Recently on Facebook, one of the sites that I follow made a comment on how they went to a big name pet store to buy a dog sweater but cringes each time they walk in there knowing those big name pet stores sell nothing but junk food. A huge amount of comments started pouring in. Some agreed , some didn't. A few even started fighting about which big brand store was the best and it turned bad.
I asked her why she would even say that knowing that these stores did carry high quality food like the higher end brands and I told her what I ate. She politely told me I was eating a sub par food that she would never recommend. Boy my ears perked. I asked why she was against it and she said because it only got a 3.5 rating. With that being said I asked where she got this rating and she said http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ so I went to the site and I started reading. One thing that got under my fur was the fact that they don't even test the food themselves. They look at the label that is on the food to come up with their rating. There are hundreds of sites like this one and if you go to them they will all probably have a different rating.
Then she made the comment to me that if you are going to own a dog then you need to feed it only the best food that is available. Of course me being the inquiring poodle I am, asked what brand she fed. She told me, Yes it got a 5 start rating on this site, yes it got raved reviews from people who used it but the price was a little steep.
The ingredients are listed has having:
Fresh deboned wild boar*, fresh deboned lamb*, fresh beef liver*, fresh deboned pork*, lamb meal, peas, salmon meal, russet potato, herring meal, fresh whole eggs*, fresh deboned bison*, potato starch, fresh deboned salmon*, pacific whitefish meal, fresh deboned walleye*, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), sun-cured alfalfa, pea fiber, dried organic kelp, pumpkin, chicory root, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, blueberries, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium yeast, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium. * DELIVERED FRESH, preservative-free and never frozen. No dry dog food on earth can match the quality, quantity and freshness of our fresh regional poultry, fish and meat ingredients.Made with great care and pride in our award-winning factory here in Canada, free range chicken, wild caught fish and free range red meat. Its all safe for humans to eat according to Canadian standards.
How much does this amazing food cost? a 29 pound bag is $117.00 but if you buy two bags its only $112.00 a bag. Are you ready to order?
Now I am all for a quality food, I like a lot of the ingredients but I don't know what Canadian standards are or if I like the fact that wild boar and others are being killed each day. I have tried a sample bag of this food before and like a lot of other food it got thrown to the birds and our possum. Yes I am a picky eater, I will admit it but I found a food that I really like and it has made a difference in my health.
I eat Nutro and in just a month I have seen a difference. I have more energy, my anal gland problem is improving and even though I have a few spots still on me I don't have anymore appearing, My spots have nothing to do with my diet its what some older poodles get. I am 7 now so I am a older poodle. Doc says that it could have been something that ran in my family.
The next day the site I followed made a post that said that because of the fire storm that happened on that topic and the fact she lost some followers by her comments about feeding only the best, she deleted the whole post. She made a statement that she knew everyone could not feed food that cost over $100 a bag but that didn't mean that people didn't love their pets any less.
Sometimes with social media, we have to watch our words. I have found this out a few times but it doesn't stop me from speaking my mind. I just try to word things different.
Does What You Feed = How Much You Love Your Pet?
Carma Poodale (Pood-ALE) is a multi-species lifestyle pet blogger who talks about pets, wildlife, products we love, traveling and life in general. We try to find the good in every day life.
Service dog advocate.
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Dog mom, cat mom, lover of nature
Love Life Like a Poodale
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I've visited the Dog Food Advisor site before, and even they say that their reviews are based on certain factors and that dog food reviews don't necessarily mean a poor quality product. And they recommend Nutro.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand people who insist that if you can't feed your dog "the best," you shouldn't have a dog at all. (And nine times out of 10, they are Blue Buffalo people) There are a number of foods out there at all ranges and levels and it depends on the dog. Good quality food shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. Some of the top show dogs in the world eat Purina Pro Plan for crying out loud! I understand some of it is preference, but I personally think some of it is just plain snobbery.
I agree. She called Purina nothing but junk food. I reminded her I would much rather see a bag of Purina in a cart than a low quality off brand bag. As the comments came in people agreed with me and thought highly of Purina. I had remove myself from her site because our views were too far apart.
DeleteCarma- there are many choices (commercially) out there of what to feed. It really boils down to what works for the tummy in your household. You may not been able to handle the multiple proteins in the food you mentioned in your post.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad that most of your 'afflictions' have cleared up since you started eating Nutro foods. :-)
My first Dalmatian, Miss Cookies, did very well on the Chicken and Rice Natural Choice kibble. She was fed that from '98-99? until 2008. I moved her into a multiple protein source food and it was too rich for her. :-/
I do not wish to disrupt your blog here Carma- so if anyone has any further questions, please re-direct them to me on twitter. :-)
I agree with you on that. Sometimes its not the brand but what is in the food itself. I will definitely direct people to you for questions on food. You made a difference in my health by speaking to my ma about what could be causing certain problems.Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. I really appreciate it.
DeleteI have to agree with you Carma, it is important people feed their pets and if all they can afford is the store brand, that does not mean they love their pets less. I started cooking our dogs' food about 14 years ago. I am very careful about the ingredients. I do free feed them a kibble but they only eat about 1/2 cup each, mostly after they have had a hard play outside. When I first started to cook their food (becasue of a dog who had allergies) people used to critize me telling me how much better quality commercial food was.
ReplyDeleteWe always have kibble available. I thoroughly enjoy my can of food and I really like when ma cooks us a special meal but I still ask for my can. I love Chicken,rice and oatmeal and I will sit in front of the cabinet and wait for it. Ma has tried to feed me raw but I refuse to eat anything that isn't cooked. I prefer to have it medium rare. Thank you for stopping by and reading my article. I really appreciate it.
DeleteWell said, Carma Poodale!
ReplyDeleteThank you Coralee. I appreciate that you took the time to stop by my blog. Hope you had a wonderful day.
DeleteWags!
I work at an all natural pet food store, and you wouldn't believe the things people say about food (or maybe you would). I have only been there a few months, so I am learning a whole lot of stuff. I think a lot of people don't really pay attention to what is in their pets food. They buy what they think is a premium brand because of the packaging or where it is sold, but it might not be the best for their pet. I know I didn't pay attention to my cats' food, not really. My cats refuse to eat anything but Friskies and Fancy Feast. Not the best, but it must be doing something right, they are 17 and look great. There are a few medical issues, but that is to be expected from old farts like them. I think people need to feed the best they can, but not everyone can afford to spend $200 a week on frozen or dehydrated foods! If your dog or cat won't eat a premium food or it upsets their system you are just literally throwing money away, which is absolutely pointless. It is amazing the heated debates people get into over their foods!
ReplyDeleteFinding the most suitable dog or puppy food for your own particular pet can be a difficult task. There is a huge variety of foods available from supermarkets, pet stores and vets. All of them of course claim that theirs is the best! Adding to the confusion are advertisements showing healthy dogs loving to eat their food, with the a claiming that this is the result you will get of you feed your dog that food.
ReplyDeletedog food advisor
It’s really a great list of ingredients. Hope my puppy will enjoy one of these. I love him so much and like to give him new and delicious foods.
ReplyDelete