in The Whole Dog Journal is Premium Edge it is a premium food from Diamond foods and relatively cheap....this is what I feed my dogs and you can find it by going to premium edge and then finding the dealer locater...not all stores carry this even though they carry the Diamond foods. I do think that some of our dogs illness may be do to their foods...why do they need "pretty" colored food? Is it for them? Or cuz it looks so nice to us so we think we're being nice to them. There's many other uneeded ingredients in dog food that may not be healthy....what did dogs live on years ago before they were domesticated? I could go on and on...but I won't!

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 5, 2009 at 5:21pm

Here's where I'll quibble. :-) Our dogs as we know them did not exist before they were domesticated. They were bred from wolves but are very far removed from that. Wolves eat fur and skin and bones and offal; I don't think we'll be feeding THAT any time soon. But no, our critters were selectively bred by humans, and therefore artificially selected to survive and even thrive on what we fed them, not on what they would have gotten by hunting.

Moreover, what our current dogs' ancestors ate varied widely by breed. Do you think that Huskies in the tundra had at all a similar diet to a poor man's terrier living in the north of England, on whatever bits of scraps a family who could barely feed their own children had left after mealtime? Or as Pharoah hounds raised by royalty in Egypt?

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 5, 2009 at 6:57pm

I think John commented on his dog's raw diet and I know people who fed this and it did include not only organ meat but also the full raw chicken with bones (chicken) don't get brittle until cooked.

Yes dogs do have different diets and we have to make informed decisions as to what we want to feed our own dogs...but...I believe that just as we as people (me included) may want to eat and not know what is in our food at those "binge times" we can choose to be aware that we may be paying as much $$$ for something that is much less healthy for our beloved corgis.

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