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Originally Posted by Ellie May  No you aren't. I've had a change of heart recently over the whole nutrition debate and have decided to stop believing what the general public writes in these articles and listen to an expert exclusively. Now I may see something interesting and ask her about it, but in the end nobody on the internet can really sit there and say X major company's food is bad because of XYZ. It's not that easy.
Dogs have a need for nitrogen and amino acids, not meat, so kibbles with higher meat content don't always appeal to me. I have to wonder how much harm we are doing with these newer foods because a very large % of dogs are in the beginnings of renal failure by middle age. It doesn't show up on bloodwork til much later. Feeding high phosphorus foods is probably not doing the kidneys any favors.
I think larger companies have a bit more of an advantage when dealing with quality control. I also like to see a vet nutritionist on staff. They are expensive to hire which is just it. Companies that want to pocket more money won't have one... I also see a lack of feeding trials for a lot of newer companies. A food can get AAFCO approved by nutrient analysis or a 6 month feeding trial. The former is about $100. The latter is about $20,000. Smaller companies don't spend money on it. Now it is only 6 months, but it does keep the worst foods off the market. And the thought that leather shoes and motor oil could pass AAFCO, theoretically true with a nutrient analysis, but a 6 month feeding trial..not going to pass when it becomes evident that digestion is way off. If no feeding trial, then the owners that feed the food are doing the trial for the company. Maybe not horrible, but I have hesitations about that. |
Excellent post! This is also one of the main problems I have with people who brag that their dog food brand does no testing on animals! This makes no sense to me, if the company doesn't test, then the dog owners are testing, and to me, this is horrible!
I really never thought I’d see a thread such as this on Yorkietalk. Every time I have written that I use Royal Canin, I’ve been lambasted as being an idiot and buying into what the dog food companies tell me. I’ve been told I’m wasting my money, and I must not love Joey very much. I’ve tried another brand, but he had massive amount of eye drainage within a couple of days. I waited till the tears were clear and tried it again and same thing happened, so I’m sure it was the food. Let me just say, RC is the main food Joey gets, I use it for our training so there’s no need for “treats” he thinks it’s a treat. He has no gas, no vomiting, diarrhea, no itching, abundant beautiful shinny hair, good smelling mouth and his teeth are in excellent condition. I agree with Jodi, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but I’ve got to say, all the negativity about RC has made me wonder if I was doing right by Joey.