| Subject: Re: thoughts on canidae |
Author:
Jodi
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Date Posted: 21:14:00 12/12/07 Wed
In reply to:
Kenneth
's message, "Re: thoughts on canidae" on 21:25:41 12/11/07 Tue
We feed Canidae and have been very happy with it! We actually let our dogs taste test (a dozen paper plates on the floor w/ different foods) and settled on the best food they all liked. This informtion is long, but is helpful in making a feeding decision:
Your dog is a carnivore. Ideally you want a food that is high in meat and low in filler. Foods that start with corn indicate you paid for indigestible filler in a pretty bag. You want a meat or ‘meal’ source. Meal is meat without water weight, so there is ‘more’ meat being accounted for. A couple of meat sources at the top of a label is an excellent start. You also want to be able to identify the meal. Poultry is bad, it could be anything (including road-kill. You can imagine my reaction when I found this out.) You'd rather have it say chicken or turkey. By-products can be a touchy subject with some people. By-products consist of any parts of the animal other than meat. They are not just the internal organs, but include heads, beaks, feet, feathers, etc.
Bil Jack does not have great reputation. (see below) Canidae (excellent choice-maybe cheaper than Fromms), Fromms, Merrick, Innova and Timberwolf (fantastic- but expensive!) are considered very good foods. Nutro which is considered good was involved in the pet food recall. There maybe places cheaper than your vet to get these. I know Merrick is sold in some Feed Stores. Ol Roy has a terrible reputation.
My research is a few years old. The reason I don't feed Purina are the chemicals that they use preservatives. Ethoxyquin is poison. Google it and see what you come up with. It is not in all of their products, but was in Dog Chow a few years ago. I used to think that Purina was great because all of the shelters feed it. The reason they feed Purina is the weight circle program. Shelters and Rescues turn in the weight circles and get money back. They are so tied into the Purina program that they really can't afford to feed anything else.
This is getting long, but I found some ingredient labels:
Purina (Beneful Original)- Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, animal digest, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), dl-Methionine, zinc sulfate, glyceryl monostearate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, biotin, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite
Timberwolf Organics (Wilderness Elk Dry)- Fresh elk, salmon meal, millet, sweet potatoes, oats, flaxseed, carrot, watercress, spinach, celery, parsley, fennel seed, wild salmon oil, atlantic kelp, alfalfa, potassium chloride, amaranth, currants, cranberries, pears, figs, thyme, anise seed, ground cinnamon bark, fenugreek, garlic pieces, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, apples, chicory root, spirulina, choline chloride, lecithin, probiotics: (lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus casei, lactobacillus lactis, bacillus bifidum, streptococcus diacetilactis, bacillus subtillus), taurine, mixed tocopherols (a source of vitamin E), lysine, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, thiamine, methionine, carnitine, niacin, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, iodine proteinate, vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, folic acid, pyridoxine (a source of vitamin B6), cobalt proteinate, papain, yucca schidigera extract
Kibble Rating System
How to grade your dog's food:
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 (sodium), 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 "salmon" 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
This is a list of some foods to give you an idea on how they score. I did not add them up, so if the math is not correct, I was not responsible, though I appreciate having the list to use.
Eagle Pack Holistic: 119 A +
Wellness Super 5 Mix Chicken: 117 A+
Solid Gold Bison-123 points A+
Eagle Pack Natural: 94 A
Canidae-119 points A+
Natural Balance Duck and Potato-114 points A+
Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Puppy: 94 A
Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison-136 points A+
Innova-117 points A+
Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken-114 points A+
Chicken soup-113 points A+
Flint River Ranch: 92 (non-specific fat source) B
Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice-87 points B
Nutro Natural choice Lamb and Rice-85 points C
Nutro Chicken, Rice, & Oatmeal: 85 (non-specific fat source) C
Eukanuba Large Breed Adult: 83 C
Iams Large Breed: 83 C
Iams Lamb Meal and Rice-74 points D
Science Diet chicken adult maintenance-45 points F
Bil-Jac Select-37 points F
Science Diet Large Breed: 68 F
Pro Plan All Breed: 68 F
Pedigree Complete Nutrition: 42 F
Pedigree Adult Complete-14 points F
Ol Roy-9 points F
Purina Beneful- 17 points F
Some people feed home cooked meals, and still others feed raw. I find it all very confusing. Feed what you want. Look at your dog. Is his coat is shiny? Does he have allergy problems or diarrhea? How's his energy level? etc.
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