www.dogfoodanalysis.com

kalel · Post by **kalel** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:30 pm

What do you guys think of this website? I have searched all of the archives here and read most of the threads about dog food. There are people that love Arkat, Black Gold, Iams, etc. and this site gives most of those foods 1 out of 6 stars. It likes Chicken Soup brand (Diamond I guess), and Canidae All Life.

The reason I ask is that Canidae is not very convenient for me to get, but my local feed store (that I go to all of the time) has mostly Purina, Chicken Soup, and Black Gold.

It seems like the site has a problem with by product of any kind, and makes most of his judgement on that premise.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:42 pm

Well it really depends on the QUALITY of the by product heart lungs liver kidneys have better protien sources then regular meat does

so your higher end foods are going to have that where you mass production cheap dog food is going to have the cheapset low grade grain and meat sources

but as with the rest I look to the food and more important what and how my dogs do on a food ...and My dogs do very well on the food I am feeding and that is the key
I can rely on performance in the field with the food

So Grant maybe you should start a seperate section on the board for food seem to be brought up at least every other week if not faster

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:35 am

Forget all of the marketin hoopla and go buy a decent food you can afford and then stick with it. I have no idea where all of this concern for what you feed your dog comes from. Dogs are an animal that can and does eat most anything.

Ezzy

RoundRiver Setters · Post by **RoundRiver Setters** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:53 am

Here is a really well put together dog food website, that I like to refer to.

Explains alot about what the ingredients mean. Whats good & Bad
I know I, for sure, am definately a label reader after this.

Click below

Dog Food Prodject

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:30 am

Most dogs do well on most good foods. With that said, to call Diamond "chicken soup" is indicative of a person's ignorance of Diamond's complete line of products and/or the good quality of their products. :roll:

shootist · Post by **shootist** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:33 am

I fed Canidae for over a year. I have no doubt that it is a great food. Cash just didn't do very well on it though. His coat turned dull, he didn't have the energy, and he didn't like the way it tasted. I recently switched him to Diamond. I haven't been feeding him long enough to see what kind of difference I'm going to get, but he sure loves the taste. A dog food doesn't have to be holistic to be a good food.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:40 am

Other thing to think about with dog foods It also doesn't matter i order for OUR convience it is packaged food it is going to be processed so unless your making your own food, Feed companies have to make make their food appear better...WHen you go in with your eyes open you can seperate the better foods from your cheap foods

...when a wild dog or cat kills a prey the very first thing they go for is the stomach and inners...
Pack animla the lead animal get the best parts again it is the very parts we as Humans find disgusting.I used to be like that but Pack animals ahve to be the lead they need to be in the best shape and since they are the lead they get the choice parts before the lower level animals get to eat.
So The FDA is a sight a refer to about ingredients http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2001/301_pet.html

MArketing is the key and there are quite a few Companies which are selling the the food making it sound like something fit to put on your dinner plate

Here is the most decieving thing Many companies do ...Listing Chicken or Beef as a first ingredient Sorry If it doesn't say _____Meal then what is listed as a first ingredient will no longer be the first when it is Processed into a meal so that You can pour out the Dry dog food so unless it is a wet food that Real Meat source has to be procesed into a dry plain and simple
as quoted from the FDA web site

Pet food ingredients must be listed on the label in descending order by weight. However, the weight includes the moisture in the ingredient, which makes it tricky to interpret. "A moist ingredient, such as chicken, which may be 70 percent water, may be listed ahead of a dry ingredient, such as soybean meal, which is only 10 percent water--yet the soy actually contributes more solids to the diet," says Susan Donoghue, V.M.D., owner of Nutrition Support Services, Inc., and past president of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition.

Similar materials listed as separate ingredients may outweigh other ingredients that precede them on the list of ingredients. For example, chicken may be listed as the first ingredient, then wheat flour, ground wheat, and wheat middlings. The consumer may believe that chicken is the predominant ingredient, but the three wheat products--when added together--may weigh more than the chicken.

Gota go back to my favorite food to pick on Beneful..Look at the package WHo;e ear of corn chunks of beef peas

Turn the package around..Chicken Sugar sucrose beef is way down the lest which they say beef which means i still needs to be turned in to a mael to make a dry food which puts it further down the list

I know some people out there that feel the need about buying the most expensive food with the most designer name , the other end of the spectrum is the ole roy and old yeller cheap mass production feed many backyard pets or in house pets basically the minimal excersise animals do OK with the food

So Depending what your dog really needs out of a food that is where one will see exactly how great there food is which many of your desigener foods willnot really maintain a dog that is truely hunting and used extensively versus the week end warrior use

So Kcal per cup is important to me as to what my dog can use out of a food.I ahve some which are used quite a bit for guiding on the preserve.I need them going strong whether it is a short hunt or if I need that dogs for a few hunts during the day I need my dog able to hunt every day ...So I really rely on my dogs performance in the field

glk7243 · Post by **glk7243** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 11:15 am

When I was a kid in the 60's there were only a few feeds available. The majority of the people with hunting dogs fed Purina Dog Chow. Our setters hunted hard and lived a long time on the green bag.
By todays standard that food is considered at the low end of the scale.

About 10 yrs ago I got caught up in the interent hype and since I "loved" my dogs I was going to feed them the best food possible. Plus since I was an avid bird hunter I wanted the best performance I could receive from the food.
To make a long story short (well at least shorter) for a period of 3 yrs I tried all the top rated foods at that time on 3 different dogs.
The end result is I could rarely see any discernable difference between a food that sells for a $1 a lb or $3 a lb. I would at times see a food that a dogs coat would have a negative response to.
The moral to the story is I'm back to feeding my original food that cost $.50 a lb. and the ingrediant list is still a lot better than dog chow.
Regards
Gary

shootist · Post by **shootist** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:00 pm

Great post glk7243. I am right behind you.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:34 pm

glk, You nailed it, but that was before everyone decided they know more than the nutritionist. In the past several years I can't think of a single thing that has more bad information floating around than dogfood. I often want to as the people who know all about dogfood to write a formula and post it on here so we can all see it.

Ezzy

Post by **slistoe** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 6:02 pm

I think the site is malarky. It doesn't prove out in real life on real working dogs.

1vizsla · Post by **1vizsla** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 6:20 pm

Big Steve, you do know that "Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul" is a food made by Diamond and not a remark on quality or reputation?

Carla

P.S. It is a good choice of dog food.

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 6:40 pm

Sorry Carla, I guess I'm just familiar with several types that our local feedstore carries, and they don't carry that one. It's been several months since I was on the Diamond webbsite, or I might have remembered it. Best regards,

Post by **slistoe** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:19 am

1vizsla wrote:Big Steve, you do know that "Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul" is a food made by Diamond and not a remark on quality or reputation?

Carla

P.S. It is a good choice of dog food.

Wow, it must make the heart sing just to pay for it at the till.

Is anyone still convinced that dog food marketing has anything to do with the dogs at all?

1vizsla · Post by **1vizsla** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:44 am

Big Steve,

That's ok, it's not on the Diamond website. They list it on its own site but is a Diamond product. They just advertise it under a different line. I can't feed it because I have a dog with allergies to poultry but I have friends that do feed it. This great food debate can go on forever but like other people have said, feed what you can afford and your dog does the best on.

Carla

shets114 · Post by **shets114** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:02 pm

ezzy333 wrote:I often want to as the people who know all about dogfood to write a formula and post it on here so we can all see it.

Ezzy

When are you going to post your recipe so we can all benefit.

big steve46 · Post by **big steve46** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 1:01 pm

I'm sure the reasons most good companies have a variety of products is so a owner can purchase what they need for certain levels of activities or for special health needs. Diamond, for example, has a "Large Breed Puppy lamb and rice formula", and it has no chicken, beef, wheat, or corn in it. Again, most companies have a variety of formulas, and it is not only made for marketing reasons, but rather to meet client's needs. Thanks Carla.

1vizsla · Post by **1vizsla** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:55 pm

I actually really liked Nutro and my animals did well on it for a while and then Elvis started having real bad ear infections. Then I checked the bag and they had started adding poultry fat to it, so we had to stop. I liked it because it was medium priced and I could find it locally.

Carla

Post by **ezzy333** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:10 pm

Carla, The word is that allergies are caused by the protien and not the fat. So even if a dog is allergic to chicken the fat would not be a problem. I was reading again a couple of days ago about this very subject but I can't remember where or I would post it.

Ezzy

1vizsla · Post by **1vizsla** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:19 pm

Actually, my dog is allergic to the fat as not all the protein molecules are separated during processing. Good thing he is not a hunting dog.

We call Elvis the "Bubble Boy" as he is also allergic to grass, trees, weeds, dirt and 52 other items on the three allergy panels we have had tested. Almost came to the decision to put him down but the snow and ice came and he became his lovable self again. Once spring comes we may still have to make that decision because he gets so miserable and his ears are horrible (lost most of his hearing now anyway). He is only 4 but acts like an 14 year old. Grumpy old man. Vets have given up on him beside his allergy shots and quarterly deep ear clean when he is put under.

Carla