Dog lovers thoughts about pet foods

[Arwen's Mom]

Some of you may be asking, why does she post this stuff on here? Well considering the vast range of personality types, financial standings, backgrounds and interests, I ask, Why not?

So...

some of you may remember when I asked about dog foods for my puppy.
I tried a few different ones until I settled on one that met a few criteria:
ingredients list (type of meat and where that meat comes from)
grain free
she likes it
she does well on it
well known and good reputation doesnt hurt

ended up feeding Orijen

recently came across this website:
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/product-ratings/pet-food/#top-ten

and was AMAZED at how poorly Orijen ranked! and some Purina feeds ranked better???

For what Orijen costs, we humans should be able to eat it.

She gets Orijen only in the evenings, her mainstay diet is a homemade stew and also Stella & Chewy freeze dried raw patties. But still thining maybe phasing out the Orijen if it really is that "dirty"

I actually wrote to the company that makes Orijen and asked out that "report"
Lets see if they respond.

Would like to hear other thoughts/opinions

 

[moray42]

After looking into this site for a few minutes I'm not ready to put a whole lot of stock into their claims. There is a claim to have a rigorous testing standard, but they refuse to release data. I can understand making a score as a simpler alternative to the average consumer, but you should still be able to release numbers if your testing can withstand scrutiny.
There is a reddit AMA that comes up from a google search about the site, and the vague replies aren't exactly confidence inspiring.

 

[RobW]

potato based food is good but it really depends on how they process it... gelatin? Glycerin?

 

[RobW]

FDA and USDA hold us to strict standards... but from what I've seen, it all matters about documentation to them.

 

[The Kalmyk]

I've fed my dog the same food for 10 years (minus the time dog angel @gtluke had her). Only deviation of that food is adding some hot water.

You want to prevent yourself from feeding your dog disease? Here is my list that keeps my girl healthy.

1) no table food
2) don't feed your dog one day a week (twice a week after 10years old)
3) vary portions to align with activity
4) stick to the same food

 

[Dominos]

Totally agree with @The Kalmyk, esp #4.

But this topic is oddly something I have opinions and experience with, both professionally and personally.

I used to work for a very prominent online pet retailer. We had tons of complaints from customers about carrying food with chinese ingredients, so a lot of manufacturers stopped sourcing chinese meats. However, most of the recalls we would have to deal with were due to bacterial contamination, which usually happens during manufacturing/processing... which almost always happens in the US... therefore probably not coming from Chinese sources.

My current role works with nutritional supplement raw ingredients, both for human and pet foods and supplements. Oddly, the pet food manufacturers are way more stringent on ingredients sources, heavy metals, etc, than human food manufacturers. Most pet food manufacturers will not approve an ingredient if it came from China, however, most human supplements are sourced with ingredients from China.

@Arwen's Mom I would ask what you are trying to achieve with buying better food and/or changing. Are you trying to see if there is a formula that works better for your pet to improve coat/digestive issues? Are you wanting to feed your pet something that's more sustainable, environmentally? Are you concerned about heavy metals & other contaminants? This may help you narrow it down.

With regards to which brand to choose, my experience at the online retailer tells me that Orijin is indeed a terrible brand. They had a very large recall when I was there, I'm surprised they are actually still around.

We have chosen Blue Buffalo for our pup. In my several years in pet retail, I didn't see any Blue Buffalo recalls, which is surprising considering the amount of market share they have. And, it's easy to find so when we have miscommunication and realize we need dog food pronto, we can grab a bag easily. It also strikes a good balance for me between quality and price. Other brands that you should consider - Taste of the Wild, Merrick

I would also evaluate whether you need a grain-free food. With our pup, we tried a bunch and they all seemed too rich for her.

 

[MadisonDan]

Taste of the Wild here. But that's all my wife's call. Forget how she happened upon it, but after reading @Dominos post above, it sounds like MrsMadisonDan made a good call.
FWIW, I didn't see it on the website you listed in OP.
Our dog is happy, healthy, full of energy, and she's got a great coat.
Lamb flavor is her choice.

 

[The Kalmyk]

I tested a few different brands the first few months. She was eating grass and had loose stool. I bought a small bag of BB Wilderness and all that stopped. My girl needs a high protein food.

 

[rlb]

Taste of the Wild here. But that's all my wife's call. Forget how she happened upon it, but after reading @Dominos post above, it sounds like MrsMadisonDan made a good call.
FWIW, I didn't see it on the website you listed in OP.
Our dog is happy, healthy, full of energy, and she's got a great coat.

Pretty much the same exact story here. We switched to a different brand briefly at one point (I forget why, and which brand) and she just didn't take to it, even after a few weeks. Taste of the Wild seems to suit her well.

Aside from that she'll occasionally get a steamed sweet potato instead of the kibble which she seems to love. Unfortunately we've fallen into the bad habit of giving her some scraps here and there, more here than there actually, and we need to break out of it.

 

[UtahJoe]

Agree with @The Kalmyk on most of his points...except #2 for my dogs... Goldens are starving 24hrs a day as it is... They will just eat more random kids toys.

I never did much research on blue Buffalo.. However my dogs breeder was a former research biologist and she spent about 2+ plus hours explaining to us in microscopic detail why she chose blue Buffalo.. At that time.. 2010.... Been using it ever since... Never an issue... Of course my dogs eat absolutely anything that isn't nailed down and almost never have I seen it bother them... Entire bunches of bananas unpeeled... Tube of diaper cream... Frisbee..... Pairs of gloves.. Bugs..they are 4 legged trash compactors

 

[qclabrat]

I've fed my dog the same food for 10 years (minus the time dog angel @gtluke had her). Only deviation of that food is adding some hot water.

You want to prevent yourself from feeding your dog disease? Here is my list that keeps my girl healthy.

1) no table food
2) don't feed your dog one day a week (twice a week after 10years old)
3) vary portions to align with activity
4) stick to the same food

what's the rationale for #2
I switched around a bit for the first year to see if there were any allergies and concerned with picky eating
Recently the vet suggested to switch a non-Chicken diet, as she's having itchy ears, went to grain free Salmon by Nature's Recipe

 

[pibbles]

Just watched an interesting doc on netflix called "pet fooled". It's about the dog food industry and the bs they pull. I'm thinkin about preparing the food I feed my dogs myself....

 

[rick81721]

Some of you may be asking, why does she post this stuff on here? Well considering the vast range of personality types, financial standings, backgrounds and interests, I ask, Why not?

So...

some of you may remember when I asked about dog foods for my puppy.
I tried a few different ones until I settled on one that met a few criteria:
ingredients list (type of meat and where that meat comes from)
grain free
she likes it
she does well on it
well known and good reputation doesnt hurt

ended up feeding Orijen

recently came across this website:
http://www.cleanlabelproject.org/product-ratings/pet-food/#top-ten

and was AMAZED at how poorly Orijen ranked! and some Purina feeds ranked better???

For what Orijen costs, we humans should be able to eat it.

She gets Orijen only in the evenings, her mainstay diet is a homemade stew and also Stella & Chewy freeze dried raw patties. But still thining maybe phasing out the Orijen if it really is that "dirty"

I actually wrote to the company that makes Orijen and asked out that "report"
Lets see if they respond.

Would like to hear other thoughts/opinions

Took a look - that website is misleading. Comparing heavy metal levels in foods to EPA water standard is apples to oranges. Even FDA has set a safe level of lead in juices at more than 3 times the water level. Personally I would disregard that site as a legitimate way to choose pet foods.

 

[Steve Vai]

What do you feed your dog?

 

[RobW]

Totally agree with @The Kalmyk, esp #4.

But this topic is oddly something I have opinions and experience with, both professionally and personally.

I used to work for a very prominent online pet retailer. We had tons of complaints from customers about carrying food with chinese ingredients, so a lot of manufacturers stopped sourcing chinese meats. However, most of the recalls we would have to deal with were due to bacterial contamination, which usually happens during manufacturing/processing... which almost always happens in the US... therefore probably not coming from Chinese sources.

My current role works with nutritional supplement raw ingredients, both for human and pet foods and supplements. Oddly, the pet food manufacturers are way more stringent on ingredients sources, heavy metals, etc, than human food manufacturers. Most pet food manufacturers will not approve an ingredient if it came from China, however, most human supplements are sourced with ingredients from China.

@Arwen's Mom I would ask what you are trying to achieve with buying better food and/or changing. Are you trying to see if there is a formula that works better for your pet to improve coat/digestive issues? Are you wanting to feed your pet something that's more sustainable, environmentally? Are you concerned about heavy metals & other contaminants? This may help you narrow it down.

With regards to which brand to choose, my experience at the online retailer tells me that Orijin is indeed a terrible brand. They had a very large recall when I was there, I'm surprised they are actually still around.

We have chosen Blue Buffalo for our pup. In my several years in pet retail, I didn't see any Blue Buffalo recalls, which is surprising considering the amount of market share they have. And, it's easy to find so when we have miscommunication and realize we need dog food pronto, we can grab a bag easily. It also strikes a good balance for me between quality and price. Other brands that you should consider - Taste of the Wild, Merrick

I would also evaluate whether you need a grain-free food. With our pup, we tried a bunch and they all seemed too rich for her.

May I ask who you work for?

 

[pibbles]

Totally agree with @The Kalmyk, esp #4.

But this topic is oddly something I have opinions and experience with, both professionally and personally.

I used to work for a very prominent online pet retailer. We had tons of complaints from customers about carrying food with chinese ingredients, so a lot of manufacturers stopped sourcing chinese meats. However, most of the recalls we would have to deal with were due to bacterial contamination, which usually happens during manufacturing/processing... which almost always happens in the US... therefore probably not coming from Chinese sources.

My current role works with nutritional supplement raw ingredients, both for human and pet foods and supplements. Oddly, the pet food manufacturers are way more stringent on ingredients sources, heavy metals, etc, than human food manufacturers. Most pet food manufacturers will not approve an ingredient if it came from China, however, most human supplements are sourced with ingredients from China.

@Arwen's Mom I would ask what you are trying to achieve with buying better food and/or changing. Are you trying to see if there is a formula that works better for your pet to improve coat/digestive issues? Are you wanting to feed your pet something that's more sustainable, environmentally? Are you concerned about heavy metals & other contaminants? This may help you narrow it down.

With regards to which brand to choose, my experience at the online retailer tells me that Orijin is indeed a terrible brand. They had a very large recall when I was there, I'm surprised they are actually still around.

We have chosen Blue Buffalo for our pup. In my several years in pet retail, I didn't see any Blue Buffalo recalls, which is surprising considering the amount of market share they have. And, it's easy to find so when we have miscommunication and realize we need dog food pronto, we can grab a bag easily. It also strikes a good balance for me between quality and price. Other brands that you should consider - Taste of the Wild, Merrick

I would also evaluate whether you need a grain-free food. With our pup, we tried a bunch and they all seemed too rich for her.

 

[pibbles]

Totally agree with @The Kalmyk, esp #4.

But this topic is oddly something I have opinions and experience with, both professionally and personally.

I used to work for a very prominent online pet retailer. We had tons of complaints from customers about carrying food with chinese ingredients, so a lot of manufacturers stopped sourcing chinese meats. However, most of the recalls we would have to deal with were due to bacterial contamination, which usually happens during manufacturing/processing... which almost always happens in the US... therefore probably not coming from Chinese sources.

My current role works with nutritional supplement raw ingredients, both for human and pet foods and supplements. Oddly, the pet food manufacturers are way more stringent on ingredients sources, heavy metals, etc, than human food manufacturers. Most pet food manufacturers will not approve an ingredient if it came from China, however, most human supplements are sourced with ingredients from China.

@Arwen's Mom I would ask what you are trying to achieve with buying better food and/or changing. Are you trying to see if there is a formula that works better for your pet to improve coat/digestive issues? Are you wanting to feed your pet something that's more sustainable, environmentally? Are you concerned about heavy metals & other contaminants? This may help you narrow it down.

With regards to which brand to choose, my experience at the online retailer tells me that Orijin is indeed a terrible brand. They had a very large recall when I was there, I'm surprised they are actually still around.

We have chosen Blue Buffalo for our pup. In my several years in pet retail, I didn't see any Blue Buffalo recalls, which is surprising considering the amount of market share they have. And, it's easy to find so when we have miscommunication and realize we need dog food pronto, we can grab a bag easily. It also strikes a good balance for me between quality and price. Other brands that you should consider - Taste of the Wild, Merrick

I would also evaluate whether you need a grain-free food. With our pup, we tried a bunch and they all seemed too rich for her.

So if orijen is no good and taste of the wild is made by the same company.....

 

[Arwen's Mom]

hmmmm
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recalls/dog-food-recalls-by-brand/

 

[The Kalmyk]

Lucky me. My dog ate right threw the BB 2010 recall. The Wilderness Chicken is all she eats. The only recall I remember is her being a really fast trail dog in 2010

 

[pibbles]

hmmmm
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recalls/dog-food-recalls-by-brand/

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