Dogfoodadvisor.com

[Jon Rascon]

I'm a new member and looking at the food discussions, I have a question - how much stock do you guys put into dogfoodadvisor recommendations?

Reason I ask, is we are feeding our goldendoodle Crave, which has a 5-star rating - but I don't see it here among any of the recommendations here.

We are getting another doodle on Friday and the breeder has their pups on Life's Abundance, which has a 4.5 star rating, but again, I don't see any recommendations for this either.

Thanks in advance.

[Scotty]

I'm sure Karen will check in shortly to answer this much better than I can. But my understanding is they are OK regarding the type of ingredients being used. For example they are good at telling you that ingredients X, Y & Z are quality ingredients & A, B & C are questionable etc. However they do no checking on sourcing at all. So they can tell you that it's good that the top ingredient is say for instance turkey meal, or that tomato pomace  is controversial because some say  it's good for its high fiber and nutrient content, while others scorn it as an inexpensive pet food filler.

However they do no research on the grade of the actual ingredients or their sourcing. So if two brands both use turkey meal as the first ingredient dogfoodadvisor will in essence count them as the same. However one company may be buying high grade turkey meal sourced from the US, & the other company may be getting the cheapest stuff they can buy from China. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Exactly.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Jon,

We have had many discussions here about Life's Abundance. If you do a search you will find the info. Basically, we do not recommend it. It is sold through a multilevel marketing scheme (otherwise known as a pyramid scheme) and the breeder gets commssions when you buy it. It is an overpriced, run-of-the-mill food, and there is no transparency about sourcing. 
That said, you must keep your puppy on the breeder's food for at least two weeks after he comes home, for several reasons, and you will find that info here as well. Just be sure not to sign up for "autoship", it is very hard to unsubscribe.

We are different from the dog advisor in that we don't have "ratings", as we know that what may be "best" for one dog is not necessarily "best" for another, and we look at things like sourcing of ingredients, which the DFA does not. We also look at things like Omega fatty acid content and ratio, which the DFA does not. The DFA rates foods mainly on animal protein content. We are a little more in-depth and flexible than that. 
Crave is not on our recommended list because it is owned and made by Mars, Inc. We do not recommend any brands that are owned or made by Mars, Purina, and the other "Big Dog Food" companies, due to their sourcing from third world countries, lack of transparency about ingredients and sourcing, and their poor track record with recalls. 

[Anita Lee]

I trust Dog Food Advisor but I've found the DK recommendations to be good too. The first is dedicated to analyzing dog food, the latter isn't. New brands come out all the time and while Dog Food Advisor is generally comprehensive, DK isn't.

I do also look at comments on DFA. Sometimes formulas change and the comments capture something the rating doesn't.

FWIW, Crave is owned by Mars Pet Care which also makes some cruddy pet food. I try to go for smaller companies, as I feel they have better production practices and trust them to keep quality standards high over time.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We will do an analysis for any specific food that someone asks about, and have done that here in the past. We also tailor our recommendations to the individual dog, which DFA doesn't. We are smaller but a lot more personal, lol. 

However, as  this group is a labor of love and something I do voluntarily to help people, without any kind of compensation or help, it isn't possible for me to keep up with every single food on the market, every ingredient change, etc., and rate them all. That would be a full time job. We do list every food recall in our recall section, and I will research any individual food or brand that anyone asks about. 

[Stella]

...... and we love you for,what you do Karen. So many doodles are eating better food because of this group. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Aw thanks, Stella. <3

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy &amp; Pippa]

Jon, here are the links to some past discussions about Life's Abundance. They may be a bit old but they are still relevant. I want my dog food company to concentrate on good nutritional food for my dog and not on the money people will make on it. I also don't want to buy food from a company, like Mars, that makes candy among other things. Their main focus is not on my dogs nutrition.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/life-s-...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/lifes-a...

I think if you do your own thorough research, you can certainly find all the info available here in the Food Group, however, thankfully, we don't have to do that as Karen has done it for us. I did try to do my own research after I lost a dog to cancer and discovered that one of the ingredients in her food (BHA) causes cancer. I am very thankful to have found this group and Karen, who I know cares very deeply about this subject.

[Jon Rascon]

Thanks everyone - I'm still getting used to the site so I didn't see the search button, but will find it, lol.

And appreciate the information - I did not sign up for autoship. I'm glad to see the additional information you guys have done. Before today, I used DFA as a guide. I will go through your recommendations to see what might work for us moving forward. 

We lost a doodle to osteosarcoma a month ago and with a new puppy on the way, figured now is a good time to reevaluate nutrition. Cancer sucks, and anything I can do proactively I'm open to. 

Is there another thread for supplements? The breeder has the pups on NuVet - sounds like that may be the same type of deal as Life's Abundance? 

I have read salmon/fish oil and pro/prebiotics are good to add? 

My head is starting to spin now... lol. 

Thanks again everyone.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy &amp; Pippa]

Im so sorry for your loss. My Golden had osteosarcoma as well. I will never know for sure it was caused by her food but I will never have to wonder again!

The search button is on the top right corner of the page.

Yes Nuvet vitamins is the same Multi level marketing as Life's Abundance and you can search previous conversations about that as well.

Best of Luck with your new pup. We would love to see some photos!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

As Lori mentioned, NuVet is sold thru the same MLM as Life's Abundance. Steer clear. And no healthy puppy who is eating a good quality food needs a vitamin supplement. 

Fish oil is helpful for certain health conditions, but again, a healthy puppy who is eating a good food which has a good Omega 3 content and a good Omega 6:3 ratio (this is where we beat the DFA's info, lol) shouldn't need any supplements, at least not yet.  

Probiotics are also helpful, especially for digestive issues, but not yet. Don't change or add a single thing about your new pup's diet for a couple of weeks after he comes home. 

[Jon Rascon]

Thanks - I don't plan to switch the puppy right away... but I will review the information and get started on moving Mojo (she's 7 years old as of two days ago) over to better food.