[Blacksheep]

I thought about getting Natural Balance...but its to costly for me at the moment so...I feed Nature's Recipe. Is this ok at least?

[all4thedogs]

IMO this is a good food. I dont know what formula you are feeding, but the ones I looked at were fine

[dogluva]

I know what you mean, my cat eats dog food sometimes! My dog eats cat food! It's so funny they are good friends.

[dogluva]

Anyone here havae an American Eskimo dog? I do!

[dogluva]

I want to know how to post threads! Tell me! Tell me! TELL ME!!!!!!!!

[opokki]

Originally Posted by dogluva

I want to know how to post threads! Tell me! Tell me! TELL ME!!!!!!!!

When you first enter the forum there is a bone at the top of the page that says "new thread". Click on that.

[sarasmom]

If you will send to me your address (or email address) I can send you a DVD I have on "the truth about pet foods" and other info I got from Susan Thixton. It may help you know what to look for and decide for yourself. I would stay away from BHA/BHT are they are carginogens, and try to get what you can afford that has byproducts and corn furthest down on the list, if at all (preferably not at all). If you email to me the ingredient list of what you are feeding, I will give you my personal evaluation. (I am not an expert, but I will tell you what I have learned so far).
Thanks!

[Shaina]

Blacksheep: I fed Nature's Recipe for while, but switched to Canidae...it costs only slightly more (certainly much less than Nature's Balance), and she does much better on it then she did on NR. Just *food* for thought

[Cheetah]

Or you can go to http://www.dogfoodproject.com and read all about it. Mordanna is a certified nutritionist and has made that website full of free information that doesn't require that you give out personal information.

[RonE]

* * * Undead Thread Warning * * *

The OP hasn't been here since November 2006.

[lucygoose]

Hello All!! I am new here and still have to learn this forum.....But I want to share this link about the dog foods.....Click on the reviews.....I feed Nutro Lamb & Rice....but TOMORROW I will be going for the Solid Gold wee bites....OR the Nuturapet Innova EVO Red Meat-Small Bites...... We own a Papillon that is 15 months old.....Our Brittney we had for 14 years, lived on Iams.... Boy, what I know now......

Glad to meet you all and join the forum....

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

[geigerr]

I and my girlfriend own a 1 1/2 year old half Maltese poodle mix. We have been feeding him Wellness Core nature dog food for the last few months. He started to get anal leakage and needed to have the vet discharge his glands. Four weeks later it seems like he might need to get his glands discharged again.

I have come up with the conclusion that it is his dog food. So I began to look into wellness core dog food. I am full time student and couple years away from getting my PhD in bioanalytical chemistry. I have a good knowledge on how chemicals reactions in and outside the human body. Once I read the label of wellness core dog food, I realized right off the bat that this dog food is not fully natural. So I began to give a big search into natural dog food and realized that majority of the food I look into was not fully natural. I know that the big craze of natural and organic dog food began when "commercial" dog food was killing many dogs at young ages.

To prove my point that core is not fully natural let’s look into the ingredients

Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potato, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract

Big concerns are Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract.

All these ingredients are said that they "may" help with digest of the food or "may" give the dog a healthier life. Is just me or is this food not natural?

Glucosamine Hydrochloride is a sugar that is produced by the fermentation of corn or wheat grains....however, I thought this is grain free food, but they use sugar made from the fermentation of grains?

Chondroitin Sulfate is chemical supplement used with Glucosamine Hydrochloride to treat degenerative arthritis (degenerative joint disease)

Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, and Lactobacillus acidophilus are micro-bacteria that “should” help with digest. Normally, you don’t fix things that are not broken. If dogs were meant to have this type of bacteria in its digestion system it would have it.

Chicory Root Extract and Yucca Schidigera Extract are used to give energy or excitement to animals. Very similar to what guarana does for people. Wellness says it is added to help with digestion and aid the production of insulin. What if your dog doesn’t need help with his insulin level?

Rosemary Extract is adding to give favor and aroma to the dog food. If this dog food is suppose to have natural favor why add “season” to the food?

It can be seen that many “natural” supplements are added to core dog food to “enhance” dog’s digestion and aid to a better life. Most of this “natural” supplements can be synthetically made and drop the cost of production. So is this food really natural? If it is 100% natural, does these “natural” additives really good for a dog?

A good example is herbs and supplements from GNC, most of the products are “natural” but is it really good for your body to have excess vitamins, mineral, insulin, ATP, creatine, and protein? No one knows if these supplements will do harm 20years or so down the road, but what if it does?

My reason to writing this thread is I am concerned that people hear that these natural dog foods are really good for their pet; however, is it? Have there been any clinical trials on these supplements. Is this the reason that my dog Ernie has anal leakage? I am just trying to spread the word. I also want to know has any else’s dog have anal leakage or digestion problems from Core dog food or any other natural pet food?

Please help

[wcolin54]

Here is a formula to grade your dog food, followed by a rating of popular foods

Start with a grade of 100:
1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or
fat) reference, subtract 10 points
3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source,subtract 5 points
5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five
ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour" are
all the same grain), subtract 5 points
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats
in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2
points
11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic
to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to
wheat), subtract 2 points
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to
beef), subtract 1 point
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
Extra Credit:
1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or
nutritionist, add 5 points
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than
the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source
but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free
add 1 point
94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
69 = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored. Dog Food scores:
Dog Food scores:
Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C
Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B
Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C
Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+
Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Diamond Performance / Score 85 C
**** Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
**** Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+
**** Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+
Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C
Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C
Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Member's Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C
Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+
Nature's Recipe / Score 100 A
Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+
Nature's Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+
Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C
Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B
Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B
Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A
Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+
Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C
Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A
Purina Benful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F
Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Solid Gold / Score 99 A
Summit / Score 99 A
Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A