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Discuss ways to improve the quality of your dog's life and longevity through proper nutrition and a place for all of your questions and answers about feeding your pooch! Don't furget to check out Dogster's Dog Care Guide Book for information about feeding your dog! Bone Appawtite!
(Page 7 of 10: Viewing entries 61 to 70) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 
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Panna
Did somebody say- FOOD??? |
 | | Barked: Fri Apr 7, '06 12:21pm PST | |  | |  | | Wow, heated argument.
I've never worked at a vet clinic, nor have I done any studies with food. All I know is what works well with my dogs and what I've read about dog food.
When we got Panna, she was on Science Diet and had been for two years. I didn't see any reason to switch her, so went out and bought a bag and a couple cans. While her coat was decent, it wasn't as soft as Mocha's, so I figured I'd try out some food without fillers and by-products. The change I saw in Panna was amazing, and comparing the ingredients to their current food, I can see why. She has much more energy, her tear stains practically disappeared, her coat is much softer, plus she actually enjoys eating (maybe a bit too much, she has to lose a pound or two...=P). I think that Science Diet is better than foods such as Ol' Roy, as Zeus mentioned, but if you want to, it might be worth trying out some other food to see what works best for your dog. The prescription diets by Science Diet are incredibly convenient for people who have dogs that require a special diet and don't have the time to make all of their meals, but for a healthy dog, I don't think I'll go back to Science Diet. My vet also recommends it and I know peoplw who swear by the food, just as people swear by any food, including Ol' Roy. While my vet is amazing and obviously knows quite a bit about dog health, I just don't choose to follow his nutrition advice. I see how my dogs react to the food instead and look at the ingredients. Of course, it's a personal decision just as everything else is.
Good luck with whatever you choose! =) |  |  | |  |
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Ch. OTCh Miss Ginger's Fancy
I am very Fancy. |
| | Barked: Fri Apr 7, '06 3:09pm PST | | | | | | I never thought that the forums on dogster could be so heated and nasty! I am a vet tech, that means I am not the veterinarian herself, but the assistant to the veterinarian. I am highly qualified and do nearly as much as the vet, including but not limited to, dentals, spays/neuters, sprain surgeries, and the list goes on. I have seen what "low-quality" dog foods can do to a dog, and it is not pretty. Every dog food has some form of by-products in them, I should have mentioned it, I am sorry. Science Diet, for example, has a chicken by-product for flavor, but notice, it is not the first ingredient, as is in many other brands, such as Iams/Purina. If the ingredient is listed somewhere in the middle to bottom end of the list, then it is sparingly added. It is not a main ingredient, but a subtle ingredient. If a real meat product is first on the list, it may be qualified as a "high-quality" food. Furthermore, if water is the first ingredient, as is the case for many wet dog foods, then it too is poor quality. My best example for a poor quality food is with Pedigree, who, by the way, was the sponser behind the dog food survey also in this forum. Pedigree has lots of water and beef by products in it, which leads to excessive panting and diarrhea in dogs. It also can lead to dehydration. If any one feeds this to their dogs, ask your vet, and then feel free to argue with me again if he/she disagrees with me. Most vets if not all recommend Science Diet because it has a long history for being outstanding. There are many more great dog foods out there, which your vet may also recommend, but Science Diet has made a name for itself.
Peace on the board, people! -love, Ginger | | | | |
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Pooch ~ I- miss you ~
love forever
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| | Barked: Fri Apr 7, '06 4:12pm PST | | | | | | While some form of meat is the first ingredient listed in some Science Diet foods (and if you look at their website you will see many of their foods DO NOT have meat as the first ingredient), this does not mean that the majority of the food is meat.
Many Science Diet products use a tactic called "splitting" where they use two (or more!) forms of the same thing, such as ground corn and corn gluten meal. This way, each ingredient is present in a lesser amount, however if you added up the amounts of the two ingredients you would see there is likely a lot more corn in the food than meat.
Another thing that is done so it seems like the ingredient has more meat in it than it actually does is using several different types of grains. This way each grain adds up as less than the meat in the food, but if you added all the grains together you would see the food is mostly grain, not meat.
Example "Science Diet Adult Original":
Chicken, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice, Chicken Liver Flavor, Soybean Oil, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed,--- (clipped off about 20 vitamins/minerals from end of list)...
You will see this food lists seven different types of grains, two of which are corn! Corn Gluten Meal is actual dried residue left over when all the commercial useable parts of the corn (most of the germ, bran and starch) are removed.
This food also lists a by-product as the 5th ingredient-- not way down the ingredients list at all. You will also see Animal Fat as the 7th ingredient.
According to the AAFCO ingredient definitions, "Animal Fat":
"is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting."
If this is not a by-product, I don't know what is! You will also note it says "mammals and/or poultry" which means there is no way of knowing what type of animals this grease is rendered from. | | | | |
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Wolfie
Wolf-man |
| | Barked: Fri Apr 7, '06 6:24pm PST | | | | | | Ginger-- I am a grad student studying animal nutrition, and I really don't want to be rude but you are VERY un-informed. By-products are not used as flavor, they are used as protein sources to contribute essential amino acids. Science Diet is notorious for using plant-protein sources to fill up these amino acids that are not readily available to your dog (aka- they are there, but they cannot be utilized). And do you want to know why vets recommend it? Because they pocket 40% of the profits...when I was an undergrad, I was a vet-tech and helped the accountant sift through the bills one day, and I came upon the paperwork that states that vets get that much of the profit because they are required to recommend the perscription diets for dogs who need them (hence it is legal for them to say "science diet" is #1 recommended by vets). Also, if you notice on science diet, they list corn as the first ingredient for over 90% of their foods...as animal nutritionists, we know that that is the most cost-effective way to add bulk to a food and gain the most profit, NOT the best for your pet who is primarily carniverous and needs a meat listed as first...and that's what they do--use cheap ingredients to gain the most profit.....it's sad actually. | | | | |
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Shiva
Momma where are- you?
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| | Barked: Fri Apr 7, '06 7:44pm PST | | | | | | wolfie- I wanted to comment on your statement about vets making a 40% profit because they are required to advise science diet. Prescription foods are advised because there is scientific studies to support their benefits. Vets can advise purina, science diet, royal canine, etc for prescription foods. I'm a vet tech and we advise whatever brand has the most effective food for the specific situation. The vet you worked for sounds a little shady and may be doing some business under the table. We have never made a 40% profit off presciption food. I would say you should not make statements about vets when you had I situation which was isolated. I see the bills with our accountant. We barely make a profit off food. I am a little upset that this generalization about vets is being tossed around on these forums. Yes some vets do mark up the product more than they should but don't assume that all vets do. By boss is a very ethical man. He is more concerned about the animals health than making huge profits. Yes profits help but the dogs well being goes before that. Also responding to some previous posts about vets not having any training about nutrition is incorrect in my situation. Respectable vets take continuing education courses as often as possible. My boss takes one every other month on one topic or another. His nutritional one was 6 months ago and was not sponsered by hill's. He also requires all technicians to do up to 20 credits of continuing education every year. This thread is starting to become a lot like all other food threads here become. People start voicing their opinions nicely then someone makes a snippy comment then the thread goes downhill from there. This forum is for discussing opinions- not shoving opinions down other peoples throats. Like I stated in previous posts, stay with what works for you. My personal opinion is I like science diet presciption J/D food because I have seen much improvement in my dogs. If you feed innova, canidae, wellness, etc and you like it, stay with it. We are all adults and can make our own decisions based on polite opinions from other people. I have decided that I'm done with this thread. | | | | |
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