[DoggieDoc22]

“We each have our own opinions and I just prefer to leave it at that.”

Nutrition and the effects of food on the health of your dog has nothing to do with opinion. It is science. The negative things that your vet is telling you about corn, soy, wheat, etc. has no scientific basis to it, and there for is incorrect. There is a lot of misinformation in the dog food industry, manufacturers capitalize on a lack of a strong regulatory body, and on the general lack of knowledge in the customer base. Do a little bit of your own research, the truth is out there.

[DoggieDoc22]

That makes sense, the sad truth however is that most vets are poorly educated when it actually comes to pet nutrition. Most veterinary schools don’t put a large emphasis on it, so the doctors rely largely on what they hear from food manufacturing reps.

Overall, the incidence of food related allergies in dogs is actually very low. Of all allergy cases in dogs, only 10-20% are caused by food, and of those, only about 10% of those cases are related to corn. Basically what this means is that in only 1 or 2% of dogs with allergies, the cause will be corn. Basically only 1 out of every 100 dogs with allergies will be allergic to corn. Factor in that only roughly 1 out of 10 dogs has allergy issues, and we are now saying that only 1 out of every 1000 dogs has a corn allergy.

As for boosting protein levels, there is no evidence that this is true. As far as the body is concerned, protein is protein whether it comes from a meat source or a vegetable source. Protein quality is determined by two factors: 1. Amino Acid profile, and 2. digestibility.

Corn, believe it or not, happens to be a good source of protein, it has sufficient levels of nearly every essential amino acid, and corn gluten meal in particular is comprised of 67% protein, which is actually higher than most meat meals, and only slightly lower than byproduct meal (which has a very high protein density). As for digestibility, corn meal is 87% digestible, which is more digestible than most meat protein sources.

If you are interested in where I got my information, there are many research articles on the internet where you can find all of this, this article in particular could be very helpful: https://www.vetlearn.com/_preview?_cms.fe.previewId=9955a990-1205-11e1-a602-0050568d3693

[DoggieDoc22]

Mom2cavs, it’s great that you have parameters as to what you will feed your dogs. You clearly have good intentions and want what’s best for your pets which is great. I can understand your stance against artificial preservatives and some of the other things that you mentioned but I’m curious as to what you have against corn wheat and soy. Unless your dog has allergies there is honestly no reason to be against any of those ingredients. Corn in particular, being that it is the one you singled out earlier. Why the anti corn stance?

[DoggieDoc22]

“Breed specific foods is a marketing ploy… plain and simple.”

That is another pretty silly and baseless comment. So you are going to tell me that a Poodle, which is prone to cataracts, dementia, and has a fully curly coat has the same nutritional needs as a bulldog, which is prone to digestion issue, excessive gas, and weight gain?

What’s next, you are going to tell me that all humans have the exact same needs too and a professional athlete and a plumber don’t have differences in what they require from what they are eating?

[DoggieDoc22]

“It’s better to buy a good adult food and then add supplements to that. Most dry dog food makers add supplements to their food before cooking, and the food is cooked at such a high temperature that the supplements are all but gone.

Besides, wouldn’t you and/or your vet rather control the amount of supplements in a dog’s food, rather than having somebody else do it for you?”

Or you could feed your dog a complete and balanced diet so that there would be no need for supplementing. By supplementing the food that you give to your dog basically what you are saying is that the food you have chosen to feed them isnt providing all of the nutrients that they need so you are then going to go out and spend MORE money to buy a supplement, rather than just feeding them something that met all of their needs in the first place.

[DoggieDoc22]

@Bryan at this point your level of ignorance is reaching a comical level. You have done nothing but spout opinions with no basis behind them at all. I at least have backed up my position with an article posted by a well respected veterinary school. I will take what they have to say over the opinion of some random label reader on the internet.

@Hounddogmom. If you want to argue raw vs. kibble that is a completely different argument. The original poster asked a question about dry foods, and that is what I responded to. Raw diets have their advantages for sure, and anyone that has the time and dedication to go the raw route gets my respect. Although feeding kibble may not be the best route, it is the most convenient for the majority of pet owners out there.

The point I have been trying to make is this, don’t fall for the typical bs that dog food manufacturers try to throw out there. All of this talk about grain free, and no byproducts etc. is nothing but marketing. What is important, as I said, is the nutrients found in the food. Royal Canin, although they may use controversial ingredients, spends more money than any manufacturer out there on research, quality control, and feeding trials. This isn’t opinion, this is fact. I much prefer a company that is going to invest their time and money actually trying to find a scientific basis for the amount of each individual nutrient they put into their food, rather than one of the “holistic companies” that bases the formulation of their diets on a preference to certain ingredients.

[DoggieDoc22]

“There is also such a thing as consumers fooled by marketing tactics”

It’s funny that you mention that because that’s exactly the way to describe people like yourself, backyardwolf, and BryanV21. Who exactly is it that you ever hear bashing corn, wheat, soy, etc? Let me guess, Blue Buffalo commercials, Wellness commercials, etc. There is absolutely zero research out there that shows that any of the ingredients you list are harmful or of lower quality in any way than potatoes for instance (since that is the carb of choice in Natural Balance since that brand was mentioned in a prior post). The whole “grain-free”/anti-corn kick that has been going around lately is nothing but marketing spin by pet food manufacturers.

The reason is simple, humans, dogs, cats, gorillas, whatever animal you choose to speak of don’t need ingredients. They don’t consume food to fulfill a need for any particular food. They need nutrients. You could put together the most expensive pile of ingredients you could find, mix them all together and feed them to your dog. If they don’t meet your pets nutritional requirements then you just fed them a crap food.

I think a lot of you would benefit greatly from listening to someone other than the Blue Buffalo or Orijen rep at your local pet store and look at the science. Some companies actually spend money researching what is best for your pet and conducting feeding trials to make sure the animals they are intending to feed thrive on their diets. Believe it or not, you can find some actual research based information on the internet, rather than the usual baseless spin put out there by manufacturers. For your own benefit, here is a good place to start: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/nutrition/faq/general_pet_nutrition.html

You might find this section in particular quite enlightening:

“Is the ingredient list a good way to determine the quality of a pet food?

Although ingredient lists are commonly used by lay people to determine the quality of pet foods, this approach has many pitfalls and is very subjective to intentional manipulation by the food manufacturers. Ingredients are listed on labels in order of weight, including water, so ingredients with high water content (like fresh meats and vegetables) are going to be listed higher than similar amounts of dry ingredients even though they may contribute fewer nutrients to the overall diet. Additionally, ingredients from the same source (such as chicken meat, chicken fat, chicken by-product meal) can be split into component parts, further complicating assessment.

Pets require nutrients, not ingredients; a diet full of great sounding ingredients can be less nutritious than a diet containing less appealing (to people) ingredients.”

[DoggieDoc22]

@BryanV21 – There is such a thing out there as an educated consumer. Everything I listed is found right on the website for that food, and can easily be found by using google. I have been feeding my dogs Royal Canin for years and they do great on it.

[DoggieDoc22]

The thing that you have to keep in mind is that you should only be using these reviews as a guide, not as gospel. Basically all of the reviews are based upon reading the information that can be found on the packaging, and writing review about that. All of that information can be drastically skewed by dog food manufacturers. For example, ingredients are listed on the ingredient deck in order of weight, including water. So an ingredient such as whole chicken (which contains a lot of water weight), is going to show up higher on an ingredient deck than chicken meal, even though there may be a larger volume of chicken meal in the diet. Also, some manufacturers will use several different types of carbohydrates in their diets, rather than using just one to alter the ingredient deck. This can be done intentionally to prevent any individual source of carbs from appearing high on the ingredient deck.

One other important aspect to keep in mind is whether a company manufactures their own foods, conducts feeding trials, or researches the diets they come out with. Blue Buffalo is a huge culprit of this. They have a 5 star rating on DFA because their diets are high in protein and grain free (traits which DFA seems to value highly). However, what you don’t see is that all of their diets are produced at copacking facilities which can lead to inconsistency in quality, the inability to control the quality of the ingredients that are actually used to manufacture the food, and exposure to contaminants (ie the Diamond recall early last year). Also, DFA doesn’t mention that Blue Buffalo does not conduct feeding trials, or do any type of research on their diets. These facts should lead to a lower rating for a food like Blue Buffalo, but are simply overlooked by dogfoodadvisor.

One last thing, don’t buy into the marketing machine and get all hung up on ingredients. Your dog needs nutrients, not ingredients. Its protein, fat, and carbohydrate levels that are important, not corn, soy, potato, etc.

[DoggieDoc22]

Best dry food to feed Yorkies hands down would be Royal Canin’s Yorkshire Terrier, or their Yorkshire Terrier Puppy if we are talking puppies.

If you aren’t familiar with Royal Canin, they are the industry’s leader in science and research, accounting for over half of all research done in the dog and cat food industry. They develop diets based on thorough feeding trials and scientific studies to meet the specific needs of the pets that each of their diets target.

The important things to keep in mind when feeding Yorkies are that:
1. They are notoriously picky eaters – The reason for this is that Yorkies actually have a reduced sense of smell when compared to other breeds. They have a lower number of the neurons used for sensing smell than the average dog. Royal Canin’s Yorkshire Terrier formula has a unique blend of aromas and flavors to stimulate the Yorkie’s fussy appetite.

2. Yorkshire Terrier’s, as I am sure you are aware, are well known for their long, silky coats. The Yorkie, unlike most other breeds, do not have an undercoat, and instead have long individual hairs. This makes them susceptible to breakage, and feeding a diet that strengthens their coat is extremely important. The Royal Canin diet is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil to help support their delicate coats.

3. The Yorkie, being a smaller breed, has a longer life expectancy than the average dog. Royal Canin’s Yorkshire Terrier formula contains antioxidants to maintain healthy cells and help to fight the effects of aging.

As far as supplementing, it is important to choose a diet that is complete and balanced, if you choose the right dry kibble there is no need at all for supplementing, and doing so will actually have a negative effect.

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