Canine Plus Lifetime

[BG and Gavin]

Hi gang,

Anyone familiar with this food or can tell by the ingredients if it is any good?  I went food shopping again today and am getting more and more confused by the minute.  I was looking at grain free, but wonder if it's necessary.  Plus it's very expensive.  Any suggestions on a compromise between decent quality and price would be appreciated.  My head is spinning again!!

 

 

 

Canine Plus Lifetime Dog Food - is an excellent quality dog food at a reasonable price. All formulas are corn free, wheat free and by-product free with no artificial chemicals, colorings or preservatives. Four formulas to choose from. Suitable for all life stages.

 

Made in St. Mary's Ontario by Nutreco Canada Inc.

 

Lifetime Chicken & Oatmeal

Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Whole Barley, Chicken & Turkey Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Canola Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Flaxseed, Natural Flavours, Herring Oil (source of DHA/EPA), Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Calcium carbonate, Dicalcium phosphate, Manna oligosaccharides (MOS), Chicory Inulin (FOS), Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Chondroitin sulphate, (Vitamins) Vitamin supplements (A,D,E), Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12, Vitamin K, Folic Acid (Minerals) Zinc Sulphate, Ferrous Sulphate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Chelated Minerals (Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Iron), Manganese Sulphate, Copper Sulphate

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein - 25.0% min. Crude Fat - 15.0% min. Crude Fiber - 3.0% max. Moisture - 10.0% max. Omega 6 Fatty Acids - 2.80% Omega-3 Fatty Acids - 0.25% Calorie Content: 406 kcal/cup

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Where is the meat? Meal, fat, oil only.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Actually, having the protein source in the form of meal is not a bad thing. It's higher in protein and lower in water than the meat, chicken or fish by itself.
The problem with this food is that there's not enough protein in any form.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This food is lower in protein than I'd like, and the poultry fat as the fourth ingredient is a concern; animal fats within the first four or five ingredients have been linked to an increased risk of bloat, according to a study at Purdue University.
Otherwise, the ingredients look okay; no dangerous preservatives, no fish meal so no ethoxyquin, and no menadione. It would be a good idea to check on the source of the ingredients, i.e. do any of them come from China or other third world countries.
Not a great food, but if the ingredients aren't imported, the poultry fat and low protein would be my only concerns.

[BG and Gavin]

According to their ad, all ingredients for the food are obtained withing a 30 minute radius of the plant in St. Mary's Ontario (which is a small town about 2 hours from where I live).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's the thing about food prices; protein costs more than starch. Meat costs more than potatoes, and chicken costs more than rice. Although the USDA food pyramid would tell you otherwise, you could live without starch. You could not live without protein, and dogs need a much higher percentage of it in their diets than we do.
Food prices are different than prices of merchandise like appliances, clothing, cars, etc., in one respect: they actually do reflect the quality & expense that goes into the product. It isn't a case of a Coach purse costing three times more than a Liz Claiborne purse because of the label or snob appeal, but one serving the same purpose as the other...to carry your things. It really does cost more to raise cattle or chickens than it costs to grow potatoes. And nutritionally, you get more out of the expensive ingredients, for the most part. 100% fruit juice is more expensive than 10% fruit drink, and nutritionally, you get much much more for your money. The small private dog food companies that use high quality, nutritious, local ingredients spend much more to produce their products than the companies that import ingredients and pack the foods with lower quality fillers, and they have to charge more.
So although I understand that people have to follow a budget, to me, food is not the place to cut corners, for myself, or my dog. In the case of dog food, you really do get what you pay for.
Does this mean the food in question will kill or harm your dog? No. Does it mean your dog won't be as healthy as he would be if he ate Orijen? Nobody knows. I can't tell anyone else how to spend their money; for me, since my dog already has health problems, I make his nutrition a priority item in my own budget.

[BG and Gavin]

I totally appreciate the feedback, and I am not a cheapskate by any means,but the price of Orijen is $73,00 plus 13 percent tax per bag. Is that what others are paying? What percentages of protien vs fat should I be looking at? How do you tell how much of the protien comes from meat? Thanks Karen.

[ej]

Orijen is probably the most expensive brand of kibble in Singapore. We pay SGD218 for the largest pack (that is about USD150). But that's how it is here, we pay for the importation (no petfood manufacturer here), distributor profit margin, and whatever additional hidden costs. But DH and I agree that we will eat simple meals so that we can afford the best brand of kiddle for our two furkids.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I buy 5.5 lb bags of Orijen, which is not economical but it's what works best for my situation with Jack's allergies and my limited storage. So it costs me a lot more...since April 5th, exactly one month, I have paid $111 for Jack's Orijen, NOT including the 11% sales tax. Definitely a major budget item.
Regarding protein content, it's almost impossible for anyone who's not a chemist to determine what percentage of the overall protein content is coming from meat or other animal proteins; that's where looking at the ingredients themselves comes in. The same with the fat content.
25% protein and 15% fat in themselves are not bad or unusual for a food that contains grains. But what you would like see is protein content coming primarily from animal products, and fat content coming primarily from plant sources.
Animal protein is complete protein; this means that it contains all of the essential amino acids that the body cannot make on its own. It overly simplistic terms, when some of the essential aminos are missing, the rest of them are pretty useless as well, because all body functions require proteins composed of complicated chains of aminos, and when one is missing, the body is unable to complete the chain.
But the number on the bag is only telling us the percentage of crude protein in the food. Since grains and other plant foods contain some amino acids, these are included in the total amount of crude protein. If there are a lot of animal sources among the ingredients, we can be more confident that a good percentage of the total protein is the higher quality type needed for cell function. If there is only one meat product and lots of grains, we have to assume that the total amount of usable protein in this food may not be adequate. Will it sustain life? Sure. Will it help promote optimal health? Probably not.
(This inclusion of incomplete plant proteins in the total crude protein percentages required to meet minimum AAFCO standards, BTW, is what caused the deaths of thousands of pets in the 2007 recalls. Cheap fillers (wheat gluten, rice gluten, etc) were used to boost the protein contents under chemical analysis, and the melamine was substituted for gluten because it's nitrogen content made the gluten appear to have a higher protein content.)
When it comes to fats, we all know that unsaturated fats from plant sources are healthier than saturated fats from animal sources, for many reasons. The crude fat content on the label includes all fats, both unhealthy and beneficial. So here again, when we see that the 4th most abundant ingredient in a food is animal fat, we have to assume that the overall percentage of unhealthy saturated fat is too high for optimum health.
I know you are not a "cheapskate"! A cheapskate would be buying the cheapest crap imiginable and not even be asking these questions! You are trying to do the best you can for your dog within your own lifestyle and budget. It's very clear how much you love your dog.
I hope the above info helps clarify things.

[Karina, Wass and Floyd]

Another thing that I have come across as concerning is the ingredient Sodium Selenite which is an inorganic source of Selenium which is an important essential element. However there has been research done that show this source to be toxic in high doses. So if the dogs food is mainly coming from one source with this ingredient there MAY be issues. I don't want to cause alarm or panic but I have been reading several articles and research on this and it has caused me to look for a dog food that uses a safer form of Selenium. Here is the link to an article that I found that started my research on this ingredient: http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/a-close-look-at-a-tiny-pe...

Another one to be aware of is Vitamin K3 aka Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex. It's a synthetic form of Vitamin K which again has proven to be harmful to dogs in large doses. The ingredients list you have here only shows Vitamin K and not K3 so it's hard to know for sure what the source is. There are natural sources of Vitamin K but can be more expensive. Unfortunatley it usually comes down to money! Here's one of the articles I found about this ingredient: http://www.naturalnews.com/024244_food_pet_food_sodium.html

There are several dog foods out there that DO NOT use these ingredients and have a good source of protein and other quality ingredients. Orijen, as mentioned by others, is a good quality food and does not use these ingredients mentioned above. The Natura dog foods are also a good option. They make California Naturals, EVO, Innova, Karma and a couple others. Good luck and I hope this was helpful.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We have discussed menadione, or synthetic vitamin K here in TFG many times. Your best source of information on this is The Dog Food Project website. Menadione must be listed, either as menadione or as "source of vitamin K"; if it just says vitamin K, period, it's fine.
Susan Thixton is a tireless advocate, but she is neither a nutritionist nor a science professional in any sense of the word. She is a journalist, and she often gives incorrect, inaccurate information on mineral compounds. Sodium selenite is a common form of selenium, and while it is not the most preferred form, it is perfectly safe in reasonable amounts. The level of sodium selenite in this food is not an issue.
You should also be aware that Natura has just been sold to Proctor & Gamble, which is of course disastrous news. This has been one of our most highly recommended foods; we are now advising people to find another option.

[Karina, Wass and Floyd]

I agree that you can't take one persons take on anything as fact but in reading studies about sodium selenite I would rather choose a dog food that does not use it. That's just my opinion.

I actually just wrote an e-mail yesterday to Natura about the Proctor and Gamble acquisition and how it will effect the quality of the food. I'm waiting for a reply. We'll see what happens. I will for sure be keeping a close eye on this food line as I really liked everything about this dog food line. Again, we'll see....

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please let us know if you receive a response from P & G, and what they say. I am trying to be hopeful, but I believe at the very least, they are going to use imported ingredients purchased through food brokers to save $$$. :(