I recently went in search of new kibble for my dogs, a puppy and a senior. They were getting into one another's food, so I wanted to feed an All Life Stages formula. I went to the Lukes All Natural website and ordered a package of dog food samples. They pack a flat rate shipping box full of samples, and let you specify preferences (kibble size, adult, puppy, whatever). I asked them to send me as many ALS samples as possible, and fill in the rest of the space in the box with adult food samples. They even threw in some treat and shampoo samples, too. I know you can email the manufacturers directly to ask for free samples, but decided it was easier just to pay for it and get a lot of variety.
I went through the samples and immediately took out any of the brands that might have ethoxyquin. There were four of them, all of them use Diamond as their contract manufacturer. Three of them -- Artemis, Canidae, and Taste of the Wild have all admitted that they preserve with ethoxyquin. The fourth was Natural Balance, and they have been very cagey, dancing around and not giving a direct answer as to whether their foods contain it or not. I think they said something to the effect that "they don't add it to their foods," but if their fish meal (or fat) supplier adds it, they don't have to list it as an ingredient -- because they didn't add it. I suspect that even though Diamond makes these four brands according to the formula of the individual brands, they probably are responsible for purchasing the individual ingredients, and therefore use the same fish meal supplier for all the brands.
That left me with a lot of samples that were All Life Stages. Here is a list:
Acana Grasslands
Acana Prarie
Before Grain (3 varieties -- Buffalo, Chicken, and Salmon)
Evo (2 varieties -- Turkey & Chicken, Red Meat)
Fromm (6 varieties - Salmon, Chicken, Duck & Sweet Potato, Pork & Applesauce, Surf and Turf, Whitefish and Potato)
Innova Small Bites
Nature's Variety (lots to choose from there, I think there are 5 varieties of Prairie and at least 2 of Instinct, not to mention the frozen raw choices) I didn't get any Natures Variety in the sample box, not sure why
Right now I am feeding Nature's Variety Prairie, and they LOVE it, even my picky senior. My puppy went into a FRENZY when I first gave it to her. I like that I can switch between the 5 "flavors" without transitioning, so I'll be able to switch them up to prevent boredom. It is also coated with freeze dried raw food, so I like that as well. I'm also going to try out the Fromm, because they've got a lot of variety to keep things interesting.
There may be more varieties/flavors of all the brands listed above.
This should give you a good start if you're going to stick with ALS and want to avoid ethoxyquin.
__________________ Life is merrier with a Yorkshire Terrier! Jezebel & Chuy ... RIP: Barkley Loosie & Sassy |