Dog Food Quality

[Worthless Mutt]

I had some problems with Jesse and Sara and their food over the last couple of weeks. It started when I went to Wal-Mart for dog food, and I found that the store here in Neosho quit carrying the product I had been buying. I tend to buy store brand products, so I finally settled on a bag of Ol’ Roy, a Wal-Mart brand. In my experience, I have found that store brand products are often superior to national brands, but that did not turn out to be the case.

When I fed my dogs the new food, they started having diarrhea. At first, I attributed it to the fact that I had changed their food without a proper transition, and I figured it would clear up in a few days. The same thing had happened when I first brought them home. But this time the diarrhea did not clear up; it got much worse. On Saturday morning, Jesse woke me up at 4 AM panting because she had to go to the bathroom. Sara didn't even try to hold it; she just made a mess in her crate. Since both of them had diarrhea at the same time, and the food was the only thing that had changed for both of them, I concluded that the food was the problem.

So I did some research on dog food and was APPALLED by what I found. The Ol’ Roy dog feed product (I won’t call it food) is really bad stuff, as are most of the dog foods on the shelves of department stores and grocery stores.

The main ingredients are corn and wheat. These are okay if they are not contaminated, but they have very little nutritional value for dogs.

Further down the ingredients list is animal digest. That is the partially digested content of the animal’s stomach when it was slaughtered.

Instead of meat, they use animal by-product meal, which means after all the good parts are used up they take leftover parts, like beaks and hooves, and grind it up into a meal. Much of this is indigestible.

I reduced the information I found to 3 things to look for on the labels. First, the main ingredient needs to be real meat. (Not beef meal, or beef and bone meal, or chicken meal- it needs to be meat.) Second, the crude protein percentage should be in the lower to middle 20’s (higher for puppy foods). The crude fat should be in the lower teens. Third, compare the recommended feeding amounts for different kinds of food. If one food calls for 4 cups while another calls for 3 cups for the same size dog, the one that calls for 3 cups is more nutritious than the one that calls for 4.

What I had been feeding my dogs was Purina’s Kibbles and Chunks. It’s a little bit better than the Ol’ Roy product I bought, but not much better. However, it’s quite a bit better than the actual Kibbles and Bits that it’s trying to imitate.

After checking the labels on all of the dog foods on the shelf at Wal-Mart, I decided on the other, lesser known Wal-Mart brand: Maxximum Nutrition. (No, I didn’t misspell it; the product name is spelled with 2 X’s.) The only one in the Neosho store is the lamb and rice formula, and its main ingredient is real lamb. It’s the only one I found with actual meat as the main ingredient, it has adequate fat and protein, and the daily feeding amounts are reasonable.

I switched from Ol’ Roy to Maxximum Nutrition only 2 days ago, and Jesse and Sara’s diarrhea have already started to clear up, and their feces are much smaller than before, which means that more of the food was actually digested and absorbed.

That said, the Maxximum Nutrition is not perfect; it does lack at least one thing: the omega fatty acids, which promote healthy skin and coat. Fish oil is the best source of these fatty acids, but as far as I know, any cooking oil should have them. I know that canola oil, which I use in my deep fryer, has them, so I may just start using deep fried chicken nuggets or something like that as training treats.

Although it was a real pain in the donkey, I’m kind of glad I had these problems since it forced me to take a close look at what I have been feeding my dogs. Jesse and Sara may actually live longer as a result of getting better food.

For anyone here who is feeding their pets cheap foods, I encourage to check the labels and see what you are actually feeding them. If a more expensive food is actually better, it may actually save you money in terms of less food being eaten and may even help you avoid unnecessary vet bills.

[LadyTalisman]

Its amazing at how many of us sometimes don't look and trust the makers.

You mentioned about cooking oil.

We used vegetable oil on Yogi's food as he required extra oils.

Yogi was a Rotti so gave him just less than a soup spoon per meal but if his coat got to greasey we reduced it for a couple of days.

[janking]

I was once worried about feeding my dogs right too..so i switched from Purina Dog Chow to Purina "One" which was supposed to be better..but..Toby started losing weight and they just didnt thrive on it. I asked my vet about it and she said that switching to higher class (ie...more expensive) food wasnt always a good choice especially if your dog has been thriving on what you have been feeding him. She told me to switch back to Purina and when I did, Toby started doing better.. I do give them high quality treats to make up for what they might be missing in Purina and also give them vitamins. Both Toby and Rebel are in excellent health so....I guess its a matter of if it aint broke..dont fix it.
In your case, Greg..Im appalled at what the Old Roys dog food crap did to your dogs....Ive never fed that to mine...(because they loved Purina so much)...I hope that you notified Walmart or at least tried to...they probably wont care and wont do anything about it though, the bastards...

[Worthless Mutt]

After 4 weeks of feeding Maxximum Nutrition to Jesse and Sara, I have to say that I am very pleased with the results.

For 4 weeks I fed them nothing but the Maxximum Nutrition dog food. I did not give them any treats. I did not even add oil to their food as I had mentioned I might do. My reason for that is I wanted to be 100 percent sure that any changes were a result of the food and not anything else.

Their skin is less pale, and their coats are stay clean and shiny. Their muscle tone has improved noticably. They are more alert, more playful, and much more sociable. Jesse, in particular, now consistently walks with a confidence and pride she has never shown before. For the first time ever, she actually looks like she is half German Shepherd. When I took the dogs to visit the shelter that Jesse came from, the people there were nearly shocked by the the improvement in her physical condition and her behavior.

One thing I found is that there is no need to add oil to the food. Their skin and coats have improved dramatically without it. I found out why after doing more research on a few of the ingredients. The omega fatty acids I was looking for are present in a variety of greens, including grasses.

The number 3 ingredient, whole grain sorghum, appears to the primary source of these fatty acids. I have found that sorghum is a cheap substitute for rice. It seems kind of funny to me to think of anything worthwhile being a cheap substitute for rice, but it is recognized by the FDA as a good source of nutrition for humans as well as animals.

Now I just need need to get at least one of the Wal-mart stores around here to sell bigger bags of it. The 20 pound bag is a bit expensive and doesn't go very far. I'm used to getting dog food in 40 or 50 pound bags.

The only problem left is what to do with the 45 pounds of Ol' Roy I still have. I'd feel bad "donating" it to an animal shelter because they can't very well feed it to their dogs. I may just leave it outside for the wild animals.

[janking]

The only problem left is what to do with the 45 pounds of Ol' Roy I still have. I'd feel bad "donating" it to an animal shelter because they can't very well feed it to their dogs. I may just leave it outside for the wild animals.

Here's a thought. Send it to China.

[KittyTyme]

as far as the ol roy food.. are there any ducks or geese in your area? they love dog food.. and it's not bad for them like bread. I wouldn't feed the same ones all the time. They could get used to the dog food and start to rely on it..

[Islandlady17]

A couple of years ago I noticed Max was geting this black fungusy looking color under his legs. I mentioned it to the groomer when I tok him in and she told me it might be his diet. Up until then I had been feeding him Purina off the shelf. she said she had just come back from a conference and had learned of the hidden ingredients in some dog food. Ingredients such as the ones you describe. I never did have him tested for the actual cause but as soon as I stopped feeding him Purina and changed to GO...the black disappeared. I was appalled at what the groomer told me but 'undigested contents' well that's just plain disgusting. How can they get away with that?

[KittyTyme]

and here we go again!!!

(AP) Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall Friday of all dry pet food products produced at its plant in Everson, Pa. between Feb. 18 and July 29, citing potential contamination with salmonella.

Mars, in a news release, did not say how much pet food is involved, but said the recall reaches 31 states and various brands and said the action was taken as a precaution.

"Even though no direct link between products produced at the Everson plant and human or pet illness has been made, we are taking this precautionary action to protect pets and their owners," the company statement said.

Mars said it stopped production at the plant July 29 when it was alerted of a possible link between dry pet food produced in Everson and two isolated cases of people infected with salmonella.

Mars said salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats and, if there is cross contamination caused by handling of the pet food, in humans also.

The company said consumers should look for "17" as the first two digits of the second line on the UPC for products affected. For Pedigree products, they should look for "PAE" on the bottom line.

They can also call (877) 568-4463 or consult www.petcare.mars.com.

The brand names include some items under the names Country Acres, Retriever, Doggy Bag, Members Mark, Natural, Ol' Roy, Special Kitty, Paws & Claws, Pedigree, Wegman's, Pet Pride, PMI Nutrition and Red Flannel.

[Cass]

Wow, I never actually considered the problems pet food could cause. I will definately look closer before I feed my kitties and doggie any canned food from now on. Thanks for the information

[luvmyanimals]

I don't think anyone should ever get any ol'roy products. You know that Pet Food Recall a while ago where there were quite a few dogs that died, well ol'roy has been on every pet food recall, just never trust anything with ol'roy on it. When that big recall was going on, my dog was sick, and wasn't eating well, we got the canned ol'roy and he ate it, and I think because of that s***, my dog wasn't able to heal from his surgery. After his surgery he didn't want to eat, and we fed him that crap. WalMart needs to take all ol'roy products and throw it away.
-Theresa