Our Airedale ate Purina with a spoonful of Alpo for every meal and lived to be 19. We could count the number of times she got anything else. No table scraps or meat scraps.

It will be interesting to me to see in another 10 - 15 years how dogs fare with various food brands and changes in feeding philosophies.

I heard long ago that dog food is marketed to make the humans think it would be good for THEM to be eating....hense, all those sumptious "gravies" and "stews" and "porterhouse flavored buffets", and that drivces them to buy what THEY think their dog would enjoy!.....when I was a kid, there was only Dog Chow by Purina and my dogs did fine on that....then I remember Gravy Train....did fine on that....lived very long lives, over 12 years old.......then I got into my teens and got into Chihuahuas...and we fed them boiled chicken, rice, and fpr the first time, we added table scraps....and my 3 Chis lived each 12, 14, 1nd 15 years old....and I do NOT remember all the teeth issues with ANY of my dogs growing up that we see now.....I remember canned dog food, Alpo....remember I did not like the smell or consistancy of poo with canned food so I switched to something in a plastic package you tear open....looked like raw ground hamburger meat....it smelled like some kind of chemical to me so I switched off that.....when I was first made aware of Royal Canin way back in 1976, I was amazed that a dog food company actually marketed their food based on nutritional science and not marketed towards what owners want to hear.....that impressed me, so I investigated it, researched the company, had a relative that lived in France that was actually familiar with the plant there and toured it....and I started feeding RC to my dogs back around 1978-80....and have used it ever since. I have been fortunate and never had any issues with this food...no rashes, no itching, no vomiting, no diarrhea caused by the RC....I almost killed a litter of puppies when I thought I would use a raw diet to wean my babies from mother to kibble.....that has been the only time I deviated from my RC and it almost cost me a litter....

I think genetics plays a bigger role than food as long as the food is balanced and its not table scraps which usually have alot of fat

Yes, you've summarized the magnitude of research out there into one sentence, good job! Being overweight is the number one predictor of poor health and illnesses. So no matter what food, make sure it's not too much for your dog.

I agree 100%....although I don't feed raw even though I have read about the benefits of it. ;)

Because you were referring to "Beniful" and that's only one product from Purina. I'm not one to prejudice a whole company based on only one of their products. I read the Little Bites bag and it no where did it say "Beniful"... so it's a different product. The bag is also market driven with well laid out selling points on the quality of the food... enough to get me to buy it temporarily. I also mentioned this isn't about economics, but the results of other foods with a lesser price tag possibly being good and nutritious as well.

==========================================

I got off the phone with my local Royal Canin dealer asking if they had bigger bags than just the 10 lbs and they said no. The Royal Canin YT 28 costs me about $55/month and to take care of my Yorkies for that and trusting the brand, I'm good with that. Cheap price for piece of mind and believing in the results.

Thank you all for your replies. Many of you share my same thoughts about wanting to feed our babies the best we can get them.

Matthias

Actually two of Purina products have killed dogs. But the waggin train chicken jerky should show you Purina does not care about the dogs that eat there food so god knows what they do to the food that does not have to be on the label or the low quality things they do use to make more money.

I think many things go into it, but diet can play a major part. It is not so much about ingredient, but more about how the food is used as a whole.

this is E's lab work from last year. A bit hard toreadthough... Pretty good for an old goat. The glucosewas up due to stress and the BUN ratio is considered ok in this case. Results are even better this year. I credit Ourina for soe of this. That is not to say I'd go buy a bag of Beneful either... Seeing how so many dogs thrive on certain rx kibbles and they can control disease it clearly can be a huge factor. Perhaps dogs lived to be 15+ bc these dreaded companies were doing something right...

Test Results CBC
WBC 7.2
RBC 7.5
HGB 17.4
HCT 53
MCV 71
MCH 23.3 MCHC 33 Platelet Count 309 Platelet Est Adequate Differential Absolute
Neutrophils 5112
Lymphocytes 1512
Monocytes 360
Eosinophils 216
Basophils 0
Wellness Chemistries
Total Protein 5.8
Albumin 3.5
Globulin 2.3
A/G Ratio 1.5
ALT (SGPT) 30
Alk Phosphatase 51
BUN 28
Creatinine 0.8
BUN/Creatinine Ratio 35
Glucose 146
Potassium 4.9
Adult Reference Range
4.0-15.5 103/μL
4.8-9.3 106/μL
12.1-20.3 g/dL
36-60 %
58-79 fL
19-28 pg
30-38 g/dL
170-400 103/μL
71 2060-10600 /μL
21 690-4500 /μL
L
%
5
3
0
0-840 /μL
0-1200 /μL
0-150 /μL
5.0-7.4 g/dL
2.7-4.4 g/dL
1.6-3.6 g/dL
0.8-2.0
12-118 IU/L
5-131 IU/L
6-31 mg/dL
0.5-1.6 mg/dL
4-27 HIGH
70-138 mg/dL HIGH
3.6-5.5 mEq/L

Comment
Hemolysis 1+ No significant interference.

Lovetodream88,

I agree. Companies are quick to point out the positives, but almost always "neglect" to put light on any neg's about their products!

=========================

Ellie May,

Thank you Dear for your additional comments. It's hard to argue facts sometimes!

=========================

To ALL who have replied and read, there is one factor that comes into play that is often hard to quantify that no one has mentioned....

LOVE!

Yes, love, a Spiritual factor I firmly believe that our babies receive plays a major part in their health and longevity. I love my babies as if they are my own blood children. I find my babies ARE my children!... and they receive and deserve as much love as I can give them!

Health, diet, exercise and LOVE all play a role in our babies' future!

Thank you all for your input, ideas, opinions and replies.

Matthias

Well we had two family dogs I grew up with who only got puppy shots and were never treated with spot on treatment or even heart worm prevention ( I do not recommend any of that) who were feed Purina there whole lives most beniful and both died of cancer that added with the fact they did not care that there chicken jerky was killing dogs for many years and the other stories of beniful making dogs sick is all I need to stay very far away from them.

RC is giving my dogs beautiful costs also. As for Purina, my dog is going on 13, has been sickly since age 8 weeks and due to Purina and lots of love and great veterinary care she too has great bloodwork. I think it's important to look at facts like these. I don't claim to know it all, and I don't preach to others. But my vet cannot tell when I walk into the room which one is the 4 year old and which one is the 12 year old. And it's not just about looks - I've reversed kidney and liver disease over here and have severe allergies under control. Had I resisted Purina or listened to hype, my dog would be dead. Oh and she doesn't have cancer either.

I read labels and want to feed my Yorkies the best food for their health. I have no guarantee that this will let them live longer. I just know in my heart I am doing the best I can for them. I research the flea and tick meds and am trying to make a wise decision. Do all you know how to do for health. I don't smoke because I know it is not healthy at all. I walk every day. Now, I don't know why I had cancer. I was always in great shape and health. Today I am strong and thankful for every day I can hug my family and my dog. Some things in life we cannot control. I just do my best to make wise choices. I do believe some dog food is terrible, read the labels.

Prescription food goes through different stuff then the regular food and its not hype it's facts.

..but the RC she uses is generally not RC and it has positive benefits that may be a contributing factor to lifespan.

I'm confused?