Commercial dog food versus holistic dog food

Originally Posted By: CastlemaidCan't change people mind when they are convinced they know it all!

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Perhaps said person isn't claiming to "know it all" and just knows what works for his/her dog or cat.

Originally Posted By: mamagoose

Originally Posted By: CastlemaidCan't change people mind when they are convinced they know it all!

Click to expand...

Perhaps said person isn't claiming to "know it all" and just knows what works for his/her dog or cat.

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I agree. Maybe they are just happy with what they are feeding and satisfied. I have never heard of a food causing deafness....

Cherri

Exactly what Ruth said.

I'm not sure what "holistic" means, whether it's dog food or someone wearing tie-died clothes and feathers chanting over a person dying of cancer when frankly, they'd likely be better off getting a reasonable dose of chemo.

Holistic is like the word "natural." It means absolutely nothing, but maybe it makes the purchaser feel warm and fuzzy. And the contents could be healthy, harmless, or harmful.

I read labels. I do research. I talk to the experts I know. I read experts I trust. Yup, I'm a cynic.

Honestly, though, there's some [email protected] stuff being sold in my expensive "holistic" pet food store. I told the owner (a man I really like and respect) what I thought about the glucosamine-overdosed duck strips from China. He said that they're his best sellers. People love that their dogs are eating such great (read: "expensive"?) snacks. Ok. That's their choice.

Until I read the label of what the person is feeding their dog, I'll withhold judgment. But once I read it, well, I'll give them my honest opinion once. And what they do it that is up to them.

Hmmm..what a loaded topic, lol! I wish I had the answer to this question as to whether holistic or commercial pet foods are better...but I don't.

I have been slowly taking a survey on what people feed their dogs and the outward appearance of these dogs. And by and large, MOST of the dogs (that I've inquired about) that look to be in excellent condition are fed a premium brand of dog food OR are on a homecooked diet or a raw diet. That is not to say that I haven't seen SOME dogs in just the same beautiful condition that are fed Science Diet, Iams and yes ..Pedigree! But, when I see a dog that looks rather unhealthy and I ask what it is eating..the answer is usually Dog Chow or Ol'Roy and the famous Beneful.

The owners are usually quick to respond with , "My dog can't handle those premium dog foods! He gets sick, or has to go to the Vet.." etc. It makes me wonder if the dogs are so used to eating that type of food that anything richer or less processed is rejected by their systems?

Originally Posted By: doggiedadjust like us humans, i would think better foods are better foor us so why not better foods for our pets and it doesn't matter whether it's a stray, mixed breed or pure bred they should only get the best. being the providers for our pets we should only give the best care, the best living arrangements and the best love. i feel really good knowing that i take really good care of my pets. "there's no such thing as a spolied pet, it's just well taken care of".

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I agree with this, however, the "best" is not the same for everydog just as it isn't with humans.

I did a months switch over for Annabelle each time I tried one of these "super-premium, human grade, whatever you want to call them" dog foods. It did NOT prove to be the best for her as they either gave her HORRIBLE diarreah or vomiting and some even did both! How fun for her!! Yes, I have even homecooked and RAW sent us straight to the vet for rehydration because she was vomiting so much. All these choices were made after MUCH research about the food or feeding RAW or homecooked.

It's not the best for my dog if it causes her IBD to flare up.

I'm sure many consumers of the "crappy" brands do not try the more premium or like someone mentioned did not switch them properly. However, there are cases in which the owner HAS done everything properly and the "crap" food is what works for their dog. Therefore, before sitting on the mighty dog food high horse and telling everyone they feed crap food you need to take dogs such as my Annabelle and others like her into consideration.

I normally don't get into the dog food debates, but I get tired, oh so tired, of hearing how I'm feeding my dog "mcdonalds" and all the better foods out there and blah blah blah. I get tired of all these claims that SD kills your dog as well as Iams, Purina, etc. when in fact there is NO PROOF of any of this.

Off soapbox now. LOL

Originally Posted By: DSuddLIsa, I am sure you won't get proof. Puppy Chow and Pedigree have been fed to dogs for decades. Think about it, what did people feed their pets before the premium food came about?

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Small unruly children?

I didn't intend to point fingers or suggest that people who feed their dogs commercial dog foods are not good caring dog owners. I just am curious about what people feed their dogs.

I fed Purina Proplan to my two Golden Retrievers for several years, the company gave us the food for free as long as we returned the empty bags! This was when I worked in a pet store. The dogs looked fine and enjoyed the food. However, I tried Beneful when it first came out and although my dogs scarfed it up they layed around stretched out seemingly uncomfortable, after a while I gave up. I had a similar experience with Solid Gold Hunden Flocken..the dogs seemed uncomfortable after eating it. This is definately considered a Holistic brand of dog food. I've never had a dog that did very well on Innova, but I know some dogs do great on it. On the other hand my cat does excellent on Innova but terrible on Royal Canin.

Some people think that Royal Canin is a crappy commercial food, too. I happen to like the company and think my dogs have done very well on it. I totally agree that there is no perfect food and that what works well for some is disastrous for another.

If your dog can handle dog food rotation a couple of times a year, that's great, imo. but if the poor animal is vomiting and has diarrhea with each change then forget it!