I fed SD for at least 15 years, maybe more...never had any problems. Well, not until I realized Alex's chicken allergy - that was when I started researching and learning more about "quality pet foods". Now I'm always worried about what they eat and about finding the perfect food, and analyzing their poo to make sure they're doing well on their food....it just never ends!! :p The only things I can say for certain are that they don't eat nearly as much as they did when I fed SD, and they don't poop as much, and the poop doesn't smell nearly as strong. So I guess that's a little bit of an improvement at least. :rolleyes:

I wanted to add that I found an FAQ discussing these exact things. She seemed confident that the levels found in dog food were too minute to cause harm. Like you, I don't like them either, but it did give me some reassurance since I have fed quite a bit of TOTW's Pacific Stream.

I'm so glad you posted that link. I've really enjoyed reading through a lot of those questions. I still have about 100 more to go and then I'll be done (of course I'm only looking at ones that interest me).

I have noticed the same thing. In the past when I fed dog foods that were higher in grain I did notice there was more poop and it was smellier.:eek: Being a breeder, by biggest concerns with the SD dog food was the fact that most of the SD brands contained soy in one form or the other.

I'm trying to remember what I've read about this. Is it because it inhibits calcium absorption? I know I have to avoid soy because of one of my RX's, but I can't remember which one. I think it's the thyroid one.

There is a lot of information in the internet about the dangers of soy. Of course some people will argue that there is nothing to it but my personal feelings are that soy is not a healthy food for pets or humans. For breeding animals, I feel it can effect their reproductive abilities. I just try to avoid anything with soy in it for myself and my pets. Just like so many other ingredients that go into dog food, some pets are more sensitive to them and some are not.

Here is one well know website that has lots of information on soy:

Beware of the toxicity of soy products

OOooooooo, this thread has turned into such a great discussion :)! I have an appt. this a.m., so can't really hop in, but love reading it. Keep going, people :p!

Bjh...loved your comment "some human food is unfit for humans" - lol - SO TRUE!

Great information!! Thank you! :)

That is a really gross thought though...all the human foods that don't appear to be fit for human consumption, but they are. Dog food is worse than that. Yuck...

Have fun at the doctor. :rolleyes:

BJH, I suppose for those who think soy is a bad thing, it would make sense to not want to use it in dog food. But I don't have a problem with it for myself, so I'm fine with it for Ellie too...

Ellie, I do understand that many people are fine with soy. Our whole lifetime that are so many choices we have to make, not just for ourselves but for our children and our pets. What works for one person or pet might not work for another. Sometimes the decisions we make are right but sometimes we make the wrong decision but we all have to live with our decisions. I wish there was a magic ball to help us know what is the right thing to do.

My sister-in-law had a poodle that lived to be over 21 years old. This dog was just fed low quality dog food and table scraps. One thing I do know it the dog did not get annual vaccinations after 5 years old. I really feel that so many of the illnesses we are seeing in pets today are contributed to over vaccination and over use of medications. Diet is important but when people allow vets to over vaccinate them, the best diet in the world won't help them.

One thing I do want to mention about the soy, one article did say that children given soy formula are more likely to develop type 1 diabetes. My daughter has 3 boys and two of the boys were given soy formula as infants and both of those boys have type 1 diabetes, the other boy is just fine. There is no history of diabetes in our family. There are so many things out there that really make me wonder what are we doing to ourselves and our pets.

Another one of my pet peeves is artificial sweeteners but that is a different story.

I'm right there with ya on the artificial sweeteners...

Lawsuit
 

Calling the contents of dog/cat food "Human Grade" is the basis beind the big lawsuit that is going on now with Wellness Old Mother Hubbard Pet Foods.
It is misleading the consumers :(

"The law firm of Call, Jensen & Ferrell announce they represent the Plaintiffs in a class action law suit against Old Mother Hubbard Pet Foods and Petco Animal Supplies.

From the complaint: “Defendants have been knowingly and systematically defrauding hundreds of thousands of California consumers by marketing their dry pet food products by falsely representing that the products: (1) contain no animal by-products; (2) are “human grade”; (3) “are the same quality you would feed to your own family.” These claims are manifestly false and misleading.”

“In reality, Defendants’ product contain “chicken meal” and other animal meal – which consists of law quality poultry meat, poultry skin, bones, -- and may include feathers, internal organs, and other viscera. Chicken meal is never suitable for human consumption. Thus, the purchasers of these products have paid a significant premium believing that they are feeding their pets the same quality food that they would feed their family, when in reality they are receiving rendering plant by-products that could never be fed to humans.”"

Wellness Old Mother Hubbard Pet Food law suit announced

This sums it up really well. People are being told that the foods that are "human grade" could actually be okay for a human to eat. It's just not true...

Yes! Prey-model! :)