[sklippstein]

“Great-tasting and nutritionally complete food, combined with regular exercise, keeps our four-legged family members healthy, happy and energetic; promoting more playfulness and an overall stronger emotional bond between dog and pet parent,” said Brian Ely, Director of Marketing, Del Monte Foods. “Wholesome Medley dog food takes our product line to a new level with its recognizable, quality ingredients like poultry meal, brown rice, apples, peas and carrots. With no wheat gluten, no artificial flavors and no artificial preservatives, each bite offers great taste and wholesome nutrition without compromise.”

Your thoughts please on this dog food....ingredients (I think) look healthy and appealing......what do you think?

 

[shilohsmom]

Sorry, but I wouldn't feed this food to my dogs. I just don't go for the foods that put so much into marketing and less into the ingrediants. They may sound good at first, but when I do more reseach on them I find less than appealing.

 

[Fodder]

would i feed this to my dog(s)?

never

why?

not only do i disagree with whole grain corn as a first ingredient, i dont want it in the food period. poultry meal is questionable in my book (if its chicken, just say chicken), soybean meal is a no go... beef fat - what about the beef? and last but not least, animal digest scares me. i also don't purchase such commercial / grocery store brands.

Whole grain corn, poultry meal, soybean meal, beef fat*, brown rice, apples, peas, carrots, animal digest (source of chicken flavor), calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, salt, choline chloride, potassium chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacin supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), caramel color, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, blue 1, blue 2, rosemary extract.
* naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols.

 

[Emoore]

Um, no. No way. **** no.

 

[Brightelf]

No. Corn as the first ingredient can mean fat, itchy, gassy, poop-eating dogs with dull scurfy coats and gargantuan poops. "Poultry fat" can mean any kinda bird fat.. who knows? Omega 6s if it were properly preserved, but it would not be here. Soybean meal-- tends to lead to gassy dogs with itchy skin. Hard to digest. Beef fat? Cheap animal filler, but not as scary as... "animal digest." What is it? Answer: the sweepings, guts, leftovers that are not easily absorbed by the dog. Added salt.

I would consider another kibble such as Orijen, Timberwolf, Solid Gold... these pricier "snobby" kibbles are better absorbed by dogs, and are comprised of higher quality, better absorbed protiens, ad ideally are cooked at lower temperatures, so that more nutrients are bioavailable to the dog rather than cooked away.

 

[LJsMom]

I wouldn't feed it either. Check the quantity to feed. I would have to almost double the amount that I'm feeding now - Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream ($38.50 for 30 lbs.).

 

[Brightelf]

LJs Mom has a great point-- you may pay more per bag of the better kibbles, but, you feed much less.

 

[Lauri & The Gang]

Let's break it down ...

Whole grain corn - Cheap source of protein that dogs do not digest easily.

Poultry meal - the meal part is ok but I prefer to see NAMED meals, like Chicken or Turkey. Without a specific protein name I question the value of this meal.

Soybean meal - Another low cost source of not-readily-digestible protein.

Beef fat* - ok, but from what kinda beef? Downed milk cows? Diseased beef cattle?

Brown rice - more poorly digested grains.

So far, of the top 5 ingredients 2 of them are cheap poorly digested by dogs proteins sources.

Animal digest (source of chicken flavor) - WHAT animals?? Ok, we know chicken is in there but what OTHER animals? Road kill? Euthanized cats, dogs, horses, etc?

Ccaramel color, yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, blue 1, blue 2 - WHY?!?! Dogs don't care what color their food is. These are only added for the HUMAN'S benefit.

 

[3K9Mom]

Why do they have to add something to a food (that has poultry meal in it) to make it taste like chicken? What in the world IS that "poultry meal"?

I wonder if we really want to know.

 

[frenchie27]

I wouldn't feed this to my dog even if they gave it to me free for life

 

[Powell]

Ya'll are right. I call that food ANIMAL ABUSE!!

Powell

 

[3K9Mom]

Animal abuse.

I don't know if I'd go quite that far:

Here's some other stuff on the market:

Original Kibbles and Bits:
corn, soybean meal, beef and bone meal, ground wheat flour, animal fat (bha used as preservative), corn syrup, wheat middlings, water sufficient for processing, animal digest (source of chicken flavor), propylene glycol, salt, hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, caramel color, sorbic acid (used as a

Ol Roy: Water sufficient for processing, poultry, meat by-products, wheat flour, wheat gluten, peas, salt, carrots, guar gum, caramel color, potassium cholride, sodium tripolyphosphate, onion extract, carrageenan, garlic powder, vitamins (A supplement,


Pedigree Weight Maintenance:
Ground Whole Corn, Meat And Bone Meal, Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Wheat Mill Run, Dried Beet Pulp, Animal Fat (Preserved With BHA/BHT), Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavor, Wheat Flour, Salt, Carrot Powder, Dried Peas,

Pedigree Large Breed
Ground Whole Corn, Meat And Bone Meal (Natural Source Of Calcium), Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural Source Of Glucosamine†), Corn Gluten Meal, Rice, Animal Fat (Preserved With BHA/BHT), Wheat Flour, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Wheat Mill Run, Caramel Color, Vegetable Oil (Source Of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins


If someone were looking at the various foods at the grocery store, reading labels, K&B Wholesome looks better than most of the stuff on the shelves. Lola's Mommy came here looking for information, and she said that it looked pretty good to her. She asked for information on the ingredients.

As LJ's Mom points out, better foods (Canidae, TOTW, Natural Balance) can cost about the same because we feed far less. If you surf around this thread (and google these and other foods you'll find mentioned here), you may find a couple that might be worth looking into. Some are available at Petco (I don't know any that are available at PetSmart). Some are available at feed shops. Many are available at small pet shops. Peas and carrots are great, but only if fed WITH good quality proteins, not instead of them.

Commercial dog food can be pretty overwhelming. There are so many options (with more coming out each day, it seems). Plus price isn't always what it seems to be. I buy a premium dog food for my dog that weighs 40 lbs. But she eats about 7/8 cup per day. I'd have to feed her somewhere between 2.5 - 4 cups of the K&B Wholesome Medley food, according to the guidelines on K&B's website.

That gives me a lot of wiggle room on price.

So, take some time, look around, and ask a lot of questions. That's how the rest of us figured this out. Well, til they introduce a new food tomorrow (or change formulas. They do that too!)

 

[EastGSD]

Originally Posted By: 3K9MomWhy do they have to add something to a food (that has poultry meal in it) to make it taste like chicken? What in the world IS that "poultry meal"?

I wonder if we really want to know.

More often than not it is a combination of chicken and turkey meals that the manufactuer has requested. They simply buy it already mixed and it has to be called poultry meal because it is not just one type of fowl. It is not a dangerous ingredient nor one to avoid.

Cherri

 

[3K9Mom]

Cherri, if it were simply mixed chicken and turkey, wouldn't it have flavor in and of itself? It might not be exactly "chicken" flavor, but it would be poultry flavor that most dogs would find highly palatable (I boil together chicken and turkey for my dogs quite often and feed it all mashed together. They don't care.)

Why would they have to add separate flavoring? That is what I found so odd, which made me question what's actually in that poultry meal. I mean, I feed one dog a kibble (CA Natural) that has chicken meal, and she likes that just fine. I feed another dog a kibble (Instinct Turkey) that has turkey meal, and she likes that just fine. So if you're feeding a dog a kibble that has a chicken/turkey meal blend, why do you have to add extra flavoring?

You know what I mean?

 

[StGeorgeK9]

Originally Posted By: 3K9MomCherri, if it were simply mixed chicken and turkey, wouldn't it have flavor in and of itself? It might not be exactly "chicken" flavor, but it would be poultry flavor that most dogs would find highly palatable (I boil together chicken and turkey for my dogs quite often and feed it all mashed together. They don't care.)

Why would they have to add separate flavoring? That is what I found so odd, which made me question what's actually in that poultry meal. I mean, I feed one dog a kibble (CA Natural) that has chicken meal, and she likes that just fine. I feed another dog a kibble (Instinct Turkey) that has turkey meal, and she likes that just fine. So if you're feeding a dog a kibble that has a chicken/turkey meal blend, why do you have to add extra flavoring?

You know what I mean?

My guess is that if they didnt their food would taste like corn instead of chicken or turkey.........it is their first ingredient....

 

[Emoore]

Originally Posted By: 3K9Mom If you surf around this thread (and google these and other foods you'll find mentioned here), you may find a couple that might be worth looking into. Some are available at Petco (I don't know any that are available at PetSmart). :

Blue Buffalo is available at PetSmart and it's pretty decent:

Chicken/Rice formula:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Rye, Whole Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Yucca Shidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Garlic, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids). . .

 

[sklippstein]

Ok, but now someone posted that brown rice is poorly digested....when I asked about rices (white vs brown) I was told that brown rice was better for the dog.......but now???

 

[BowWowMeow]

Dogs don't digest grains very well as they do not naturally eat grains. That's why there are now so many grain free foods. However, some dogs do just fine on grains. Rafi's kibble is grain free but his homemade food has grain in it and he does just fine on that.

 

[sklippstein]

Thank yo BowWowMeow....it get so confusing about what to feed them and I've changed brands so many times now. I'm going to stick to one and see how she does and if she has problems, then I'll change.

 

[Dohhhhh]

Originally Posted By: shilohsmomSorry, but I wouldn't feed this food to my dogs. I just don't go for the foods that put so much into marketing and less into the ingrediants. They may sound good at first, but when I do more reseach on them I find less than appealing.

I am with you. It is like feeding a child a diet of nothing but Trix Cereal.