Dog Food...

[Tucker'sMom]

I am not trying to knock a particular brand of dog food, but... There is a story associated with this question, so please read on and be patient with me. (There is a story associated with almost everything I say...it drives my husband to Anyway, we are so in love with our German Shorthaired Pointer that we have decided to get another one. We have put a deposit on the first (male) pick of the litter due July 2. I spent well over an hour on the phone with the breeder the other day. Fantastic guy. His warranty is OUT OF THIS WORLD. PM me if you are interested in getting a GSP...I would (so far) highly recommend him. Back on topic...He mentioned to me that his warranty on all puppies is null and void unless the dog is fed a particular brand of dog food. I have NO problem with this, it is the ONLY type I have ever fed my dogs, except Tucker...he was on a Veterinarian recommended weight control food for a few years. He mentioned that he has no scientific proof, but over the past couple years, he has had many people (dozens), mostly looking for GSP's to "replace" (we all know a dog can never be "replaced", but for lack of a better word...) passed dogs. A good breeder will want to know what happened to your last dog. (An article broaching this subject will appear in the forum sometime in the near future.) Anyway, these dozens of people have all lost their dogs to some sort of cancer somewhere in the body. When asked, a vast majority of these people fed their dogs the same name brand food. (I will not mention the brand because I don't want to start some sort of riot!) After I thought about it, I realized that my Tucker (who passed away March 2 from liver failure, presumably due to undiagnosed Cushing's Disease) was on prescription food for overweight dogs manufactured by that same brand. Has anyone else ever heard this or had any experience with this? Are we, as dog owners, trusting these dog food manufacturers with the lives of our dogs unknowingly ultimately killing our pets?

[palehorse]

...He mentioned to me that his warranty on all puppies is null and void unless the dog is fed a particular brand of dog food.

What food does he recommend? This is a pretty interesting position on dog food. Was his food in anyway involved in the recall? Probably not since he feels so strongly about it.

BTW the flies in Sarah's pan have stopped since switching to IAMS.

[Tucker'sMom]

He recommends feeding Purina. That's all I have ever fed to my dogs except the prescription diet that Tucker was on. Turns out it was the same brand as the brand all those people fed that their dogs died of cancer. We won't ever know what was the cause of Tucker's liver failure.

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by Tucker'sMom

He recommends feeding Purina. That's all I have ever fed to my dogs except the prescription diet that Tucker was on. Turns out it was the same brand as the brand all those people fed that their dogs died of cancer. We won't ever know what was the cause of Tucker's liver failure.

Purina has different levels of quality food. Purina One is a bit more expensive then plain purina. Bitsy lived on "Purina One Lamb And Rice".

Purina cat food was the food with the egg issue, (but that is still unproven) BTW they are no flies so far in the IAMS kitten food.

Not trying to slander Purina, I too used it for all of Bitsy's life, but the kitten/flies thing was very strange.

[Tucker'sMom]

He said he doesn't so much care what Purina, just as long as it is some variety of Purina. I live in a rural area, my selection is limited. The breeder we got Addi from had her on Purina Supreme, and we can't find it here, so she's on Purina puppy chow. I am still impressed that Purina only had one food on the massive recall. I didn't want to slander the name of the other dog food, that's why I didn't mention the name. I will tell you that it's not Iams, though. But it is a rather large "expensive" top of the line name.
I still don't understand the Purina Kitten Chow. Maybe you could call Purina and ask them about it? When Tucker got sick, I called them and asked them if they had had any issues with the Purina Beneful Healthy Weight food and explained what was going on. They were very understanding and sympathetic, but they had had no issues nor anyone else reporting any issues. Call them and see...it can't hurt. I am a huge fan of Purina Food.

[Sadie's Mom]

I feed Sadie Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Formula. She is doing good on it.

[Pet Flora]

Any commercial pet food, even those pushed by vets, is the equivalent of you eating fast food every day- and maybe you do, but you should know better by now. Anything you plan to eat or feed your dog can be researched. The information is a keystroke away. Just be mindful that anyone supporting the commercial pet food industry has a very slanted point of view. Use as your guide, what your dog's wild relatives eat. Virtually none of it is in commercial pet food. Any meat included in commercial pet food would turn your stomach.

You can visit Professors House website and read numerous dog or cat articles I have written about best, food, health issues and how to overcome and prevent them.

No matter what diet you decide is best for your budget, your dogs need supplements on a daily basis.

Please visit my website to learn more about these supplements. Remember a healthy pet is a happy pet.

Pet Health Care - Natural Remedies For Your Cats & Dogs

[Whizzy]

Originally Posted by Pet Flora

Any commercial pet food, even those pushed by vets, is the equivalent of you eating fast food every day- and maybe you do, but you should know better by now. Anything you plan to eat or feed your dog can be researched. The information is a keystroke away. Just be mindful that anyone supporting the commercial pet food industry has a very slanted point of view. Use as your guide, what your dog's wild relatives eat. Virtually none of it is in commercial pet food. Any meat included in commercial pet food would turn your stomach.

You can visit Professors House website and read numerous dog or cat articles I have written about best, food, health issues and how to overcome and prevent them.

No matter what diet you decide is best for your budget, your dogs need supplements on a daily basis.

Please visit my website to learn more about these supplements. Remember a healthy pet is a happy pet.

Pet Health Care - Natural Remedies For Your Cats & Dogs

I find your first statement to be patently absurd! In fact, I find a lot of your statements to be nothing more than the opinion of one person who wants to sell something. Not much different than the people pushing commercial foods, really. They want to sell something, too.

The difference, as I see it, is that companies like Purina have over 100 years of research in animal health, along with spending billions of dollars on that research. I highly doubt they spent all that time and money to produce substandard diets. I also find it interesting that the other Purina animal feeds, like horse, hog, rabbit, and the exotic diets used by zoos, do not receive the vehement bad mouthing that their canine and feline diets do. Why do you suppose that is?

What are YOUR credentials? How many years of research, true research, do you have under your belt? How many billions of dollars have you spent testing your theories? Why should I believe you over the advice of other people in the animal health care industry? Especially when I happen to be a Certified Veterinary Nutritional Consultant as well as a Veterinary Technician?

As far as researching foods and diet, and the information being only a keystroke away; I don't believe everything I read on the internet. If you do, I have some ocean front property in Arizona I'd like to sell you. Really cheap.

And regarding what my dog's wild cousins might eat. First of all, a dog is not a wolf. A dog is an artifically created animal that is as far removed from the wolves from which they were bred as a domestic turkey is removed from it's wild counterpart. And I'm well aware of what wild canines eat. I've watched the large pack of coyotes that live in the fields behind my house, and I know what they eat; fresh kill, road kill, 10 day old maggot infested carrion, poop, various fruits and vegetables, poop, grains and more poop. I have yet to see a wild canid eat USDA inspected anything, nor have I seen them turn up their nose at disgusting, rotten garbage. So I guess the wild diet would turn my stomach, too.

Of course, my own dogs will eat the same things, and do so happily. Anyone with a horse and a hound knows how much dogs love poop. And hoof trimmings.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I get a little tired of people bashing the pet food industry based on someone who read a book, and then trying to sell a product. What you're doing isn't research. It's circular logic; start with a conclusion and reason in a circle, ignoring anything that doesn't prove your point of view.

[Whizzy]

Tucker'sMom, I think the cancer thing is really just a coincidence. Dogs who eat Purina get cancer too. And Iams, Eukanuba, Innova, Evo, Eagle Pack, etc. It's just a fact of life that some animals will get cancer, and with the exception of a few relatively rare situations, no one can say why.

Cushing's disease can have several different causes, including genetic predisposition. Again, there are cases where it's possible to determine the cause (like long term steriod use), and just as many cases where it isn't. Diet probably doesn't have much to do with it.

A few years ago I took part in a Purina feeding trial with my own dogs. I did notice a great improvement in coat and skin health when feeding Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Systems. Made a lot of sense once I thought about it. They use Salmon as the main protien source, and I was feeding an Alaskan Malamute. A breed that was developed where salmon was a plentiful and often used food for dogs.

My Dachshunds also did well on it. The only reason I'm not feeding it now is because the feeding trial ended, and I can get a significant discount on California Natural and Evo through my employer.

[palehorse]

Originally Posted by Whizzy

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I get a little tired of people bashing the pet food industry based on someone who read a book, and then trying to sell a product. What you're doing isn't research. It's circular logic; start with a conclusion and reason in a circle, ignoring anything that doesn't prove your point of view.

People are really gun-shy about pet food after the big recall. Pet Flora is trying very hard to promote sales here, and this issue has been addressed.

Just a reminder to everyone, on the main page and in the welcome message when you join it tells us that most if not all posters here are NOT vets. So everyone please bear this in mind. Pethealthforums is here mainly to discuss pet health and share ideas. I personally found open discussions to be useful, since most non-forum web sites are basically trying to sell something.

On that note, I really don't mind if you or anyone else puts their own, or their favorite pet site in their signature. Just please keep any advertising hype to a bare minimum. This was not directed at just Pet Flora, but anyone else coming here for the sole reason of promotion.