Need help please.

LGSD · 09-06-2006, 02:27 PM

Ok I am after a new brand of food for my dog... and I am looking into learning what to look for in food, what they should have and should not have...

Any ideas?

chuma · 09-07-2006, 11:57 PM

try royal canine...its a bit plricey but it is worth it..it has evrything for your dog..it also depends how large your dog is..cause if money is not a problem i would definetly recomend this one..look into it.. just search "royal canine"..just a suggestion

Cheetah · 09-08-2006, 12:30 AM

I don't care for Royal Canin (nothing personal)... it has corn in it, along with other ingredients I avoid (beet pulp, soy). Personally, I do not think it's worth the money they charge for it. For the same price, you could get a higher quality food.

Foods that are top of the line, in my experience, are Innova, Canidae, California Natural, Nature's Variety, and Eagle Pack Holistics (I may have left some out because it's late).

I am on the fence about Natural Balance... They have a few ingredients that aren't the best (canola oil and unspecified fish meal), but nothing too bad...

LGSD · 09-08-2006, 05:12 AM

OK I have a GSD girl at 8 months, the reason I am "chaning" is that she in quarantine and they feeding (IMO) crap food.
From the super market and not into that to be honest.

I have been on RC before but looking for something better, being in the UK Eagl Pack is REALLY hard to get, only ONE supplier in the whole of UK, and it is a bit price here... I like it though and might take it anyway.
But saw it says yellow corn in Eagl pack junior food.. is that same as corn?
Is little corn ok or not at all.. as I see it most food have corn in it, or am I reading the wrong label lol.

Also Mera Dog have got a bit of good view, its a german brand and almost all GSD top breeder using it and have got good result.

Any ideas?
Jess

flip195 · 09-08-2006, 09:53 AM

Can you get chicken soup for the doglovers soul? NO CORN and not too pricey, and I have to ask why is she in quarantine? I thought they had pet passports now in the UK

You may also want to look at this..
Eclipse Dog Food Puppy Foods

Cheetah · 09-08-2006, 10:23 AM

The regular Eagle Pack foods do have corn in them, but the Holistics do not. I haven't heard of Mera Dog... might you have an ingredient list?

LGSD · 09-08-2006, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flip195

Can you get chicken soup for the doglovers soul? NO CORN and not too pricey, and I have to ask why is she in quarantine? I thought they had pet passports now in the UK

You may also want to look at this..
Eclipse Dog Food Puppy Foods

UK is a country that think they are King of the king of not having rabies in their country, they are the so far hardest country in the world, my girl is from UK, but long story short, I moved to Sweden then back but as she was puppy the 6 months in sweden did not meet their "law" of being Either in the country 6 months from the day she got the vaccine or being in the quarantine, so 3 months was missing, so there for she HAVE to be in quarantine NO MATTER what until those 6 months are up all together, and that is till 28th Nov. I have been let down of my own mother who had promised me to have her the 6-7 months so she could be with out the quarantine, so there you have it all in a nut shell.

Now they dont feed OR have the food she was on in Sweden, so I am looking for something that is good, but still not making me homeless lmfao.

LGSD · 09-08-2006, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheetah

The regular Eagle Pack foods do have corn in them, but the Holistics do not. I haven't heard of Mera Dog... might you have an ingredient list?

Sure will here is a link, its a german brand, but found the site also in English.
Meradog
If you click product and then Analysis you will see there Average analysis values.

Melos · 09-08-2006, 11:10 AM

I'm curious. What is wrong with corn or soy or beet pulp or canola oil? I mean, I think a dog should be getting mostly meat, right? But what is wrong with these?

LGSD · 09-08-2006, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melos

I'm curious. What is wrong with corn or soy or beet pulp or canola oil? I mean, I think a dog should be getting mostly meat, right? But what is wrong with these?

Well what I heard about corn specially is it filling up and its not being digested, although that goes for humans as well, corns comes out whole in all due to its to strong to being digest, but I have heard that its "filling".. not sure how true it is.

luv4gsds · 09-08-2006, 12:02 PM

If you look at the ingredients one by one and get a understanding what each ingredients does for the dog or cat than you will know what is good and what is bad. Take corn for instance, all corn is is a filler it has no purpose. Beet pulp is a good source of fiber, if the sugar has been removed.

LGSD · 09-08-2006, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luv4gsds

If you look at the ingredients one by one and get a understanding what each ingredients does for the dog or cat than you will know what is good and what is bad. Take corn for instance, all corn is is a filler it has no purpose. Beet pulp is a good source of fiber, if the sugar has been removed.

I am sorry I have tried to see that... but cant see it.. I mean if i look it does not say its a filler (not question you, just saying that I dont understand it).
There does not say anywhere it is a filler, and if it does, where?
Not on the paket right.. or am I blind.. also if it does, can you give me a link to where it does. lol

opokki · 09-08-2006, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LGSD

I am sorry I have tried to see that... but cant see it.. I mean if i look it does not say its a filler (not question you, just saying that I dont understand it).
There does not say anywhere it is a filler, and if it does, where?
Not on the paket right.. or am I blind.. also if it does, can you give me a link to where it does. lol

You won't actually see the word "filler" listed as an ingredient. My understanding is that a filler is an ingredient added to the food to bulk it up. I have also heard people refer to a filler as something with little or no nutritional value. Carbohydrates/fiber add bulk to dry dog food and are commonly referred to as "fillers", however, many carbohydrates and fiber used in dog foods do serve some purpose besides just adding bulk. Various types of fiber (beet pulp & rice bran are good sources of SCFAs) supply short chain fatty acids, which are an important source of nutrients for gastrointestinal health. Rice, corn, & barely are a few of the more common sources of carbohydrates, contributing to the bulk of the food as well as supplying calories.

A good resource for choosing a quality food is: The Dog Food Project.

And another one:
Selecting a Commercial Pet Food

Cheetah · 09-08-2006, 03:35 PM

What Opokki said lol...

As for Mera Dog, it seems te first ingredient is corn (maize), then unspecified poultry meal (but better than by-products). Ideally, you want meat meal as the first ingredient in a food, and it's best if they specify the source, like chicken, duck, etc. There is also beet pulp and they do not state if the sugar is removed.

There are also pricey foods here in the US that all the commercials say are good (Eukanuba, IAMS, and Pedigree to name a few). They are expensive, and their ingredients are not worth the money.

LGSD · 09-08-2006, 03:58 PM

Thanks for your input... as I have seen that Mera Dog (for now is best for me) the one I will pick, later on IF it does not work out well I will look into Eagl Pack and see if it has come to a bigger or more sales in the UK for this food.

Eukanuba, IAMS, and Pedigree would I NEVER buy.

THANK YOU LOL

luv4gsds · 09-08-2006, 04:47 PM

Quote:

I am sorry I have tried to see that... but cant see it.. I mean if i look it does not say its a filler (not question you, just saying that I dont understand it).
There does not say anywhere it is a filler, and if it does, where?
Not on the paket right.. or am I blind.. also if it does, can you give me a link to where it does. lol

Ok! lets look at some of the ingredients in Purina.
* Ground yellow corn- Corn is a starch. Dogs can not break down corn because they have smaller intestines than humans so corn goes right threw them. By that they do not get nothing from corn (filler).

* Poultry by-product meal- Inferior source of protein.

* Corn gluten meal- Is a concentrated source of protein that can be substituted for costlier animal protein. In many bargain dry dog foods, corn gluten meal provides a large proportion or the total protein in the food rather than more digestible forms of protein such as meat.

* Soybean meal- Is high in protein and energy. The soybean meal remaining after extracting most of the oil from whole soybeans. The oil may be removed by solvent extraction or by an expeller process in which the beans are heated and squeezed.

* Beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols- All this is is fat.

* Brewers rice- Is a lower quality rice product that is missing many of the nutrients found in ground rice and ground brown rice.

* Dicalcium Phosphate- also known as calcium monohydrogen phosphate, is a dibasic, calcium phosphate. And is mainly used as a dietary supplement.

* Calcium Carbonate- Calcium carbonate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

* Malted Barley Flour- Barley Flour

You take each ingredient and you do a little bit of home work. Look up each one and see what is good about them and not so good about them. And see how they benefit your dog or cat. You want to look at the first three in ingredients, if meat isn't the first ingredient than move on to another kibble or cat food. If meat is the first ingredient than you have a chance that the protien will be a good protien.

opokki · 09-08-2006, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luv4gsds

Ok! lets look at some of the ingredients in Purina.
* Ground yellow corn- Corn is a starch. Dogs can not break down corn because they have smaller intestines than humans so corn goes right threw them. By that they do not get nothing from corn (filler).

In general, dogs can not digest any plant material well because they lack the enzyme cellulase, which is needed to break down the cellulose walls of plants. However, cooking and grinding (as done in the processing of dog foods) breaks these cellulose walls down which allows for plant material to be digested. Starch is a major source of calories in most dry dog foods and could not supply calories if it was not digestible.

luv4gsds · 09-08-2006, 09:07 PM

Quote:

In general, dogs can not digest any plant material well because they lack the enzyme cellulase, which is needed to break down the cellulose walls of plants.

That is the reason dogs lack the ability to break down plant material because of the shorter intestinal tract than humans. Starch turns to simple sugars (Carbohydrate). If corn is the first ingredient in dog food than that is where the energy source is going to come from it isn't going to come from the meat.

Good read
What’s Really in Pet Food
Get The Facts - What’s Really in Pet Food

opokki · 09-08-2006, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luv4gsds

If corn is the first ingredient in dog food than that is where the energy source is going to come from it isn't going to come from the meat.

I agree and I think that carbs are a major source of energy for most dry dog foods. I was only disputing the statement: "they do not get nothing from corn".

luv4gsds · 09-09-2006, 09:40 AM

Quote:

"they do not get nothing from corn".

What meant about that is the nutritional value. Corn has little nutritional content and is only digested. When a dog digesties corn it turns into a carb, that is where the energy source comes from.

What Makes My Pet Fat
AFS-What Makes Dogs Fat

Carbohydrates in Nutrition
http://www.medical-library.net/sites...nutrition.html