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Lotus dog food? Anyone heard of this?

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Tyson Savage- CGC Let's do big dog- stuff!     Barked: Mon Mar 26, '12 10:09am PST  This is their website: http://www.lotuspetfoods.com/ So I have been feeding Taste of the Wild, but I saw this brand being featured in our local pet supply store (Centinela Feed in Long Beach). The first thing I liked about it is that it's BAKED, not EXTRUDED. They have a bit about that in the FAQs on their website. I also really liked that it is a local brand to my area, Los Angeles. I have given a couple of the grain-free samples to my critters and they love it, and my cat is currently on their low-fat mix. It seems pretty awesome, but I wanted to run it through Dogster first to see how you all felt. It's a little more expensive than TotW so I can't quite get it into my budget yet, but I'm hoping soon. (...and then when I make more money it's back to raw. And then the world...!) my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Bruno CGC Honorary Kelpie     Barked: Mon Mar 26, '12 10:40am PST  Well, it looks like a decent product. I didn't see any price info on the website, so don't know how cost-effective it is. There are a couple misleading statements on their FAQ though, like this one: "Because we bake our dog and cat foods, we are able to use up to twice as much fresh meat as extruded pet foods." BUT... if you look at the GA and ingredient lists, it's pretty obvious it actually has LESS meat than many dog foods. It's pretty grain-heavy. And this one... "I’VE HEARD THAT TAURINE IS A NECESSARY NUTRIENT FOR CATS. I’VE SEEN ADDED TAURINE RECENTLY IN SOME LAMB AND RICE FOODS FOR DOGS. WHY DOESN’T LOTUS ADD TAURINE TO THEIR LAMB AND RICE FORMULA FOR DOGS? Because dogs can produce taurine if they have all of the required amino acids." This is technically true, but dogs are not very efficient at making taurine from other sources, and certain breeds really need taurine in their diet and are predisposed to heart failure when it's deficient. Lamb is very low in natural taurine. And this: "Feed less! A bag of Lotus lasts 20% longer. This is because a cup of Lotus wieghs only 4oz and many extruded foods weigh an average of 6oz." This really makes no sense, once you do the math. If a cup of Lotus is less dense than other foods, you will have to feed MORE of it, not less. You really should be feeding by mass, not volume. This is implying that you can feed less mass but somehow get the same amount of calories, which doesn't make sense since it's not a calorie-dense food. Anyway... Many dog foods have hyperbolic marketing claims. This isn't an especially egregious example. Solid Gold makes some frikken RIDICULOUS claims last time I checked. So if you want to feed it, go ahead and try it. I don't think it looks better than other premium brands, but it's nice to support local companies. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Tyson Savage- CGC Let's do big dog- stuff!     Barked: Mon Mar 26, '12 11:42am PST  I would only feed their grain-free lines if I do switch over. Honestly, I even get a little hungry at how good it smells! It's about $10 more that TotW is. But what you pointed out is a little concerning. I'm going to look into seeing if I can visit the company or something. Talk to the people in charge. Ty has always gotten a little bummed around meal time ever since we stopped feeding raw, so since he seemed to like this brand I wanted to try it out. I'll have to do some investigating... my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Bruno CGC Honorary Kelpie     Barked: Mon Mar 26, '12 11:56am PST  Oh! I didn't see that they had a grain-free formula. I only looked at the lamb and chicken ones. The GF Duck version looks to have more meat/protein in it. If Ty really likes it and the price is right, why not give it a go? I didn't see anything that looks like they're not a good company or it's not a good food, I just thought their marketing claims were kind of ridiculous. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

y dog-sitter in- charge.     Barked: Mon Mar 26, '12 1:46pm PST  sometimes Centinela has 'freebie' coupons for this brand in the Valu-Pak coupon paks that get sent to everyone. ETA: I never fed it, but I did debate getting the freebies and donating them. Never had the time, though.. Edited by author Mon Mar 26, '12 1:47pm PST [notify]

Mulder Spooky Mulder     Barked: Mon Mar 26, '12 2:14pm PST  I got some of the samples at my local pet place too, and you're very right, it smells WONDERFUL. I mean really, I would take a big wiff of it every time I reached in for a piece (I used them as training treats). Mulder/Ridley really seemed to enjoy the taste. But boy oh boy, "I little bit more expensive" is an understatement... the biggest bag of the grain free duck (which is only 20lbs btw) was $68. ORIJEN is cheaper than that! So it looks like a good product if you're willing to spend the money on it, but for me personally, I'll be putting that money towards my Honest Kitchen/raw! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Kayak- "Mighty- Moose Angel"- Snoodledawg     Barked: Wed Mar 28, '12 10:27am PST  Have you ever checked out Dogfoodadvisor.com? Fairly neat site rating all the dog foods and pointing out ingredients necessary and unnecessary in our dogs foods. They also have an email recall alert system they send out when there has been any recalls even voluntary recalls. Looks like a nice food though. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Khloe 1287152     Barked: Sun Feb 24, '13 12:05pm PST  Lotus Duck as someone mentioned is a no grain formula. I still am trying to learn about different grains as I have heard from a breeder that no grains resulted in an anal glandual problem for an entire familly of dogs that she had heard of. However, my vet recommends grain free dog food. The grain in the other flavors I am told by the vet are more easily digestible than in the extruded, ie., cooked process. In any case, one thing I can say is it the top choice of our resident dog food experts at the pet food store here. The baked process does not strip the food of taste or nutrients if it is not baked a high temps. Usually dog food is cooked by an extruded process and they spray taste and minerals on, this often means less high quality ingredients. My dog loves this food I believe because of the taste. She also liked Instinct Rabbit, which is extruded with a freeze dried raw coating. However, it was too much protein for her which I could tell as it was being released around her pads of her paws and eyes. She is an active Lhasa Apso. I am careful to preserve my dog's pancreas. My father serves her another type of dog food, Kirkland which is 4 star, at which point she usually goes and knocks over or paws her bag of Lotus. I take that as she is expressing a personal preference! Lotus Duck right now is 5 star. I think it's the taste that pushes it over the edge for her and also I know she is not eating processed food and nutrients which are healthier for her. Anyhow, that's what I know, hope it helps!!! It is more expensive but it's cheaper than the raw diet I wanted to keep my dog on because she was doing so great on it. The vet is only for freeze-dried raw, like Stella & Chewey's.. and I do listen to the vet. I know she has reasons if she is setting that boundary and she is the one who is going to take care of my dog should she get sick. I'm always checking out brands but this one I have been going back to as this is the only dog food my dog will actually request, lol. She's a fussy eater and knows what tastes good I have learnt. Taste of the Wild was one recommended by the vet, it's $5 less per bag but is extruded and not the same quality as Lotus. It's I believe a 4 star food, not shabby! I have been told that Kirkland's dog food is suspected to be a Taste of the Wild copy or substitute that has the same rating. I don't think Lotus is a very big or well known line so it has not gotten to the point where there is coupons and specials on it. Edited by author Sun Feb 24, '13 12:20pm PST my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]