Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 5, 2009 at 5:32pm

Cindi, I don't feed what I feed because it's "all I can afford." If my dog had health issues or allergies and required $50-a-bag food, by all means I would buy it for him.

He is healthy. His coat gleams; if he were a horse I would say that since he just mostly finished his major seasonal shed and his new coat is coming in, his coat has "bloomed." His weight is good, his teeth are glistening, he poops twice AM and twice PM like clockwork and his stools are firm and don't carry much odor.

I can't remember the last time he threw up, other than the time he ate something gross in the woods. His nails are great, his energy is high, and his muscles are so developed that the ones in his hind end are actually "cut" looking, like a person who works out. He has never had gas in his life. He hardly ever scratches. His personality is pretty much flawless.

Now, if he looks and feels so great and is so healthy on Iam's, which my vet recommended, why would I switch to something else that costs more just because I CAN afford it? I realize you have cast a judgement on foods like Iam's and Eukanuba, but please do give the consideration that other people have read the labels and the research and feel that those are actually very good foods, and have the happy, healthy dogs to prove it.

I can lead you to a website where hundreds of people are totally convinced that a starch-free diet will cure your arthritis. They have a doctor's study they point to (which has never been replicated, by the way) and a whole lot of anecdotal stories about how much better they feel. It doesn't mean they are right, just that they are passionate.

Moreover, I agree about early adolescence, but most of the sources I see point much more to 1) Growth hormones in cows and 2) Estrogen-mimicking plastics and 3) Possibly birth control pills in the water, rather than corn. I do know corn syrup is considered a cause of rising weights, but again corn syrup is not whole corn.

I am much more concerned personally about the antibiotics in our food-animals than with corn. I am not saying that makes me right, just saying I can also point you to a whole bunch of studies about that. We make educated choices about what we eat and feed our pets, based on the evidence. As I say, I think each pet is different. Just a few years ago Eukanuba was considered the best of the best. Then all these very expensive foods come on the market and there is a grass-roots group online (not driven by vets or breeders) who insist the food that just 5 years ago were considered "premium" are now crap. I have, as I said, my own suspicions about who is really driving the push to move people away from the major name brands and towards the, for lack of a better word, exotic formulas.

Permalink Reply by Cindi on August 5, 2009 at 8:04pm

Beth, I'm sorry you took offense to what I wrote. It certainly wasn't meant that way. And, I did say that of the "store" brands that folks buy, I like Iams, Eukanuba and ProPlan. So many of us live on limited incomes nowadays. And many of my regular customers are pressured by economics. It was not meant to imply you were less than caring for your corgis.

I'm sure there are many companies and such behind the changes we've seen. And, I am a big believer in label reading. When I consult with customers, I ask a myriad of questions about their dogs and we do label reading before they make a decision on what they should by. I'm by no means partial to a "brand."

So, I apologize for offending you.

Permalink Reply by Beth on August 5, 2009 at 8:50pm

No need to apologize, and I am truly not offended! I just wanted to make clear that there are other reasons, besides lack of label-reading and cost, why people choose what they choose. I look for named protein source as the first ingredient, and I look for a protein content of around 25%, and because my dog is a stupidly "easy keeper" and gets a pitiful amount of food, I look for a relatively low calorie-count per cup. That is how I settled on what I feed now.

Personally ingredients like saskatoon berries and tomato pumace don't really impress me on a label. If there is some research that these things truly provide a health benefit for dogs, then by all means I will begin to look for it.

I also see great irony when people, say, explain that they won't feed grain because dogs "in nature" (as if there were ever a wild Pomeranian) wouldn't eat grain, and then feed something with sweet potatoes as the primary carbohydrate. I scratch my head and wonder how many "wild" dogs eat sweet potatoes, or tomato pumace, for that matter. LOL I just think that there is more that goes into the decision making for SOME people than a true idea of what is healthiest for the dog. It makes US feel good to see spinach and carrots and those saskatoon berries on the label, regardless of any real benefit to the dog.

Having said that, what I DO have a problem with is when foods like Beneful advertise they are made with real chicken and vegetables and show pictures of lovely looking food all ready for a human's dinner table, and then you read the label and see that there is no chicken to be seen anywhere near the top, and it's primarily cereal.

I do think it's good to encourage people to read labels. But of course we all have different things we are looking for on that label.

Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on August 5, 2009 at 2:40am

I do read the labels, and Sidney's food is not made with corn. He started off on Wellness, then we switched to Blue Buffalo. HIs coat is gorgeous. He poops about twice a day and it is very easy to pick up and not very smelly at all.

Permalink Reply by Andrew Little on August 5, 2009 at 4:00pm

We feed our guys a brand called Holistic Blend, the ingredients are Low ash chicken meal, whole ground brown rice, hulless barley, whole oats, chicken fat (preserved with rosemary), rosemary , ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), natural chicken flavour, tomato pomace, wild salmon, dried whole eggs, nutritional yeast, kelp, sunflower oil, garlic oil, whlole dried carrots, whole dried potatoes, beta carotene, calcium carbonate, chelated minerals (zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, iron proteinate), sodium selenite, potassium chloride, cobalt carbonate, calcium iodate, vitamin A supplement, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, biotin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin K1 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin C supplement, folic acid. They only sell an "all stages" formula but when Oliver was a puppy we gave him a product they have called booster plus and that gave him all of the extra preotein he needed. As far as Jake (who is prone to seizures) we used to feed him Pedigree and when we switched foods his seizures didn't disappear but they don't happen as frequently and they aren't as severe. Check out their website www.holisticblend.com . They have some good products like natural de wormer and some natural suppliments for arthritis and other joint problems.

Permalink Reply by Jen S. on August 5, 2009 at 4:46pm

I feed her Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, dry mixed with wet. The price is comparable to Iams, but the quality is infinitely better. No corn for me. I get compliments on her coat all the time :)

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 5, 2009 at 6:46pm

Chicken Soup for the dog Lover's Soul is one on the Journal book also along with many, many more!

Permalink Reply by Cheryl Nickel on August 5, 2009 at 5:15pm

We feed all three of our dogs (Cardigan, Brittany & English Setter) Nature's Variety Prairie & Instinct dry kibble twice a day, morning & evening. I add two squirts of salmon oil & a spoonful of pumpkin to each meal along with a little bit of banana, or green beans, or sweet potato, or beets, or carrots. I have had them on this regimen for two years. My dogs are never gassy & have nice firm stools twice a day like clockwork. Their coats are shiny and we experience very little shedding. My vet even commented on how little Maggie (Cardigan) sheds when I bring her in. The are very happy and healthy and we haven't had any tummy issues at all.

Permalink Reply by Boo Buchheit on August 5, 2009 at 6:25pm

No their food does not have corn and I do read the labels..even though I have to get my glasses to see them.

Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on August 5, 2009 at 6:33pm

You're telling me! I had such trouble reading labels the other day (even with my glasses on) I had to go buy one of those credit-card sized magnifier cards! Sad but true. That's life!

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on August 5, 2009 at 6:47pm

So nice you get out your glasses for that important stuff!

Permalink Reply by Sunni A. on August 6, 2009 at 12:05am

No, though not because I heard it on a website beforehand, but because Eddy's breeder said his parents both have a corn intolerance. So we chose a lamb/rice puppy kibble. His poo's are delightfully solid. Only after the fact did I read up on how stuffing your puppy with high amounts of pretty much ANY filler can possibly contribute to food allergies later on. Makes sense, like how being stuffed with store bought milk as a child can possibly lead to lactose intolerance in adulthood.

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