Interesting- Dog Food
 

There was a segment on our local news just now, it said you can go in to any grocery store, and as long as the dog food says AFCCO on it, that it's just as good as the organic and every other kind of food out there. He said that people are just wasting their money on all this expensive food. Guess that's why all of our dogs always lived long healthy lives on purina

dog food
 

I have no idea I'm anxious to read everyones reviews.

The thing is, think about it. Years ago, that's all they had to feed our dogs. Our dogs(small ones lived to be 15-19 years), big dogs 12-15 years. Now, I just wonder who started all of this on this food and that food is bad? It's from what people have been told. So, As soon as mine are closer to being out of their food, I'm going back to purina or pedigree, will look for the AFCCO, then will decide on a food and stick with it

Any food that is fed (unless your dog is on a prescription diet) should absolutely be approved by AAFCO, or in the case of homecooked diets it should be formulated to meet their guidelines. AAFCO sets vitamin and mineral minimums and maximums and gives definitions for ingredients. However, there are undesirable ingredients that are AAFCO approved like garlic. I also am not comfortable feeding my dog preservatives like ethoxyquin. It hasn't been shown to do harm at the rate it is used in pet food but it is banned in some countries. I wouldn't want that for my dog. I also prefer things like chicken breast over chicken feet for her. It is a very personal decision and yes all foods should be AAFCO approved because that's the best we have right now but that doesn't mean they are the only ones to listen to about nutrition.

I'll continue to waste my money.

Purina is AFCCO. Think I will check in to purina one or purina pro plan. They've got to be less expensive than what I've been buying. I just have a problem with this whole dog food thing. I want to know who started all of this, "purina is bad", pedigree is bad", etc. I think someone is trying to sucker everyone, and I'm not going to be suckered anymore. Been around too many years for that.;)

That decision is all up to you on what you want to feed your animals. I choose to feed a high quality dog food for my Yorkie. Without fillers , and healthier ingredients. It is all a matter of personal choice.
However,I believe that being educated and well informed goes a lot longer way then to just think the food is cheaper, and dogs are still living a long life does not mean they are at their healthiest. IMO . I'll continue to give my Pup as healthy foods as I can. She deserves it, and so much more ! :thumbup:

What is AAFCO?

Although I feed my baby a more expensive food that is not found in grocery stores, I heard the same thing several years ago on 20/20 I believe. They interviewed vets and talked about how most brand name dog foods were good. I guess I would believe it, and if I had a bigger dog I would probably use Purina. However, our baby has had health issues and a sensitive stomach since we got her, and now I treat her differently than I have any other pet I have ever had.:) I guess I spoil her now.

Association of American Feed Control Officials

Sorry, typed that in wrong, meant to put AAFCO. My sister in law has always fed her 8 year old yorkie 5 to 6 star foods, the vet is running all kind of tests on her now, all of a sudden, she's not eating, losing weight, etc. The ones of ours that lived long lives(one was a chihuahua) never was sick or had to go to the vet for anything other than yearly rabi shots, our golden, we had put down because she was 18 and had cancer. You're right, everyone can feed what they want, but, just because it's a 5 or 6 star food doesn't mean it's going to prolong your dogs life. The main thing is you find something that agrees with the dog and they like

I would never feed Purina. I don't like that it has corn as it's first ingredient, and I don't like the use of "by products". Chicken feet doesn't bother me, but feeding my dog diseased animal parts sure does!

My baby is extremely spoiled though, I have to admit. When I first picked her up from the breeder, she was on Science Diet. I promptly switched her to "Go Natural" grain free (kibble), and now she's on raw (Nature's Variety working our way up to Prey Model feeding) and lovin' it! So I won't even feed any kibble anymore, let alone Purina. :)

Are you kidding me? So just because some reporter repeats something they were told makes it the truth? Wow. That's the problem with things these days, people hear something and just do/believe it. No one goes out of their way anymore to research and make their own educated decisions.

You can go ahead and feed corn, poultry by-products and animal digest to your dogs but I think it is a shame to promote that. I will continue wasting my money. My dogs are small enough that I feel the need to be proactive with their health and do everything I can to keep them nurished and healthy.

When I first got Suzi she was on Purina Puppy Chow. She had very bad flaky dandruff. When i took her off Purina and gave her a high quality food it went all away. Mine in now spoiled., and I feel better about staying away from all the fillers, and "junk" that is in the cheaper , foods .
Yes, it is a matter of choice and what works best for the owner , not so much as what is best for their animals. :aimeeyork

It wasn't, it was a vet. You just need to make sure it says AAFCO on the dog food bag.

You don't think a 19 year old chihuahua is old??:rolleyes: You think because you feed an expensive food that your dog will live to be older than mine? Believe me, just by feeding your dog more expensive food doesn't mean it's going to live longer

There are many ways in which to comply with AAFCO guidelines. In many cases, dog food manufacturers simply throw in a bunch of vitamins and minerals to meet the standards. This doesn't mean that they're making a quality food. In many cases, the added vitamins and minerals are the ONLY thing that qualifies the food as being 'nutritious'. The rest of the food is mostly filler and poor quality protein. Even some 'better' brands rely on too many added vitamins and minerals to meet the requirements. Adding vitamins and minerals is an admission that the food ingredients do not measure up to meeting the requirements. Saying that any food that meets AAFCO requirements is just as good as any other is ridiculous. With that logic, we could all just eat cardboard and take a bunch of vitamins to get our nutritional requirements. The Dog Food Project is a good source in determining ingredients to look for and which ones to avoid in making dog food choices. My own opinion as to why dogs don't live longer in spite of getting a better diet is that the typical modern dog is being over-vaccinated and being bombarded monthly with flea and heartworm preventatives. It is a constant toxic attack on the dog's whole system that contributes to premature organ failure and cancers.

Hummm, have you ever looked at the more expensive purina brands? They don't all have corn as their first ingredient.

yeah, i think the brand name pet foods are ridiculous. i bought jackson this semi-expensive stuff, have tried 3 different "brand name" brands of foods, and he hates them all. he prefers to eat my other dogs food which is just regular purina or kibbles and bits or something of the sort. all my previous dogs lived long and healthy lives and never ate all high quality food.

Thank you for this post! I couldn't agree more!

Yes, I figured there was some consultation with a veterinarian. Unfortunately, not all vets are educated/researched in animal nutrition. ALL dog food is REQUIRED to meet AAFCO standards. All that means is it has the required vitamins and minerals... it has NOTHING to do with quality control or the actual ingredients. I should make this clear- all dog food that is "complete nutrition" is required to meet AAFCO standards.

Umm, I never said that my dogs would live longer than yours because I feed expensive food. I hope you realize that there are thousands of genetic, environmental and just plain ole' luck factors that have to do with the longevity of an animal. It is absurd, however, to make such a generalized statement that feeding cheap food = a long life. That would be as absurd as saying expensive food = long life. I do have a choice to leave out the crap that my dogs don't need- such as fillers, by-products and cancer causing agents and preservatives, and damn right I'm going to make that choice in the best interest of my boys.

Just because it's the second or third ingredient doesn't make it any better....

I've been around my area now for over 25 years, Purina has it's "Protein Technology" plant here - I've seen (and smelled) what goes in their dog food. But you go right ahead and feed it, and good luck!

My parents had a Pom when I grew up. They fed her Alpo from a can. The dog lived a 12-15 yrs. That food is disgusting. It even smells bad. I know it is a low quality food, and has all the worst ingredients. Even though the dog lived to a rightful old age does not mean it was the healthiest, or in the best shape she could of been.

I do believe that this entire thread was started to create a stir in people. :eek:

I don't care if corn is the LAST ingredient on the list. I won't feed it or any food with grains.

I agree with you!

I just went to purinas site and printed of coupons for $3 off the purina pro plan, maybe you can find one on there for your dogs food.

"You are what you eat" is not only for people. I've seen it first hand with my baby. I now feed raw but when I switched her from a garbage kibble she was on when I got her to Evo the change in her was dramatic. She had much more energy, her coat grew well and had a tremendous shine, and her poop was much less. I don't know about living longer but I know she felt a whole lot better!

I'll continue to waste my money.

Sorry girls, NO, it was not started to start a stir, I did that stuff back when I was in my teenage years..:confused: I saw it on t.v and there are new people that come on here, they say they are feeding purina or pedigree, and everyone jumps all over them saying, that's not good food, etc etc. I have had dogs 50 years, until I came in to yt, I had my dogs on what a lot of you call"crap" food. All I'm saying, is everyone needs to start feeding what they want, as long as it's working for them, and STOP telling people what too and what not too feed. I have probably had more dogs in my life than most people(right now, between my siblings and mom and myself) that makes 5 of us), we have 22 dogs. Had dogs all my life(healthy ones), and I think everyone is making too much out of this, what should we feed crap. To each his own. Remember the recalls? I never once saw purina on there.

And, that is your decision. All 6 of my dogs are healthy, they sure don't eat EVO..:confused: And they all have a lot of energy and play, even the 11 year old. And, they all have great coats.

Thought you said A vet told you ? :confused: You know this whole topic is one that most YT'ers feel very strongly about.... Most of us want to feed the best, highest quality foods that we can to our Yorkie's. They are like children to us, more then just a "dog" So why start a thread where people are going to get upset about, and want to argue?
It is up to us, and we will continue to feed our yorkies the best foods possible. If you want to feed your dogs Purina foods then go for it. Just don't think that the rest of us are going to feel like it is a great , nutritious food.
This is going to start a stir because we love our Yorkie's so much and want the best for them. Can you see that from my perspective? ;)