Commercial Foods-The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Tell us what commercial foods have worked for you and which have caused problems; information, questions, warnings and advice on dog food companies, ingredients, brands, and switching foods.
(Recall information now in it's own discussion here in The Food Group)

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

Hi Karen, first of all I want to tell you how much I look forward to reading your responses to so many of the questions here on DK. You are obviously very knowledgeable and I really thoroughly read everything you write! I feel the same way about Lynne NJ responses also and come to think of it there are many people on DK who are so helpful AND extrememly knowledgeable!
The question I want to confirm because I am unsure is do you think it is alright to rotate premium kibble that is grain free with premium kibble that is not grain free? Or would it be better to stick to either ALL grain free or all WITH grain? There are a couple premium kibbles that I really like their ingredients but one of them has some grain (no corn or any unhealthy grains. I have done my homework on that!) So I was wondering if it would be unhealthy to rotate with one kibble that has grain? I definitely am not feeding kibble only and will be adding some of my own fresh foods! My puppy will be coming home this coming Saturday and I am super excited!
Also, I feel so bad that I didn't say anything to the lady that switched form Orijen to science diet. She had her dog with her and he was gorgeous with a gorgeous coat. I was very upset that this science diet rep was either totally clueless or didn't care about not telling the truth. She kept handing me coupons and I kept throwing them away!
I look forward to reading any responses as I need to decide pretty soon what I am going to do!! By the way, my new little guy's name is going to be Echo! Thanks so much!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Sally, it IS OK to mix and match as long as you go slow. Start with one for a week or so to see if there is any problems. Then you can add in the other. Dogs need some grains in their diets so you don't want to go completely grain free. And young puppies are growing and need more that older dogs. Pick up a copy of Pitcairns, "Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats," as a good place to start your research. When he first comes home, give him a few days to level out. The stress of his life and new home will cause some upset. Just teach with love and he will come around. Let us know how it is going. Lynne

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And I love the name "Echo"! We are so happy for you!

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

I also agree with switching brands provided you have no medical conditions that could not support it. And if your pup has no issues with grains (the good ones of course), no worries about switching. With kibble we switch with every bag, sometimes it is between our favorite brands, sometimes just the formula or flavor. After the addition of your own fresh ingredients canned is the easiest way to introduce variety. I think this is of great benefit not only to cover a variety of nutritional needs but also as an insurance policy of sorts if there ever should be a problem, you have knowledge of options and your fur baby's system will not be as resistant to change.

Love your choice of a name, I cannot wait to see homecoming pictures!

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

Thanks so much everyone with the kibble/food advice! I'm sure it will be much easier when I'm actually feeding him than it is trying to figure it all out!! I feel like I am a new Mom all over again, making sure the diet is healthy and the toys are healthy! Thanks for the compliment on Echo's name. I was originally going to get a female but one of the males just totally captured my heart. He looks like a clone of his daddy whose name is Boomerang. So we thought Echo might be a fun choice! I agonized over girl names for months and when I decided on a boy we came up with a name in a snap! Isn't it funny how things just work out? I am so excited! I just put some pics on my page...couldn't help myself! In the 8 week old group shot he is the lightest color pup in the center with the liver nose. I can't wait to hold him!

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

I just came across this when I was obtaining the link for a friend to the Champion site, I thought I would pass this along:

Glycemic Research Institute names Champion Pet Foods "Orijen" as the best pet food of the year... more - http://www.gripetfoods.com/PetFoodoftheYear.htm.

Just to clarify I only have knowledge of GRI, an independant lab based on what I have just come across, so I am not promoting them. Nor do I think this one piece of information should be the determining factor in what you will feed your doodle companion. I do however personally believe that the lines they offer are very good and despite the high cost of offering it to our haram of doodles (currently 17 to be exact) I view it to be one of the best expenses we can contribute to their foundation of health. There are no bargains to be had in garbage, pay the cost now or pay it later often accompanied by the cost to our hearts which no price can be put on. I will humbly step down now.

[Sally, Echo and Emmi]

Hi Dianne!
I saw this on the Orijen website and as I was reading about it I decided they are pretty prestigious! It makes my brain swirl to see that Orijen is so highly rated by this institute yet they don't even get mentioned in the WDJ for top dry food this year! Did you also happen to see that a pet food store from St. Pete was named tops and the tops pet resort was in Pinellas Park? Yeah Florida!!
Also, thanks for the sweet remarks about my pup, Echo. Karen and Mark sent me so many wonderful pictures of this litter that I practically have a baby book for my Echo! The 8 week old group shot was to die for on that wagon! Today I am busy taking price tags off of toys!!!

[Rachel Jones]

Okay I have a 5 month old Goldendoodle who seems to like any food! I have fed her Purina puppy food as the breeder had her on this. Am I understanding this is not a great choice? Please tell me your best recommendation, I'm not worried about the cost.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Purina is not the best choice. Read through the discussions and you should be able to get a better idea of the many choices of posters here.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi, Rachel, if you go 2 pages back in this discussion (page 10, near the bottom), Dianne has some good suggestions for puppy foods. She is a breeder who has extensively researched these food issues, and I am very impressed with her knowledge & judgment.
As Lynne said, Purina is not a good choice. There is really nothing sold in the grocery store that is. Reading through this entire discussion (I know it's long) will give you a wealth of good information, with no agenda behind it.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

A Very Sad Story; an Important Lesson to Learn

This past week has been a heartbreaking week; sad stories shared of two dog deaths and one dog fighting for his life. All very recent and seemingly related to pet food. Maybe, just maybe there is a valuable lesson every pet owner can learn from these heartaches.

Charlotte M. from North Carolina sent me the following message:
“I have been feeding my dogs Nutro lamb and rice dog food for several years. On 1-22-09 my 11 year old lab died suddenly. We found him laying in vomit and light brown liquid diarrhea (the vomit and diarrhea was like dissolved dog food and had the same consistency) the whites of his eyes were bloody and he had white foam around his mouth. Previously, on 12-15-08 I lost my 12 year old lab with the same symptoms, but he also had abdominal distension and pain. The dogs had been eating from a bag of food purchased in November 2008. They both had always been good eaters but, they did not want the food when placed before them, they ate it because it was their only choice. In an attempt to find answers for their deaths, the evening of Max’s death I sat down at the computer and typed in ‘sudden death in dogs from vomiting and diarrhea’ and when I saw the website that stated that their have been a lot of complaints about Nutro dog foods I felt so sick. I sent my story to consumer complaints.com after reading the Nutro Company’s response to complaints. To me they not only need to test food samples but, need to inspect their processing plants. A prime example was the Peter Pan peanut butter Salmonella outbreak, that turned out to be caused by storage issues at the processing plant. It seems from the company’s posted response they have dismissed concerns. How many animals have to become sick or die before they will acknowledge there may be a problem. I have lost two dogs who obviously suffered before their deaths. The awful feelings of guilt and pain in realizing that the very dog food I thought was a safe product and recommended to others is probably the cause of their death is almost unbearable. Please help stop any more unnecessary deaths. Nothing will bring my dogs back, I just don’t want other animals to become sick or die. I am not accusing Nutro of any intentional wrong doing. I just think they should do more to investigate complaints. Please re-print my e-mail if it might help any owner out there avoid the painful experience my family has went through. I am not implying that people should stop using Nutro products if they are not having problems, but that they should be aware and watch for symptoms and respond immediately, as their pet's life may depend on it.”

I’m sure I am joined by countless pet owners that support TruthaboutPetFood.com; Charlotte, we are so very sorry you have lost two babies in such a short time. I understand the pain your heart is feeling right now, countless other pet owners do too. You are in our thoughts.

Nutro Pet Foods, made by Mars Petcare, have been reported to have numerous problems over the past year or so. The ConsumerAffairs.com website reports many similar stories to the above; http://www.consumeraffairs.com/search.html?cx=004616541639631650405.... Mars Petcare in general has had more than their share of pet food problems in the past year as well; http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/26/1/Mars-Pet-Care-Recall..., http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/116/1/Mars-Pet-Food-Recal..., http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/138/1/October-27-Mars-Pet....

Many of the heartbreaking storiesshared with me over the years share a similarity; a possible lesson for us all to learn from. Some dogs and cats ‘tell’ their pet parents there is something wrong with the food; we all need to learn to be very aware of what our pets are telling us.

My father used to refer to it as 20/20 hindsight. Looking back on something, you see it more clearly; after the fact you ‘see’ things that you didn’t initially recognize as a warning. Many heartbroken pet owners have shared that prior to their pets becoming sick or dying, the dog or cat seemed to turn their nose up at the pet food. Looking back, many pet owners are devastated that just perhaps they might have missed something their pet was trying to tell them. This is the lesson that Charlotte hopes every pet owner will listen to; they are wise words coming from a very broken heart.

Know your dog or cat’s eating habits; if you notice any variation from the norm, stop feeding that food immediately and contact your veterinarian. Begin today to carefully observe what is normal eating behavior for your dog or cat; know if normal is never missing a meal or if normal is missing a meal once a week, twice a week, or once a month. With a good understanding of what normal is, carefully watch your pet at every meal; if anything is not normal, stop feeding your current dog food or cat food and call your veterinarian. ‘Not normal’ eating behavior might be an early warning sign that can save your pet’s life. Also, be aware of normal elimination habits; again, any shift to non-normal elimination might be an early warning sign.

No pet food guarantees their foods will never be recalled; no pet food guarantees they test each and every ingredient in each and every batch (although they should). No pet food retailer guarantees the food was stored in safe conditions and not contaminated in warehousing (again, although they should). The only thing pet owners can do is avoid known risk ingredients, avoid ingredients from known risk countries, and learn to closely listen to our pets.

Not every dog or cat will alert you to a potential problem in a pet food. Sadly there are times when there is no warning; no 20/20 hindsight. However maybe, just maybe, your pet might tell you there is something wrong with a pet food in time for you to prevent serious illness or even death. We all need to be very alert and aware of what our pets are telling us. Life comes at us very fast sometimes, however this is one area we need to slow down and pay close attention.

Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,

Susan Thixton
Truth about Pet Food
Petsumer Report
www.TruthaboutPetFood.com

[Trowby]

Susan Thixton writes a very good newsletter - worth subscribing to it. It's free.

Sage is doing very well on Honest Kitchen Embark and Ziwi Peak venison and fish. Ziwi Peak is dehydrated-like a jerky. She loves it- stinkiest stuff ever but a good seal on the package to seal in the stinky fish. It comes with it's own measuring cup.

Sage is a mini and only 15 LBS. Both of these foods would be wildly expensive for a large dog IMHO.
But for a little girl it's doable.

Trowby