Is expensive dog food better

2BrownDawgs · 07-06-2006, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogluver101

Not all the time but Innova is very good food and it is not that badly priced either.

I need to move to where you live!! A 33lb bag of Innova here is $45.00!

LDLegacies · 07-27-2006, 08:51 AM

I have 7 Shelties all ranging in age from 11 years to 9 wks old. I feed Innova and Healthwise Puppy.
Expensive foods are not always good foods, Science diet is one that people think is great. It's high priced, the vets sell it, so it must be good, right? Not! The 1st ingredient on the back of the bag is Corn! Big No NO. You always want your 1st ingredients to be meat meals (Chicken meal, lamb meal so on) and then your veggie types .
Visiti www.naturapet.com and look at the ingredients of there food. They also have a page where you can compare what you feed to there food. BIG DIFFERENCE in quality. Not only that, But when you feed a crummy food, they have alot of fillers in it so the dog eats more of it. When you feed a high quality food, they get full and satified because its meeting there nutritional requirements and not acting as a filler. Therefor, feeding less and a bag is lasting longer than the cheap food. It may be more cost upfront initially, But in the long run, you will save!

NewfCrazy · 07-27-2006, 09:30 AM

A better food that they digest properly will also cut down on the amount of poop, and make the poop harder so that the anal glands stay clear. If a food lists a meat meal as a first ingredient, but then the next three are all types of grains/corn/rice - then the food is more filler than anything. Dog food is a very personal choice - I think it depends on your budget and definitely your dog. I used to feed my dogs Ol Roy, and one did very well on it - the other got fat, fat, fat. My first newf was fed Pedigree because that's what the breeder specified. When she passed away, I started researching dog foods before I got my next newf and chose Solid Gold.

With a better food (not necessarily more expensive) you'll see less ear infections, digestion problems and definitely less poop to clean up.

Kenya · 07-28-2006, 04:02 PM

my mom told me to never get foods that say they hav real chicken beef and vegtables because their lying. Its just coloring. Everytime i get a new dog food i et one first i just want to make sure i don't throwup. I tried the kibbles and bits and it tasted like a rotten egg. No kidding, a rotten egg. Ive never gotten it since then. now we use a sports dog food. Its chicken and lamb and its real. my dogs LOVE it. One of my dogs that i can not get weight started eating i and began to gain what. My overweight dogs bean to lose pounds. It was great!

OwnedBySix · 07-28-2006, 04:41 PM

They can't be 'lying'...they have to label what is in their food correctly.

opokki · 07-28-2006, 06:14 PM

I agree....not lying exactly but definately misleading by advertising those big read chunks of shaped soy protein with red dye that resemble meat. There really is "real beef" in the formula....you can find it listed as the 19th ingredient just below all the plant protein and additives.

Wouldn't it be funny to hear a company advertising like this:
"Your dog will love it! Chunks of real soy protein, rancid fats, lots of artifical colors, flavors, and it even contains preservatives!! You aren't spoiling your dog but he'll sure think you are when you offer him this tasty gourmet dinner"

Kenya · 07-29-2006, 12:48 PM

Im not saying they lie on the bag. Im saying they lie on televison. Beneiful for example. They say real beef and chicken and peas and carrots and wheat is in it. so not true on the bag it shows all of the dyes. Kibbles and Bits does the same thing. I just switched and now i use Diamond Chicken and rice. The stuff i great.

OwnedBySix · 07-29-2006, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenya

Im not saying they lie on the bag. Im saying they lie on televison. Beneiful for example. They say real beef and chicken and peas and carrots and wheat is in it. so not true on the bag it shows all of the dyes. Kibbles and Bits does the same thing. I just switched and now i use Diamond Chicken and rice. The stuff i great.

I'm sure there IS real beef and chicken and peas and carrots...there is just more filler. That is why learning to understand dog food bag labeling is so important.

Kenya · 07-29-2006, 07:18 PM

Whatever, thats what my mom said. NEVER trust labeling.

OwnedBySix · 07-29-2006, 08:04 PM

Please see http://www.fda.gov/cvm/petlabel.htm for FDA guidelines on pet labels.

If you KNOW how to read them, you will not be confused or misled.

Cheetah · 07-29-2006, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kenya

Im not saying they lie on the bag. Im saying they lie on televison. Beneiful for example. They say real beef and chicken and peas and carrots and wheat is in it. so not true on the bag it shows all of the dyes. Kibbles and Bits does the same thing. I just switched and now i use Diamond Chicken and rice. The stuff i great.

They do use real chicken, peas, carrots, and all that (mostly the by-products lol and it says so on the bag). But they use those dyes along WITH the real stuff in an attempt to make the food more attractive to the owners. It also says made WITH real chicken etc. The word "with" makes all the difference. That means they add in a little bit of real meal and veggies, and the rest is fake crap. Dog food companies are VERY good with their word usage, but they don't lie (if you gain experience with reading the labels of some of these crappy brands, you can tell they're not lying because they include all their shoddy ingredients right on the bag lol; Menadione, by-products, dyes, ethoxyquin, BHA, etc.).

dogluver101 · 07-30-2006, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2BrownDawgs

I need to move to where you live!! A 33lb bag of Innova here is $45.00!

Wow it is only about 30.00 to 35.00.

NewfCrazy · 07-31-2006, 03:46 PM

Dog food manufacturer's have to follow the labeling laws - they can't lie. The thing is that you have to know what you are reading when you look at the dog food label. TV advertisements are definitely misleading - but then all advertising is. LOL

This site is really good for teaching you how to read labels:
http://www.doberdogs.com/menu.html

myrna · 10-28-2006, 09:13 PM

BilJac is a very good dog food for your puppy!

workingdog · 10-28-2006, 10:30 PM

We use chicken soup dog food and it is working great, our dogs have shinny coats and soft to. At frist their poops were soft but it was a change for them so we left them on the chicken soup to see if after they had been on it a while if their poops would get better. They have been on it for about 3 months now and every thing is good. I highly reccomend it. Before chicken soup our dogs were on purina one and their coats were corse, now they have soft shinny coats.

AndyVetra · 03-20-2007, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewfCrazy

Dog food manufacturer's have to follow the labeling laws - they can't lie. The thing is that you have to know what you are reading when you look at the dog food label. TV advertisements are definitely misleading - but then all advertising is. LOL

This site is really good for teaching you how to read labels:
http://www.doberdogs.com/menu.html

This would be the "laws" created by AAFCO which is basically a Who's Who of the pet food industry.

How can you truly know what you are reading on the labeling when there is so much that is "misleading". For example, my understanding is that for a product to be labelled "with lamb", it's wet weight has to have a minimum 1%!!! of "lamb product (anyone know what that is?)".

How is it the FDA can spend billions legislating face creams yet we allow the pet food industry to regulate itself? Misleading doesn't come close.

MagicToller · 03-20-2007, 05:06 PM

Quote:

BilJac is a very good dog food for your puppy!

It's an OK food.. Many fillers and by-products though

CrzyBritNAmerica · 03-20-2007, 05:09 PM

Sorry if this has already been said, but...

'expensive' does not equal 'better'.....'good/quality ingredients, no fillers, no by-products, etc' equals 'better'

AndyVetra · 03-20-2007, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrzyBritNAmerica

Sorry if this has already been said, but...

'expensive' does not equal 'better'.....'good/quality ingredients, no fillers, no by-products, etc' equals 'better'

Quite.

The list of recalled brands made by the same manufacturer should hopefully dispel that myth once and for all.

poodleholic · 03-21-2007, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheltieluver4

Well could yall give me a little heads up on what yall buy yalls dog/puppy?

Thanks i kinda need ideas

Do your research and then decide what you want to feed your dog.

I feed Innova EVO poultry (kibble)
Natural Balance Venison (kibble)
Natural Balance Food Roll - lamb, beef, turkey - grated over food, or cubed and given as treats during training.
Green Tripe 3 x wk.
Fresh ground meats: lamb, venison, sirloin, bison, all served poached, and mixed with brown rice, green beans, kale, asperagus, and spinach, mixed with their kibble. In addition, sweet potato, carrots, hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, peeled and cubed apple & pear, banana, watermelon, cantelope.

Treats:
Raw Bones
Cheese
Braunswieger
dehydrated lamb lung
Liver

Filling for Kongs:
Peanut butter
kibble
carrot
apple/pear
braunswieger
cottage cheese
liver treats
cream cheese to seal openings

My dogs also enjoy an occasional baked potato, and share roasted meats, steak, and many vegetables. Green beans out of the can are an easy treat, as most of the time I steam fresh green beans. Their favorite treat in the world is PIZZA! (hold the onions)