[oneofakind864]

I am not offering an opinion... I posted that "I" thought the list of potentially bad foods was interesting...and the reasoning behind the list worth looking into. Which I did. And I assumed since they were of interest to me.. they would be to others as well. It obviously has been. And some good things came of it...

To the poster that shared about Blue Buffalo...Many thanks. Quality control is something to be VERY concerned about and your experience brought up something that is indeed a problem.

To the poster who shared about the Hills Everyay formula- many thanks also.

To the poster who offered a link to a nutritionist who will answer questions free of charge... many thanks!

I never bashed Royal Canin ( Both my previous dog was fed it for years and my current puppy is still on it) or Hills ( which I fed my last baby when she needed the KD formula) and I am also interested in looking into the everyday formula for my current baby once she is no longer a puppy.

To the poster who inferred that a "new puppy owner" shouldn't be given respect until they had a 12 year old dog to show for it. THEN to share their experience. Well..if that was aimed at me then here you go.

My last Yorkie, who was eating Royal Canin, developed kidney problems that were caught when she was 7 ( not RC fault) and my vet and I battled it for 5 years ( with Hills K/D) until it claimed her 2 months ago. But 12 years apparently is an old age for a 3 pound dog-so I guess by many of the YT posters standards- I did pretty good especially given her health problems. But I still wanted more time. 50 years wouldn't have been enough because I loved her. But through working with my 2 vets and an animal nutritionist through that process I learned a LOT about kidney disease. Much of that came from stumbling on information that made me curious...and reading up on it...then asking my vet about it. I am an intelligent person with an inquiring mind and am always looking to expand my knowledge. My vet and I had several good conversations due to the fact that I was finding specific information about what my dog was dealing with and I had way more time to dig around then he did with a full time vet practice. I also spent lots of time with the Canine ophthalmologist as Chanel went blind due to retinal degeneration related to the kidney disease. Then cataracts, luxated lens... yeah lots of " Situations" and I know way too much about all the meds eye problems can require (Very expensive human drops too I might add)

I spend 1000's of dollars on her but the point I was trying to make with my comment about people who can't go to the vet is that there are many people who own dogs that love them and in many cases don't have the financial resources to be able to spend that kind of money. They come to YT seeking advice because of all the experienced dog owners on this site.. YOUR "non expert" but experienced opinions may be all these owners can afford. and it is better than nothing..which is what they end up getting if all any of you do is say " Go see a vet" when these people can't afford to do so. if you don't offer them something they will go elsewhere and end up on a quack site with terrible misinformation or at the very least worse than they could have received from you. And they probably STILL won't go see a vet.

Is it wrong to own a dog when you can't afford vet care?...In my opinion yes! But does it happen...ALL THE TIME! But then again... if they rescued a dog from being put down- maybe a poor but loving owner is better than no life at all. But that is a whole new thread.


And by the way the Cindy poster was blasted because the pet store owner Had a dog in the hunt" to make a profit on selling dog food. ... my " Vet" sells "Hills" and it is the only food he sells. Does that give him a dog in the hunt as one poster said? You also need a prescription for hills which you have to get from a "vet" so they are making the money on the food AND on the appt needed to obtain the prescription. Does that make it any less or more valid than the owner of the pet store who is special ordering a food for a client who is only making the profit on a bag of food? Does that mean vets' will offer unbiased opinions when they benefit from the sale of Hills two ways?? Thats opening a big bag of worms. BOTH the pet store owner and the vets want the same result...YOU TO HAVE A HEALTHY DOG. And they will BOTH profit from it. that is why they are both in the industry to catering to pet owners. The lack of a degree in veterinary science doesn't mean the store owner is any less interested in your dogs health as was inferred. And having one doesn't mean your vet is immune from wanting make a buck. Most vets do way better financially than most pet supply owners. Just saying....

Also need to say when Hills started making my girl sick( again not Hills fault- it was the kidney disease) My vet printed out recipes from the internet..and told me sites to look at to try to figure out a diet that met her kidney needs and that was tempting enough to get her to eat. I then had to run the diets I came up with by the nutritionist. But One of those sites was healthy k-9 as mentioned before. The author has a whole section specifically on health issues dogs normally have and several Kidney specific menus and treats. Other than adding a tiny piece of Tums for calcium because my little one wouldn't eat the " Ground egg shells" recommended in the kidney diets my vet provided, and adding amphogel and tinnic soluton to supplement..they both agreed the kidney recipes Andrew Lewis offered were a good option for Chanel. She did eat and lived another 3 years with kidney disease after the first 2 years of being on the hills KD.

So if the Barney poster was inferring that I am a new pup owner which having a 12 year old dog would give credibility to...been there done that. I have also fostered dogs. I may not know it all but I am not ignorant. I am also always open to new information that may make me revise my opinions. This article was simply thrown out there as "possibly interesting information" Not the Doggy Nutritional Bible. My comment was not aimed at you specifically. But to posters in general that tend to go for blood. ..OFTEN. It makes posters who only have the goal of trying to bring up information feel attacked.