Dog food quality ratings

[grsthegreat]

IMO ALL of the standard big name brands are animal abuse. It's a case of pay me now or pay the vet later.

i dont know about that. i think it all depends on the animal. just like people, some can eat anything and thrive while others have nutritional issues. My old lab lived to be a vibrant 16YO dog eating Purina dog chow. He was not abused.

 

[Bird]

IMO ALL of the standard big name brands are animal abuse. It's a case of pay me now or pay the vet later.

Do you care to elaborate, or say why you think that? I sure know a lot of happy, healthy animals who are eating food made for them.

 

[Travelover]

i dont know about that. i think it all depends on the animal. just like people, some can eat anything and thrive while others have nutritional issues. My old lab lived to be a vibrant 16YO dog eating Purina dog chow. He was not abused.

My last dog lived to age 16 on Science Diet, which was what the vet recommended. I guess if I hadn't "abused" him he'd be around 30 years old now.

 

[Depmandog]

All I can tell you is we, per our vets advice, feed nothing but Science Diet for years. Our corgi had some "allergies", but it wasn't severe.

But our two new dogs were miserable with skin infections and allergies. Then the vet wanted me to spend big bucks on allergy panels times two dogs. Instead, I opted to change their diet and wala - allergies gone.

It appears many vets carry science diet. Why, I don't know ...is it more profitable than other brands, does Hill target market the vets with free samples, etc??

Solid Gold - Barking at the Moon. Smells like a fish factory, but my two hounds love it!

 

[IXLR8]

It appears many vets carry science diet. Why, I don't know ...is it more profitable than other brands, does Hill target market the vets with free samples, etc??

I don't know how true it is, but I was told that Hill helps fund some veterinary schools and provides scholarships to vets.

 

[rekees4300]

You know, I really like a thread like this. It seems to spur people on to investigate just what they are doing to their animals. Some of the food is almost animal abuse. Such knowledge is the first step to the better life for an animal.

I should keep to my own business but pets are like children in that they are totally dependent on their owners (parents) for their lot in life. There is no real protection for pets as there is for children so it pains me to see occasions of neglect, pain, and suffering that sometimes creeps into any animal's (including the human kind) life.

Some time in the future I plan to bump this thread to keep the awareness fresh.

IMO ALL of the standard big name brands are animal abuse. It's a case of pay me now or pay the vet later.

i dont know about that. i think it all depends on the animal. just like people, some can eat anything and thrive while others have nutritional issues. My old lab lived to be a vibrant 16YO dog eating Purina dog chow. He was not abused.

Do you care to elaborate, or say why you think that? I sure know a lot of happy, healthy animals who are eating food made for them.

Didn't mean to offend anyone re their choice of dog food. My used of the term "animal abuse" was an exaggeration. I should have done a better job making my point that ALL of the big name brands are not as a nutritious as the lesser known, more expensive brands. However, I agree there are many animals who thrive on the big name brands. Those animals (as a general rule) tend to be the larger, hardy breeds. :dog:

 

[J F]

Our heel nippers get only the best...when it's on sale.

 

[Bocephous]

OK, but how do we know the folks doing those ratings know more than our local veterinarian? Is our vet lying because sells Hill's (they also sell a number of others). I do expect to change to something else before long because the little mutt's too fat, we've restricted her diet to this particular dog food in the amount recommended by the vet and she's not losing any weight. She eats every bit of it and would like more, but she's not losing any weight on it. And I reckon she's pretty healthy except for being overweight. Kind of like me.

Your vet may not know what is in the food. Or he/she may make some money by selling that food. Could be any one of a number of reasons. If you have an ATV and your dog isn't frightened of it try taking your pooch for a daily ATV ride (for you) jog (for the dog). That WILL take the weight off. I've yet to have a weight problem with any of my dogs while they were eating a grain free food.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I wonder if the dog can taste the difference in the higher rated versions?
I used to keep beagles to run rabbits...
Around here all the hunters used Joy...
I noticed that it got a low rating...
My deceased cousin kept over 80 fox dogs...
Keeping that many requires a lot of food...
He had access to left overs from his fish camp...
High protein fish bones, skin, etc...
He would mix that in with dry Joy and those dogs could run all night...
Coats were slick too...
My current mut gets O'Roy dry and canned mixed with water in addition to left overs and hard cheese...
She loves hard cheese...
13 years old now...
Always lived outside but she always has had a warm house...
Been hit a couple of times from cars but has had a good life...
She suffers from arthritis, a little hard of hearing,and one eye is bad due to the run in's with cars...
But still gets around still relatively well...
Gosh we get attached to our pets don't we???

 

[Western]

I have looked at the "ratings" site for a few years. If you read the comments under each brand, you will learn more from others who feed/fed it than the initial analysis. Such as Blue Buffalo, they have had many "recalls" and some claim animal deaths because of it. Taste of the wild has had quality issues, I have had to return several bags that smelled so bad I couldn't keep them in the house. My dogs would eat maybe 50% of the TOTW, everyone knows dogs eat according to smell so....

I found a Texas based feed maker that rates high on the list, this food seems to be good, dogs eat it. victor brand

Bottom line, I think many people have different results, so I put more credence in the owners reviews.