Dissecting Kibble
 

Someone posted this website link awhile back, sorry, can't remember who it was...just wanted to thank you!

I was looking through here: PET FOOD INGREDIENTS | WHAT IS REALLY IN YOUR DOG’S FOOD?

& find some of the ingredients in the kibble I'm feeding very questionable! I need to go over the probiotics info when I have time, but it's not considered a good thing?:confused: The endless search for kibble goes on...maybe I should just home cook for them, it's only for breakfast since they get Honest Kitchen for dinner.

Here's what Mimi & Momo gets for breakfast, I have red bolded the questionable ingredients. I have emailed the company about what exactly is 'natural flavors'? (haven't heard back from them yet as it's the weekend) According to the dog press, it's MSG!:thumbdown I am so shocked & disappointed that I'm feeding them this, I myself can't handle MSG, just a little will give me vienna sausage fingers, make me sleepy & feeling lethargic. Are they also splitting the meat ingredients? Tomato Pomace was a questionable ingredient according to dog food analysis.com.

Darford Zero/G Turkey & Chicken
Dog Food & Treats | Darford Pet Food
Ingredients

Turkey, Chicken, Chicken Meal (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols), Turkey Meal (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols), Peas, Buckwheat†, Lentils Chickpeas, Pea Starch, Flax Seed, Poultry Fat (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols), Brewer’s Yeast, Mysis Shrimp, Salmon Meal (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sunflower Oil, Tomato Pomace, Alfalfa, Natural Flavors, DL-Methionine, Vitamins (DL-Alpha Tocopherol (source of Vitamin E), Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid) Salt, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Iron Proteinate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulphate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate), Kelp, Chicory Root, Probiotics: Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Rosehips, Blueberries, Bilberries,Rosemary Extract.

Too many legumes in there for my liking. I don't have a problem with the highlighted ingredients. Also you should know buckwheat is highly allergenic to some.

oh great about the legumes & buckwheat:rolleyes: Princess & Turbo is on Horizon Pulsar Fish Formula & that food is also full of legumes. aye aye aye, there is no suitable kibble :( I don't even cook for myself lolll but am seriously thinking of home cooking for them. Thank You for your input.

What scares me is the additives...they sound okay until you realize two are also asphalt ingredients...scares me.

GMOs in general blow my mind, and the base of many of these are gmo grains suddenly meat byproducts are not yhe icky part to me.

The chicory root aids digestion.
Rosemary is used as a natural preservative, however it's been shown to cause seizures in humans, so I would want to know how much is being used.
Alfalfa is a natural antioxidant and can aid in hip and joint pain from inflammation. It has a lot of nutrients in it and is beneficial. (I actually take alfalfa and chylorpyll to raise my hgb)
Vitamin D is something we all benefit from-it helps the intestines absorb calcium. I would not use a fish Liver oil (cod or tuna) or other vitamin d supplements if my commercial food contains vitamin d as you can overdose on it. It is fat soluble, meaning it's stored in the liver.
Flax seed is a excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for skin and coat. It's better if used fresh.
Salmon meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than even fresh salmon. It is particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Brewer’s yeast is the yeast that’s left over from making alcohol. Dogs seem to like the taste, so it's used for flavor. It’s full of B vitamins which are good for skin, coat, and carbohydrate metabolism.

One of the problems some dogs have had with flax seed is it can cause diarrhea. Flax seed oil is great. It is the seeds that can cause problems. A lot of grain free foods have started using a large amount of peas in their foods. They have been found to cause some allergic reactions. Itching mostly. The longer the ingredient list = higher risk of reaction. Tomato pomace is kind of the throw away part of the tomato and is thought to be used more as a filler than anything else.

Rosemary extract is not seen to cause seizures in human s...

Rosemary in any form is a possible seizure trigger for epileptics, of any species.

First thing we did here was remove rosemary bush in the uard for Elvis.

Rosemary oil extract specifically is used as as a natural preservative, in foods for both people and dogs as well as other products like Yorkie Splash &Shine Shampoo and wen.

I wouldn't be concerned w/ most of the ingreds highlighted....except for flax - which I think is terrible for allergy dogs - and anyway fish oil is a better source for most dogs, imo; and the legumes is a little much in terms of digestive difficulties.

I like probios for dogs, a lot (as I do for humans too...with all the crap we eat and put our GI through; no different for doggies).

The salmon meal *could* be a concern if it's farm raised. In that case, you may want to consider a rotation diet to break up the fish.

Rosemary can cause probs in certain situations, and people sometimes get super riled up about it. Personally, I'd prefer a natural preservative like Rosemary vs something synthetic.

I think the site you linked to could be helpful in terms of learning about ingreds (taken w/ somewhat of a grain of salt)...but gosh, I can't figure out what the heck she recommends we feed if she thinks every ingred is a killer, ya know? I can't find a link on her site that says "What you SHOULD feed" - so that makes me wonder what the site is really about.

Are your kiddos doing well on this food? Or, are you hoping to change?

I'm mainly having issues w/Princess & Momo...it's hard to figure out what is exactly causing their soft poo @ the end bc they're both on different kibbles. I try not to give them any treats, but have been giving them some sweet potatoes that I oven bake myself. Also been experimenting (loll) w/ nature's variety medallions & ziwi peak...only Mimi & Turbo can handle it.

I guess the saying 'don't believe everything you read on the internet' applies here. I thought probiotics was a good thing too. It can be so many other things (alone or combined) in their kibble that's contributing to the soft poo @ the end. Princess has also been itching alot & both kibble has peas & flax in it, so we're def researching for another kibble. I know that THK (that doesn't have added probiotics, so that could be it too) for dinner is producing nice firm #2's so I have no worries there.

Home cooking seems to the BEST option...the only problem is that I just need to do it!:D

The whole kibble thing has had me about nuts researching and reading ingredient lists. I feed Gracie Stella & Chewy's frozen raw and she does great on it but I would love to have a good kibble I could give her when we travel. I don't like how so many of the grain free brands are using so much white potato. I guess it is for bulk because there is not a lot of nutritional value to white potatoes for a dog and they do cause itching in some. So now they are using peas and/or tapioca which Gracie can eat but I don't like it when they use one particular vegetable in such large quantities. That is when they can really cause problems. The seeds did cause loose stools when we had them in the Primal we tried. I don't know that the perfect kibble has been created yet but I keep watching for it.

The author of the site reccomends home repared foods be it raw or cooked, but I think her purpose offer this was just to promote awareness.

I definitely think that you cannot believe everything you read on the internet. I'm constantly amazed at how many people are so willing to follow the advice of laypeople with zero credentials or training. It's like people become sheep when they read these sites.

Home cooking really isn't as bad as people think. I have home cooked now for 12 years for dogs, and I use some kibble intermittently for convenience purposes. I started out with a much more involved approach than I use now. I am not into 50 million ingredients. I need a diet that is simple with commonly available and economically affordable ingredients.

Home cooking may be a way for you to nail down what your dogs can tolerate.

That sounds really frustrating, ugh. I suppose they've had fecals...don't know if that would tell you anything unless they had a bug.

Have they always had soft poo? If no, when did it start...and did it start around a food change or around anything else?

One thing I'd suggest giving a try...cheap and easy....is to give Benebac (powder or paste) for about a week to each of them, and see if anything is different.

Also may be worth trying HK for both meals for a couple weeks (after you do the Benebac thing - or, do the food trial first...see what changes...and then do the Benebac if the food trial shows nothing).

For travel, have you tried freeze dried raw? It works beautifully. You can give it crumbled and dry - or crumbled and moistened. It's super light weight, so great for travel.

Maybe this isnt safe but could supplimenting a lil canned pumpkin regularly aid loose stools?

I know its magical for the runs at times but I dont know if its okay regularly or if it fits your furkids dietary needs.

Yes, actually I started her out on the freeze dried. She really loves it. The frozen raw has worked better for day to day feeding as she always seems hungry when I only feed her the freeze dried. According to their feeding guide she is supposed to get 2.5 chicken patties a day but I swear whe would eat 6 if I gave them to her.