[Patricia A]

I read under FAQ regarding ratings and reviews. “Ratings are automatically reduced by about a half-star…
Anytime we find plant-based protein “boosters” (like peas, legumes or non-meat protein concentrates) too close to the top of any ingredients list.”
So I’m confused why Stella Chewy’s with second and third ingredients listed being chickpeas and peas is still 5 stars and even on The Editors choice list as his highly recommended kibble?
Under Stella Chewys he writes that all flavors contain an abundance of meat hence the 5 stars. But how does he know how much is coming from the peas and how much from meat? It’s not stated on bag how it’s broken down?

[joanne l]

I don’t know, but I would say go by what you read. If peas and such are listed high then use your judgement and don’t buy it if you don’t like these high on the list. That’s what I do. I like to know more about the quality and of course foods that don’t contain peas and lentils and chickpeas high on the list. Legumes boost more protein up than grains I would think anyway.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Patricia-
You are absolutely right! It’s impossible to tell how much of each ingredient is actually in the food by the ingredient label. In addition, you can’t tell the quality of the ingredients. You can’t tell which cut of the meat they used, or if they weighed it when it was wet or dry.

You need to go with a company you trust that uses solid ingredients, has safety procedures in place, does research, has a veterinary nutritionist on staff and tests their food!

Good luck!

[Susan]

Hi Patrica,

Which Stella & Chewy formula are you talking about? I quickly looked up a few of the Stella & Chewy different formula’s & they all seems to have 2 meats as 1st & 2nd ingredients, the Raw coated Kibble Chicken formula ingredients look OK
Chicken, chicken meal, chickpeas, peas, chicken liver, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), chicken heart, natural chicken flavor, salmon oil,

If a dry kibble said, Chicken, pea/corn, lentils/chickpeas, tapioca/potatoes etc I would NOT buy it as the meat protein being “chicken” isnt a chicken meal & ingredients are listed when they’re raw not cooked so after the chicken is cooked it shrinks, 70% is water so the Lentils/chickpeas come 1st then either the peas/corn or the tapioca/potatoes come 2nd then the Chicken moves up the ingredient list depending how heavy the other ingredients are?…So I stay away from these type of pet foods now, Patch doesnt do well on high carb diets..
But if the dry kibble said Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey meal, Potatoes, Peas, Chickpeas then you know this dry kibble is higher in meat proteins not plant proteins. I wish these pet food companies had to list all the protein % in all ingredients, Earthborn Holistic Venture kibble does & I think Victor does aswell..
You’d think it would be the same with a raw food…but NO cause the raw doesnt get cooked so the meat proteins stay at 1st & 2nd ingredients etc same with freeze dried/dehydrated raw ingredients they are not cooked, maybe this is why DFA gives Stella & Chewy 5 stars?? or his dog eats it & does very well on Stella & Chewy lol

Make sure you have at least 2-3 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd 3rd & if lucky 4th ingredient, my Patch has improved so much since eating a higher meat protein kibble, I use to think he couldn’t handle a high meat dry kibble, I’ve worked out it was the Kcals they were toooo HIGH, the higher the Kcals the more dense is the dry kibble so it’s harder to digest & as they get older their digestive tract slows down.. Patch gets his pain stomach/pancreas when Kcals are over 370Kcals per cup so now I look for at least 2-4 meat proteins as 1st, 2nd, 3rd ingredients then a carb.

I belong to an Dogs with IBD Raw Feeding Holistic Support f/b group & I always see people recommending “Answers Fermented Raw” Answers is suppose to be “very good quality” raw food, I read about all these very sick dogs with IBD doing really well since coming off their vet diet (well that isnt too hard lol) or a premium dry kibble & since starting Answers raw food & their Fermented Goats milk these dogs is doing very well…
Have you tried Answer pet food ? I want to try the Goats Milk I’ll buy human quality goats milk.. Patch gets some of my cup of tea every morning so I’ll replace the tea with warm goats milk instead & see how he goes…
https://www.answerspetfood.com/products.html

[Patricia A]

Thank’s for the info Susan. I stopped Stella’s raw coated small breed chicken when I read about the DCM with peas/legumes. Went back to Fromm but the gold formula. But didn’t really feel good about giving Fromm anymore . I really rely on Dr. Mike with his ratings and he consistently gave them a 5 in kibble.Also they really liked Stella’s and even my 16 year old eats it. So I just went back to Stella’s as a base and just wanted an understanding as to why it’s a meat based kibble vs plant based . So thank you for explaining that.
I use very little as a base mixed with freeze dried. I alternate with Primal, Stella’s and now Bixbi Rawbble. Just looked up Answers and ingredients very similar to the Bixbi.
Thank’s for suggestion. Like adding into my rotation.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 6 months ago by Patricia A.

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