3:53 AM
Venus Gal
If you are looking for a high quality dry dog food, you need to consider a few things. Dogs have differing tastes just like people do. Dogs can get spoiled by poor quality dog food with high levels of flavor enhancers and chemicals or they get spoiled by eating homemade dog foods and raw foods. Thus high quality foods that are more natural may not be appealing.
If the food contains fish, then it contains ethoxyquin. The fish is injected before it gets to the dog food manufacturer, in that way it does not need to be listed in the ingredient list. Also, what is the quality of meat? Is it a meat "meal" or does it simply list "chicken" or "beef?" You'll get a higher protein quality with the meat "meals." Does the food contain corn like the very "high quality" brand Innova? Wheat, soy, and corn are not fit for dogs. A dry food is not the best choice of food for dogs, but if that is your only option and you want a food that guarantees their ingredients (one that personally gets their fish locally, it's not shipped to them). Renal failure is caused from a lifetime of eating dry food.
Orijen is the only food that I know of that will guarantee no chemicals in their food. However, Orijen, like most dry food, is not for every breed. Specific breeds do best on what their ancestors were fed. For example, Northern breeds do best on high protein; higher fat foods with no grains specifically fish protein. Taste of the Wild and Timberwolf Organics are "high quality," but their fish sources contain ethoxyquin.
Life's Abundance is "high quality," but a lot of dogs either hate it or do terribly on it. Many dogs do not like the taste of Life's Abundance because it uses too many processed "people food" ingredients. Processed equates to unnatural. Dogs in general like meat, meat fats, and organs, along with vegetable matter as is found in the intestinal tract of herbivores. Fruits are not a good food source for dogs, although I understand that the amount in Life's Abundance is actually miniscule. Grains in general are not "good" food either, like the rice found in Life's Abundance. Again, that does not mean it is not a good quality food. In fact, it's a great food! Unless your dog has an allergy to chicken, beets, yeast, soy (Lecithin), and fish....it's an option for you. It's about 64 cents a day to feed vs. 80 cents a day for California Natural. Its protein content is too high for my dog’s liver issues.
Most "natural flavors" are made from hydrolyzed protein which creates MSG in the process. Because of how it is added, in the form of hydrolyzed protein, regulators don't make manufacturers list MSG as an ingredient. Nature's Logic is 100% natural. There is nothing man-made in the food and no chemicals. They go even one step further and get all vitamins and minerals in the food from whole food and natural sources. Other pet foods, even "natural" ones use "added vitamins and minerals." If you see this on the label it is a disclaimer that tells you the added vitamins and minerals are not natural, but are chemically-synthesized and bring with them added unwanted ingredients.
As you evaluate cost of foods, be sure to note how much you will need to feed of each one. Some very nutrient-dense premium foods require much less volume because they are made from higher quality, more digestible ingredients. Look for high protein content, too. Nature's Variety frozen foods, dehydrated meals, homemade foods, and raw are recommended for certain dogs and cats. Canned food is second choice, while dry is the last because any dry food is not natural! It's processed, baked, and dehydrated into kibble.
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