[punky]

While searching the web for a new pet food supplier (see I came across this horrible article. It's tells about the dog food industry. It's well worth reading!
http://futurepet.com/cgi-bin/search.exe?BP=1

 

[punky]

While searching the web for a new pet food supplier (see I came across this horrible article. It's tells about the dog food industry. It's well worth reading!
http://futurepet.com/cgi-bin/search.exe?BP=1

Sorry, type in dog food in the search bar and it will pop up.

 

[punky]

Do you think it's inaccurate?

 

[punky]

I called someone who has done extensive research for her pets food, dog and cats. She agrees and said the article was actually very mild in comparison with others on the internet. She said just Google ingredients pet food and you'll see plenty of substantiated proof. She asked around why Vets sell a lot of the negative pet foods and was told because it would be too time consuming to change all the foods and suppliers let alone the patients that they have told their products were better than the chain stores.
She found food finally at www.healthypets.com
She also told me to just read the ingredients, should be all things we know. Not a bunch of preservatives. One other note her cat has been changed over to a special food the Vet prescribed and he has developed hairballs and is shedding like crazy. The other cat still on the natural food is fine.

This is all very messy! To say the least. But I'm changing Punky's food.

 

[punky]

SEE! Damned money again! Since when has a vet not had time or inclination to put their patients interests over financial gain. Sick.

What did you decide on switching to in the end??

First of all I have to correct the website it's www.healtypetnet.com

I have been on the web for hours researching and.... I called my daughter,she uses Life's Abundance because it's all natural and even speaks about how food can make your pet live to it's expected life expectancy(which they usually don't). It happens to be the healthypetnet website and then I read other brand ingredients. I'm not sure about all the ingredients in the Royal Canin. But I can recognize everything in Wellness and Solid Gold so I'm going with one of those three. It's 3:00AM and I've got to get to bed so I'll finish this tomorrow and let you know.

 

[punky]

Actually Punky tends to eat Shadow's (my daughters dog) food when I'm there so I'm gonna call tomorrow to see if they ship to Puerto Rico.
I like the idea of having Punky around as long as possible and if her diet can make a difference just as our human lives/health can be affected by diet then I like what Life's Abundance has to say about that.
I'm getting obsessed with this forum tonight , time to get to bed :wave:

 

[punky]

BTW I meant cheaper for the veterinarians to stock their muck :lol:

I wasn't aware of the other two. I will definitely check them out...when I've finally got some sleep

OK before I run off this morning;
http://www.healthypetnet.com/products/food/dog/zone_dr_jane.asp?realname This site will give info re; the Drs. and other facts

Then CLICK on FOOD then CLICK on "CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE" and then finally CLICK on COMPARISONS.
You will be able to see a chart.
Somewhere on the site or thru an email one can also obtain a phone number to call to Dr. Bicks at an open conference call and ask her questions. My daughter called and she said one thing Dr. Bicks stressed was it doesn't only have to be her food JUST get your dog on a healthy food to keep them alive longer. NO preservatives and rotten "stuff"or chemicals.

I still like the idea of a Chihuahua specific food so I am still checking out Royal Canin.
Will come back on later :wave:

 

[punky]

OMG my chi is on Science Diet because my vet said it is good...I was actually thinking about changing it because she just turned a year old. I'm glad I read this article.. Can someone tell me what's really bad about Science Diet? I'm really interested now...
Thanks,
Holly

Well, I'm stating this in my honest opinion only about science diet. i have researched quality pet food ingredients and have founf that science diet has a lot of unhealthy ingredients in it; like by-products (which can be from any part of an animal and can be diseased, dying, or already dead animals). science diet also has corn meal listed as its first ingredient in some of their foods, which means it contains A LOT of fillers, not to mention corn isn't reallt digestable to dogs. there are just a lot of bad ingredients in the food...i don't listen to vets when they tell me "oh, science diet is the best your dog should eat it, blah blah blah blah." I do my own research on my pets food, that way i can be confident they're getting food, healthy stuff. again, this is only my opinion about cience diet...a lot of big brand dog food are like science diet, not to mention they are WAAAAY to expensive for the crappy ingredients in them. i'd rather spend that kind of money on a quality food like Wellness, Nutro, Royal Canin, Innova. By doing your homework when it comes to your pets food, you could actually be giving them a longer life and avoiding future health problems that could be associated with "cheap" foods. When a lot of dogs develope skin allergies, it's usually because of their food.

Well, this is just my opinion on the matter. :wave:

Your opinion is fitting together with all of my research so far :thumbleft:
There is an article from The Animal Protection Institute which could be seen as less biased since they do not sell the food. Not surprisingly major human food companies are in the dog food industries are also in the dog food business to use all the waste and unfit products from the human part of the business. I have read over and over how the food we feed our babies can prolong their lives and prevent illness and allergies.
The natural foods are only about a dollar more than I pay for Ekanuba. Punky doesn't even eat very much. She's like my child and I wouldn't feed my children waste.
From this article I just saw Iams & Ekanuba are made by Proctor & Gamble, don't know why I thought it was a specific dog food company.

Here's the website http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm

 

[punky]

Nutro is excellent dog food, IMO. Chico ate it as a puppy and had a very smooth, healthy coat. I feed my cats NutroMax gourmet classics because it's the only cat food my Gizmo can eat without throwing up everywhere...so i think that makes it good and i'm stickin with it! [/quote]

IMO????

 

[punky]

Ok I'll put my flame suit on for this one, but I'll stick up for the veterinarians in regards to Science Diet, Eukaneuba, Purina, IVD, Royal Canine etc...

Doctors are scientists. They don't go by fads, media, or labels claiming "all natural" or "no by products". They make their best professional nutrition recommendations based on the research that is available regarding daily and prescription diets.

If a vet recommends a food that hasn't gone through extensive testing to a client, and the dog becomes ill and dies or becomes sick, it is the vet's fault for recommending a bad food. Therefore, a vet can only make recommendations for foods that they can scientifically vouch for and are backed up by years of research and testing that is done by other scientists and veterinary nutritionists. As far as foods that appear to be good by the label, that's all they can say or vouch for. It "sounds good". But since there's no testing, they won't put their license on the line for it, and they won't recommend you put your dog's health on the line for it either.

This same rule appies to medications. Would a veterinarian prescribe a drug that has been unapproved for medical use? Even if it has been lauded by the general public, and someone (not a doctor) has written a few articles praising it and demoting their tried and true medications? No way, that's practicing irresponsible medicine and a malpractice lawsuit in the making.

Food is much the same way.

Only a handful of companies have done the scientific testing to show the medical community that their foods are safe and contain the right balance of nutrients and ingredients. These are the companies who veterinarians have no choice but to recommend based on the information that is available.

I am sure that if some of the fad diet or organic diet companies put the time and money into the R&D that it takes to do a scientific study, that veterinarians would take them more seriously. Since they cannot market their foods through this route, they instead appeal to the general public who is always a sucker for the "all natural" "no additivies" "no by products" deal. I know I am.

So, before we all scorn our vets for promoting Science Diet, and believe that there is a big conspiracy going on, consider this: your veterinarians job is to practice good medicine and make recommendations for your pets well being based on good science. To do otherwise is NOT sound practice, and while ABC brand of dog food MAY be better, they have not put forth the effort to prove it to the medical community, so instead they go after the companies that have.

The veterinarian is not necessarily there to make money, in fact they are the lowest paid doctors of all. The pet food industry, however, IS out to make a buck. I would trust a good vet over an article I read on the web any and every day.

Thanks for listening to my 2cents.

-Nate

I can only reply with the article by the Animal Protection Institute which clearly states they don not sell nor recommend food, only the labels to watch and ingredients. http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm They are not the pet food industry.
Also the natural foods are not fad diets this information as been out for years, I just didn't know until now.
I did ask my Vet about "better" foods and he said they're all ok I trust him with Punky for healthcare but he's not a food expert. I also included some links to Vets opinions. Anyway the links I posted are just the tip of the iceberg and none of them are new. As I've been asking others, I almost feel like I'm in the dark ages because so many others already knew this and have changed their pets. I just see no reason to take a chance with Punky çause it's gonna be hard enough when her time comes so I'll do what I can to keep her around as long as possible.
BUT I really think it's a very individual choice and my intention was to pass on what was "new"news to me. No intention to offend anyone especially a whole profession.

 

[punky]

Ok so I went to a different pet store and I bought Nutro dog food small bites.I threw away the Science Diet...I made sure there was no By-products and corn meal.Thanks Again
Holly

Nutro is excellent dog food, IMO. Chico ate it as a puppy and had a very smooth, healthy coat. I feed my cats NutroMax gourmet classics because it's the only cat food my Gizmo can eat without throwing up everywhere...so i think that makes it good and i'm stickin with it!

Is this a different Nutro? Çause it says corn gluten meal in ingredients.

Nutro Max Mini Chunk with Real Chicken & Lamb Proteins
Naturally preserved food for dogs who prefer a smaller bite size. Contains real Chicken and real Lamb proteins. All natural with vitamins and minerals. Up to 46% less backyard clean-up! Formulated for a Healthy Skin and Coat. Maintains clean teeth, fresh breath, and healthy gums. Does not contain Chicken By-Products.

Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Wheat Flour, Ground Whole Wheat, Rice Bran, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Natural Vitamin E), Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Rice, Lamb Meal, Natural Flavors, Yeast Culture, Calcium Carbonate, Monosodium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Dried Buttermilk, Dried Kelp, Dried Egg Product, Lecithin, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Oxide, Garlic, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin (source of Vitamin B2), Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid, Copper Sulfate.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (minimum) 26
Crude Fat (minimum) 16
Moisture (maximum) 10
Crude Fiber (maximum) 4

Does anyone know how corn really does affect dogs as far as allergies?

 

[punky]

What did you decide on switching to in the end??

Royal Canin's Chi Formula's third ingredient is ground corn.

Which Wellness, do those of you who use it, buy for your Chi?

I found the Wee Bit in the Solid Gold.

Does anyone know if it's important that we buy small breed specific food?

Just waiting now to hear from Abundance Life if they'll ship to Puerto Rico.

At least now I have the choice down to 3. :scratch:

 

[punky]

What did you decide on switching to in the end??

Royal Canin's Chi Formula's third ingredient is ground corn.

Which Wellness, do those of you who use it, buy for your Chi?

I found the Wee Bit in the Solid Gold.

Does anyone know if it's important that we buy small breed specific food?

Just waiting now to hear from Abundance Life if they'll ship to Puerto Rico.

At least now I have the choice down to 3. :scratch:

Well, the thing with Nutro is I think it's a good food...the corn gluten meal isn't necessarily harmful, it's just corn is not easily digested by dogs. something helpful to remember is that the farther down the ingredient list a certain ingredient is, the less there is in it...for example: lets say a dog food lists corn gluten meal as the tenth ingredient, and there are 15 ingredients in the food. since corn gluten meal is the 10th out of 15, there really shouldn't be that much in it.

I feed Chico Wellness. I buy him the dry Super5Mix Chicken flavor. (it's in a purple bag) and i also give him the Wellness canned Chicken and Sweet Potato as a treat (thats in a purple can)

I don't think it's THAT important to buy small breed formula versus regular adult formula, because all dog foods list feeding guidelines for dogs 1-15 lbs (small dogs) but you most likely wouldn't want to feed him a Large Breed formula or anything. I have seen the Royal Canin Chihuahua28 formula but i've never given it to Chico. Theres a few people on here who do feed it to their chi's royal canin and they say really great things about the food. whats most important is that your chi likes the food you are feeding. I tried the Solid Gold Hund-N-Flocken (gold bag) with Chico and he really didn't like it, but he loves the Wellness.

I'm the same though about Chico's food...I only want the best for him. Here's a link that might be able to help you: http://www.mashvet.com/forms/food_rating1.htm It lists recommended foods..."super premium" being the highest recommended. They also talk about a "human food" diet, but having a dog on that kind of diet is A LOT of work and requires a lot of research and giving supplements...I was considering it but I really don't want to gamble with my chi's health seeing as I have never ever done anything like it before. I hope that link helps you.

THANK YOU another HELPFUL link!! Since Chico didn't like Solid Gold, no reason for me to take a chance shipping it down here. So that brings me to 2 choices. Wellness and Life's Abundance. I figure this way, IF there's a chance "some" foods can possibly cause problems, why take a chance,right? Can never hurt to take precautions. I eat enough JUNK food for both of us
Thank You for your help!!!

 

[punky]

i actually don't believe science diet is a bad food !!! it's recommended by vets in the whole world :shock: that article comes over on me as one big ADVERTISEMENT (although i would like to buy it :wink: ) so all the foods are bad and that is the wonderfood :roll:

i know one thing for sure ....it will take a long time to get me eating a big-mac or a sausage again ....bweek , i don't eat a lot of meat because i'm a bit wary of it ....but now i have it massive again ....yak yak yak

ps i'm not throwing my science diet away that's for sure !!!!!

ps 2 ; is it really possible to let a dog get 25 years old ??

kisses nat

No advertisements, no products for sale,no endorsements; just facts;

http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm

 

[punky]

Punky you super sleuth!! I'm glad I agree with you!

You're funny!!!

 

[punky]

LOL, I dont think anyones upset by what you said, I think its more like light hearted exasperation.
Aside form that, this stuck me as concurring with all thats been said so far (taken from punk's link)...IT'S PUNKY Neither I nor she are Punks

It is exasperation and the frustration of finding the best solution.
Punky has been eating Ekanuba, the bag is in front of me.....First ingredient chicken, but second is chicken By-product meal and third is corn meal,then fish meal ( I wondered why sometimes she smells like my cats after she finishings eating )

My three Siamese eat Science Diet, the first ingredient is Brewers rice, second is chicken by-product meal and third is corn gluten meal, fifth ingredient is corn meal. This food even has chicken liver flavor(how does one get that flavor?)

Anyway more to the point. At least all this has caused me to read the labels which I have done for years with my family's food but not my animals.

It's all just information for each to do with as he/she chooses.

I do think it is very worthwhile for everyone with an interest to read this article, since it isn't from anyone with a financial interest http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm

By the way I'm glad so many take an interest in this Board to voice their own opinion. How boring if everyone agreed. Plus we are all learning from each others comments. The passion is also refreshing in a world where so many are complacent :salute:

 

[punky]

Punky you super sleuth!! I'm glad I agree with you!

I've just read it and have to say - thats the best write up I've seen! Surely a sticky for somewhere. I think any repsonsible owner would want to know what was in the food they were thinking of buying and I see many questions on asking for brand advice. Maybe with the READ before you buy you dog food or something.

I wish I'd known before I bought the big sack I've just dumped!

STICKY?

 

[punky]

you can ask on of the mods to get it stickied :wink:

the article was interesting.....but as we know this problem is not only for animals food but also for humans food. we eat garbage every day if you like it or not. sure i look at the back of products ....and try to eat as healthy as possible ....but i'm not going to overreact and let it run my life!
i checked the life abundance site ....and are you telling me they have no commercial interest ?? come on .... :? i'm honest i would like to give the brand to my dogs ...but don't overreact with saying science hill's and eukanuba etc are bad foods .....they are not.
i believe brands from big chains are crap (i can't name brands , because here they call different) and probably full of things one might better not know.
i know 80 percent of this site feeds their chi's ...eukanuba ,science hill's etc because they believe it's good ...so to predict they are bad is really fishy :wink:

that's the last thing i'm going to write about it ........i just half agree with it and half not agree with it :wink: .....but as i always say ...live and let live :wink: :wave:

kisses nat

i checked the life abundance site ....and are you telling me they have no commercial interest ?? come on .... :?

The link I posted with the article that Mr. Chi and I are referring to with no commercial interest is NOT on the Life's Abundance site. (That was purely a food suggested as healthy.)
The site is http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm Which is the Animal Protection Institute :lol:

 

[punky]

i noticed you guys take this really by heart !! but i think the site and the science diet doesn't interact with eachother :? i don't believe science diet is made from maggot infested carcasses .......
i try to give my dogs the best foods possible ........ i didn't see a better one here anyway ..;we don't have nutro or life abond.. etc .

Actually I saw one you have that looks really good

Burns Pet Nutrition (Scotland)Ltd 3 Portland Ave, Irvine, Ayrshire KA12 8NL Tel 01294 270953
Freephone 0800169 4535 Fax 01294 270954 | contact by email
Belgium - Web site Tel. 032320918 Fax. 032322584

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/store/index.html

Have you heard of it? Has lots of choices too!

 

[punky]

i try to give my dogs the best foods possible ........ i didn't see a better one here anyway ..;we don't have nutro or life abond.. etc .

Actually I saw one you have that looks really good

Burns Pet Nutrition (Scotland)Ltd 3 Portland Ave, Irvine, Ayrshire KA12 8NL Tel 01294 270953
Freephone 0800169 4535 Fax 01294 270954 | contact by email
Belgium - Web site Tel. 032320918 Fax. 032322584

http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/store/index.html

Have you heard of it? Has lots of choices too!

Right, I had included the number above the link for Belgium in the post.
One of my good friends has relocated to Belgium, hope to visit her.