fordsooperdooty
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 08/13/2004
View Profile
 Offline
|
Only if you love your dog should you read this...I'm not saying that you should eat beans and rice so your dog can eat steak!
Just be aware of what's IN the dog food you do buy.
I've lost my dogs over the years, as many of us have, thru old age...and cancer raised it's ugly head as well. 60% of all Golden Retrievers die from it. Roughly 40% of all dogs get cancer, and 25% die from cancer.
By comparison less than 15% of us Humans sucumb from cancer.
Ethoxyquin-It's just one of the many, many ingredients in the dog food we are feeding to our beloved companions. Ethoxyquin has been linked to thyroid, kidney, reproductive and immune related illnesses as well as cancer.
I researched this myself recently about dog foods, and you can READ ABOUT DOG FOOD IN GENERAL in my blog HERE-
The latest research tends to indicate that high protein content is not, as previousily thought...bad at all (kidney issues)...and in fact good for the animal.
After much research on ingredients and brands, reading up on dog dietary needs, "blind taste tests" on abby (really!) we settled on "Candida" brand dog food, there are cheaper foods that are nearly as good...but just don't fall for the newest trend to slap a "natural" label on the same old dog food brands!
 LOL!
"Candida" with the first main ingredients chicken meal, turkey meal and lamb meat with 34% protein content. Then Lamb and fish meal. And no wheat (many dogs scratch and have skin issues due to wheat allergies), grains, artificial colors, natural preservatives, and no 20 letter unpronounceable chemical names.
'Ol Roy (Walmart) for example has listed on their label as the 1st 4 ingredients Ground yellow corn, soybean meal, ground whole wheat, corn syrup. And "by product meal", and "animal digest" which is made from parts of the animal that are "not fit for human consumption". And can include any kind of animal...and include: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, miscellaneous roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on. Bletch! 
Yeah, I know premium stuff costs more than a bag of 'Ol Roy Walmart brand! But meat costs more than wheat and corn...right? And the dog will require LESS of a premium brand, due to less being needed to maintain weight, so it evens out somewhat. Less poop and odor is also a plus!
I wasn't sure about "meal" in dog foods, and was looking for a first ingredient to be like "Chicken meat" or "Beef".
But we found that the term "meal" means the meat was solid protein, all real meat and it already has the water removed. But if the label says "Chicken Meat" it it is weighed for protein content and weighed raw, so when 16 oz of meat is cooked/processed and added to the bag of dog food as protein content, you get less per pound protein than you would with "meal"!
I also cut out all of her supermarket and Walmart dog snacks (Pupperoni with it's nitrites and atrificial smoke flavors),..too many fake and false floavorings and ingredients and salt/sugars. She gets natual grain free snacks now..in moderation. And carrots, peas apple slices and so on.
Abby just turned 2 years old, and her coat is absolutely beautiful, spun gold in the sunlight...bright eyes, full of energy, and she sheds MUCH less hair than she did with Eukanuba, doesn't itch and scratch anymore, eats and poops LESS too!
We've also taken a clue and my family are also on a more natural, less fast food diets. 
And a healthy, long life is certainly in store for Abby...hopefully Cancer free for a full 15 years plus!
Good luck and hug your dog for me! And adopt a pound puppy or adult dog!
My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data. They are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes and should not be constituted as actually related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, spiritual or practical advice. Amen. 
|
Pawz4me
North Carolina
Senior Member
Joined: 06/05/2007
View Profile
|
fordsooperdooty wrote:After much research on ingredients and brands, reading up on dog dietary needs, "blind taste tests" on abby (really!) we settled on "Candida" brand dog food
I assume you mean Canidae?
Me and the DH
Two boys and two dogs (and two cats who prefer to stay home)
2008 Forest River Georgetown 350DS (bunkhouse model)
2001 Honda CR-V
|
old guy
Oregon (pronounced Or e gun)
Senior Member
Joined: 03/15/2006
View Profile
|
I was watching "how it's made" and they were making dog food. they just sprayed on the meat flavor . no real meat in the food. just meat flavoring. what a cop out for the dogs forced to eat that stuff.
|
BCSnob
Middletown, MD
Senior Member
Joined: 02/23/2002
View Profile
|
fordsooperdooty wrote:I've lost my dogs over the years, as many of us have, thru old age...and cancer raised it's ugly head as well. 60% of all Golden Retrievers die from it. Roughly 40% of all dogs get cancer, and 25% die from cancer.
By comparison less than 15% of us Humans sucumb from cancer. This implies that the cancer rate difference between humans and certain breeds of dogs (or all dogs) is related to food. There is no data to support this. However, there is data to support the hypothesis that the cancer rates in dogs (especially purebred dogs) is related to the lack of genetic diversity (coefficient of inbreeding) in dogs as compared to the genetic diversity in humans.
Mark
Mark & Renee
Working Border Collies: Gyp (retired), Peg, Bette, BJ, Nell, Tally & Eve
Sam the Maremma Sheepdog (at home guarding our flock)
2001 Chevy Express 2500 Cargo (rolling kennel)
2007 Nash 22M
|
five'er
Canada
Senior Member
Joined: 09/25/2006
View Profile
|
I feed my dog what ever doesn't have us running out of the room in the evening holding our noses..HAHA.. She also has been known to eat loaves of bread off the counter as well as bags of brown sugar and boxes of chocolate (we have to hide all that up high now because she's very good not to do that when we're around.. it appears no matter how many time I try to explain to her that it's harmful for her she continues to eat those things. She also sits on my couches (Only when she knows we've gone like a teenager who cranks the music which seems to show some smarts). I watch her slink off when I pull up out front.. trying to be so careful not to let us see..
She will also roll in the horse pen and eat that too.. Things she finds in the woods.. Cat food.. The cat poo from the litter box, her own poo.. Garbage.. her toys get eatten.. Seems she will eat just about everything/anything.. So.. Why buy expensive dog food to counter her most disgusting natural tendancies? No matter what I give her from the store it MUST be better than what she is finding elsewhere.. right? Is she trying to send me a message? She'd rather eat poo than what I give her.. 
|
|
|
dgo1369
Georgetown, TX, US
Senior Member
Joined: 11/22/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
Ethoxyquin has long been known to be a carcinogen regarding dogs. I'd be surprised to see it as an ingredient in any feed these days after all the fuss we breeders and show people put up about the subject 25 years or so ago.
My Abby (Golden) and Sheltie eat Taste of the Wild, High Prairie formula with roasted bison and roasted venison. It is VERY pricy but it is worth it to me to keep up their health. It is also grain free which is another benefit.
As you are aware, dog food is a very controversial subject, much like RV parking at WalMart and is Chevy better than Ford. I stay away from it unless someone asks me a question regarding it. There are several web sites that rate dogs foods and not all rate the same. In the same manner, not all dogs like what is "good" for them. Dogs generally control their owners who feel that if they feed them a high quality food and the dog refuses to eat for a day or two, then the owners cave in and buy something that isn't good for them. Dogs WILL eat when they get hungry, it's the owners who cave in.
Dennis Osha
|
Pawz4me
North Carolina
Senior Member
Joined: 06/05/2007
View Profile
|
dgo1369 wrote:I'd be surprised to see it as an ingredient in any feed these days after all the fuss we breeders and show people put up about the subject 25 years or so ago.
Dog food manufacturers don't have to list ingredients that they themselves don't add to the food. I believe menhaden fish is one common pet food ingredient for which ethoxyquin is often used as a preservative, but it would be used by the supplier of the fish. So even though it's there, it wouldn't have to be listed as an ingredient on a dog food label.
|
Acampingwewillgo
USA
Senior Member
Joined: 11/15/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Thank you for your insight into what you feed your Doggies. I, for one, am always interested in giving my "kids" the best chance for a long life. A couple of years ago I posted something very similiar regarding the Food vs Cancer debate. As indicated, there are many rankings of dog foods by different agencies. We attempt to feed our girls the most healthy diet we can and Hope for the best. My decisions are based solely on my selfishness...I want my "girls" around for as long as humanly possible and I want to know that I did everything in my power to make their lives Long, Healthy and Happy.
96 Vogue Prima Vista 37' CAT 3176B
Our Babies: Mollie, Rubie, Cassie and Maggie, all rescued Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
Rally's and get togethers.....Lots
|
Randu
South Central Michigan
Senior Member
Joined: 01/26/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Did some research 6 months ago and now its costing $$$$.  .
Our 10 year old lab had been on Diamond or Nutro and she was sleeping all the time and did not appear to even want to chase squirrels anymore. Talked to the vet who said to look into the ingredients and not the name and look for protein. 2 hours spent at the pet store reading bags. Decided to try Blue Buffalo "Wilderness" flavor. Pricey @ 49.99 for 24# but this old lab has a life again. She is not as stiff when waking up, will now chase anything in the backyard that moves, and has lost some weight and wants to play now. Its worth it for my best buddy to be ready for anything again. Randu
2004 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT CC 8'BOX
8.1 Gas/Allison
2008 Mobile Suites 36TK3 Unit# 3983 -- new to me 8/12/11
|
Chuck&Gail
In the Colorado Mountains
Senior Member
Joined: 06/16/2004
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
We feed Natures Logic, a premium food NOT made by those Chinese folks who are always trying to kill us or our pets. It IS a choice, but not always easy to find the needed info. Less than honest manufacturers do not want us to know!
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Australian Shepherd
2010 Ford Expedition TV
2010 Outback 230RS Toybox, 5390# UVW, 6800# Loaded
Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories
I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
|
|
|
|
