Food recommendations

[Laurie Muhlberg]

Question regarding my 9 month old doodle.  He was eating blue buffalo and had to switch because it was going right through him.  He's now on Wellness same thing is happening.  Any recommendations on a food choice.  Thank you!

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Our vet told us that it may be safer to go with a big company like that because they have the means to test it and "there seems to be no difference." I, on the other hand are more likely to agree with you all in finding a better balanced diet. 

One thing that I did learn is that while wolves are dogs descendants, dogs have evolved the ability to digest carbohydrates better. That's why you shouldn't keep dogs on a strictly carnivorous diet like you would their wolf counterparts. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One of the things you will learn in The Food Group is that there is no nutrition curriculum in vet school. All of the information the vets have about dog food and dog food companies come courtesy of Hills Science Diet and Purina. Naturally, they would say that it's "safer" to go with the big companies, lol. The vets also have a vested interest in the party line about big companies being safer, because the vets are selling those foods and making a huge profit on them. This is clearly a conflict of interest, and one which has been documented by Marion Nestle, PhD, professor of human nutrition and considered to be one of the foremost authorities on pet and human nutrition in the U.S. Take your vet's advice on medical issues, that's his area of expertise. Not food. Most of us have agreed to disagree with our vets on the subject of food and nutrition. There is no "strictly carnivorous diet" on our recommended foods list, and in fact I don;t think there is any commercial food sold that would replicate a wolf's diet. So no worries there. Dogs do still need a reasonable amount of animal protein, though. While they have evolved to be able to digest carbohydrates better, it's still not a great idea for carbohydrates to make up the bulk of their diets. :)

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I am actually thinking about switching doctors within the same clinic because a family friend took her Irish Wolfhound there for his whole life and appreciated how they took care of him. She said they even cried when he died. They genuinely cared. 

Perhaps she will have a different opinion on the food issue as well. I'd like to have someone on the same page as me with me.

And yes, everything in moderation, of course. (: Carbohydrates in bulk are never good for any animal.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Unfortunately, there are very few vets who are going to be on the same page with us on food. Even the very best, most caring,  and the very kindest. The amount of pressure/persuasion/brainwashing marketing aimed at the vets by Science Diet and Purina is mind-boggling. 

I would not switch vets solely because of food recommendations/knowledge. If the vet sells Rx food in their office, they are going to have to have the same "opinions" on food issues (i.e. the Hill's Science Diet Party Line) as your last vet. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I'm not switching solely on the food issue. I've just heard good things about this other vet and I think the vet that Orwell got his 9 week shots from is more well-versed in cats.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's a different story, lol. I've switched vets within the same office for similar reasons. Some are really better with cats, some are even better with different types of dogs. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Dog people vs. cat people… they don't mix well unless you love both. :P

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Iams/Eukanuba (owned by Proctor & Gamble) has the worst track record of any dog food brand in terms of recalls. They were the major players in the 2007 pet food recalls in which thousands of dogs and cats died or were made permanently ill by melamine from China disguised as rice gluten. The huge multinational corporations who own the "big dog food" brands do their ingredient purchasing thru third party food brokerage companies, and the cheapest bids win. There is no quality control, no transparency about the sources of the ingredients, and no oversight of the supply chain. 

If you are not familiar with the massive 2007 recalls, it's a good idea to read about it. Two executives in China were actually executed as a result of it. It was a pretty big deal. DK members had dogs who died from Iams and the other foods involved, all "big name" brands. That was the reason we started The Food Group here in the first place, to educate and help people make better decisions. 

Some info on the 2007 recalls: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_pet_food_recalls

And a really excellent book on the subject: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3085482-pet-food-politics

As Nicky said, advertising does't equal quality. Proctor & gamble has lots of money in their advertising budget, and lots of shareholders who are concerned with the bottom line.  I'd rather a company puts their money into the quality of the ingredients and the products rather than the advertising. Most of the best pet foods companies do no advertising at all. How many of our recommended brands have you seen advertising for? http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/recomme...

Many of these companies came into being after the 2007 recalls due to overwhelming demand by pet owners for better food products. 

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I know that advertising doesn't equal quality, but I was interested in their attempt to create a better food. I will definitely go for a smaller brand, but hopefully not one that is too expensive. 

We had my Bonny on Purina for her whole life, but I did not have a say in what we purchased as I was a child. She did live a long and healthy life, though.

Thank you all for the info, and I have looked at the list and am currently researching it all. I am familiar with the importance of choosing a good food because of the birds I once had. Just FYI, if any of you get a bird, don't feed it just seed. :P

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All of our childhood dogs ate things like Alpo and Purina, and lived to ripe old ages. The difference was, there was no World Trade Agreement back then. The companies were not owned by huge multinational corporations, they ordered their own ingredients, and they ordered them from suppliers here in the USA. The food may have been filled with beaks and entrails, but they came from American chickens, and not from a plastics factory in China. 

When you look at the cost of food, keep in mind that the price on the bag doesn't really mean much. With the so called cheaper foods, you have to feed more, sometimes twice as much as the higher quality foods, because they're mainly fillers. If you have to buy 3 bags of the lower priced food in the same period of time that you would only need 2 bags of the higher priced food, the one with the lower price tag will cost you more. So always look at the feeding guidelines as well as the price per bag. 

We have several cost comparisons in the Food group, and the results are surprising.:)

[Alex]

Duncan had the same issue with Wellness. He eats Taste of the Wild - High Prairie Puppy and is doing awesome. We also mix in a little cooked sweet potato every once in a while.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Alex, Duncan didn't have issues with Wellness, the brand, he had issues with the particular Wellness formula he was eating. TOTW is grain-free, and utilizes different protein sources. It is likely that if you had switched to one of the Wellness grain-free formulas, he would have done just as well. There are dozens of different Wellness formulas. It's the ingredients that make the difference, not the brand name.