Rachael Ray's Nutrish

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Any pros or cons about Rachael Ray's Nutrish dog food. I have ben buying high end dog food and having problems finding one my doodle will eat. Been through many brands. I tried Nutrish after comparing the indgredients and it seems very wholesome and comparable to higher end brands and the dog loves it. I cannot find anything bad about on on the internet. Ingredients seem fine but wondering about the quality of the indgreidnts & wondering if it's cheaper because it's new and not a Brand name yet. Thoughts??

http://www.rachaelray.com/pets/nutrish.php

[Lynne B]

I wouldn't feed it to my dogs- corn is listed twice in the top 20 ingredients. Dog's can't hardly digest corn, so they poop it out undigested creating very large bulky stools. Read this:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?pro...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You would be better off feeding your dog the cheapest brand of food from Walmart than this garbage. In fact, it's probably manufactured by the same people.
The ingredients are horrendous:
Beef, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Corn Gluten Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Peas, Dried Tomatoes, Dried Carrots, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Olive Oil, Iron Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Dried Parsley, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Mixed Tocopherols, Niacin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid
In addition to corn being listed twice, as Lynne mentioned, you have corn and soy as the 4th and 5th ingredients, and unnamed "animal fat" as the 6th. ("unnamed" animal fat is a big red flag.) Corn and soy promote the development of food allergies, and corn in particular does not belong in your dog's diet.
Your 3rd ingredient, brewer's rice, is a waste product from the processing of grain for alcohol. It shouldn't be in your dog's food at all, let alone as the 3rd most abundant ingredient in the dog's diet.
Last but not least, this food contains menadione, a synthetic form of vitamin K which has been shown to cause fatal liver disease and hemolytic anemia in dogs. This information has been posted here in TFG numerous times, Some effects of menadione:
causes cytotoxicity in liver cells
causes formation of radicals from enzymes of leucocytes, with the consequence of cytotoxic reactions
considerably weakens the immune system
possible mutagenic effects
damages the natural vitamin K cycle
has no effect on coumarin derivatives, which are often present in commercial food due to mold contamination (toxic when ingested)
causes hemolytic anemia and hyperbilirubinemia, not just linked to large doses
disturbs the level of calcium ions (Ca2+) in the body, which is an important factor fibrinolysis
is directly toxic in high doses (vomiting, albuminuria), unlike natural vitamin K
builds up in tissue and has been detected in eggs, meat and milk of animals supplemented with menadione derivatives
causes irritation of skin and mucous membranes
causes allergic reactions and eczema
(From the Dog Food Project: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione)
I wouldn't feed this garbage to a sewer rat. Shame on Rachael Ray for using her fame to promote this crappy food!
Pat, I don't know what "high-end" foods you compared this to, but if you look at the ingredients in Fromm's, Innova, Orijen, Canidae, or any of the other premium foods we recommend, you won't see anything even similar to this.

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Thanks for the comments Karen- I'm glad I asked-I'll have to look into those ingredients. I'll comment to Rachel Ray also. I'll have to analyze some of the other brands. Tried Innova- my dog wouldn eat it. I have not seen Fromm's or Orijen in our area.I Canidae is available but the bags are always old looking and not too far from expiration. I've tried Royal Canin, Avoderm, Wellness, Solid Gold and Natural Balance, and Natures Best. He lets all of these lay there and eats hours later.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Royal Canin is not recommended. Natural Balance and Solid Gold are premium quality foods. Wellness has gone thru company changes recently and we are cautious about it. Avoderm is okay. I'm not familiar with Nature's Best.
Currently, many of us here prefer Orijen (and it's sister brand, Acana) and Fromm's.
Here are the links to their website pages with their store locators. They are widely available throughout the U.S.
http://www.frommfamily.com/dealers.php
http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/storeLocator/
Stores like Petsmart or Petco usually don't have a good selection of premium foods available. many people here have had good luck with "feed store" type places or farm & garden supply stores. In my area, Pet Supplies Plus is one chain that carries a decent selection of premium, high-quality foods.
We have lots of discussions here in the FTG about picky eaters. If you do a search in the "Discussions" at the top of this page, you'll find lots of info on how to get picky dogs to be better eaters. If you have tried 7 foods and your dog refuses them all, he is most likely not going to "like" any of the better foods. You are going to have to resort to 'tricks" or just give him the food of your choice and when he gets hungry enough, he'll eat, lol. Read "Come Have a little Whine with me" for some laughs about our picky eaters.
The cheapest, unhealthiest foods are sprayed with coatings of rancid fat to make them appealing to dogs. We have info about this here too, in the Commercial Foods section. Unfortunately, the foods that are best for your dog are not always the ones he likes best. Most kids are the same way. :-)

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Thanks Karen- I just searched the Froms and there is a place ) a non-chain all natural pet food shop about 12 miles from me that has it. I think I dump the Nutrish in the garbage! Thanks for sharing your knowledge/ Pat

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Karen- Checked out the Fromms a little more- 3 different types. . Not quite sure why a dog would need duck and blueberries etc. Where is the Beef?? I think this is the problem - no beef in many of these foods. Everything seems to be chicken, lamb or duck. Chicken is cheap, Duck is such a fatty meat - don't understand why it is so popular in many brands. Which do you use?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Pat, a dog's nutritional needs are very different from ours. I'm not sure what the iron requirement for dogs might be, but there are lots of dogs who never eat beef, or even red meat, and they thrive. Commercial kibble is fortified with all the vitamins and minerals dogs need. Beef is not required.
I feed Orijen 6 Fresh Fish, a high protein grain-free food. Jack loves fish, and does well on it.
Regarding the fat content in duck, there is very little fat left after the duck has been processed into the meal used in the foods. The fat content of the food is listed in the nutritional info on the labels, and is usually the same regardless of the particular animal proteins used, whether the food contains duck, beef, salmon, or venison. Fat contents are regulated.
Many higher quality dog foods have moved towards alternative protein sources such as venison, bison, fish, lamb, etc., because of food allergy issues with beef, and to a lesser extent, chicken.
Also, it is easier to get untainted (no hormones, steroids, etc) duck or venison than it is to get untainted beef.

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Karen, Thanks for taking the time to write all of this out! / Pat

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Pat my dogs have never liked beef! Salmon, bison and venison have always been their faves! Husband and I joke that they eat better than we do :)

[Pat & "Tucker"]

Wonder if there is any literature about anemia in dogs who eat strickly chicken diets?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Many thanks, Lynne and Karen.You do all the investigation and interpretation for the rest of us.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Even the "geniuses on Yahoo "Answers" are giving "Nutrish" 2 thumbs down:
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:Md87Ihsr6c4J:answers.yahoo.com/...
Another poor review on "Nutrish":
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1036382/dog_food_review_ra...