Natural is better?

[dogsarebetter]

Maybe I will not get anything stirred up, but I need to talk about something that is on my mind. ****I in no way advocate feeding beneful, pedigree, etc***

When if comes to dog food, how is this necessarily true? I feed a pretty good food with no corn, wheat, soy, bi-products etc. And the reason why I do that is because... basically people online say its best. I have been to a website that picks out the bad ingredients in dog food and tells you what it really is. But I am not understanding why its so bad.

For example

Didnt dogs develop on our left overs. Our ansisters fed the early dogs basically things that they wouldnt eat. And they developed to live off of that for thousands of years. And now, today we feed things like free range bison and blue berries! I just wonder what is actually more "natural" for a dog to be eating.

Also, I know that vets endorse things like like Science Diet, mainly because they sell it and it helps them make money. BUT science diets have vets who formulate the dog food. Does Wellness, or Innova? I cannot help but wonder if this natural dog food thing is a crazy or not. And what really is better.... Purina Pro Plan, or Taste of the Wild!?


sorry if this is long winded and confusing. Its been on my mind, and I just wanted to get it out there.

What do you think?

[bubbatd]

When I think back to what my folks fed their Irish Setter back in the '40s, I sometimes wonder too ! He lived to be 17 .

[mjb]

I don't know the answer. I've thought about it, too. I did not think dogs were strictly carnivores, so I have not been sure why grains are a problem. Allergies? I understand, from reading, that meat and vegetables are better, but I don't know why.

[dogsarebetter]

I would love to have some knowledgeable person break it down and tell me HOW dogfoodanalysis.com knows what they know, what is the scientific evidence to it??

I think people just are like "oh no, this food is only two stars I better not feed it!" and never actually step back to say "hey... who are they to rate it? What are their qualifications"

[PoodleMommy]

I dont think anyone should feed Innova, TOTW, or anything else because someone on the internet told them to.

People should do their own independent research on what goes into different dog foods and make their own choices.

*I*dont want to feed my dog diseased animals, corn, sawdust, non human grade ingredients, and the like.... if someone else thinks its fine, so be it... however, they should make an educated decision after reading scientific research.

[JessLough]

I do not know the answer, and I in no way advocate feeding the (quote on quote) "low quality crap foods", I think it is somebody's personal opinion.
However, if they were really that much worse, wouldn't dogs who are fed it live up to 10 at the most, and dogs fed (quote on quote) "high quality foods" live to be much older, and be much healthier?

I don't know... I feed one of the former of the choices, and Rosey is almost 11 (possibly 12) and is as healthy as a puppy. Whereas I know people who feed the latter, and they're dogs have huge medical issues and such.

I don't know, the food to feed is personal opinion, and nobody should be bashed for feeding a certain food. IMHO

[dogsarebetter]

One thing Jess though... Ruckus has huge medical problems. Skin allergies, excessive shedding, anxiety dissorder, and a very sensitive stomach. And from day one he was on Nutro, then I put him on Diamond Naturals. He is usually on taste of the wild. What I am saying is that his problems are not due to feeding crap food. So I am not so sure that a dog feed crap food and having issues have to do with each other. It would make since to me though.

as a dog groomer, here in the south... most dogs I see are fed Alpo canned food, or beneful. I admit, I see loads of skin problems, and fat dogs that always stink. But I really cant say its due to the dog food. Who knows! We have loads of Amish puppy mills that clients get their dogs from, so it may be bad breeding more than anything.

And I have having issues understanding why almost EVERYONE I know that shows dogs uses and recommends Pro Plan! These dogs are very valuable and have to be in the best condition for shows of course.

[Beanie]

I'm not sure I follow the argument. If, in the past, we fed our dogs table scraps and remnants of what we ate, what does that have to do with what's in a bag of Eukanuba or Purina?

Also, just because someone is a vet, that doesn't mean they know about nutrition. Just because someone is a doctor, that doesn't mean they know about nutrition either. That's why there are nutritionists. It's a specific study.

And yes - Wellness was bought by an animal nutritionist and he is the one responsible for making it the company it is today. Their philosophy is to feed exactly what you said dogs used to be fed: human grade ingredients. They just happen to be skipping the step of giving it to US to cook and eat first, then give our leftovers to the dogs.
Innova (Natura) also has vets and animal nutritionists on board, FWIW.

[Zoom]

In the past, what we fed our dogs as scraps WAS free-range cow/bison/rabbit, whatever. It wasn't the diseased and rotting over-processed scraps left from genetically altered and hormone injected feedlot cattle.

You have to remember, the standards for both human and pet food consumption have been lowered over the past few decades and such to keep consumer prices low and profitability high. Think of what grade of meat you get from Taco Bueno or Burger King these days on the dollar menus. Then realize that what goes into Pedigree, Alpo, Purina, etc is a couple of grades BELOW that. It's just flat out disgusting.

I find it beyond amusing that we chase dogs out of garbage cans and such, but happily feed them Beneful because a slick TV ad tells us it's "good". How is that different from taking someone's advice over the internet when they suggest looking into better foods?

[Romy]

Originally Posted by dogsarebetter

One thing Jess though... Ruckus has huge medical problems. Skin allergies, excessive shedding, anxiety dissorder, and a very sensitive stomach. And from day one he was on Nutro, then I put him on Diamond Naturals. He is usually on taste of the wild. What I am saying is that his problems are not due to feeding crap food. So I am not so sure that a dog feed crap food and having issues have to do with each other. It would make since to me though.

as a dog groomer, here in the south... most dogs I see are fed Alpo canned food, or beneful. I admit, I see loads of skin problems, and fat dogs that always stink. But I really cant say its due to the dog food. Who knows! We have loads of Amish puppy mills that clients get their dogs from, so it may be bad breeding more than anything.

And I have having issues understanding why almost EVERYONE I know that shows dogs uses and recommends Pro Plan! These dogs are very valuable and have to be in the best condition for shows of course.

Well, if you are a breeder purina offers free food if you send in so many UPCs from the bags of dog food you are buying, which when you have a lot of dogs adds up over time.

Also, all the folks I personally know that feed Purina and are heavy into showing also feed at least 50% canned and home cooked. That's not including the salmon oil supplements, the kelp meal, the special coat growth formulas, etc. that they feed that makes up for all the missing nutrients in the base kibble. Most serious and successful dog show folks have their own little secret formulas of supplements and home cooking they give their dogs.

Both Charlie and Strider's breeders are pretty into showing. Charlie's breeder has goldens, and manages to actually finish their AKC CH's, which is a testament to her dog's conditioning and confo as a CH on a golden is very hard to get. Both of them feed Kirkland as their base kibble.

Charlie's breeder told me that she tried her dogs on Purina and a few other "budget" kibbles and her dogs started stinking and their overall condition went downhill. Then she switched to some of the really premium stuff, TOTW, Innova, etc. and they were amazing, but she was going broke. So then she tried Kirkland, and her dogs still looked great. She said that basically their coats were slightly less shiny so she supplements to make up for that.

Strider's breeder uses it as a base kibble with raw meat, goat's milk, and boiled rice. She's transitioning them to total raw using farm animals they raise themselves.

My own dogs follow that same routine. Kirkland base kibble with lots of scraps and home cooking and raw. They are doing great, looking great and are both very healthy. In part from good breeding and in part from diet.

It's suspicious to me that Strider, who can eat leftover calabacitas with green and red chiles and cheese without any gas or runny poo, and can sit down and eat a 4 lb pork shoulder raw in one sitting can not tolerate purina dog food. It just doesn't work for him (or our carpet). It even made him vomit.

Every dog is different though, the important thing is to find a food that your dog does well on.

ETA: Another reason someone told me that they use Pro Plan is because when they are campaigning their dogs and traveling across the country with them constantly, Pro Plan is always easy to obtain so they don't have to worry about lugging 50 lb. food bags everywhere. I also know some folks who campaign their dogs and they do lug big bags of the more premium stuff with them because they feel it is important.