[BowWowMeow]

Hey all you label readers...has anyone come across a kibble that is high quality (doesn't have to be grain free) with a decent protein level (at least 25%) that is low in fat.

Rafi has problems digesting fats. If I give him more than a half of a cup of the TOTW (18% fat) at one time he has mushy poops that stink. Right now I have him on homemade food and 1/2 cup of kibble and he's doing great but I'd like to find a kibble that would work better for him.

Of course he's also on digestive enzymes, probiotics, joint supplements, etc. None of those are causing the problem though. I've been very methodical about isolating the problem.

 

[roxy84]

ive posted before that i like the profile of wellness core. the regular formula and ocean are at 34% protein and 14% fat, while the reduced fat formula is at 33% protein and 9% fat. i like that the core isnt in excess of protein or minerals like most of the other grain free foods.

 

[ldpeterson]

Good luck! I have the same question. Annabelle is being fed Royal Canin Prescription L/F because she can't tolerate fat either. Her IBD flares up bigtime!

I'd like to take her off prescription because it's so darn expensive!! I have *yet* to find anything she can tolerate.

 

[BowWowMeow]

I will get some samples of the Wellness Core and see how that goes--thanks for the tip! The jury is still out on whether he can handle chicken though so that might cause a problem with the reduced fat formula.

The food I make him is eggs, brown rice, sweet potatoes and squash and greens. He does really, really well on that. I've tried other grains and protein sources but so far this is the best for him. I've found a canned food with only 3% fat...beaver (Canine Caviar)! He gets some of that in his food too. And he also gets 1/2 patty of raw preprepared duck for his night snack with some nonfat yoghurt. And I have found several kinds of treats he tolerates well!

 

[ldpeterson]

I've thought about the reduced fat wellness Core, but it's just as expensive as her Royal Canin and just as big of a pain to get (I hate ordering and paying shipping). Not to mention she does great on her Royal Canin.

Let me know how it works though!

 

[EastGSD]

Yes, two good ones I know of are

Eagle Pack Senior Care Formula
Eagle Pack Hoilistic Senior Care Formula

and

Life's Abundance Weight Loss Formula
Life's Abundance Weight Loss Formula


Cherri

 

[roxy84]

"I've thought about the reduced fat wellness Core, but it's just as expensive as her Royal Canin"

unfortunately, this is an indictment on royal canin. they use subpar ingredients and meat content then charge people as though their food is on the level of canidae, innova etc...which it clearly isnt, and id put the core a step above those two. sorry, i dont mean to poo poo anyones food choice cause i know some dogs just do better on certain foods. ive just always been irritated with RC charging so much, when my dollar can buy a whole bunch of better products.

bow wow meow,
if chicken gives your dog problems, then the core ocean is still pretty low in fat. i had some itching w/ one of my guys and thought it could be the chicken. the ocean formula solved that.

 

[ldpeterson]

I appreciate your response Roxy.

However, Annabelle has always done much better AND her condition has been managed very well on those "subpar" ingredients then on any food raved about here.

Therefore is it worth the money? YOU BET! However, if there's something more accessible (and cheaper would be good too!) then I would like to see what other options I have.

 

[roxy84]

mamagoose,

understood. no matter how much RC costs, if it works best for your dog, then that what you have to do. probably every 5 star food on dogfoodanalysis.com cost the same or less as RC. you may have tried many of those already and they just dont work. if not, then there are many choices on that list, though access can be a problem for many. i absolutely hate to have to buy dog food online, so i understand that.

 

[EastGSD]

Cost of a product is connected to many things not just "ingredient quality." Royal Canin is a HUGE company and spends tons of money on research and development and supports many nutritional studies in animals....this is very expensive and they fund these things through their corporation, the products support the corporation as well as produce a profit.

Why does Innova, TW and others cost so much? They are not doing any of these things. Products like these are simply making a product and raking in profit. They spend very little on marketing and the owners are becoming rich.... their ingredients do not cost that much more, not like they would have you believe and IMO their prices are not justified either.


So, I guess it is perception more often than not. I appreciate the efforts that companies like Royal Canin expend to further enhance our knowledge of animal nutrition. I also realize they have to pay for it unlike companies that use the information and ride on the back of the companies that do the studies and fund them.

I think dogfoodanalysis.com stinks btw

Cherri

 

[WiscTiger]

I am going to try Fromm's Four Star Chicken, but they have several other blends. The White Fish and Potato is 11% fat, the others are 15% fat except Salmon which is 16%.

http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-d.php

There is a dealer locator to see if it is available in your area.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Thanks for the Fromm's, Wisc Tiger. Luckily I can get everything around here. We have many stores that carry hq foods.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Originally Posted By: EastGSDYes, two good ones I know of are

Eagle Pack Senior Care Formula
Eagle Pack Hoilistic Senior Care Formula

and

Life's Abundance Weight Loss Formula
Life's Abundance Weight Loss Formula


Cherri

Thanks--I don't like the ingredients in Life's Abundance. I can do better than that at home. And I've never been a fan of Eagle Pack. I was trying to save money and bought the Holistique one time and Basu got so sick on it.

I may just keep making him food and give him small amounts of kibble.

I also have to find out why my store doesn't carry Fromm's. The other store I use does carry it but the place where the owner interrogates the reps doesn't so I'll have to find out the scoop.

 

[3K9Mom]

Natural Balance also does low fat food (proteins in the 21-23% range, depending what formula you're looking at). And they have the two grain free varieties (plus an *organic* option). You could just add boiled ground turkey for nearly fat-free extra protein to get the level to where you want.

(Oh gosh, did you really want to get away from cooking altogether?

)

Just something else to consider. I think that the Fromm White Fish might be better for your needs now. But NB isn't a half bad option either, so I figured I'd toss it out there.

 

[EastGSD]

Originally Posted By: BowWowMeow

Thanks--I don't like the ingredients in Life's Abundance. I can do better than that at home.

I feed this food and have for many years. I happen to think it is high quality which is why I recommended it. Sorry you disagree.

Cherri

 

[VKristallaugen4]

Originally Posted By: EastGSDCost of a product is connected to many things not just "ingredient quality." Royal Canin is a HUGE company and spends tons of money on research and development and supports many nutritional studies in animals....this is very expensive and they fund these things through their corporation, the products support the corporation as well as produce a profit.

Why does Innova, TW and others cost so much? They are not doing any of these things. Products like these are simply making a product and raking in profit. They spend very little on marketing and the owners are becoming rich.... their ingredients do not cost that much more, not like they would have you believe and IMO their prices are not justified either.


So, I guess it is perception more often than not. I appreciate the efforts that companies like Royal Canin expend to further enhance our knowledge of animal nutrition. I also realize they have to pay for it unlike companies that use the information and ride on the back of the companies that do the studies and fund them.

I think dogfoodanalysis.com stinks btw

Cherri

Very well said and I completely agree.

Yes,
I'm ready for people to start throwing at me....... LOL

 

[VKristallaugen4]

Originally Posted By: BowWowMeow

Thanks--I don't like the ingredients in Life's Abundance. I can do better than that at home. And I've never been a fan of Eagle Pack. I was trying to save money and bought the Holistique one time and Basu got so sick on it.

I may just keep making him food and give him small amounts of kibble.

I also have to find out why my store doesn't carry Fromm's. The other store I use does carry it but the place where the owner interrogates the reps doesn't so I'll have to find out the scoop.

What's wrong with the ingredients for Life's Abundance, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

evangers pheasant formula is almost at the protein level you want:

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS: Crude Protein, not less than . . . . . 24.0%
Crude Fat, not less than . . . . . 14.0%
Crude Fiber, not more than . . . . . 3.5 %
Moisture, not more than . . . . . 10.0%


Ingredient List:
Fresh Pheasant, Duck Meal, Brown Rice, Salmon Meal, Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Potato, Canola Oil, Turkey Liver, Dried Tomato Pomace, Millet, Sweet Potato, Dried Whole Egg, Flaxseed, Lecithin, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Folic Acid, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Enterococous Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Choline Chloride, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Ferroius Sulfate, Manganous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Maganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite.

 

[roxy84]

"cost of a product is connected to many things not just "ingredient quality." Royal Canin is a HUGE company and spends tons of money on research and development and supports many nutritional studies in animals....this is very expensive and they fund these things through their corporation, the products support the corporation as well as produce a profit."

"Why does Innova, TW and others cost so much? They are not doing any of these things. Products like these are simply making a product and raking in profit. They spend very little on marketing and the owners are becoming rich.... their ingredients do not cost that much more, not like they would have you believe and IMO their prices are not justified either."


btw, hills (science diet) does many of the things that you applaud RC for doing but most of us would never feed it to our dogs.
many of the high quality companies do research and support nutritional studies and still provide a quality product. it is blatantly untrue that natura or canidae or wellness or many of the others does none of these things.

so at royal canin, they spend a ton of money on development and research and nutritional studies, then pass it off to the consumer in the form of inferior products ("hey, can we have some meat in our food, please?"). i guess their research and development along with their nutritional studies have concluded that dogs arent meat eaters, dont need high quality grains and are fine eating low quality fillers.

once again, i agree that dogfoodanalysis is inconsistent with some of their criteria. however, it is an easy way to see a large list of foods that are generally grouped together with like quality foods. i could quibble with why a food got 4 stars vs 5 stars or 5 vs 6, but those 1 and 2 star foods are truly subpar. RC is grouped right where they belong, which probably rubs some RC users the wrong way

of course better quality ingredients cost more. even so, i can buy canidae and innova for less than RC. RC does not need to fleece its customers to support their marketing, r&d and, and nutritional studies. maybe they should quit trying to make a separate food for every breed in shiny packages and try using some meat and quality ingredients.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Re: the question about Life's Abundance

Here are the first in the list of ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Pearled Barley, Oat Meal, Brewers Rice, Sorghum, Egg Product, Stabilized Rice Bran, Dried Beet Pulp, Fish Meal, Natural Flavors,

I like to see meat proteins dominating the top 5 ingredients. Brewers Rice is a filler as is stabilized rice bran.

A lot of this food will end up coming out the other end--more fillers=less digestible foods and bigger poops.

Again, I can do much better making my own than feeding something like this.