Give it to me straight....I can handle it!

[Donna Vee]

How bad is Kirkland brand dog food? I know it's mass produced but lamb, and lamb bi-products are the first two ingredients listed. We do also supplement with fresh veggies. We switched to an organic food (blue buffalo) a couple of months ago and that's when the girls got sick. Unrelated for sure but we went back to Kirklands because they were used to it (from the breeder) and we hoped it would help neutralize things.

[Donna Vee]

Thanks Greg, what I meant to say is that we just switched BACK to the Kirkland brand (I don't know if you have "Costco" warehouses back there but it's their brand). I just read on one of these threads that any large, mass produced dog food probably isn't that good. It doesn't get much bigger than Kirkland brand.

Thanks for the info, I want to do the best thing for our girls.  :)  Hope your enjoying Storm...Soooooo cute! 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

meal is actually the meat with the moisture removed - so it is kinda like concentrated meat/protein.

 

Id stay away from by-products - a definition of byproducts (in this case chicken) is 

Chicken Byproduct Meal

AAFCO: Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Chicken byproducts are much less expensive and less digestible than the chicken muscle meat.The ingredients of each batch can vary drastically in ingredients (heads, feet, bones etc.) as well as quality, thus the nutritional value is also not consistent. Don't forget that byproducts consist of any parts of the animal OTHER than meat. If there is any use for any part of the animal that brings more profit than selling it as "byproduct", rest assured it will appear in such a product rather than in the "byproduct" dumpster.

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

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

We feed Kirkland to our three doodles.  We do add some boiled chicken as it is a little light on protein.

 

 

[Donna Vee]

Good Idea, thanks!

[Deirdre]

I used to use Kirkland, that's what Bear, RIP was raised on Gus was raised on Kirkland's puupy chow.  When I was checking into DK (before joining, shame on me) I learned so much about food.  I wondered why sometimes when I bought a bag of Kirkland inside the bag was a free packaged treat bone.  It knid of made me wonder............huh?  Kirkland is a Costco brand. Costco, as we all know looks everywhere for the best price for the consumer.  My feeling is, who manufactured the bag I just bought?  I know Costco is quality and they always sell quality, yet so many people think Ca. Natural, Ewwwkenuba etc. are quality.  Costco is no lomger my "food of choice."

[Lee Seidman]

I swear by the ratings and review of this site...we feed only Orijen and supplement with some home cooking. The site reviews almos every food product both Kibble and Canned.................There is a lot of junk out there and many six star foods as well.  Take a minute to look at the reviews and ingredients of each food product. One that I am compelled to point out is Science Diet.....the worst of the worst rating.

 

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

[Candy & Hudson]

The Science Diet one really freaks me out, especially because it is what my vet recommends and sells... eep! I know better, we feed Orijen also.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Donna, so much great info on the food group and you can make your own educated choices. You can then decide if you want to use a 3 star (Kirkland) or a 4 star (Blue Buf), or even a 5 or 6 star. Some are more expensive but if you look carefully, some better foods you will feed less per day also. Adding other real foods helps the food last longer too and is really great for your doodles and they love it.

[Donna Vee]

Thanks Sue, We did just recently start adding fresh veggies in with it.  My girls love carrots and greenbeans.  I might start making my own food and treats.  Not only are our dogs a precious part of our family, THEY'RE NOT CHEAP...lol. I absolutely want what's best for them

 

Thanks again

[shelly]

I know how you feel Donna.  Tori probably isn't on the best food either.. but it 'works' for her... we went through a few before her tummy settled on the one she is on now that she seems to really like.  I also mix it with a bit of canned pumpkin... maybe it's just for me, but she seems to do really well with it!  Now that I opened my mouth I will go knock on wood now! LOL

[Donna Vee]

I know Shelly, and we've changed foods a few times over the last few months because both of my girls were sick with tummy problems and I just wanted to find something that would settle their bellies while all the time I was probably making things worse.  I just need to find something healthy and add our own food to it and just wait it out.  It may take them a little time to get used to it but then it will be done......I hope!

[Kyoko]

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showcat.php/cat/5/p...

 

I found Kirkland dog food listed as 3 star dog food along with Canidae, Eaglepack, and Natural Balance.

I always found this Dog food analysis site to be helpful.... Following is the review for the Kirkland dog food.

 

Pros: First two ingredients are named meat products Cons: Insufficient meat content, controversial filler

The first ingredient in this food is a named meat product. This is chicken, inclusive of its water content. Once the water content is removed, as it must be to make a dry dog food, this ingredient will end up weighing around 20% of its wet weight. It is thus unlikely that it is the true first ingredient in the food, and would be more accurately placed much further down the ingredient list. Since it is followed by a named meat product in meal form, however, this is of less concern. The first ingredient in the food remains meat. There is a further meat meal ingredient, fish, 9th on the ingredient. This is too far down to make a substantial contribution to the overall meat content of the food. We are unaware of any guarantee by the manufacturer that this ingredient is free of ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative commonly added to fish ingredients destined for pet foods and which is banned from use in human foods because it is believed to be carcinogenic. We recommend careful checking of the packaging for any such guarantee (specific to this ingredient). The third and fourth ingredients are grains - rice and barley. These are both decent quality grains, the first of which is whole. The fifth ingredient is egg product. We would prefer to see the use of whole eggs in the food. Potatoes are a further carbohydrate source in the food. Beet pulp is controversial filler. It is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required. The inclusion of some amount of fruits and vegetables is appreciated. Overall this looks to be a reasonable product, but with only one true meat ingredient amongst the top ingredients ahead of the fat content, would appear to contain minimal meat and rather less than many other products produced by this manufacturer.