Perfect! I knew someone would point me in the right direction! I am SO going to look this guy up. :D

The human dentist doesn't tell anyone how to feed their pet. He simply gathers information about most available dog food ingredients and publishes it. It is up to anyone who chooses to use the info to make their own decision.

My original point, which you seem to always miss, was that it is not a terribly complicated issue. If we as humans can feed ourselves without a great deal of study we can also learn how to feed our pets without depending on a multi-billion dollar a year company to do it for us.

You choose to feed your pet whatever you wish. Why must you always denigrate anyone who has a different opinion than yours?

I know of vets that promote commercial dog foods as being the best to feed and I also know vets that promote home preparation of pet food. The subject has endless opinions. Everyone chooses what they think is best. I appreciate the dentist that puts information about pet food ingredients out for public viewing. It isn't rocket science to read ingredient lists and learn what those ingredients actually represent. It is more information than most consumers ever get from a dog food bag. But it is still just information that people can take or leave. Personally, I know a lot of people appreciate learning more about what is actually in what they feed their pets.

And that's what you're wrong about. The dog food advisor DOES tell people what to feed their pets. He does it by selling his lists and by his dog food star ranking system. As far as denigrating others, that would be you in you constant agenda to undermine the good advice vets give to their clients. I am quite sure that your idea of human nutrition is completely different than mine. And yes, humans can feed themselves and they have high obesity and disease rates all the while stuffing themselves with fast food and such. Proper and scientific dog nutrition is more complicated than you make it out to be, and you simply don't even know what you don't know...or you wouldn't be listening to the dentist and his stars and nonsensical web information.

I do believe the dentist's website is free and open to anyone who wants to read it. Yes, he does rate foods according to the quality of the ingredients. Information about ingredients is important to a consumer in order to know what they are buying. If his opinion is that corn is a low value ingredient and someone else feels they want their dog to have corn then they certainly have the right to make that decision. You seem to be against people learning more about what is in dog food. Perhaps your food of choice didn't get a good rating? It does not take a scientist to find the definition of a food ingredient.
Sorry you think that dog nutrition is so much more scientific than human nutrition. Dog's bodies must be so much more complex than the human body!
The health care professionals I work with do send their patients to nutritionists. Yes, doctors send their patients to a person called a nutritionist that has much less education than the health care professional has, especially after they get a patient with diabetes, heart disease, or any of the many food induced diseases people suffer from when they eat processed foods. They then sadly return to the office because the nutritionist advised them to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and prepare healthy meals instead of fast food and products out of a box that they are accustomed to.
Dogs must have highly complex bodies made to exist on highly processed foods filled with preservatives and that can sit on a store shelf for months at a time. No wonder we need multi-billion dollar pet food companies to feed these complicated beings for us They don't need fresh foods at all.:(

Gracie, I feed home cooked and have for 14 years.

There is NO way I will look at ingredients first after seeing all of the recalls that have happened over the years.

I will personally stick with the companies I trust. Ingredients come second. I have said it many times.....all the great ingredients in the world won't help if the wrong company puts them in the bag and/or can.

I don't follow the dentist, but I think someone has mentioned that he has ranked foods high that were recalled.

I do agree now that ingredients come 2nd to me, right after quality control. Me though? I'm still not exactly *comfortable* with feeding a food that has lots of ingredients that I can't pronounce, or things that are unnamed, or any food with more than 1 corn ingredient, more than 1 wheat ingredient, or anything with a bunch of peas. Example: I do like Royal Canin as a company, and I think a lot of dogs do well on it, but the inclusion of the corn gluten meal, corn, white rice, brown rice, wheat, etc all in one formula is a turnoff to me. It also has some pretty high mineral levels. I don't think it's as great as some vets make it out to be and I do think it's over priced.

And while I do believe nutrition as a whole can be/is very complicated, in SOME ways it's almost very simple. The reason, IMO, we as humans have so many obesity issues is simply because of all the food that is available to us. If ALL we had available to us food-wise was 'natural' foods. I have no doubt we'd be healthier as a society.

It's so hard to judge because back then, we also had more problems with disease, so many were dying younger than we do today. I wish there was some definite answer how long dogs lived in the 1700's and 1800's as well. They weren't getting balanced meals, I can tell you that.

I do have a legitimate question - when did dogs start needing these perfectly balanced meals? Obviously, throughout thousands of years, they weren't eating balanced meals, with the proper minerals, proteins, etc and somehow managed to survive. For how long and how healthy I don't know. But I'm just genuinely curious what makes feeding a dog chicken, other meats, and veggies and carbs every day without a supplement make them lack nutrients somehow?

Because he's a DENTIST :rolleyes:

Seriously, I just don't get why anyone would take advice other than to brush and floss from a dentist. There are so many outrageous "home/natural" remedies and cures put out on the internet that people will try. When Al Gore invented the internet he couldn't possibly foreseen all of the consequences of his genius undertaking.

Harping on the fact that he's a dentist is sort of getting old. I don't like the website much, I think he doesn't know enough about dog food/nutrition to hold such a 'highly ranked' site, but I still don't see how him being a dentist changes anything. He COULD be a dentist with a degree in animal nutrition (which, he is not, but I'm just saying... the fact that he's a dentist alone... doesn't make him unqualified right off the bat). And dentists do a lot more than brush and floss your teeth. You act like becoming a dentist is an easy feat.

Brit......of course I know dentists do more than tell clients to brush and floss. But he's created a place that IMO people hold way too high as some type of holy grail of dog food. If you look around just a little there are a lot of complaints about the way the site works, who's allowed to speak about food and so forth. It's really not an unbiased analysis of dog food like he plays it off.

Ask yourself that question. You are the one who is always changing foods for your pup looking for something you think is perfect. I say that with no disrespect...I just don't know why you asked me because I am not one who is out reading labels and listening to people like the DFA.

I am NOT an expert in nutrition and quite frankly have no interest in it. That is why I rely on vets and vet nutritionists to help me make choices for my pups.

I personally think it needs to be said over and over and OVER AGAIN. I know of two stores in this area who sell foods based on his advice. The reason I personally say "the dentist" is to make an impact with people who WILL take the time to look into his credentials. As you pointed out, he has no degree in animal nutrition....people need to know that. I am not saying he is stupid...not saying anything about his qualifications as a dentist.
I simply don't go to my dentist to ask him what to feed my pups. I believe the guy is a master at marketing and that is his motivation in ranking dog foods. Watching that video of his where is is selling his information about dog food clinched it for me.

Again, I will stick with experts in the field of dogs and animal/dog nutrition.

Oh yeah no absolutely. Dog food has always been a hobby of mine, something I like reading about and doing research on. I really need to just be homecooking to be happy to be honest but I admit it's out of pure laziness. So I certainly GET the appeal of commercial dog food and understand it's purpose as I utilize it myself and have spent years seemingly searching for the perfect company only to realize that duh, of course that doesn't exist.

But that wasn't really my point. I wasn't even asking you specifically. Just in general, I am genuinely curious when dogs began suddenly requiring balanced diets. I'd be interested on the history of that is all. Obviously at one point in time, dogs were not getting "balanced" diets. So I'd be curious how healthy they were and what their lifespan was.

And I want to add this.......Would I take dental advice from Dr. Remillard if she started a site to rank toothpaste content for humans. Nope.....because she a Vet nutritionist and not a dentist.

She could also rank the electric toothbrushes and flosses. Heck, she could go crazy and even rank the fluoride rinses.

By reading the ingredients people think they know what there dog should be eating but in reality they don't different foods effect dogs different then they effect humans and different foods are needed for nutrition for dogs then for humans. I don't think every vet promotes commercial dog foods as the best but even if they do I think it would be because they worry about the dog getting the right nutrition others ways or about the dog being safe. I certainly would trust someone who studyed animal nutrition over one who didn't study anything. We as humans don't know what is best for our body's otherwise we wouldnt need to take certain vitamin pills not to mention being overweight is an issue a whole lot of Americans have.

Home cooking hasn't solved all my problems. See Teddy's bladder thread in sick and injured.

*Shrug* We could just say 'this is a man with no degree in anything animal related, no experience in canine or feline nutrition, and his rankings are simply an opinion like anyone else'. The fact that on nearly every page of this thread there has been mocking and jokes about him being a dentist can only be said so many times before it's not funny anymore/gets old. JMO. Not trying to be snarky or anything. It can be said once and be done with it.

Fwiw, I completely agree with you and like to let folks know who may not that this guys website should have NO bearing on their decisions regarding their pups food.

Honestly, home cooking is not that time consuming. I cook for four pups right now and it takes me about 30 minutes each evening to prepare everything. It would be a snap for one pup! You could make it for a week at a time.

I am VERY happy with the diets I am feeding right now. My Armani and Pippi have always had weight issues. They are litter mates and I am convinced it is just a genetic thing...maybe metabolism? I don't know. Anyway...... I found myself having to put them on a diet every year and they hated it. When they would lose weight, I would put them back on regular food and they would gain the weight back. After a few years of this, I did a consult with Dr. Lenox, the vet nutritionist here in my area. She is the same one who had done Cookie's diet and the food that I fed Cookie was so much more in volume than dog food and she loved it....SO I decided to try it for Armani and Pippi. Meal time was always stressful previously...Pippi was stalking other dog bowls for other food and was miserable...I was feeding her less than 1/4 cup of food twice/day...just nothing. Then, I would fill the bowl with green beans and she started hating them. Anyway..........they went on home cooking in January and they have lost the weight and are maintaining now. They are both happy because they have more food than they did and they are not fat!! Makes me happy! :)

As to your question, perhaps someone will have that answer.

Oh I know. I'm not even looking for anything to fix a problem or be the miracle of all miracles. He's actually doing perfectly fine right now. Lol. I think it's just for my peace of mind. Which may be ridiculous but whatever!

And the differences in ANY of the foods I've fed have all been minimal. I'm just a weirdo who pays attention to small things that normal people wouldn't. I am sure he would be perfectly fine eating Purina all of his life. But I guess I want more than fine. With him being a part-time sports dog and just very active in general, I prefer to keep him in the best shape possible and being fueled by what I feel is the best diet possible for him.

I know through the years I've been through so many different opinions and foods. I guess you could call it an odd hobby. These forums used to make me crazy. All the different fads, what one person would start feeding, lol. Honestly 90% of the foods I fed in the early days I wouldn't touch now. I think I've finally found 'the' food with Farmina. Homecooking isn't out of the question still. It's just a matter of me biting the bullet.

There is also Rayne Clinical Nutrition. They are willing to make Winston's diet for me in peel and serve shelf-stable packets. I don't know the cost, it may be higher than I can do here but there is a value in having some shelf stable stuff around. Dr Remillard told me about the company and said if I send in the diet she made for Winston they can make it. He is eating the $25 diet "beef and peas" which is a high protein and moderate fat diet. He does awesome on it. He lost weight and he stopped biting his feet.

That's great!! To be honest one of the things I worry about is gaining weight. He's almost perfect right now. So it would be tricky to get the amounts to feed right. lol. I mean he would get fat if he was eating more than 1/2 cup per day of kibble. He's 17lbs and active. I have seen smaller dogs who get fed more than this! I guess it's just metabolism like you said. He does get some wet food too though.

I did look at a lot of the diets on the BalanceIt website. I worry about him just eating around the carb source LOL. Even when I use canned food, if there's peas in it, or any kind of vegetable, he typically leaves it in the bowl. No idea how he does it but he does. I mix it so well with the kibble. haha

It is not tricky for a vet nutritionist. I have no more weight issues with them and they get more food than they did previously.

Cookie also eats a lot of food and does not gain weight, not to mention the fact that it has kept her IBD and lymphangectasia controlled.

George's weight is also perfect. I don't have to do a thing but follow the recipes. No thinking at all...I love it and wish I could do it for all of them!

like this? :eek:

Home cooking is really not that hard before i had tried home cooking with Callie I had only ever done deviled eggs, pancakes and cakes. I asked a few questions and made two weeks worth each time it was really easy. Callie just didn't take to it and I was not comfortable starving her to force her to eat it because of her sugar issues and the fact she is the to stubborn for that. I'm testing her tastes ocasionally to see if she likes certain things because I do plan to try again. So I had to find a food I wanted and felt comfortable with for Callie. I knew a lot of people trusted and like royal Canin and I respected a few of these people so I looked it up and I liked the research they put into the food and through searching I saw a review from someone who worked at royal Canin for a few years and said stuff I really liked. Considering they have vets on staff they certainly know more about what my dog needs then me. These ingredients people like to call bad seem to work great for thousands of dogs so who am I to say my dog dosent need them. I bought my first bag and my extremely picky princess loved it and will even go to her bowl on her own and eat some. No break outs which has happened with a lot of holistic foods, no it itchiness, and she is doing great. We are halfway through our second bag.

You could do an all meat diet and use the BalanceIt carnivore blends. Dr Remillard also has an all meat chicken diet for $25.

Here's Dr Delaney making carnivore blend for his dog Billie.

He's kinda hot....wonder if he'd come over and cook for me :p


Maybe he'd even wear that apron ;)

I was going to do this but I thought I recalled someone on here telling me it wasn't advisable. But this would certainly be the easiest and Jackson would LOVE it.

All jokes aside regarding Dr. Delaney. You should just shoot him an email and ask him about the product. I'm sure he would be willing to answer your questions.