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I feed pedigree

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Sabi When the night- closes in I will- be there     Barked: Wed Sep 21, '11 10:45pm PST  I have tried switching foods a number of times with very mixed results. I tried pedigree about 20 years ago and at that time I had a variety of dogs- 21 dogs, 7 cats and a chicken. I bought kibbles and bits once because it was the only food I could find and all the dogs threw up. I tried purina and they didn't like it. I put my Dane on nutro and she lost an alarming amount of weight. I tried a food called tlc and only 1 of 7 dogs would eat it. medi-cal gave sabs really bad gas, blue buffalo made sabi and buddy sick. My point is I have never had a dog do poorly on pedigree and it is readily available. Of course my dogs all get meat, veggies and various scraps and leftovers so only about half of their intact is kibble. I am sure that there are better foods out there but if your dog won't eat it or you can't get it or you are on a limited income shouldn't you just go with what works? Am I a horrible dog parent because I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on dog food? Incidently pedigree canned puppy food is the only one I have found that really baby pups can manage, it dissolves nicely into a paste when mixed with formula or water. Just lookiing for opinions. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Scooter,- PAWS Power of the Paw- for those who- need it     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 5:02am PST  No, absolutely not. Yes, there are better foods out there...I think you are aware of that. Some can't afford higher priced foods...some are uneducated, and some just have always fed their dog a certain food. I think you will get lots of opinions, but this is your dog and you decide. There is a thread on different dog foods...there are good quality foods that aren't much more expensive than Pedigree is though...so perhaps some can offer suggestions. But if your dog is a picky eater and only seems to like pedigree, you go with that. I never judge someone on the brand of food they feed I know Taste of the Wild is a very reasonable priced good quality dog food. Not sure if that's readily available, but I found the price to be very reasonable when I was feeding nutro several years ago. Edited by author Thu Sep 22, '11 5:03am PST my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Olive Lab/Rottie/Chow/- Shepherd Mix!     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 5:38am PST  Hi Sabi - Please do not feel bad. You are not a bad owner. Dog food is only beneficial if your dog will eat it. I struggled with this a lot on the cat forums (I was a cat owner before a dog owner -- and cats are known for being extrodinarily fussy, especially adults) - sometimes you just get an animal that is married to a certain kind of food and just can't switch. Other times, a switch is possible... but it can take a LOT of time (and money!) to figure out what food, what formula is right, etc. If your Sabi has an undiagnosed allergy or intolerance to something, it can be causing problems. My brother's pug is on Hills SD and cannot switch to other foods because of a skin allergy - he just can't find one that works with his dog, nor does he want to put him through the stress of "testing" what works and what doesn't. I completely understand. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Trigger *Blackdog*     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 5:42am PST  You aren't a horrible dog parent. But it's not about money, or brand. It all boils down to the ingredients. Many dogs "get sick" when they switch foods. Vomiting and diarrhea can be very common when making such a change. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing for them in the long term. As far as them liking it, Pedigree is the equivalent of McDonalds. What kid wouldn't like to eat McDonalds every day?! Does that mean just because a child would eat McDonalds everyday that you as a parent would allow it? Probably not, because you know that wouldn't be as good for them as a much better diet would be. Feeding table scraps can be hit and miss. If you're eating cooked steak with zero salt or seasonings on it, those extras can be great! But usually people don't eat it like that. Same with your veggies. Any extra butter, salts, etc can not only be bad for them, but deadly (google up pancreatitis in dogs). It's why so many dogs die during the holidays. People want to treat their dogs with table scraps to celebrate, not knowing just one salty or fatty meal can land them in the vet hospital, or far worse.... I didn't think my dogs were doing poorly on Purina dog chow either. They liked it, seemed happy, had energy, and I thought their coats looked good. I thought we were doing great! Until I switched. Sure the better food cost me more initially, but they only ate a fraction of what they were eating, so in the long run a more expensive bag lasted A LOT longer. Giant poos turned to tiny ones so I knew their bodies were actually using the food they were eating instead of just running it in and right out. Their coats went from what I thought was good, to AMAZING. No more dog coat stink. They were far happier and had far more energy. I could tell they felt SO - MUCH - BETTER. It took 3-4 months to see the full transformation. They did get upset tummies initially, but got over that with time and the payoff was PHENOMENAL. If you think you gave switching an honest shot, then fine. Whatever you want to do with yours is your decision. At the end of the day when you lay it all out there and consider what you're allowing your dogs to consume, that's on your shoulders. If you feel good about it, having all of the information you can get in places like the "So You're Confused About Dog Food" thread, then that's all that matters. I have a feeling you're not though or you wouldn't be here questioning it my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Sanka The ground is my- newspaper.     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 6:47am PST  If it's income, fine. If it's "my dog won't eat it", then I beg to differ. Feed me just healthy food, and I'd protest for cookies and chips too. It's called tough love. I want my dogs to be healthy. They won't starve themselves. If you only got carrots at every one of your meals, it would take a few skipped meals for you to finally just eat the carrots. And eventually, you'll get used to it. I don't care if my dog doesn't "like" the food. That's what they get because they like walks, they like hikes, they like sniffing out critters, they like training treats, they like playing, they like chasing critters, they like car rides, they like etc....and they get ALL of that. So, I could care less if they thought their food was subpar to their taste. They get a lot of what they want, but just like everything else, they can't have it all. They lick their butts, eat bird poop and lick god knows what. The last thing I am going to do is succumb to what they consider tasting "good". My mother wouldn't let me leave the table until after I ate my veggies. I would sit there for hours protesting until finally I just ate the darn things. Now, I eat my veggies first. Tough love helps. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Trigger *Blackdog*     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 6:57am PST  "They lick their butts, eat bird poop and lick god knows what. The last thing I am going to do is succumb to what they consider tasting "good"." PREACH ON!!! "My mother wouldn't let me leave the table until after I ate my veggies. I would sit there for hours protesting until finally I just ate the darn things. Now, I eat my veggies first. Tough love helps." my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Uno I'm huntin'- wabbits     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 7:20am PST  Something to keep in mind, pedigree has meat and bone meal along with animal fat which are unidentified protein sources and can come from anywhere, including euthanized shelter animals. In EPA document 'Emissions Factors and Policy Applications Center, Chapter 9: Food and Agricultural Industries, Section 9.5 Introduction to Animal & Meat Products Preparation' is the section 9.5.3 Meat Rendering Plants. "Meat rendering plants process animal by-product materials for the production of tallow, grease, and high-protein meat and bone meal. Plants that operate in conjunction with animal slaughterhouses or poultry processing plants are called integrated rendering plants. Plants that collect their raw materials from a variety of offsite sources are called independent rendering plants. Independent plants obtain animal by-product materials, including grease, blood, feathers, offal, and entire animal carcasses, from the following sources: butcher shops, supermarkets, restaurants, fast-food chains, poultry processors, slaughterhouses, farms, ranches, feedlots, and animal shelters." http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/final/c9s05-3.pdf Edited by author Thu Sep 22, '11 7:22am PST my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Sabi When the night- closes in I will- be there     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 7:30am PST  Like I said, my dogs get about half their food from other sources and maybe thats why I have no problems with this food. I do periodically look at other dog foods and when I say I switched to another food I mean for like 2 months or more so they got a fair shot. The people food that my dogs get is not junk(except the pizza bones). They get meat, fish, berries, veggies, etc. I do not clean up excessive amounts of poop and they seem to have no tummy troubles. I also feed between 2 and 6 large dogs at any given time so yes price is an issue. The only reason I am even considering other foods at this point is because like any rational person I believe that sooner or later someone will make a better product. However for the most part flaxseed seems to be present in the newer foods and Sabs is allergic. I don't know if the quantity would affect her but I really don't want to make her sore and itchy to find out. Also pedigree hasn't had any of the quality control issues some of the other companies have had. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Adam Vaccine free- -Disease free- goes pawinpaw     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 8:16am PST  Question: why are you feeding puppies formula? No need to do that! (6 or 8 weeks old right? ) Also you don't need to spend hundreds on good food! Homecooked or raw diets can be less money than cheaper dry foods. Especially down the road with vet bills and health, but even immediately a homecooked or raw diet doesn't need to be so costly. Premades are expensive but some who do-it-yourself even feed free. It will depend on your resources. You may want to take a look around and see if you can get any deals for meat scraps from local farmers, butchers, meat manufactories..and it's ok to use freecycle and craigslist too. Hmmm I was still typing and it posted LOL. Anyway, I was writing that I found raw diet to be cheaper than homecooked probably because vegetables here are about the same price as meat but I have to feed more of the vegs to meet the calorie requirements my dogs need. And it was harder for me to balance. But other people love feeding homecooked and cheaper and easier for them. I'm just saying don't be afraid to explore these two options! You already add in nice fresh food, which is great. One thing you wrote is pedigree had no quality control issues? I don't know what you mean by that, but if you didn't know they were contaminated in the 2007 pet food recall. I lost my dog who ate pedigree and got acute renal failure from that bag. I've learned alot about dog food since, but have alot to still learn. I like truthaboutpetfood.com although they can be too anti-dog food at times. Edited by author Thu Sep 22, '11 8:23am PST my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Gunther Giant Shih Tzu     Barked: Thu Sep 22, '11 8:40am PST  If you're feeding the amount of cups Pedigree calls for, you're likely spending MORE money feeding all those large dogs than if you were feeding Taste of the Wild, which really isn't that expensive at Tractor Supply stores, and you feed a tiny fraction compared to what Pedigree requires. Your dogs are used to consuming low quality food, so if you switch them immediately to something grain free, high quality, and rich, they can get sick for a few days. People get sick when they go on Gluten free diets, for example. Does it mean the Gluten was better for them? Absolutely not. Their bodies just go into temporary shock. ETA : Adam, I'm so sorry you lost a dog like that. I had no idea.. I think you do a great job in providing info to people, based on your own experiences. It's also always comforting to see another vaccine free dog owner. Makes me feel more confident about my own beliefs. Edited by author Thu Sep 22, '11 8:43am PST my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

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