Hi Aimee. If you have time to help me along some more with my dog food nutrition education, that would be great. A few posts ago you Commented that Steve’s Turkey appeared to have ~63% of the calories coming from fat, which you feel is quite high. How do you like to see the % calories distributed? For some reason, in the past I have had a mental block regarding evaluation of foods on a caloric basis. I have always just looked at the protein and fat percentages and made sure the protein was plenty high and had tried to keep the protein to fat ratio at something close to 2:1. But, as I learn more, I realize that I should start thinking in terms of % of calories.
I’m glad you raised the fat issue because I think that I have been really overdoing it with high fat content foods. My dog seizure research had taken me that direction. Plus a holistic vet that I took my dog to for a couple months suggested increasing his fat intake. But even before you brought it up I was starting to feel that this was not a good move, and both of my dogs will probably end up with other health problems if I continue down that path.
Also, if you feel comfortable weighing in this, that would be great.
I had formerly purchased Susan Thixton’s List each year, but then skipped a couple of years because I lost some confidence after some of my own research and contact with a couple companies on the list. But, I just bought the 2023 List. Something that occurs to me this time around is that The List does explore some important issues and at least gives an idea of the quality of ingredients used, plus provides what the company says their testing program is. But, from what I can tell, the overall nutritional suitability of the food is not addressed at all. So the companies might be using quality ingredients but not necessarily making a food that is nutritionally sound. Or maybe that is considered but just not specifically addressed in the report. Would love to know your thoughts.
