Solid Gold dog food

[Petra]

sorry for another dog food site, but since my dog has had bad diarrhea since her new bag of food, I thought I should let others be aware of it. Just like a new puppy owner who rolls up a newspaper and hits themselves when their puppy makes a mess , because they didn't pay attention, I had to hit myself, I eventually looked at the ingredients since I knew something was happening with the company, and the first three ingredients are oatmeal, barley and MILLET,. Oatmeal and barley arent bad but not the first on the list. Starches turn to sugar, no wonder she wasn't able to keep her weight down and was hyper. Now for MIllet, there are birds that don't eat it , it is a FILLER in bird food bags, MY definition of a filler, no nutritional value or undigestable, and used to just add bulk to the food to sell it. Even clay serves a purpose. Solid Gold brags about thier food being Salmon and Bison as their first ingredients, seems like alot of them are doing this to cut costs, I am switching to Fromm Gold Senior, first three ingredients are duck and chicken, my other food site is the Fromm question. If people are having problems with diarrhea in their dogs , read your dog food bags or call the company to see if there has been a change. If anyone knows for the reason for the millet I would like to know.

[Petra]

Forgot to add, even better the Fromm is less expensive!

[big steve46]

What is the name of the feed causing problems that did not have meat among the first three ingredients?

[Petra]

The food that I had been using was the Solid Gold senior, less active formula since last Nov. to keep weight off of her for her knee, it was this last bag that she had problems , it had been difficult to get their products so we thought that they were going out of business and when I questioned them they told me that nothing had changed, but the formula has changed from the previous bag. I put her on hamburger and rice and within a day and a half her stool was solid and with just alittle of the dog food she had a puddle that is when I checked out the formula and was surprised at the BIG change , I am feeding a dog not a horse, and not willing to pay the price for mainly grain.

[big steve46]

Petra, Sounds like you are thinking correctly. It you want your dog to lose a couple of pounds, continue to feed a good feed, but feed slightly less volume. Whoever recommended the feed you have been feeding with grains as the first three ingredients needs common sense and/or some nutrition training.

[ezzy333]

Petra,

If you are asking about milo, it has basically the same feed value as corn. The main difference is that the milo needs to be ground to breakup the hard shell of the kernel. It works well for birds whole but otherwise it needs to be cracked or ground. I am not a fan of feeds that have grain as the first ingredient but you will find that quite often in feeds for older dogs where people are trying to control the weight of their dogs. And truth be known it works pretty well and has been used for years to keep older inactive dogs healthy. If you are talking about millet, it is just another seed much like all of the other grain products that is highly prized for birds since it is the size and type that most all birds like and eat. I am not familiar with the feeding value of millet without looking it up. I am sure there would be a difference also depending on the type of millet used as there are several common types. I know of no other feed source that appeals to more desirable birds than the red and white millets that are commonly used and if you question that you need to go to a farm that raises it and watch the birds gather when those fields are near harvest or afterwards.

Your definition of a filler is about right but using that definition I have yet to find a filler in any feed and have no idea why anyone would put one in a feed of any kind. It is too expensive to ship good concentrated feeds around the country now days without shipping something that does nothing. You think food is expensive now just imagine what it would be if it was full of fillers.

Hope this answers some of you questions at least.

Ezzy

[Petra]

I did my research and millet does have some nutritional value, but I don't know why since it has been added to their dog food that I am using her stools are puddels, I quess I really don"t need the answer, I just needed to switch to a food that agrees with my dogs, and going along with what big steve said about feeding less,, to control weight, I'll do that and add a veg. to fill her up so she doesn"t act like she is starving all the time by playing floor hockey with her food bowl.

[ezzy333]

I agree with Steve and that could also be done with what you are feeding. It is doing just what you said you would do by adding a vegetable. Millet is a vegetable. I think if you want to add a vegetable to help control weight green beans works very well but no matter what you add it will losen the stools at least initially.

Hope you find something that relieves your problem and I would strongly advise that you just reduce the quanity of whatever you feed.

Ezzy

[big steve46]

Ezzy, there you go again trying to increase your credibility level by agreeing with me.

[ezzy333]

I'm trying but it doesn't seem to be working. I think your lofty status has faltered lately. :roll:

Ezzy

[big steve46]

I still have my lofty status as I'm still about 6' 5" in my shoes.

[Killer Instinct]

I still have my lofty status as I'm still about 6' 5" in my shoes.

What is it with you Men & size?..... Sorry, couldn't resist.....

[big steve46]

Speaking of size, some are jealous of the ones of us that have full-size dogs with tails! I'm sure you will agree that my humor is Solid Gold, even if my dog food is not.

[Petra]

I didn't know if this should go under my discussion on Fromm dog food or here, this relates to my experience with both, after 4 days on 100% Fromm, her stools are solid again( from day one) no runny eyes and no problem with upset stomach from mucous, on top of that she is doing jumping spins in the air over the food, she runs to her spot and stands still before I release her, only a few seconds of control, remember this is a food forum not a training forum. The representative at Solid Gold told me when I called to talk about the change in ingredients and how it effected my dog ,she diagnosed my dog with giardia over the phone, I have not tested her so I can't completely dispute this, and I will have her checked if the diarrhea comes back, but so far everything is much better, I would not have minded the suggestion of checking for giardia but to give my a diagnosis over the phone is alittle much, she stated that Solid Gold could not cause any of the problems that my dog was having , just a coincidence that it all just happened at the same time as the new bag of food with the new ingredients. :roll:

[big steve46]

Petra, I'm just curious as to why you feed the highly expensive Fromm. I'm sure it's a great food, but other companies such as Purina and Diamond make products made with no corn or wheat at much less cost. Have you tried "Diamond Natural Chicken and Rice" for example?

[Petra]

I will look at the ingredient list in those foods, I was happy with this food it is almost half the price of solid gold

[jenilopaz]

Raw Food
Comes frozen and you keep it in your freezer and thaw it before feeding. Mostly freshly ground meat and bones, and many brands contain fruits and vegtables and sometimes grains as well. Raw chicken and turkey necks are a great way to clean teeth, provide natural calcium and phosphorus, and add variety to a dog's diet and raw bones are the perfect healthful treat. It is good for health also.
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Jenilopaz

Guaranteed ROI

[big steve46]

Solid Gold is made by a good manufacturer, which is Diamond. However, I'm sure it is made according to Solid Gold's specifications. If you want to feel good by spending over a dollar a pound for feed, some of Diamond's own products will accomplish that, and give you a better feed. Most of us that feed Diamond are content with their products that cost half that.