Dang it, I just looked up the ingredients in the Fromm cat food.
Cats do not need pearled barley, oatmeal rice or tomatoes.
Oh well this is off topic. Thanks.
[QUOTE=cowboymom;8029417]
IME experience which includes a sample of about 15 now-deceased dogs of friends and family, plain old Dog Chow enabled or at least didn’t stop dogs to all make it to the mid-double digits. This was largely before the trend of uber-quality foods and I’m not so sure that the quality of today’s Dog Chow is the same as it was maybe twenty years ago. I think everyone has an example in their life to influence their decisions, no matter what they are.[/QUOTE]
I think it was a far better food 20 years ago.
Hell we fed my beagle Gravy Train for 20 years! :yes:
I’d really like to save money and try the Taste of the Wild, but the fact that they’re with Diamond now really makes me nervous. I suspect Diamond kibble is what killed my Boxer 
I would never feed Beneful. I delivered food for a no-kill shelter for awhile. We always had to check the Beneful before even carrying it to it’s final destination at the shelter because so often it was molded. Now this was immediately after the “sell-by” date. None of the other brands was ever ruined in that way. This was over a course of years. We would just dread to open the Beneful.
[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;8029431]
I’d really like to save money and try the Taste of the Wild, but the fact that they’re with Diamond now really makes me nervous. I suspect Diamond kibble is what killed my Boxer :([/QUOTE]
My cats would not touch taste of the wild. Diamond was scary.
I always wondered about stories I had heard about that food.
[QUOTE=Sannois;8029440]
My cats would not touch taste of the wild. Diamond was scary.
I always wondered about stories I had heard about that food.[/QUOTE]
I tried the fish flavor when we first got this Cocker and he just refused to eat it. BUT, he has also refused one of the other more expensive fish kibbles from PetSmart, Nature’s Variety LID - not fish but can’t remember what flavor it was, maybe venison?, and some Nutro. He’s not thrilled with the Orijen, but will eat it. His hair still isn’t as nice as I’d like and he’s still doing a lot of head shaking and some chewing on himself, which is off-putting when you’re spending $48/15lbs of food :uhoh: I have a sneaking suspicion that chicken is a problem, but finding grain and chicken free kibble that he will even eat is so frustrating…
mosey see if you can find Exclusive dog food near you? It’s usually only carried in feed stores. It’s a mid range food but it has some chicken/grain free options. Also maybe Infinia, it’s a higher price point but my customers have had good luck with it.
My puppy is doing wonderfully on Stella and Chewy’s freezed dried and frozen raw. Suspected chicken allergy and possibly beef, so we went to Duck Duck Goose (duck and turkey), but going to venison now; I think poultry and fowl are still bothering her a little bit (dry, itchy skin). Single protein and she loves it; when I make her sit and wait for me to put her bowl down, she complains–play bowing, whining, barking–until I release her!
Commercially available raw is all I can do right now as her day care won’t feed frozen raw or animal parts, but doing raw (probably prey model) down the road is something I’m open to.
[QUOTE=Sannois;8029426]
Dang it, I just looked up the ingredients in the Fromm cat food.
Cats do not need pearled barley, oatmeal rice or tomatoes.
Oh well this is off topic. Thanks.[/QUOTE]
Check the Fromm Four Star line. I think it is grain free, if I remember correctly.
my three cats are fine on Purina cat chow. the only yakker is the bolter. If I spread the food on a big pan, she doesn’t yak.
The dogs are on Diamond Natural Chicken and Rice and I’m happy with their health and as age appropriate, their advanced age. The ancient bird dog is almost 13 years old and clicking along just fine. Maybe it’s the steady diet of horse manure he also enjoys.
Fromm looks interesting.
My cats only like the fish flavors - they are eating the Merrick line of Purrfect bistro but I’m always looking for other brands with non-fish flavors that they may like.
As an aside - that Fromm website is so nice! Easy to navigate and beautiful to look at.
[QUOTE=reefy!;8029669]
Fromm looks interesting.
My cats only like the fish flavors - they are eating the Merrick line of Purrfect bistro but I’m always looking for other brands with non-fish flavors that they may like.
As an aside - that Fromm website is so nice! Easy to navigate and beautiful to look at.[/QUOTE]
I have one dog that Fromm grain free has been really miraculous for. Until I found it, he had terrible gas and loose stools. I was really worried about inflammation in his digestive system. On Fromm, mixed with deer meat and a pre- mix, he is do much better. I’ve tried other foods, but for some reason, the Fromm grain free foods seem to keep him in the best shape of anything else I’ve tried - and I’ve tried a lot of high end foods.
Beneful is a crappy dog food, and I am a huge purina supporter. Purina does A LOT of research and studies to better their dogs. My horse gets Purina feed, and my dog gets Purina Prescription Diet EN good. We feed everything in the clinic Purina prescription diets, and we only see Pro Plan as a non prescription food. Just like you do with your horse, research your dog food ingredients!
[QUOTE=cowboymom;8029475]
Mosey see if you can find Exclusive dog food near you? It’s usually only carried in feed stores. It’s a mid range food but it has some chicken/grain free options. Also maybe Infinia, it’s a higher price point but my customers have had good luck with it.[/QUOTE]
I don’t think anyone here has that Exclusive, but I can call around. Think I might try the Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast since it’s available at Chewy and it’s the same price for 28lbs of it as 15lbs of the Orijen :eek:
[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;8029468]
I tried the fish flavor when we first got this Cocker and he just refused to eat it. BUT, he has also refused one of the other more expensive fish kibbles from PetSmart, Nature’s Variety LID - not fish but can’t remember what flavor it was, maybe venison?, and some Nutro. He’s not thrilled with the Orijen, but will eat it. His hair still isn’t as nice as I’d like and he’s still doing a lot of head shaking and some chewing on himself, which is off-putting when you’re spending $48/15lbs of food :uhoh: I have a sneaking suspicion that chicken is a problem, but finding grain and chicken free kibble that he will even eat is so frustrating…[/QUOTE]
I have this issue with my cocker. The big problem with my guy is starch - so look for a potato free, grain free food. I found that the starch levels in a lot of grain free are too high and it causes his body to become too “yeasty” which is why we see the yeast build up in his ears and paws. I really like Nutrisca Salmon and Chickpea but have found that the walmart Pure Balance Bison and Pea and Salmon and Pea work just as well.
Interesting, Snowflake… The foster we picked him up from had him on Blue Buffalo dry and wet and he was shiny but by golly I just don’t want to buy it. I don’t like their marketing and the price is outrageous. I hadn’t really thought about the starch being a problem, the dang dog begs like crazy for potatoes :rolleyes: Wal-Mart, eh? Hmmm…
[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;8029730]
Interesting, Snowflake… The foster we picked him up from had him on Blue Buffalo dry and wet and he was shiny but by golly I just don’t want to buy it. I don’t like their marketing and the price is outrageous. I hadn’t really thought about the starch being a problem, the dang dog begs like crazy for potatoes :rolleyes: Wal-Mart, eh? Hmmm…[/QUOTE]
Yeah, some dogs who have problems with ears have an excess of yeast in their system and when they eat high starch foods, the body converts it to sugar and the yeast feeds on it and grows like mad - leading to infections. I was surprised to see the grain free food at Walmart and it didn’t look too bad on the label. It’s rated 4 stars on Dog Food Advisor and the mid size bag is like $16 or so. I want to say it’s 15 pounds. The 30 pound bags are in the $30 range. They have the novel proteins with the salmon and bison too.
[QUOTE=cowboymom;8029417]
IME experience which includes a sample of about 15 now-deceased dogs of friends and family, plain old Dog Chow enabled or at least didn’t stop dogs to all make it to the mid-double digits. This was largely before the trend of uber-quality foods and I’m not so sure that the quality of today’s Dog Chow is the same as it was maybe twenty years ago. I think everyone has an example in their life to influence their decisions, no matter what they are.[/QUOTE]
Wouldn’t it be interesting to compare a label on dog food from 30yrs ago and the same brand today. I’m sure the cos have cheapened their product. The first dog I owned as an adult lived to 15 in good health and was fed grocery store dog food. The next one lived to 14 and on Meal time( I think). It was after that the dog food changed and to get the same quality, labels became more important. The dogs in the last 12 yrs have all been on food from the upper tier. The dobe lived to 15, the GSD to 12 but she was born with a severe heart defect. She wasn’t suppose to live past 4.
For those with limited brick-and-mortar options, make sure to check out Amazon (especially if you have a Prime membership), as well as online pet stores. I personally use Wag.com and Petfooddirect.com, as well as Chewy.com (though they no longer carry Stella and Chewy’s). Pet360.com is a Petfooddirect company, too, and has loads of options.
They have autoship programs that will save you 15% off the retail and you can “set it and forget it.” Free shipping over a certain amount ($49 for most) and it’s usually 2 day shipping.
