Well, no need for me to worry about the Blue Buffalo dry. Mr. Persnickety spit it out and looked at me like I was crazy. He ate the canned puppy formula with no problem. Looks like I'll be checking out the Earthborn after all, or just sticking with the Royal Canin, even though I'd like to offer him a little bit of variety.

When I looked at the Earthborn site, I noticed that their ingredient list includes 3 kinds of pea protein in the first 10 ingredients?

The named meat meals like chicken, salmon, duck, etc. are good!
It's the mystery 'meat & bone' meal that you need to look out for. It can come form rendered 4D Meats, the Dead, Dying, Diseased & Disabled. I would also avoid non specified meat oils & fat, like 'fish oil' & 'poultry fat', there's also 'natural flavors' & 'animal digest'.

To give an example, this is Kibbles & Bit's Homestyle Chicken ingredients. BHA is known to cause cancer BHA... a Time Bomb in Dog Food? & propylene glycol is a chemical used in antifreeze! Propylene Glycol - Dog Food Aid or Automotive Antifreeze?

Corn, soybean meal, meat & bone meal, ground wheat, animal fat (BHA used as preservative), corn syrup, water sufficient for processing, wheat middlings, animal digest (source of roasted flavor), propylene glycol, soy protein concentrate, salt, hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, chicken, caramel color, vegetable blend (peas, carrots & green beans), sorbic acid (used as a preservative), titanium dioxide (color), sodium carbonate, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacin supplement, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), choline chloride, calcium sulfate, sodium bisulfate, yellow 6, yellow 5, BHA (used as a preservative), red 40, DL-methionine.

I take this to mean any meat listed as meal?



Meat Meal. AAFCO defines meat meal significantly different than meat. Though the ingredient name implies it should be ‘meat’ moisture removed and the definition of ‘meat’ is muscle tissue – meat meal can include almost any part of mammal tissue excluding blood, hair, hide, manure, stomach and contents of. As well, ‘meat’ by definition is sourced from slaughtered mammals, meat meal does not have this specification. In other words, by its official definition, this ingredient can include animals that have died prior to slaughter (illegal per federal law for human and animal foods – such as euthanized animals and/or animals that have died in the field). This ingredient is listed on pet food labels with the species descriptor – such as beef meal, venison meal, and so on.

This ingredient could consist of a high level of bone. There is some science that links high levels of bone in meat meal ingredients to bone cancer. Click Here to learn more.

Meat meal ingredients would be a quality ingredient if sourced from a USDA inspected and approved animal.

Questions to ask the pet food manufacturer about their meat meal ingredient…
1. Is the meat used in the meal ingredient USDA inspected and approved? (Make certain they respond to ‘approved’ – many manufacturers will state something like ‘Our chicken comes from USDA inspected facilities’. This does not answer your question. Rejected for use in human food chicken ‘comes from USDA inspected facilities’.)
2. Does the meal include bone?

Since Earthborn sends samples, you can try it & see if Sam does well on it. The most important thing is that Sam needs to like it!
It is a pea heavy food like Brit explained & I personally would not use it or any other food that probably has more peas in it than actual said meat. That's just my personal choice.

Yes, it's listed in the ingredient as 'meat', like the ingredient I posted above of kibble & bits, it says 'meat & bone meal'...it comes from rendering 4D meats, euthanized, slaughtered, farm animals, zoo animals...

Now I'm not sure about the venison meal & other named meat meals & if the meal has bone in it.:eek: This is what Canine Caviar says about their venison meat (this is what I feed my guys): http://www.caninecaviar.com/glossary/venison-meal/

Just linked it bc it won't let me copy. I guess the best thing to do is contact the company & ask...& see what they say.

Kibbles and Bits looks like it has everything in it that is BAD! Terrible food, and I am not ashamed to state that here!! It is getting increasingly difficult to find a 'perfect' food that had nothing bad in it. Apart from the few good foods remaining, we then get the recalls in foods that were thought to be good. Perhaps we have to either cook our own food or be happy to pay a lot extra for a really great dog food with excellent quality control. Dog food now is so relatively inexpensive, even the good foods, so I guess manufacturers are very price conscious? Until something bad is revealed we do our best to research food and hope our pets will eat what we choose??

Wow great read. Thanks for sharing

Does anyone subscribe to the Petsumer Report?

No, did not know it existed. Thanks for the info.

I've been using Earthborn for small breed for at least two years. My Hardy had very dry flakey skin, and the omegas in it helped his coat, and it is shiny and beautiful! I have 4 fluffs, and they all love it!