Dog Food Rating

[SpringerGuy]

A few months ago someone posted a piece about dog food ratings. I wanted to print it out and then talk to the Purina guys at the Pheasant Fest about it on Friday. I did a search for it and could not find it. I was hoping that someone could help me out?

Thanks!

[SpringerGuy]

I found it.

[Augusta]

Can you post the link. I would like to read it as well. Thanks

[311Hemi]

Let us know what they have to say.

This has been discussed in the past and it has some decent points and some questionable ones. Not going to get into it but by all means don't consider this a 100% accurate test......it is the opinion of the author.

 Quote:

Hi, i've never actually posted here or even visited this site before, but i thought i'd step in and say that *i* am the original poster of this dog food grading system.

My name is Sarah Irick and i am a Great Dane owner and rescue volunteer. i am a Civil/Industrial Engineer, not a veterinarian or animal nutritionist by education or employment. i do not work for a pet food manufacturer nor am i affiliated with one. i am just an individual who is concerned about what i feed my dogs and wants to help others decide what to feed their own. i cannot remember the exact date i designed this system, though i know it's been more than a year (probably 2-3 years ago). i was concerned with the way people sometimes throw out names of "good" dog foods that maybe aren't so good, and others take their words for it. Foods that maybe used to be good before their ingredients were changed for the worse or before better options became available are still being touted by some as being super-premium and i disagree. Since many pet owners do not have the time or inclination to do as many hours of research into pet (specifically dog) nutrition as i and many of you have, i wanted an *easier* way for them to compare labels. Unfortunately it is still a bit cumbersome (sometimes 2 people calculate the same food and get different scores even) but it's better than nothing in my opinion.

Is it exact science? No. i don't claim for it to be. In fact i've had to make a couple of changes over time (which the above don't reflect) for new circumstances i've run across, such as the food that contained NO MEAT (not a special diet just one that was so cheap it didn't contain any meat at all) and needs a steep penalty IMO but still scored a decent grade on the original or the newer kibbles that contain no grain and IMO if it still has sufficient fiber and carbs then it deserves extra credit that wasn't previously reflected. Also i've gotten comments and opinions that i take seriously and incorporate if it seems appropriate.

i don't have a permanent site host for this although seeing how hugely popular it is and how widely spread without accreditation it has become perhaps i should do so. It isn't that i care so much about credit but many people will ask the questions that your posters have about my affiliations and biases, etc.

i don't officially support any one food; anywhere that i personally posted grades on specific foods it was to give an idea of where these foods fell so people didn't always have to do the math.

Sarah Irick aka fredalina If you want to e-mail me with questions or comments, you can at [email protected]. This is my "spam" address, so put "Dog Food Grading" in the subject line or i'll probably delete it mistakenly.

[SpringerGuy]

I think this is how it's done.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1120775#Post1120775

[tmvikings]

You should check out the great food at Costco. My dog used to get the 30- 35 dollar a bag stuff until I found the kirkland dog food at Costco, this stuff is great and he loves it!

[SpringerGuy]

I am a long way from a Costco. I am out in the sticks.

Tried talking to the Purina guys at their booth on Friday. I got the standard politically correct answers. I feed Purina Beneful and all of my dogs to great on it.

However in that post I was looking for it did not score well at all. I even took a copy of it along, and they were not even interested in reading it. One guy later came over and flipped through the pages, but did not read anything.

I got the answer of "it's our fastest growing dog food since we introduced it about 5 years ago. A 10% growth rate every year. And Purina would not put out a dog food that was not the best out there. Beneful is highly digestable and easy on the dog's system."

It's priced right for a 25% protein dog food and easy to pick up at Wally*World. Don't know what I should do. I feel like I should change, but my dogs are doing great.

[DRH1175]

Deffintly change foods. It is a very bad food in my opinion. Look at the ingrediants. Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal The only meat in the first 5 ingrediants is Chicken by product meal. This isn't even meat. it is the by products of chicken that us humans don't eat. Take a look once at a quaility food like Nutro, nutri source, Eagle pack. You will see Chicken meal and rice. as the first two. Chicken meal is 100% cookec chicken meat protein and rice is one of the most digestable carbs for dogs to give them energy. Look past the protein% on the bag and look at the ingredients.

[Bryce]

Pretty sure we've established that dogs don't attain energy from carbs like humans do. Also, anytime you see the word by-product, don't assume that it an assumable ingredient. Have brought this up before but is worth mentioning again. Big trick in the pet food industry is to dip carcasses in boiling water and then into cold water. The "jelly" is then collected. Although technically a protein source, it is not assumable by dogs.

[311Hemi]

Another site you could read for more information is dogfoodproject.....just do a good search for it. They have a section related to reading labels that may offer some help. They also have a section related to the dog for grading system posted above and the issues they see with it.

[311Hemi]

Another site you could read for more information is dogfoodproject.....just do a good search for it. They have a section related to reading labels that may offer some help. They also have a section related to the dog for grading system posted above and the issues they see with it.

[Kallista]

Eagle Pack

Holistic Select® Chicken Meal & Rice Formula

24% Protein / 15% Fat / Calories - 386 kcal/cup

for puppies and dogs, there are many different types to choose from, what ever suits your dog best in Eagle Pack.. I been to 5 vets, and all of them sell Eagle, as well as ely here now too

There is a reason why they are changing

I say change his or her food as soon as possible..

I hear a lot of well my dog eats Ol'roy from wally world, hes been hunting and lived to be 15, not all dogs do well like that, hes your buddy, feed him well, he does a lot for you

[SpringerGuy]

But.... if Beneful is so bad, why are all 6 of my dogs looking so good? And the vet raves about how good and healthy or puppies look. Then why is a company like Purina making a dog food that is so bad? Wouldn't the other dog food companies jump all over them in their marketing?

PoleBender

[311Hemi]

Every dog is different and some dogs will do better on one food than another. This is a debate much like any other brand debate and everyone has their own opinion. The best you can do for your partner is do your research and find a food that fits you and your partner the best.

Are some foods better than others....definitely. Which ones can be debated. I think the majority of people you will talk to will say that Old Roy's is NOT a quality food and most will not feed it to their hunting partner. Could you feed a dog Old Roy's and have your hunting partner look to be in good shape.....and have a vet say you should not change a thing? My bets are on yes.

Are all the companies out there using the highest quality products because they care about animal nutrition....not because because they care about the bottom line? My guess is no. Some of these food are cheaper to manufacture than others.

Personally Tom (and wasn't referring to your post in my above comments)....I don't like the ingredient list for the Beneful Original (see below), but thats my opinion. I would first email/call them to see what grade corn they use as that is the first thing on their list. Second...their first and most quantity protein source is from chicken by-product, not chicken meal. Follow that by corn gluten meal, flour.....non-specific animal fat...sugar. I just think there are food that provide better ingredients for my partner.....but again...thats my opinion. Read through the dogfoodproject web site, and other sites, and come to your own conclusion.

INGREDIENTS

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar,

Also....I do prefer to find foods with probiotic's (bacteria) in the ingredients. I think this helps with issues such as ear infections. Non-sweetened yogurt is beneficial to dogs because of the probiotic's it contains.

This would be an ingredient list from a food I personally prefer:

Chicken Meal, Ground Yellow Corn (high quality corn source), Chicken Fat (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Pork Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Ground Brown Rice, Anchovy & Sardine Meals, Brewers Dried Yeast, Corn Gluten Meal,

[SpringerGuy]

Thanks Hemi, I appreciate the opinion & thoughts on this subject.

[David Kasten]

Tom I have two hunting dogs 1 is a bluetick coonhound and the other is a black lab, both super athletic dogs and i like you cannot afford to pay 50 bucks a bag. Me and all the guys i run my bluetick with feed our dogs a food called hi-standards. It is around 16 bucks a bag they do not sell this is stores the only guy that sells in your half of the state would be ron waltz in st. cloud. Another food iv heard a lot of guys feed is diamond i dont know much about it but the guys that feed it love it, this is also about 17-18 bucks depending on who you get it from. All dog foods come in different fat-protein ratio. I feed my dogs a lower fat- lower protien level in winter (because they are not as active therefor do not need much more) then in summer and fall. Be careful not to feed your dog a super high protien food if they are not very active, i know a guy that had his dog dog last week her kidneys shut down because to high of a protein level in her food and she wasnt getting enough exercize to burn it off.

[SpringerGuy]

St. Cloud is like 3 hours away from me. How large of a bag is the Diamond at that price. I'm buying a 40lb bag in wall*mart for 23.00. I'm not too worried about the price, but I live with someone who is. I'll need to spend some time researching.

[shaky legs2]

I would second the vote for Diamond. I hunt Pheasants exclusively and pretty hard (like just about every week October - January). I hunt Minnesota, and both Dakotas and many trips are for 3-4 days in a row. I hunt springers and have never had a dog [PoorWordUsage] out on me. During the hunting season I feed them the high protein brand (forget the name but I thing it is sporting dog -maroon bag) and in the off season they get the regular brand (green bag). I also give them a sugar cookie or two during the day and plently of water. I get the Diamond brand from my local elevator (Delano, Mn.)

[tealitup]

So, when I got my puppy I was giving it Science Diet - but wanted to stay away from Chinese made products. Now, I have started feeding Nutri Sources which I can only find at Gander Mountain. Although, not a big problem - would you recommend this food?

[David Kasten]

why spend that much money on a bag when you can get something just as good for half the price or less? I have two bags of the highstandards stuff and plan on trying out the diamond food when i run out. One thing diamond has going for them is its pretty easy to get, a lot of feed stores and elevators sell the stuff plus a little of joes around the state sell it.

[fishtrap3]

We feed Diamond also. Pup is doing very well on it..

[Augusta]

I feed IAMS, does anyone know if that brand is any good? Thanks

[Tom7227]

I looked at that HSOforum of the lady that did the rating - I think maybe she's a bit goofy. The dog food gets extra points if it contains fruit, loses points for this and that. I have deicded that Science Diet is out, but not based on anything this lady said.

I was at Pheasant Fest and there were some guys there selling the Native dog food. They were giving out coupons for $5 off at Chuck and Don's. Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? $30 for 40 lbs and it doesn't start off with "corn' as the first incredient.

[David Kasten]

Hey Tom i talked to a couple guys i know the run hounds for coyotes,bobcat,coon,etc. Another food that was recommended that you look into is Black Gold that is also sold at a lot of feed stores and elevators