[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

ok. need to ask some advice.
I know on some other posts, brands of food have been discussed...help me out a little more.

Went to puppy class today, and the trainer talked about food. Brinkley and the cats eat Science Diet, and the outside dogs eat pedigree...
Well, he said any food with a filler such as rice/cornmeal etc as the first ingredient is not that good for them. (such as pedigree)
He said the main ingredient should be a meat. He told a story of how he used to feed his dog Ol Roy and he had tons of health probs and hair falling out etc...changed his food, and he was fine.
SO, I went to Walmart and bought the walmart lamb and rice...first ingredient...Lamb! Only a few dollars more than pedigree, so ok with me.
Got home and looked at the Science Diet bag of puppy food, and (first few ingredients...in order....CORNMEAL, chicken by product meal, soybean meal, animal fat....etc. This is in the EXPENSIVE stuff...that my vet recommends...(what the heck is chicken BY PRODUCT MEAL?)
So my question is....is this guy right or not? Our outside dogs poo is softer, so if this firms it up some by changing the food...great...plus, the lab does seem to shed alot...maybe this will help...she is not going bald, but seems to shed more than normal lately.
My budget could sure stand to give up the Science Diet...if Walmart Maxximus brand is just as good, or even better- if indeed you should have meat as a first ingredient...(less food money means more toys money...hehe)
Any advice on this? Does it even make sense? Just re-read it, and it seemed to ramble...

 

[Elegant]

Hi,
I agree. I have a 14 year old Beagle and a 3 year old Rottie, and I feed them Beneful. I used to feed them Pro Plan, but my friend told me that her Boxer loves Beneful, so I switched. They love it, and the first ingredient is meat. My Rottie's fur is shinier, she is more energetic, and my Beagle was more energetic too. It is pricier, but I feel it is worth it.

Do not buy Iams...they do cruel animal testing. I just saw someone else's post on this board somewhere and I looked and saw that they do animal testing on Beagles and other large dogs. www.iamscruelty.com

So, I do agree...buy dog food with meat as the first ingredient. I feed Chanel two natural foods that my breeder gave me when I bought her. I also mix the food with some chopped up chicken.

Just my two cents!
~Elegant

 

[mee]

i feed holistic food to my baby, i was feeding her eukanuba for 2 months (from my breeder too) and when i first attended obdiedence training, my trainer told the class about holistic dog food, all natural !

i will never feed big company dog food again !

(also my other Maltese back home with my parents was eating Pedigree which was manufactured in southeeast asia...there was MOLD in all the products and suddenly all the hundreds of dogs in my country died or got sick from it
fortunately my dog didnt die but did go under surgery and her tongue was infected so she has only half a tongue..the vet had to cut the infected side of her tongue

also she was hospitalized for 3 weeks..it was a huge thing in my country and all over the news and the internet..thousands of dogs died...i posted this in MO long time ago but it was never posted)

so i switched dog food for my baby that i have here, im feeding her Solid Gold now but i received a sample of Wellness and she loves it ! so i bought a 15lbs pack of wellness and will start on it after she finishes Solid gold

i heard bad things about the big dog food companies (using corn, animal byproducts etc) and looked at the back of each package,and yeah, there is always corn in it which is a bad ingredient

my trainer recommeneded

wellness
bench and field holistic natural (u can buy it at Trader Joes)
Innova
Wysong
Solid gold
Pinnacle (Breeders-choice.com)
dick van patten's natural balance

for holistic dog food
it feels so good to post the brand names unlike MO

hope this helps

 

[Elegant]

Hi Mee..

What is the difference, I mean, what makes the all natural foods better...what does it do that is different, you know? Basically, what is good or beneficial in using all natural foods? Does it make the Maltese coat better, less tear staining?

Thanks!

 

[mee]

Hi Elegant
i got a handout from my trainer..its 2 pages long but i'll just type everything out

Dry kibble
AVOID:

-soybean, wheat, ground corn : these can be difficult to digest and are common allergens in dogs as well as humans

-artificial preservatives such as BHA, BHT, Ethoxyquin:these can be toxic/carcinogenic

-meat and poultry "by- products" and "digest" : a cheap source of protein. poultry by-products can contain necks, beaks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines,and can be difficult to digest

-grain by-products such as brewer's rice, mill run, middlings, ground sorghum, peanut hulls:cheap low quaility sources of carbohydrate and fiber

-animal fat: can actaully be recycled restaurant grease. often sprayed onto cooked kibble to enhance flavor lost during processing, a more specific source such as "chicken fat" is preferable.

-sweetners such as corn, syrup, sucrose, propylene glycolften used to enhance flavor of low-quality, otherwise unpalatable foods

LOOK FOR
-fresh, quality meals:a quality meal source should be the first ingrdient in a good dog food, and preferably, there should be other meats listed further down the line

-whole and natural veggies, fruits and grains:apples, blueberries, brown rice, barley, oatmeal etc. quality sources of fiber and nutrients.

-linoleic acid, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids:these essential fatty acids will help keep your dog's coat shiny and reduce/eliminate itching and dandruff.

-natural preservatives:rosemary ,vitamins c and e

-probiotics and prebiotics:lactobacillus acidophilus, inulin, etc


Wet/canned food
i usually dont recommend most canned dog foods because they are:not a necessary part of your dogs diet, not very nutritious-most canned food are 71%-78% moisture and very little (around 8%) protein. cause accelerated tartar and plaque bulidup on the teeth. can cause looser, larger stools, of very little value compared to the cost

if you are going to use a canned dog food, use a high-quality brand:use just enough to coat your dogs kibble and make it more palatable:brush your dogs teeth on a regular basis

BOTTOM LINE
feeding your dog a healthful , natural, nutritious diet is essential to their growth and good health
quality foods do not require that you feed as much quantity as cheaper foods (which saves you $$$) because they are more nutritionally dense.
stools tend to be firmer, smaller and less stinky when feeding highly digestible foods
vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed when they are in a more digestible base.
the doog stuff may cost you more financially now, but it will save you the expense of vet bills as your dog ages, as well as ensure that your dog ages healthfully gracefully and happily

*****
well thats what it says on my handout..i just trust my trainer a lot, shes very cool and knows a lot about dogs including health
so yeah, i hope i answerd your question but it is definately ur decision on what kind of food you should be feeding ur doggy. i just dont want to feed "bad stuff" to my baby

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Alot of the stuff to be avoided in that list is on the first few ingredient lines of my SCINCE DIET! That is themost expensive food out there, and what most vets recommend.

I have never heard of any of the brands you listed, which means I probably cannot get them anywhere close to me. Do they carry them at petco/petsmart? That is almost an hour away.

because they are more nutritionally dense.
stools tend to be firmer, smaller and less stinky when feeding highly digestible foods
vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed when they are in a more digestible base.

The science diet does this...smaller firm stools...less stinky for sure. My outside dogs that are on pedigree about gag me everytime I walk into their pen. Anyway, like you...I want to do what is right/best. I will talk to my vet...(even though I know he is going to suggest Science Diet...)
We have quiet a bit of it to finish before I can change Brinkley anyway.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[TikisMom]

Thanks for the great informatin mee. Realy makes me think..... I also feed Tiki Science Diet it is one I have to buy from my vet.... " dental " it is supposed to be high fiber keeping the teethe very clean. His stools are very dry and don't have much of an odor. I am going to check into this further more though. I love that we can post this stuff and appreciate all the input!

Judi

 

[LoveMaltese6820]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Elegant]

Wow Mee,
Thanks for taking the time to type up all of that information.
I need to check all of my dog food labels now.
~Elegant

 

[mee]

Im glad that i was a little help to everybody

yes, my trainer HATES science diet !!
she says that its the worst dog food out there !
my rooomate has 2 cats and was feeding them sciencediet but i gave her samples of Wellness Cat food, and they loved it so she switched to wellness too

you can buy Wellness from jbpet.com or drsfostersmith.com

i cant remember which site it was, i quickly flipped over both catalogs but i cant find it, but either one, i saw Wellness in the catalog so u can buy wellness from them...or if u search for wellness on the internet im sure there are sites that sell them..they arent that expensive either..i bought mine for about 25 dollars for 15pounds

Bench and Field holisitic, i can get them at Trader Joes..i live in the LosAngeles area so im not sure if there are other Traderjoes in other states..

Solid gold, dick van pattens natural balance, wysong, i think Petco sells them..u can search Petco.com and check..theres a BRAND search for dog food at petco.com and there were some holistic food..

My humane society sells Innova but ive seen them in other stores too i think..

anywayz, we always have the internet to get information hehe

 

[Toby's Mom]

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Originally posted by Nichole@Jul 25 2004, 01:35 PM
I feed Wally (the Beagle) Wal-Mart's Lamb and Rice mixture (are you talking about the one in the silver and green bag?). That is the one that the breeder was feeding him when we got him so I try to stick with it.


As for the chicken by products--that means that it is things like chicken beaks and feet ground up. UGH!

Also, many vets do not get a lot of training in the area of foods and nutrition for animals so they end up selling and promoting foods that the companies claim to be good. Hence why many vets say one food is good, but don't really know why. Question your vet about why they claim a particular food is so good--you may be surprised that they themself don't know.

nichole,

The walmart lamb/rice...Yes, that is what I bought for the lab and bassett hound last night. They turned up their nose at it, but of course then mixed it with some pedigree for now, and they ate it...I am sure it will take a few days to weeks before I see any difference. Unless I have to, because they are outside and often spill their food or it rains on them before they eat it all or something, I really don't want to spend high dollar on their food. Even though their pen is covered, their food is not always safe from the elements.

The chicken by products grosses me out too... and really when I looked at the list of ingredients inthe science diet puppy, there was no mention of "meat"- the other meat like ingredient was a chicken liver flavor and animal fat. I dont know. :wacko: Very confused about it too. I trust my vet, and Science Diet has been great for my cats, and seems to be fine for Brinkley.
But beside a bunch of vitamins and minerals in the ingredients, it sure doesn't seem to have much substance to it. I know when my cats were having some problems, he knew exactly which SD to put them on, and it all was fine. I really just don't want to think he is endorsing Science Diet b/c he gets some sort of kickback from it.

Where do you get biljac by the way?

 

[Toby's Mom]

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Ok...the whole grease thing grosses me out as much as the chicken beaks and feet thing! GROSS!!!!

Because we live in a very rural town....iams and science diet are the only top brand foods that I can get without driving almost an hour to petco/petsmart. I guess I can try some other foods and just make sure I make it there once a month.

Such decisions!! I really thought I was sold on Science Diet...and now...I am just really confused!

 

[Toby's Mom]

:excl:

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Yeah, I fuss about the cost, but a small bag of Science Diet has lasted us quite a while. So feeding Brinkley won't be that big of a problem, regardless of price. It is the food hogs that I have outside that are. A big bag of pedigree from sams was like 16 dollars or something...and it lasted just at a month...but if we could not make it to sams, both the farm store and walmart had it...no biggie.

I was looking at the canned Science Diet today...it is better as far as ingredients than the dry. It had chicken and liver...and didn't say "by products"- that made me feel a little better.

I may look for the biljac when I go to puppy classes saturday. see what i can find.

 

[Toby's Mom]

 

[pico's parent]

Wow! That was all great information. I have been searching for a low-protein, low-fat, high calorie food to replace the Science Diet l/d that Pico has to have because of his liver problem with Microvascular Dysplasia.

I am going to investigate the list that mee posted to see if any of them produce a diet food for liver ailments. I know I could probably make a home-made diet for Pico but I don't want him eating that much soft food. He needs kibble for his teeth because he doesn't like to chew bones.

TIP: I freeze his kibble in gallon sized freezer bags to keep it fresh. I tried the same with the canned that I mix in with it because it really seemed to sour after a while in the fridge but he won't eat it after it's been frozen. Go figure. And yes, I do thaw it first AND warm it up! <_<