Chicken Soup, Large breed puppy ?

>People have used Purina for YEARS, and many >breeders/exhibitors still stick by it.

That's because they don't know any better.

Here's the first line of ingredients.





Ingredients
Whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal,

Corn is a poorly if not undigestible ingredient. ESPECIALLY for Northern Breeds. GSD is that. Soybean is a total NO NO. NOT digestible at all.

My friend was donated some Purina for his Husky rescue. They lost weight and looked awful.

Also look at what amount you have to feed. The better quality foods require less. No, Chicken Soup is not "too rich". It has quality ingredients. In fact when switching from a low quality to a high quality food, you need to mix it over a period of a few weeks. Well, you don't have to but you will have VERY runny poo.

You don't find quality dog food in grocery stores and department stores.




Powell

Originally Posted By: Powell >People have used Purina for YEARS, and many >breeders/exhibitors still stick by it.

That's because they don't know any better.

Here's the first line of ingredients.





Ingredients
Whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal,

Corn is a poorly if not undigestible ingredient. ESPECIALLY for Northern Breeds. GSD is that. Soybean is a total NO NO. NOT digestible at all.

My friend was donated some Purina for his Husky rescue. They lost weight and looked awful.

Also look at what amount you have to feed. The better quality foods require less. No, Chicken Soup is not "too rich". It has quality ingredients. In fact when switching from a low quality to a high quality food, you need to mix it over a period of a few weeks. Well, you don't have to but you will have VERY runny poo.

You don't find quality dog food in grocery stores and department stores.




Powell

Click to expand...

Firstof all you're talking about plain old Dog Chow, and that's NOT what I was referring to.

Purina Pro Plan L & R:

Lamb, brewer's rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, chicken meal, animal fat (with vit E), oatmeal, pearled barley, dried beet pulp, fish meal, and the list of vitamins..............

and YES, for some dogs Chicken Soup is too rich. Some dogs do not do good with duck and everything else in a food. Just because YOU like the ingredients doesn't mean it is good for ALL dogs.

And YES, these long time breeders/exhibitors (of 35+ yrs) do know what they are doing, their dogs are living to 13+ yrs of age. Their lines are well bred and well fed.

I tell people what I use, but don't tell them they are wrong for using something different.

Oh and BTW......I own a Northern Breed dog, a Siberian Husky to be exact and she does just fine on the Pro Plan. Her Sire and Dam are certified Sled Dogs after running the Itidarod this past year, so like I said.....to each their own.......but not all dogs do good on the same food. Did you say the GSD is a Northern Breed?

Firstof all you're talking about plain old Dog Chow, and that's NOT what I was referring to.

Purina Pro Plan L & R:

Lamb, brewer's rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, chicken meal, animal fat (with vit E), oatmeal, pearled barley, dried beet pulp, fish meal, and the list of vitamins..............

and YES, for some dogs Chicken Soup is too rich. Some dogs do not do good with duck and everything else in a food. Just because YOU like the ingredients doesn't mean it is good for ALL dogs.

And YES, these long time breeders/exhibitors (of 35+ yrs) do know what they are doing, their dogs are living to 13+ yrs of age. Their lines are well bred and well fed.

I tell people what I use, but don't tell them they are wrong for using something different.

Oh and BTW......I own a Northern Breed dog, a Siberian Husky to be exact and she does just fine on the Pro Plan. Her Sire and Dam are certified Sled Dogs after running the Itidarod this past year, so like I said.....to each their own.......but not all dogs do good on the same food. Did you say the GSD is a Northern Breed? [/quote]


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I said:

Corn as the first ingredient, no. It's a cheap ingredient. Soybean never. Wheat reallllly doesn't need to be in their either. Switching brands abruptly can cause loose stools if going from cheap to good and it can take longer than you want....


More or less the GSD is. Pro Plan is not real bad. Jolene likes Pinnacle but I have to drive 50 miles to get it. Diamond has a food that's more expensive than Chicken Soup. It's grain free. It's EXPENSIVE. The small bag was $12. It smelled very fishy. It tasted that way also. I had to grab a Pepsi.
Yes, I do taste the food to see if it's too salty, etc.

Jolene normally gets Precise. They REMOVED the corn from their Foundation Formula.

Powell

There are as many opinions about dog food as their are dog owners. There is no single right answer.

Yes, there are differences in quality of dog food from brand to brand. In general, feeding your dog the best quality food you can find and afford is a good idea. Good nutrition is one factor of good health. But not the only factor.

But the definition of "best you can find and afford" is different for everyone. Families have different circumstances, priorities, and access to certain brands. Best for you doesn't have to be the best for me, and vice versa.

Educating each other on what brands of food (or styles of feeding) we have personal experience with--good or bad--is great. We can learn from each other...keeping in mind that dogs are different too. Just because your dog has good or bad luck with a food doesn't mean another dog will react the same.

Finally, I have never heard of a case in which belittling someone else's choices was a good way to change their mind about anything. So--directed at no one in particular-- please keep the conversation civil and helpful in tone.

Thanks.

Originally Posted By: lutzyIts funny how many people care more about what their dogs are eating then themselves....How healthy do we eat...come-on?

Click to expand...

I'd like to respond to you.

First, you're right in that some dogs do better on some kibbles than others.

But I disagree with you that we should settle for whatever appears to work just because our dogs like it well enough. Also, keep in mind that dogs often have firm stools on grain-filled kibbles because all that filler forms bulk. That doesn't mean it's "healthier" for them.

Yes, my dogs probably do eat better than my Dh and me on a meal to meal basis. They don't grab a power bar and call it a meal as they're running out the door to a last-minute meeting. And I won't touch brussels sprouts with a 10 foot pole for my own consumption, but I feed them to my dogs with great regularity (and a smidge of guilt!).

But overall, my Dh and I eat healthy balanced meals. Plus, I expect that, based on our elder family members' experiences, I'll likely live well into my 80s. GSDs live to be about 12-15 years old on average. So each of my dog's meals are 4x more important in the whole scheme of things. In addition, I eat, on average, 3 meals a day, my dog, two meals. So his meals even MORE important.

Also, I eat a wide variety of foods. The average American dog eats the same food day in/day out. So it is vitally important that the food she eats is of the highest quality if she is to live a long healthy life. If I were to only eat a one type of meal for the rest of my life, I could have simply Slim-Fast shakes. They are, according to the manufacturer , balanced and nutritious. They're also loaded with a lot of stuff I don't need (and probably lacking in stuff I do). Or maybe I could upgrade to Ensure, which doctors give to patients on limited diets. At least I have independent physicians as objective sources of information telling me that Ensure is a safe and healthy source of nutrition.

Or, I could have the diet that my own dogs have: a rotation of meat, vegetables, eggs and dairy. It's not the great variety of all my favorites including Mexican food, pizza, Chinese take-out, Italian food, and all the wonderful recipes that I've inherited from my mom, my friends, and that I've discovered in cookbooks, on the internet, or from tinkering in the kitchen, but yes, my dogs eat a balanced, nutritious, interesting diet. And if I had to, I could exist on it (although I'd prefer that the raw meat were cooked).

I believe that we owe it to our dogs to find them the very best food that we can afford and that works within our lifestyle. Does that mean each of us has to cook for our dogs or feed them a raw diet? Of course not.

But to just dismiss canine nutrition because most people don't eat healthy diets? Well, my response is, get out of the middle of the grocery store, where all the processed food is, and into the produce section. Buy the best meat you can afford, and if it's not a great cut of meat, make a great stew with a lot of vegetables. Visit your farmers' market. Get to know your local butcher and learn about healthier cuts of meat. Go to the fish market and eat fish.

Stop eating fast food. Stop eating out entirely, which will save you money to buy quality ingredients. Google "low fat recipes." Record the Food Channel and learn how to cook. Don't have regular cable? (I don't.) Check out PBS, which has cooking shows. Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart are on regular broadcast TV, so they'll teach you to cook healthy meals too. Watch those instead of reality TV. Let the kids learn how to cook as well. What a great gift to them! Start eating better yourself and taking better care of yourself.

Then do your dog the same favor. Read the ingredients in her kibble. Research. Learn what REALLY is best for your dog. As you say, you're not buying a "cheap" kibble, in terms of cost. You might as well get a healthy food for your money.

You'll both live a longer, healthier, happier life.