I would pass......

 

Don't remember the exact thread but Bumper1 had some specific comments on why he/she didn't think this was a good food. Should be on the first page of this forum anyway.

I like the idea that synthetic vitamins and minerals aren't used too but am not impressed by this food. There is way too much calcium for my dog and the zinc, iron and copper ratios are really horrible.

 

Glad you asked this question - I had it on my list of foods to check out. We're feeding Great Life right now, but the store is having issues with the distributor and will likely stop carrying it, so I'm trying to figure out what to switch to. Deciding what to feed is such a pain in the butt! lol

 

I wouldn't feed it. Not just because the ingredient ratios are off from what I would prefer to feed, but also because if I dig into the ingredients there is (among other things that make me go "hmm") "Spray Dried Porcine Plasma"
My dog cannot eat pork products and usually it is quite easy to tell what foods have pork, unlike chicken fat for example it isn't tossed into nearly every food. I wouldn't have expected to see a pork ingredient listed like that and in all the formulas that I checked.

the calcium and phosphorus percentages are really high, there seems to be a lot of non-meat ingredients early on in most formulas (of course, there can be some discussion on how much weight to give to that info), yeast culture is an early ingredient which I believe can bother some dogs, same with almonds.

Looks like a food that would be fine for the occasional bag for an adult dog (given the calcium/phosphorus) with no allergies. But wouldn't be high on my list to feed even if my dog could eat pork products.

 

This is a very odd diet with lots of red flags on the website.

Porcine Plasma is a great ingredient. It should be in all foods. There is voluminous research on the way it stimulates the immune system and enhances digestion. It is a blood ingredient with some really good properties.

"Spray Dried" refers to how it is made by the way.

 

I've only fed the canned formulas, the staff at my local holistic pet store said it was one of the highest rated and best they sold. She's done really well on the canned food, I've only ever given her the sample dry food they gave me. My dog is pretty sensitive when it comes to wet food, and a lot of dry foods. So when I saw her do well on it, it was a win win for me. But I primarily feed TOTW.

 

Thank you for the input. It sounds like I should try something else! I am concerned with giving him the best food possible. I am worried about his immune system because when I first adopted him he had demodectic mange and now he is recovering from canine oral papilloma virus. These are both immune related and I know it's normal for a puppy to have an underdeveloped immune system but it still concerns me. I know nutrition has a very big influence on overall health and wellness. I supplement his dry food with raw bones but I want his base food to be kibble. He seems to do well on orijen but its pricey and that is what he was eating when he got copv not that it's the foods fault but maybe another food would have made his system stronger. Any other food suggestions? Thanks again!

 

Dr. Tim's, Annamaet, Precise, Fromm Gold and Victor are good choices.

 

If you live in the US you can look into 4Health, it is sold at Tractor supply. It is a decent food and their grain inclusive doesn't have wheat soy or corn - 18 lbs. for $20. Protein levels in the high 20's.

I was feeding Zoey Pinnacle for a while and she seemed to like it. But I felt the 4Health was similar and cost less.

Right now I'm transitioning her to Victor grain free but Victor also makes a grain inclusive. I purchased 15 lbs for $29 but it may be difficult to find. I'm also looking into a food called Nutrisca that I may want to try - online it's about $35 for 15 lbs.

As for the issues your pup is having maybe look into probiotics. Based on my online "research" it seems that if your good intestinal bacteria is off then it can affect the rest of your body. Just a thought.

 

Nutrisca/Dogswell also has a new one called Live Free.... I'd check that one out. It's all the same specs as the regular Nutrisca grain free only a little cheaper..... They've added pumpkin and a few things for digestion though which is nice.


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The plasma ingredients don't bother me but the 'red flags' do. I think I might go with annamaet I keep hearing great things about it. It doesn't have as many ingredients that sound really healthy and special like additions of herbs/clays/sprayed on raw coatings etc but maybe that stuff isn't really necessary to make my dog healthy.