[TucksMom]

Well, I was at PetSmart getting more dog food and lo and behold- Pro Plan Selects, and one for puppy. The first listed ingredient: MEAT. So, I bought it. It was a couple of dollars more. What a concept- a reasonably priced dog food with MEAT as the first and foremost ingredient and not corn and the like.....So, now you don't have to break the bank to get a decent dog food.

[GreatDaneMom]

Originally Posted by TucksMom

Well, I was at PetSmart getting more dog food and lo and behold- Pro Plan Selects, and one for puppy. The first listed ingredient: MEAT. So, I bought it. It was a couple of dollars more. What a concept- a reasonably priced dog food with MEAT as the first and foremost ingredient and not corn and the like.....So, now you don't have to break the bank to get a decent dog food.

so the first ingredient was literally "Meat" or was it a specific type of meat? if it says "meat" i run the other way. if someone sat a plate infront of you and say it was...ohhh.... cow testicles, and they said it was "meat", would you still want to eat it if you knew what it was?

[DobManiac]

Turkey, brewers rice, pearled barley, chicken meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), dried egg product, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), pea fiber, dried beet pulp, fish oil, natural flavor, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, calcium carbonate, dried tomatoes, blueberry pomace, dried sweet potatoes, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), niacin, copper proteinate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

This is just one of the Proplan Selects formulas.

[GreatDaneMom]

Originally Posted by DobManiac

This is just one of the Proplan Selects formulas.

thats not a very impressive ingredient list. you can get much better quality for the same price

[FredMom]

Originally Posted by GreatDaneMom

thats not a very impressive ingredient list. you can get much better quality for the same price

It doesn't matter if it is impressive to YOU or not. She has chosen to stick with ProPlan and since ProPlan works for HER dog, thats ALL that matters.

[GreatDaneMom]

Originally Posted by FredMom

It doesn't matter if it is impressive to YOU or not. She has chosen to stick with ProPlan and since ProPlan works for HER dog, thats ALL that matters.

i wasw giving MY opinion because obviously thats why THIS WAS POSTED. if i wasnt supposed to give my honest opinion then whats the point of being here... and like i had said before, your dog might be doing "fine" on one food, but you never know if they COULD be doing better unless you try. i thought my dogs were FINE on eagle pack hollistic, but until i switched to taste of the wild, i never knew the potential they really had. just because someones dog got sick trying a different food doesnt mean every dog will. my suggestion is get a small bag of a better food and try it out, if it doesnt work, the fine switch back. at that point i would say, yeah this food is what works for my dog. but if the dog improves, then whats the harm...

[TucksMom]

Originally Posted by GreatDaneMom

thats not a very impressive ingredient list. you can get much better quality for the same price

My gosh! I've come to the conclusion I may or may not be visiting on this board anymore. How RUDE! Honestly people, here's an idea, feed what you want to your dog and don't try to down others for not spending a gazillion dollars on their dog's food! How about that???? Obviously there is a reason they like to use it. I swear, if I had known I was going to get this many snide and snippy remarks about dog food I would have never posted the question! Geez! Lighthen up!!!!!!!! My dog is happy and healthy and that is all that matters to me and mine, I don't need to put on "heirs" about how much I spend on dog food to make myself look like the "dog owner of the year."!!!

[FredMom]

Originally Posted by TucksMom

My gosh! I've come to the conclusion I may or may not be visiting on this board anymore. How RUDE! Honestly people, here's an idea, feed what you want to your dog and don't try to down others for not spending a gazillion dollars on their dog's food! How about that???? Obviously there is a reason they like to use it. I swear, if I had known I was going to get this many snide and snippy remarks about dog food I would have never posted the question! Geez! Lighthen up!!!!!!!! My dog is happy and healthy and that is all that matters to me and mine, I don't need to put on "heirs" about how much I spend on dog food to make myself look like the "dog owner of the year."!!!

Nevermind the criticism, TucksMom. Overall, there are some great, knowledgeable members on this board with very helpful information about dog care. Tucker is just too cute and I love looking at his picture!

Originally Posted by GreatDaneMom

i wasw giving MY opinion because obviously thats why THIS WAS POSTED. if i wasnt supposed to give my honest opinion then whats the point of being here... and like i had said before, your dog might be doing "fine" on one food, but you never know if they COULD be doing better unless you try. i thought my dogs were FINE on eagle pack hollistic, but until i switched to taste of the wild, i never knew the potential they really had. just because someones dog got sick trying a different food doesnt mean every dog will. my suggestion is get a small bag of a better food and try it out, if it doesnt work, the fine switch back. at that point i would say, yeah this food is what works for my dog. but if the dog improves, then whats the harm...

There is no harm in stating your opinion, but if a person has already stated that they are happy with the food they have chosen, leave it be. You have already previously stated your disdain for Purina and its ingredients, so to reinerate your point was a bit pushy. You can't MAKE a person change their mind, especially if their dog is doing well.

Its great that your dogs do well on high, premium foods, but if another person's dog does great on a food that's not so holistic, (like Purina) that's good too. Its the dog's overall care that is important and every dog is different. Some dogs don't need holistic foods to maintain health, some do. Respect that fact, that's all I'm saying.

[GreatDaneMom]

Originally Posted by TucksMom

My gosh! I've come to the conclusion I may or may not be visiting on this board anymore. How RUDE! Honestly people, here's an idea, feed what you want to your dog and don't try to down others for not spending a gazillion dollars on their dog's food! How about that???? Obviously there is a reason they like to use it. I swear, if I had known I was going to get this many snide and snippy remarks about dog food I would have never posted the question! Geez! Lighthen up!!!!!!!! My dog is happy and healthy and that is all that matters to me and mine, I don't need to put on "heirs" about how much I spend on dog food to make myself look like the "dog owner of the year."!!!

its not rude. its coming from people who researched these things. i own my own business making low allergen all natural healthy dog treats. therefore, i looked into this topic for a long time trying to educate myself. it has nothing to do with how much you spend either, i dont know why you cant understad that. if i can find a cheap food thats QUALITY, yeah i would feed it. but i havent found it yet. the food i recently switched to was CHEAPER than the food i was perviously feeding, and i feel the ingredients are better. *shrug* if you can take constructive criticizm then this isnt a good place to be. go to petsmart or something if you want someone to tell you how GREAT the food is that youre feeding. you wont find it from me. personally, if you dont take a chance and switch up a diet to see IF it could be better, then why bother with this post. people are TRYING to educate you a little on ingredients and enlighten you, but as we have seen many times before, some people just dont get it, or wont. either way....

[PeppersMama]

Originally Posted by GreatDaneMom

its not rude. its coming from people who researched these things. i own my own business making low allergen all natural healthy dog treats. therefore, i looked into this topic for a long time trying to educate myself. it has nothing to do with how much you spend either, i dont know why you cant understad that. if i can find a cheap food thats QUALITY, yeah i would feed it. but i havent found it yet. the food i recently switched to was CHEAPER than the food i was perviously feeding, and i feel the ingredients are better. *shrug* if you can take constructive criticizm then this isnt a good place to be. go to petsmart or something if you want someone to tell you how GREAT the food is that youre feeding. you wont find it from me. personally, if you dont take a chance and switch up a diet to see IF it could be better, then why bother with this post. people are TRYING to educate you a little on ingredients and enlighten you, but as we have seen many times before, some people just dont get it, or wont. either way....

I am sorry but you are being RUDE. You keep on and on with YOUR OPINION. Trying to make her feel bad for not feeding what YOU believe is the best food. since the start of this thread you have came in here and over and over stated the same exact thing. Well you made your point and so did she.

TucksMom, you do what you think is right and if your dog is still doing well then go on with it.

[Motebi]

I got some info for you - maybe it will help you make a decision:

http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#TopDry

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

[UrbanBeagles]

Originally Posted by GreatDaneMom

its not rude. its coming from people who researched these things. i own my own business making low allergen all natural healthy dog treats. therefore, i looked into this topic for a long time trying to educate myself. it has nothing to do with how much you spend either, i dont know why you cant understad that. if i can find a cheap food thats QUALITY, yeah i would feed it. but i havent found it yet.

I'm sorry, but you are doing nothing but making assumptions that those of us who do not feed holistic diets have not spent any time educating ourselves on canine nutrition. I have been studying the nutritional needs of dogs since 2001 ... that was also the year I started feeding raw, and as a long term diet, no matter what I did to balance out the diet, we simply did not get results that justified the continued feeding of raw. I am well aware of how canines should be fed, and you better believe I pay attention to the vitamin content of any food I purchase. I've researched enough to know that ingredients are secondary, and coming to this conclusion was a long, ardous journey. I've fed raw for a few years, holistic kibble - one after another for years. We had hounds that tended to be hypoglycemic in the field on certain foods (Evolve), foods that one of the dogs lost a signifigant amount of weight on, became aggressive, and had a few of my Beagles become incontinant on (Timberwolf). Fed Nutro Ultra for a while and had one dog shaking in the corner and fly biting - this is seizure like behavior but he has never had another episode like that, produced anything like this in his pups or grandpups - it was just a reaction from that food. Oddly, Nutro was always a trigger for my epileptic's seizures. I could go on with not just the dogs had loose stools or dull coats, but SERIOUS food related problems. Often I noticed that even the holistic foods I thought were of a better caliber would work for only a few dogs and the rest fell apart.

So don't tell me or the OP or anyone else who chooses not to feed holistic foods that we are just simple, uneducated people, and if we'd only just read some internet articles, we'd see the light adn go buy a bag of Chicken Soup for the Widdle Fur Kiddies Soul. Every food I've bought based on ingredients - every single one - was a bust.

[CrazyDog]

First off, I haven't read though the entire thread but I just wanted to say if Pro Plan works for your dog then stick with it. Pro Plan is one of the better grocery store brand foods. I have never fed Purina foods to my dog but my parents have always fed Pro Plan to their dogs and they are healthy and happy. I also know many very good breeders and lots of people who feed the food and no complains or problems with it.

Originally Posted by TucksMom

Well, I was at PetSmart getting more dog food and lo and behold- Pro Plan Selects, and one for puppy. The first listed ingredient: MEAT. So, I bought it. It was a couple of dollars more. What a concept- a reasonably priced dog food with MEAT as the first and foremost ingredient and not corn and the like.....So, now you don't have to break the bank to get a decent dog food.

As for the pricing Pro Plan is quite expensive for what it is and Pro Plan Selects is even more outrageously priced. IMO you can find a better quality food for cheaper or about the same price. In my area Petsmart and Petco sell Pro Plan for around $40+ for a 40lb bag and Pro Plan Selects for $46-$48 for a 40lb bag. I feed my dog Wellness Core and it cost $42 for the same size bag but the Wellness last twice as long because you don't have to feed as much of it as you would say Pro Plan. You can get any other foods like Innova, Solid Gold, Chicken soup etc. for around $38 to $48 for a large bag. Of coarse the smaller bags will be much cheaper but this is just my experiences. With all that said the better foods are better on the pocket book IME.

Good Luck in your food search!

[petstar]

LOL All this drama over dog food!

I'll try to put this in perspective for you...There are millions of people living their lives on a horrible diet of overprocessed food, high in fat, full of artificial ingredients and preservatives, loaded with coloring and obtaining very little nutritive quality. They may look alright on the outside, but a nutritionist would tell you that they are not optimally healthy.

I'm sure you could live an average life span eating McDonalds for breakfast lunch and dinner...you could also suffer complications from a bad diet and deal with serious health problems. In my opinion, Purina products are not among the "good" kibble selection. I would look for a grain free, by product free food that doesn't contain artificial coloring or preservatives. Try to imagine what your dog would be eating in the wild...(Brewer's rice? Dried Tomatoes? choline chloride? Selinium sulfate? Blueberries? monohydrochloride?) None of this part of a dog's natural diet, much the same way we are not able to process refined sugars and MSG makes some people ill, or lactose in over processed cows milk causes an allergy.

Only you can decide what is best for "your baby" If you choose to take the advice of one or two disgruntled people who are misinformed and fanatical in their ignorance...then so be it. However, if you're open to learning more about canine nutrition (a subject that has been thoroughly studied) then do some research, seek out those who have experience with dog nutrition and find out exactly what you are feeding your dog.

You asked for opinions, and this is mine.

[TeddieXRuxpin]

Originally Posted by GreatDaneMom

its not rude. its coming from people who researched these things. i own my own business making low allergen all natural healthy dog treats. therefore, i looked into this topic for a long time trying to educate myself. it has nothing to do with how much you spend either, i dont know why you cant understad that. if i can find a cheap food thats QUALITY, yeah i would feed it. but i havent found it yet. the food i recently switched to was CHEAPER than the food i was perviously feeding, and i feel the ingredients are better. *shrug* if you can take constructive criticizm then this isnt a good place to be. go to petsmart or something if you want someone to tell you how GREAT the food is that youre feeding. you wont find it from me. personally, if you dont take a chance and switch up a diet to see IF it could be better, then why bother with this post. people are TRYING to educate you a little on ingredients and enlighten you, but as we have seen many times before, some people just dont get it, or wont. either way....

Originally Posted by petstar

LOL All this drama over dog food!

I'll try to put this in perspective for you...There are millions of people living their lives on a horrible diet of overprocessed food, high in fat, full of artificial ingredients and preservatives, loaded with coloring and obtaining very little nutritive quality. They may look alright on the outside, but a nutritionist would tell you that they are not optimally healthy.

I'm sure you could live an average life span eating McDonalds for breakfast lunch and dinner...you could also suffer complications from a bad diet and deal with serious health problems. In my opinion, Purina products are not among the "good" kibble selection. I would look for a grain free, by product free food that doesn't contain artificial coloring or preservatives. Try to imagine what your dog would be eating in the wild...(Brewer's rice? Dried Tomatoes? choline chloride? Selinium sulfate? Blueberries? monohydrochloride?) None of this part of a dog's natural diet, much the same way we are not able to process refined sugars and MSG makes some people ill, or lactose in over processed cows milk causes an allergy.

Only you can decide what is best for "your baby" If you choose to take the advice of one or two disgruntled people who are misinformed and fanatical in their ignorance...then so be it. However, if you're open to learning more about canine nutrition (a subject that has been thoroughly studied) then do some research, seek out those who have experience with dog nutrition and find out exactly what you are feeding your dog.

You asked for opinions, and this is mine.

No one here is being rude. I completely agree with GreatDaneMom and think there is some good advice in this thread.

If you want to feed that food, that's great keep with it. But don't make a thread asking such a question and get upset when you don't hear what you want.

Many members here including me, Greatdanemom, Petstar, and several others I could name off, have done a large amount of research when it comes to dog food and what is best for them. Some things simply aren't healthy. As said above you can eat what ever you want and look alright. But you don't have the energy, strength and by all means aren't as healthy on the inside as you could be if you were eating healthy.

You don't have to feed an expensive food; it has nothing to do with how much it costs or being number one owner of the year. I want to know where people pull this from. Even eukanuba is a better food than Pro plan and they sell that at petsmart too. We're not telling you to change anything, but giving you information on what would be better. Which is what you asked for.

I am feeding my new 18 week mini dach Pro Plan puppy along with a little canned food. I just want to make sure this is a good dog food because Tucker is so small (2.8 pounds). I do plan to cut out the canned food in about a week if possible. I do not want him to put on TOO MUCH weight....

You don't ask people on a forum a question and then turn back around and tell them to stop. You're never going to hear everything you want, stay learn, give advice, let other people learn. But next time you make a thread, no matter what it's about, don't get upset when you read something you don't want to or don't agree with.

[jenns]

Originally Posted by UrbanBeagles

We had hounds that tended to be hypoglycemic in the field on certain foods (Evolve), foods that one of the dogs lost a signifigant amount of weight on, became aggressive, and had a few of my Beagles become incontinant on (Timberwolf). Fed Nutro Ultra for a while and had one dog shaking in the corner and fly biting - this is seizure like behavior but he has never had another episode like that, produced anything like this in his pups or grandpups - it was just a reaction from that food. Oddly, Nutro was always a trigger for my epileptic's seizures. I could go on with not just the dogs had loose stools or dull coats, but SERIOUS food related problems. Often I noticed that even the holistic foods I thought were of a better caliber would work for only a few dogs and the rest fell apart.

.

Well since you are a breeder, I hope these dogs that you speak about having such severe reactions to all these brands of kibble are not the ones you are breeding. Sorry but these "SERIOUS food related problems" cannot be blamed on brands of kibble, there is something else going on there. Your experiences do not sound normal for average healthy dogs regardless of what you are feeding.

[GreatDaneMom]

Originally Posted by UrbanBeagles

I'm sorry, but you are doing nothing but making assumptions that those of us who do not feed holistic diets have not spent any time educating ourselves on canine nutrition.

thats funny seeing as how i dont feed holistic myself, so why would i make any assumptions. and if someone has not spent ANY TIME EDUCATING THEMSELVES then i dont see how its rude to give my opinion. IMHO if you have not spent ANY time looking into canine nutrition then why should YOU be able to decide whats good for your dog. there has to be some level of research to properly take care of ANY animals nutritional needs.

Originally Posted by jenns

Well since you are a breeder, I hope these dogs that you speak about having such severe reactions to all these brands of kibble are not the ones you are breeding. Sorry but these "SERIOUS food related problems" cannot be blamed on brands of kibble, there is something else going on there. Your experiences do not sound normal for average healthy dogs regardless of what you are feeding.

yeah i wouldnt be breeding a dog with a history of seizures

[FredMom]

Originally Posted by TeddieXRuxpin

No one here is being rude. I completely agree with GreatDaneMom and think there is some good advice in this thread.

If you want to feed that food, that's great keep with it. But don't make a thread asking such a question and get upset when you don't hear what you want.

Many members here including me, Greatdanemom, Petstar, and several others I could name off, have done a large amount of research when it comes to dog food and what is best for them. Some things simply aren't healthy. As said above you can eat what ever you want and look alright. But you don't have the energy, strength and by all means aren't as healthy on the inside as you could be if you were eating healthy.

You don't have to feed an expensive food; it has nothing to do with how much it costs or being number one owner of the year. I want to know where people pull this from. Even eukanuba is a better food than Pro plan and they sell that at petsmart too. We're not telling you to change anything, but giving you information on what would be better. Which is what you asked for.



You don't ask people on a forum a question and then turn back around and tell them to stop. You're never going to hear everything you want, stay learn, give advice, let other people learn. But next time you make a thread, no matter what it's about, don't get upset when you read something you don't want to or don't agree with.

All of you are e-bullying and trying to FORCE her to change her mind, which is wrong and really, borderline inflammatory. TucksMom said she decided to stick with ProPlan and really, the thread was on lifesupport until some of the you and your "Holistic E-gang" came in and tried to basically e-FORCE her to change her mind and then got mad when she called yall on it. I mean, who are you all, the DOG FOOD JESUS or something???

I'm sure she and everyone else appreciates the knowledge you all have on Holistic foods, but what we DON'T ask for is the constant harrassment because we choose NOT to do what you all feel is right. The FACT remains that some dogs do well on Holistic foods, SOME DO NOT and if an owner choose not to feed their dogs what the E-DOG FOOD JESUS gang considers to be a "good food", IT IS THEIR CHOICE TO DO SO.

You have to be respectful enough to accept a person's decision, even if it is one that you don't like. If she don't want to try the Holistic brands, that's HER perogative and her right and you do not have a right to harrass her or trash her, because she chose not to follow your advice. I am going to report these inflammatory posts to the admistrator, because if a person feels they should leave the message board, that is a PROBLEM.

[Motebi]

There's the "Holistic Gang" and then there's the "Junk Food Gang".

Me ? I feed a species appropriate diet: RAW !