Natural Dog Food...Is it possible to find something healthy?

I have two cocker spaniels. One of them has allergies and the vet recently put him on a hypo-allergenic diet. He now eats Hills Prescription ZD Ultra. It's allergen-free...and other than the $50.00 for a 20 lbs. bag price...it's great. He seems to like it, and his allergies are significantly better. (I wish I had put him on it a long time ago.)

My question is really about what to feed my other dog. She is five years old and slighly overweight. She has been eating IAMS weight control dry food for several years. As I've looked more closely into dog food, though, I have discovered that IAMS really isn't the best. The two main ingredients are corn meal and chicken-by-product...both of which I have read aren't particularly good for dogs.

So, what is a good choice? I had almost decided to try Blue Buffalo's weight control dry food. It sounded almost ideal. Then I read that one of their two manufacturer's is Dad's Pet Foods. I then stumbled onto a survey conducted by the FDA in 2002 which listed which dog food brands contained traces of drugs used to uthanize animals. (I realize this is rather yucky...the presence of these drugs in dog food is NOT a good sign.)

At any rate, the survey found that all of the Dad's brand foods tested contained these toxins. I realize that Blue Buffalo food wasn't tested. (I don't think the brand was even around in 2002.) But if "Dad's" makes Blue Buffalo, then I'm not sure I trust it.

Any suggestions? It's next to impossible to find a food that doesn't contain some ingredient that is supposedly bad for your dog. Unfortunately, pet food is not well regulated and labeling is not precise. I'm tempted to start feeding my younger (non-allergic) dog the same prescription food that my allergic dog eats. She may not need it, but I hate feeding her inferior food...and it at least seems to be safe. (Although I'm not quite sure what hydrolyzed chicken is...one of the main ingredients in Hill's Prescription ZD Ultra.)

Thanks for reading all this...and for any suggestions.

Steve

Hi Steve,

Two brands to check out--Canidae and Nutro Natural Choice. My dog wasn't crazy about the Canidae which was my first choice for him, so I switched him to the Nutro Lamb & Rice which he likes better.

I too feed Nutro. I have a whippet, that is also my service dog, she gets the Nutro High Engery. You can find Nutro at Petco or PetSmart or you can order it online.

Steve
I am allergic to everything and I used to raise livestock so I know how to read labels. We have had our lab on Nutro Lamb and Rice and she has done fairly well except when the bermuda grass comes out in the summer Then she really itches. After 1 more bag of Nutro I am switching her to Nature's Select Pet Food The Wild Salmon and Sweet Potato.
It is distributed by Pauls Pet Food. If you don't have a distributor I am sure they would ship it to you.
www.paulspetfood.com

My mother in law has a littermate to our lab and she is on a fish and potato from the vet But I think nutritionally this food would be superior. The wild salmon is much better and the sweet potato has lots of phytonutrients. I think the Omega 3 fatty acids from the Wild Salmon may really help her allergies. If she has a beef bone her nose will double its size immediately.

I use this website to evaluate dog food: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

We feed Canidae and have been pleased with it.

Deb

We feed Heidi Wellness, which I believe is generally an all natural type food. She also has skin type allergies and has no problems with this food. She loves the "purple bag" which I think is chicken based with a lot of fruits and veggies in the ingredients.

Solid Gold Health Products for Pets

Check out this one:

http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

My sister switched her dog to it and got rid of all of his allergies, which were pretty bad.

Stu French

Big Bags Of Generic Cat Chex.

I have a generic house cat.

I feed him processed commercial generic cat chex out of a big bag from PetSmart or Kmart or Wal*Mart or some generic -mart.

Everybody's happy.

Case closed.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

AwayWeGo said:

I have a generic house cat.

I feed him processed commercial generic cat chex out of a big bag from PetSmart or Kmart or Wal*Mart or some generic -mart.

Everybody's happy.

Case closed.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Click to expand...

Alan,

I find it hard to see how your post is helpful. The fact that you have a cat you consider generic and that you feed generic food doesn't really help me find a high quality, healthy food for my dogs. Perhaps your intent is to convey that you think it's silly to be worried about the content of pet food because you and your cat are "happy" with whatever happens to be the cheapest and most convenient food available.

If you did some research, you would discover that there is a big difference among pet foods. Some of the ingredients are extremely unhealthy and cause a lot of the allergies and other issues that one of my dogs suffers from. My dogs aren't generic...they're awesome...and they are part of my family. I want the best for them.

Steve

What is good enough for people to eat?

I just bought groceries. Prices are up so much I am thinking about switching over to dog food. Any you would recommend for human consumption? Dog food prices are so high however I might do better sticking to people food. which way can you eat cheaper? which way is the least unhealthy?

mamie, the best dog foods are made with human grade meat and are perfectly safe to eat. Go ahead an knock yourself out.

Deb

The Whole Dog Journal does a really great review of dog foods every year. You have to subscribe to see it, but it is really worth the money. http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/

Natural Pet Foods

Solid Gold
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com We have a Yorkie and feed him Wee Bits. These brands are for all pets elimating fillers typical from supermarket pet foods. They have a various types depending on your pet needs and do have some that may help dogs with allergies.

Have tried Evo Brand also Holistic. Evo Innova has no corn or wheat.eg You may see bison or fish as an ingredient depending on the needs.

Evo

http://www.naturapet.com


Our Yorkie 2.5yrs old has developed severe allergies to dust mites and grass not food allergies so the Science ZD did not work for him in fact he lost so much weight because of low protein that his organs were shutting down. He takes temeril pills and has improved 100%.


For other pets I used the Science Diet for older pets found in Petco. You can now find Evo and Solid Gold in Petco or specialty pet stores.

I highly recommend California Natural. I have 3 doggie children ranging in age from 3 to 12. The oldest one suffered from a variety of allergies until switching to this brand. His allergies have cleared up and they all seem to be doing better digestively.

My dogs eat Innova. It is one of only two dog foods that use human-quality ingredients. The other, I believe is California Natural. My older dog, who has a bit of a weight problem, eats Innova Senior, which is also their version of a weight control formula. Most other dog foods use things (such as scrapings from slaughterhouse floors that are picked up using solvent, and then put into the dog food. Some actually use road kill and other dead dogs who have been "rendered") that are pretty disgusting. If you see words like "digest" or "bone meal" in the ingredients, that is the disgusting stuff.

Innova solved a food allergy problem of a prior dog. It resolved some health issues with a friend's sensitive dog. I swear by it. It can be hard to find, but you can ask a holistic vet, and s/he can probably point you to an outlet.

For those looking to buy Innova pet food , the Innova website has a "store locator" feature

http://www.innovapet.com/where-to-buy/default.asp


Richard

Hoc said:

My dogs eat Innova. It is one of only two dog foods that use human-quality ingredients. The other, I believe is California Natural.

Click to expand...

Wellness is also "human grade quality" . . . from their website http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_index.html


Our Ingredient Philosophy

If you read our ingredients they probably sound familiar. That's because they are the same quality you would feed to your own family. Why should pets be an exception? Each ingredient in our recipes is thoughtfully chosen for its nutritional benefits, providing just what pets need for a happier, healthier, longer life.

WHAT GOES IN
Highly Digestible, Beneficial, Human-Grade Ingredients

Quality Protein Sources for Strong Muscles

Wholesome Grains for Healthy Fiber and Energy

Full Rainbow of Fruits & Vegetables for Antioxidant Protection

Omega 3 & 6 Fatty Acids for Skin & Coat Health

Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Joint Health

Taurine for Heart Health

WHAT STAYS OUT
Inferior Quality, Nutritionless or Potentially Allergenic Ingredients

No Meat By-Products

No Rendered Animal Fats

No Corn

No Dairy or Egg

No Soy

No Artificial Preservatives

No Wheat

No Added Sugar

No Artificial Flavors, Colors or Dyes

New Food

After much reading and research, I finally chose Wellness Core (reduced fat formula) for my two dogs. It is grain-free, has no meat-by-products, and is supposed to have human quality ingredients.

Thank you to everyone for your insights and suggestions. Special thanks to Deb Brown for the link to the dog food analysis webpage. That was very interesting and informative.

Once I chose my dogs' new food, the next challenge was trying to find a place to buy it. I finally ordered it from a company online as I couldn't find it in any of the local stores. It arrived a few days ago, and my dogs seem to like it. Hopefully it will be very good for them, too.

Thanks again to everyone!

Steve

Well, what is inside?

Timeshare Von said:

Wellness is also "human grade quality" . . . from their website http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_index.html


Our Ingredient Philosophy

If you read our ingredients they probably sound familiar. That's because they are the same quality you would feed to your own family. Why should pets be an exception? Each ingredient in our recipes is thoughtfully chosen for its nutritional benefits, providing just what pets need for a happier, healthier, longer life.

WHAT GOES IN
Highly Digestible, Beneficial, Human-Grade Ingredients
I have never seen any drug or food item labeled this way.

Quality Protein Sources for Strong Muscles
The protein will still be the left over waste/scrap from some meat processing plant.

Wholesome Grains for Healthy Fiber and Energy

Full Rainbow of Fruits & Vegetables for Antioxidant Protection The fruits and vegitables will still be the left over waste/scrap from some processing plant.

Omega 3 & 6 Fatty Acids for Skin & Coat Health

Glucosamine and Chondroitin for Joint Health

Taurine for Heart Health

WHAT STAYS OUT
Inferior Quality, Nutritionless or Potentially Allergenic Ingredients

No Meat By-Products

No Rendered Animal Fats

No Corn
What source of fiber and grain are they using-You and I eat corn flake-corn mufflins and etc- I would say that corn is healthy.

No Dairy or Egg
What source of protein are they using-You and I eat hambugers-ham- cheese-chicken and etc- I would say that meat is healthy.

No Soy
See Corn above.

No Artificial Preservatives

No Wheat
See Corn above.
No Added Sugar

No Artificial Flavors, Colors or Dyes

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Think about what this is saying about human versus pet food, Should we not eat what we do??? Or are we to believe what is SALES pitch is attempting to say???

we loved using Nutro for our dog--the weight control one ( lamb and rice?).
After she passed away, we adopted another adult dog. She was fed a raw food diet. We could not keep that up so we tried Solid Gold on the advice of a friend. ( we bought Solid Gold Millennium, there are other types as well). She is comfy with that so we don't want to change her, but I would also recommend Wellness brand. We use that for her "treats"-Yogurt and apple, sweet potato ad white fish , peanut butter, as well as venison bits.

Lisa

Generic Cat Chex Follow-Up.

Steve said:

Perhaps your intent is to convey that you think it's silly to be worried about the content of pet food because you and your cat are "happy" with whatever happens to be the cheapest and most convenient food available.

Click to expand...

You hit the nail (mostly) right on the head. My generic cat -- an "accidental" cat we inherited after he was mistakenly rescued from the pound (i.e., a case of mistaken identity but after he was rescued we didn't have the heart to take him back to the pound) -- stays content & functional on the cheapest and most convenient cat chex available, so that's what he gets.

My not being worried about pet food ingredients, however, in no way means it's silly or inappropriate for others to put more thought into it. That said, though, just because my cat is generic & accidental doesn't mean he isn't looked out for & protected & reasonably well cared for. I mean, he's just a cat. All he needs to do is hang around & remember his good sandbox habits.

Plus, I was not trying to be unhelpful so much as to add a little perspective from the opposite end of the scale. Dog - cat. Special - generic. Choice ingredients - el cheapo.

If you did some research, you would discover that there is a big difference among pet foods

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There is no doubt in my mind that that is true. But I'd rather take your word for it than do any research myself.

Meanwhile, I just picked up a humongous bag of Wal*Mart generic cat chex, "gourmet flavor" (I'll take their word on that, too) for $9.82 -- 25 pounds at the price of 20 pounds. I won't be reading the ingredients list printed on the bag. Whatever it's made of is OK with me & OK with the cat.

My dogs aren't generic...they're awesome...and they are part of my family. I want the best for them.

Click to expand...

Some pet owners (e.g., you) are better than others (e.g. me). Some pets (e.g., yours) are better than others (e.g., mine).

Is this a great country or what?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Two 13 month puppies

My two britts prefer organically raised free ranging chickens.
They will even pick them out.

I just love testimonials. They are so helpful, and scientific.

We switched to Life's Abundance dog and cat food several years ago and could not be happier. Our dogs are much healthier, weight is maintained and they love it. I was concerned at first because my girl is persnickity when it comes to her food. Their, for lack of a more delicate term, poop is condensed and smaller and their coats are shiny. You can find more information on the web at Healthy Pet Net. It's not cheap, but is delivered to your door.

Ewwwww.

gdeluca said:

poop

Click to expand...

Droppings.

Scat.

No. 2.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​