kibble

[Asha]

SO I have been reading a ton of past posts on feeding. I have been feeding Asha Purina Puppy chow, which I guess is not at all good for her. It was recommended by our vet, probably because they had coupon books to give out. I looked on the dog food advisor extensively and foound that Purina is full of garbage, hardly any meat, and only gets one star. I found a dog food called Authority that got 3 stars. It has the corn gluten, rice and beet pulp, but the first ingredient is chicken. I know most of you recommend Orjen, Blue, Honest Kitchen, etc. But there is no way we can afford it. Do you think it would be alright to try the Authority? Is anyone familiar with it? Also I've read that some of you consider kibble "dog abuse." What exactly do you mean by that? I also feed her about 6oz of cooked or raw meat a day, mostly during command practice.

[johninny]

Emily, i have never heard of Authority, however, i checked this list that Sue [ sugar's mom ] had supplied in a post and it rates fairly high [119]. http://www.saveourshepherds.org/kibble.html
[ lisa also referenced dogfoodadvisor.com -??- for food reviews.]
purina, pedigree, and ol roy [ 9 rating] reside at the very bottom of the F category with scores that clearly indicate that it hardly qualifies as food. also rated F are science diet and pro. among some A -rated foods that get favorable mention here are orijen [119], wellness puppy [118], wellness super 5 mix [110], and the one i have used for 13 years, merrick puppy [ 129] and merrick wilderness blend [ 127] which are easily the 2 highest ratings in this ranking. the general ratings sort of make sense vis-a-vis what i know. however, i think the site states their methodology and it is [ primarily?] ingredient based as listed on the packaging. it does not speak to quality of operation [ no plant inspection or study of procurement methods or sources].
that is the reason i have always bought merrick, because its operations [ controlling quality at a high level by all means possible ] were studied and it stood head and shoulders beyond any other brand from that point of view and, as Sue's ranking list implies, was always among the very best by ingredients/formula. i think orijen did not exist back then [ correct me if i am wrong, but i do not remember that showing up in any studies, ratings, or rankings 13 years ago], so it was never even on my radar screen until discussion of it here. i love the ingredients label on orijen, but know nothing of the company's processing philosophies and execution [ but have been using recently ].

excuse my general review. i know you ruled out orijen on a cost basis, so let's move on with the caveat that my knowledge of product prices is minimal. i do know i get grain-free merrick 17% cheaper than orijen. i assume wellness is less still as is regular [ not grain free ] merrick. no idea on authority, but i would say that i personally would avoid ANY food with ANY corn product of any sort or amount for my dogs and for myself. it is a sugar that is difficult to process in the body and turns into the worst sort of fat. so i hope that wellness puppy and super5 might be cost competitive.

[LyonsFamily]

I believe it was only 1 poster that called kibble "dog abuse." While there are a good majority of us that feed raw, I don't think that's the mentality around here with the rest of us, I'm sorry if we've come off that way. I feed raw, but I understand the reasons for feeding kibble or not wanting to go the raw route and I do feed kibble from time to time. It's much more beneficial to feed a high quality kibble than a raw diet that isn't balanced right. Since there is so much regulation with kibble, there's not a guessing game to the correct diet.

Elli is missing 10" of her intestines and will get diarrhea in a heartbeat (the reason why she was rehomed in the first place). She gets kibble pretty regularly to keep her solid. We supplementally feed Fromm right now. I honestly think raw is the best diet out there, but if she can't keep weight and it all passes through her, all of the benefits are gone. I'd rather have a kibble fed dog than a sick/malnourished dog.

What sort of pet/feed stores do you have in your town? Tractor Supply has some pretty decent foods and you might have some pet outlets that have good brands. Fromm around me is $31.99 for a 30lb of their classic line. It's a 3.5-4 star food depending on the rating system and it's a Wisconsin family owned business with a great rep. Keep in mind that you can always mix kibbles as well. If you can't afford Orijen, perhaps picking up a second brand to add in will help with costs.

[johninny]

several great [ very knowledgeable ] people on the forum use Fromm. must be a good family company as it does not even get on the ratings radar of the list i included.