Natural organic dog food
 

I have been doing a lot of research and found that most commercial dog food has a lot of preservatives in it, chemicals and fillers that you really don't want your dog to eat. Bad things. Here are two really good articles you can read about it.

http://www.belfield.com/article3.html
http://www.wholisticanimal.com/commercialfood.html

So anyway, I've decided that since I like to eat healthy food, I'm going to let my yorkie try it. I ordered several samples off the internet and went to a specialty dog food store here in town and got several samples and brought them home. I tried them as treats first, then I put some in individual dishes to let her try them. She couldn't get enough! In particular, Karma by Natura dog foods - all of the ingredients are certified organic and of the highest quality. All of the meat is free range. I haven't fully switched her over yet, but am in the switching process. I'm buying all natural dog treats, which she loves -- and her coat is shinier, she's more playful -- I can definitely see a difference when eats this stuff. Its a tid bit more expensive, but I think its definitely worth it to have a happy healthy pet!! There are a few other organic dog foods under different brand names, and if you are interested in this, do some research and try out some natural or organic dog food to see how your dog likes it!!

Rachel

Hi Rachel,

What's the Brand name of this dog food?

good luck. i feel the same way. i eat organic and i wish romeo would too. he eats royal canin yorkie formula. it's supposed to be the best in petsmart. i can't get him to eat organic. he picks out all the royal canin and leaves the organic behind.

The stuff that Glory likes to eat is Karma by Natura dog foods - here is their website -- http://www.karmaorganic.com/ They will send you free literature about their food and a free sample too! I def recommend

Rachel

That's interesting -- its no secret that every Yorkie's picky eating habits differ from pup to pup!!! :)

bunjee liked karma organic, but after the first few kibbles, he's not as hot on it as he was the first time i tried it on him. besides, the kibbles only come in one size and it's kinda big for a small dog. there are other brands that had organic ingredients.

The following has at least 70% organic ingredients (not 95% min like karma organic tho):
Organix by Castor & Pollux
Organic formulas by Newman's Own
Organic formulas by Natural Balance

Petguard Organic Vegetarian is 95% organic
Wenaewe is 98% organic

Toto loves food from The Honest Kitchen ... it's human grade food! Don't know if this link works, but if you want to learn about it, here it is! ;)

http://www.littleshopofterrors.citym...age/537956.htm

Rachel, I don't see the ratio of each ingredient that they use in their food? Do you have it?

Thank you for telling me about these other foods! I know the peices are kind of big, but if you put one between your index finger and thumb and squeeze, you will see it crushes really easily. LOL .. Glory is only 7 mos and she has no problem! :) I will definitely check out those other foods. I have organic dog treats from Castor and Pollux -- I didn't know they make dog food. Thanks!

Hey LivingDustmops! In their brochure, which is very very informative, here is their guaranteed analysis chart :
Crude Protein, min .. 20%
Cude Fat, min .. 12%
Crude Fiber, max .. 3.0%
Moisture, max .. 10%

Right now, Glory is on Purina Puppy Chow and here is there little chart thing:

Crude Protein, min. 27%
Crude fat, Min.. 12%
Crude Fiber, max .. 4.0%
Moisture, max .. 14%

________________

I called and asked Glory's breeder about difference in protein, and she said that 20% protein is okay for an adult Yorkie, but a puppy under 1 year should stay on the higher protein ratio, which I will do. I will definitely wait until she is a year old to switch her. I didn't realize that before.

Also, I looked at the ingredient list for my Purina Puppy Chow and pointed out the different meat sources for that food and this is what I found :
"Chicken By-product, Preserved animal fat, meat and bone meal, animal digest" What the hell is animal digest?? Whatever it is I don't my baby eating it.

Wow! This is awesome! Thanks for the link!! I want to order some today!

Rachel

Honest Kitchen has some organic ingredients, the meat is human grade like Innova kibbles and Flint River Ranch, but not free-range. So although the ingredients are "human grade", it's not considered "organic". Even so, it is great. I got some samples and Bunjee loves it. You can actually see the little chunks of meat and veggies in it.

i think it's a little cheaper directly from honest kitchen's website. http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/

Hunniebunnie, thanks for the tip!! Human grade would be okay for me. I definitely don't want to be one of those hippy people that refuse to eat just free range meat or only organic food that make me look strange. LOL -- I have to admit that I definitely LOVE my Tyson chicken legs! :) Plus, deciding to go 100% organic and free range would be a very VERY expensive life style (change). At our natural supermarket over here, free range meat can be as expensive as $20 per lb. $20 can buy me a lot of "regular" meat if you know what I mean. And maybe, if it were just me, I would consider that, but I when there are two mouths feed and you get paid every two weeks .. being a little less health conscience is a.o.k.! :)

This will shock you :eek:

http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1

to me, going organic and free-range is just a health conscience thing, but also statement for more humane treatment of animals even if they are being used in food production (conventional farming is not pretty for the animals involved). but you're right, going 100% organic and free-range is definitely an expensive lifestyle change not to mention it's not readily available everywhere!

I'm so glad we have such a variety of food options in the feeding of our pets though. In the long run, feeding them healthy foods will improve their health, well being, and keep them with us longer than foods with mystery ingredients like "animal digest " and "digest of meat by-products"!

Ew ew ew ew ew ew .. That is crazy. I wish all doggie owners would do a little bit of research of their own. That is a really awesome article! Thank you for sharing!!

yorkie eating food
 

HI!!!
I am actually looking for better dog food.
Also my dog seem unable to eat most dog dry food, making him sick & have rashes.
So far only food he is able to eat the blue buffalo dry food, with salmon & sweet potato flavor.
ALSO....if i give him organic bone with marrow meat in it, he REFUSE to touch it!!! but if i take marrow off first, remove all meat off from organic bone, then he will touch it. other day i did testing. I gave him special veg bone and meat bone. he immeditaly went to veg bone ones!
AND my yorkie actually will eat my veggies out my garden!!!! I often caught him eating my cucumbers!!!
People actually b****ed at me, why i give my dog organic bone, this and that, and why I am raising my dog that way, blah blah. I simply say, I want my dog to be healthy, very activity, and happy.

I actually make homemade sweet potato dried, its very easy to make! Also Sam (my dog name) refuse to eat any treats that are meat flavored too! So I have to look hard to find fruit or veggie treats. He will only eat organics one tho. Kind strange I admit. But same time its good because organic food is healthier tho.

Here is the latest skinny on what my pack is eating and doing great on:

- Natures Domain Grain-Free Salmon and Sweet Potato (purchased at Costco...FoodAdvisor ranked it 4 out of 5 stars)
- RAW diet (always 100% monitored during meal time)

If my pack had their way, they would be 100% on RAW but so far they're only 50/50.

Hair, skin, teeth, and energy level are great and they're just so spunky and happy. :)

Natural Balance also has an Organic dog food...
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Organic Formulas Dry Dog Food
I have not used it but I know I saw someone here on YT who does.

Organic and human grade aren't legally defined terms in the pet food industry, so we have no clear answer about just what they means when they describe a product this way. Even arsenic is organic (so not all organic things are healthy)... Some companies are using some very good marketing techniques.

"Human grade" has more to do with how the food was handled than the perceived "quality" of the food. For example, if a chicken falls off a conveyor belt and lands on the floor, it is no longer "fit for human consumption", aka "human grade".

Another way to make an informed decision regarding differing "quality" between pet foods would be to research (email companies directly) the methods, or lack thereof, each utilizes when denaturing their meats.

I agree that it's important to know some things about a company before feeding their food. Never hesitate to email or call and ask...

Foods are either fit or unfit for human consumption. Because there is no legal definition for human grade, there is no way to know which category it falls into. You could talk to the company about whether their product is fit for human consumption or not, but if they don't give you that exact verbage "our food is fit for human consumption", then you should assume it is not. Whether these companies can't make the claim because they use certain by products or because some food is processed differently will probably vary. But there is no such thing as human grade. So a company saying their food is human grade doesn't mean much. Most of the time it's a marketing strategy because people think they are giving their pets something that they themselves could eat.

Frequently Asked Questions American College of Veterinary Nutrition

The Honest Kitchen case is interesting as is, I would assume, the Natura case (which I don't really know much about).

See Mums the Word, Human Grade Ingredients in Pet Food

I would agree that the use of "organic" and "holistic" seem to be marketing oriented, however, so is the use of the trademarked "Prescription". There is no getting around it, PFC's want to make money and those who pay for advertising campaigns and lobbyists make it difficult for consumers to make an informed decision.

Prescription foods are called prescription foods because they require an order from a vet. I don't see big advertising campaigns to use these products for the most part.

I'm pretty darn thankful for rx diets because my dog would probably have continued to deteriorate without one. Her GI tract thanks the companies that make these foods too. I personally don't care if these companies make rx diets simply to make money. I do care that they save lives.

Yup, all that holistic and organic terminology in dog food is not regulated. I think the word "natural" might be though.

Your post assumes that consumers are incapable of making informed decisions because of marketing tactics, and I take offense to your view of consumers. Your implication that anyone using an Rx diet is stupid and uninformed is pretty insulting. :thumbdown

I'm not going to get into an argument about which is which, but I didn't see where she implied that anyone who uses an rx diet is stupid and uninformed. At least that's not what I read.

What? If the consumer sees the words "human grade", "holistic", "organic", etc. on the packaging, one would believe what they read. I don't quite follow what you were offended by.

Again, what? I feel the consumer needs to be aware of the fact that "Hill's Prescription Diet" is a trademark. Nowhere did i state or imply that "anyone using a Rx diet is stupid or uninformed".

Hill's Prescription Diets, Purina Veterinary Diets, etc. are probably trademarked. Not sure what that has to do with marketing? Just confused.. So rx foods should be grouped with foods from companies that put appealing sounding sayings on their products to get sales? Yes, rx food companies make claims, but those claims are proven true through trials.

Great post, I think some people think the word "prescription" on a dog food is just an advertising ploy, and the word has no meaning. That's the way I feel about the word "holistic." :p

Now I feel REALLY Confused what to feed after Jackson's pancreatitis...
 

HI Brittany and Jackson! I know you will be all over this helping me out. :)

I a so confused. I have been feeding my boys TOTW Pacific and Sierra.
After Jackson had hi pancreatitis bout I feel like maybe grain-free is not the way to go.
I'm scared I am making the wrong choice for my boys and I just wanna be a good mom.
What should I feed them that willnot be high in protein, not grain free, not high in fat, ...???
See what I mean?
My mind is reeling.
Thanks for the "rant relief".
Any suggestions?
What are you all doing? Have you made any changes in food now?