Consumer Reports rates Ol' Roy as 'the Best Deal'

[BonBon]

I have NOT seen the article in August 2011 issue of Consumer Reports yet myself, but this headline really got my attention:

Consumer Reports Calls Walmart?s Ol? Roy the ?Best Deal?? Oh, Really?

[Nancy1999]

Oh wow, I'm a little disappointed in Consumer Reports, it doesn't sound like they didn't their homework on this one. The problem is when scientists are studying the difference between one diet over another, there is usually very little difference in overall health and longevity, unless the diet is REALLY bad, and especially if it has caused a weight problem. Obesity can easily be shown to be related to health problems, but there's no diet that can be shown to be related to health and longevity. I mean we do know minimum guidelines, but we don’t know much more. Hereditary factors play into it too much, and a dog eating Ole Roy may live a much longer healthier life than one eating a 5 star food. Dogs with allergies and illness do benefit from a specialized diet. It hard to really study casually because many people who feed super premium foods to their pets, go ahead and give them cheese puffs, and other human processed foods, but don’t want to admit it. Then of course we have all these people who don’t want to have anything to do with a dog food company who does experiments on dogs. Personally I think almost any dog food we buy is so much healthier than the food 30 years ago, when they were making foods with so much dye,and other ingredients that made them look appealing to humans.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Personally I think almost any dog food we buy is so much healthier than the food 30 years ago, when they were making foods with so much dye,and other ingredients that made them look appealing to humans.

I kind of think dog food is more "dangerous" now than it used to be. But I have to leave the house so will explain my thoughts later.

[BonBon]

Here's the article. Don't pay a premium for 'premium' pet food

It does in fact seem that their rating is based completely on the price of the food when they say "the best deal we saw on dry dog food was a 50-pound bag of Ol' Roy at Walmart with a unit price of 34 cents per pound. At the higher end of the price range was a 4.5-pound bag of Purina Chef Michael's Rotisserie Chicken flavor, at PetSmart for $2.22 a pound—more than six times as much."

They could have named just about any other food and it wouldn't have blipped my radar....but COME ON!! Ol' Roy??

Oh man, I just saw where they consulted with and quoted a vet/small animal nutritionist in this article. She's the assistant dean at a veterinary college. Now that's discouraging.

[DvlshAngel985]

I trust Consumer Reports to tell me detailed specs about my camera (which I bought on their recommendation, LOVE IT) I expect them to tell me what laptop fits my needs best and is not that expensive, (also LOVE IT) I might even turn to them when searching for a new bed. But when it comes down to food, I wouldn't listen to them anyway.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by BonBon

Here's the article. Don't pay a premium for 'premium' pet food

It does in fact seem that their rating is based completely on the price of the food when they say "the best deal we saw on dry dog food was a 50-pound bag of Ol' Roy at Walmart with a unit price of 34 cents per pound. At the higher end of the price range was a 4.5-pound bag of Purina Chef Michael's Rotisserie Chicken flavor, at PetSmart for $2.22 a pound—more than six times as much."

They could have named just about any other food and it wouldn't have blipped my radar....but COME ON!! Ol' Roy??

Oh man, I just saw where they consulted with and quoted a vet/small animal nutritionist in this article. She's the assistant dean at a veterinary college. Now that's discouraging.

Parts of the article I agree with:

Pet foods might be similar in nutritional content, but their prices can vary widely. When we comparison shopped at five national chains and one supermarket in the San Francisco Bay area, the best deal we saw on dry dog food was a 50-pound bag of Ol' Roy at Walmart with a unit price of 34 cents per pound. At the higher end of the price range was a 4.5-pound bag of Purina Chef Michael's Rotisserie Chicken flavor, at PetSmart for $2.22 a pound—more than six times as much.

I haven't checked out the ingrediants, but they might be nutrionally similar. Spending more doesn't always mean better food. I'd rather people fee Ol' Roy than table scraps.

Also, this isn't bad:

Some other ways to save
Hit the big-box stores. Earlier this year, we sent 21 secret shoppers around the country in search of the same list of pet-food brands and package weights. Target and Walmart had the lowest prices most of the time, cheaper than supermarkets and specialty retailers Petco and PetSmart. You'll often save by buying the biggest bag you can carry, but check the per-pound price to make sure.
Forget about buying pet food online. Our comparison found it about 50 percent more expensive on average than Target or Walmart—before shipping costs.
Consider store and private-label brands. Among the least expensive pet foods we found were Costco's Kirkland Signature, PetSmart's Grreat Choice, Safeway's store brand, and Walmart's Ol' Roy. If you're switching foods, gradually offer more of the new brand along with the current one to give your pet some time to adjust.

Some people do need to cut back and I'd rather have them doing this than dumping their pets.

Some of their advice is good:

Pets with problems such as sensitive skin, digestive difficulties, or obesity might do better on special types of food, so talk with your vet. Even in those cases you're likely to find significant price differences among equally appropriate foods.

Since Yorkies are known for their digestive system being their downfall, I think it makes sense for yorkie owners to be a little more dilgent than other breeds' pet owners in finding a suitable food.

[lil fu fu girl]

I agree with many of the other posters. It sounds like they are strictly speaking about the "best deal" as in the "best price" per pound, without consulting whether the food is of a human grade or barrel scraps. I barely read, let alone put stock into anything that is put out by non-scientific authors. This past year alone, one of the big consumer companies posted on Comcast.net that cucumbers were a waste of space in a salad containing no valuable nutrients. Any first year nutritionist knows the complex nutrients that cucumbers offer. Which begs the question why?
Right now, many people who are in the field are afraid the the Codex Alimentarius is being directly influenced by uneducated governmental sources, but that is another battle.

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

I trust Consumer Reports to tell me detailed specs about my camera (which I bought on their recommendation, LOVE IT) I expect them to tell me what laptop fits my needs best and is not that expensive, (also LOVE IT) I might even turn to them when searching for a new bed. But when it comes down to food, I wouldn't listen to them anyway.

I didn't even know they reviewed pet food.

I've always respected their opinions and have based several purchases on their reviews over the years.

It just saddens me that they spend time and money to do actual research and testing on items like electronics so that they can make educated, informed reviews - but they can't be bothered to even consider what goes into our pets bodies every day.

I'm not saying I would have followed their food recommendation no matter what it was, but their backing of Ol' Roy has cost them my respect.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by BonBon

I didn't even know they reviewed pet food.

I've always respected their opinions and have based several purchases on their reviews over the years.

It just saddens me that they spend time and money to do actual research and testing on items like electronics so that they can make educated, informed reviews - but they can't be bothered to even consider what goes into our pets bodies every day.

I'm not saying I would have followed their food recommendation no matter what it was, but their backing of Ol' Roy has cost them my respect.

It would be impossible for them to really review food like the do a camera. I mean they could test to see how much certain dogs seem to like it, but what would that tell consumers? Testing food has to be done over a long period of tme, and then scientific testing needs to be done on the animal. I do agree the article seems a little irresponsible, making it sound like there's no difference in quality, so you might as well get the best deal you can, but we yorkie owners know better!

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

It would be impossible for them to really review food like the do a camera. I mean they could test to see how much certain dogs seem to like it, but what would that tell consumers? Testing food has to be done over a long period of tme, and then scientific testing needs to be done on the animal. I do agree the article seems a little irresponsible, making it sound like there's no difference in quality, so you might as well get the best deal you can, but we yorkie owners know better!

You make very good points and I agree.

My suggestion for them (should they ever ask me ) would be to not post recommendations on products that they're not more fully informed on. Since they aren't likely to be calling me anytime soon, I'm going to quit fretting over what I can't change.

Thank you for making me feel better!

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by BonBon

You make very good points and I agree.

My suggestion for them (should they ever ask me ) would be to not post recommendations on products that they're not more fully informed on. Since they aren't likely to be calling me anytime soon, I'm going to quit fretting over what I can't change.

Thank you for making me feel better!

Lol, now that you feel better you may not want to read their article on comparison shopping for vet care, it tells of one man who saved $2000 on emergency surgery! Why to comparison shop for your pet's veterinary care

[BonBon]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Lol, now that you feel better you may not want to read their article on comparison shopping for vet care, it tells of one man who saved $2000 on emergency surgery! Why to comparison shop for your pet's veterinary care

Grrr! I bet he wouldn't have waited for surgery if HE had been the one to swallow metal staples.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by BonBon

Grrr! I bet he wouldn't have waited for surgery if HE had been the one to swallow metal staples.

I know and it was a yorkie too.