Dog Food Reviews And Ratings

[kyliegirl]

The biggest problem in australia is the lack of Premium Healthy Foods.

By this I mean foods like pal and science diet are classed as one of the worst types of foods you can feed your pet due to the high amount of grains and corn in the food.

Below is a link which generally guides you through the best and worst rated dog foods avaliable out there worldwide. While many of these foods are unavaliable I was able to track down some of them in australia, unfortunately they arent cheap and a 13kg bag will cost you $120AU

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php

here is also another dogfood link to help you understand what it is exactly that those words on the ingredients mean.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

[Clyde]

Hi Kylie, I think Orijen is on its way to us and Innova is available here but dont know about the others. I wouldn't worry too much about what online reviews say as it's only someones personal opinion so it should be taken with a grain of salt (so to speak ;) ) A good food is one that your dog thrives on, as you probably know alot of DOL'ers swear by totally different foods for their dogs

I know dogs which do really well on Science Diet but I wouldn't touch it, I also know dogs who lived healthy lives in to geriatric years and lived on PAL

[kyliegirl]

Hi Kylie, I think Orijen is on its way to us and Innova is available here but dont know about the others. I wouldn't worry too much about what online reviews say as it's only someones personal opinion so it should be taken with a grain of salt (so to speak ;) ) A good food is one that your dog thrives on, as you probably know alot of DOL'ers swear by totally different foods for their dogs

I know dogs which do really well on Science Diet but I wouldn't touch it, I also know dogs who lived healthy lives in to geriatric years and lived on PAL

I know what you mean, my old cat who lives with my dad was fed homebrand dry and wet catfood (we called it cardboard food) and shes going on 20!

It is true though that you should be careful what you feed, some people have had issues with vitamin b deficiencies in dogs because some pet food companies use a certain products which preserve the food but at the same time removes all the vitamins.

You should also be very careful when they say Meat-By-Products, this could mean a variety of things, chicken heads, legs, cow parts deemed not consumable for humans like tumerous parts, they even use euthanised cats and dogs in pet food as its cheaper to get, the addition of corn and grain are just fillers which make it seem like it fills your pet up but most cases they arent getting enough nutrition, they can thrive on it yes..

But its like humans eating hamburgers from maccas their whole lives, we know its bad for us and yes we can thrive on it, but there is alot of bad stuff in those burgers which are very unhealthy for us.

I am going on a rawfood diet myself, found a pet store here who provides DR. B's RAW B.A.R.F. - http://www.barfqld.com.au/index.htm

btw these two companies currently sell premium pet food

http://www.pawzazzpetz.com.au/gpage17.html

http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au/products.php?cat=5

just a side note- I started feeding my cats Raw BARF 3 months ago, since then their breath doesnt smell, their coats are soft and shiney, they poop less and it doesnt smell as bad as it used to. It really made a difference.

Edited April 21, 2008 by kyliegirl

[tramissa]

Kylie, if you do a search on BARF on this forum, you will see a lot of people are already believers You may even learn something new ;)

[Clyde]

just a side note- I started feeding my cats Raw BARF 3 months ago, since then their breath doesnt smell, their coats are soft and shiney, they poop less and it doesnt smell as bad as it used to. It really made a difference.

My kitties are fed BARF patties too but I also give them kibble (same with the dogs). The cats love their patties, they practically inhale it. To be honest I see no difference in them but I can't see their insides, lol, and feel that it will help them in the long run. It's good stuff hey I heard they're changing the packaging - hooray, no more banging the rolls on my kitchen bench to seperate the buggers. They're selling them in trays.

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Kylie thanks for the info. This subject has been covered many times and the links you have posted have also been posted previously.

Orijen is now avail in Australia, if you do a search in these forums you will find that laffi (?) has posted re its availablitiy. ;)

[laffi]

Orijen, Innova Evo and Artemis Maximal Dog (all rated 6 on this website) are available in Australia

[ahmadi]

I have just been to the dog food analysis site to see what it is all about.

The food I feed is a 1 star food, but my dogs do well on it, and live to an old age with very few vet visits during their life time. They are also top winning show dogs, so they obviously look good on what they are fed as well. I often wonder if these types of studies are done by seeing how dogs actually do on different foods, or how they are supposed to do because of what books etc say.

I think the old saying " if it isnt broken, why try and fix it " relates to this as well.

Ian

www.saluki.com.au

The biggest problem in australia is the lack of Premium Healthy Foods.

By this I mean foods like pal and science diet are classed as one of the worst types of foods you can feed your pet due to the high amount of grains and corn in the food.

Below is a link which generally guides you through the best and worst rated dog foods avaliable out there worldwide. While many of these foods are unavaliable I was able to track down some of them in australia, unfortunately they arent cheap and a 13kg bag will cost you $120AU

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php

here is also another dogfood link to help you understand what it is exactly that those words on the ingredients mean.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

[Guest Tess32]

I have just been to the dog food analysis site to see what it is all about.

The food I feed is a 1 star food, but my dogs do well on it, and live to an old age with very few vet visits during their life time. They are also top winning show dogs, so they obviously look good on what they are fed as well. I often wonder if these types of studies are done by seeing how dogs actually do on different foods, or how they are supposed to do because of what books etc say.

I think the old saying " if it isnt broken, why try and fix it " relates to this as well.

Ian

www.saluki.com.au

Or it may be because not everything "damaging" shows an obvious physical sign. I could feed a dog something crappy and it may still end up a good weight, reasonable coat etc. Doesn't mean I'm not causing internal damage. There are plenty of thin, healthy looking humans who live on a diet of KFC, it again, doesn't mean they aren't doing long term damage.

[pebbles]

I agree with 'ahmadi'. Some of those 'premium' food prices IMO are just ridiculous. I've fed and shown dogs for years before all these 'studies' and have never had any food related problems. 'Way back when' Pal was the 'premium' dog food and mine were fed that along with raw meat and bones from the knackery, couldn't get raw meat in sufficient quantities anywhere else. I still ocassionally feed Pal along with an assortment of other wet/dry commercial food as well as raw meat and bones and haven't a worry with loose motions etc which are often mentioned.

Dogs have all been well and winning in ring. I wonder sometimes about the apparent increase in allergies, etc. as they didn't seem so common years ago.

OK so there's the old girl saying "back in my day"! lol

ETA - just thought I'd add that I don't use chemicals either on the inside or outside of my dogs so maybe that has something to do with their good health as well.

Edited April 22, 2008 by pebbles

[ahmadi]

If what I was feeding ( I feed Pro Plan btw) was causing internal damage, why do my dogs live to ripe old ages. Last year I lost 3 Saluki's that were 12,14 and 16 and they rarely had visits to the vet for health issues.

Ian

www.saluki.com.au

Or it may be because not everything "damaging" shows an obvious physical sign. I could feed a dog something crappy and it may still end up a good weight, reasonable coat etc. Doesn't mean I'm not causing internal damage. There are plenty of thin, healthy looking humans who live on a diet of KFC, it again, doesn't mean they aren't doing long term damage.

[Danois]

kyliegirl

Check out the online edition of Urban Animal - this is a free magazine in Sydney - they recently did a 2-3 part series on dog foods.

If you cannot access all the articles, I am sure if you contact them that they may be able to send back copies.

Well worth the read.

[Sheridan]

Interesting. I can't feed most of the uber premium foods because they contain chicken or chicken fat.

[Guest Tess32]

If what I was feeding ( I feed Pro Plan btw) was causing internal damage, why do my dogs live to ripe old ages. Last year I lost 3 Saluki's that were 12,14 and 16 and they rarely had visits to the vet for health issues.

Ian

www.saluki.com.au

And I know people who smoked like chimneys who lived till 90. *Shrug*.

[Clyde]

Tess, smoking and feeding Pro Plan aren't even comparable. Surely there's a better argument than that. :D

[chezzyr]

I think there is always going to be bigger, better, shinier, flavour-of-the-month dog foods.

I have recently had my girl on a 4 star dry food - for some reason I felt compelled to try it,

perhaps because others were on the band wagon. The poos are bigger and alot more of

them, so I am going back to 1 and 2 star dry food that I believe she was doing well on

anyway. Plus she gets raw and sardines regularly plus other goodies.

[kyliegirl]

thanks for the tip danois

I think the difference to feeding a brand of food like PAL to a more expensive brand like ORIJEN is the fact that these premium foods allow you to feed less as it fills them up more because they are getting their daily needs from the meals, compared to foods like PAL where 70% of it is water and the dog is still left hungry and still lacking some daily needs of vitamins and protein.

While yes our dogs thrive on the cheap dog food, the point is, is it actually good for them? most brands are like hamburger versions for dogs, causing obesity because of the amount of fat in them or the lack of real meats and vitamins. It isnt to say it will kill them, but it may not be the healthiest option for them either.

Most of todays world evolves around premade food like muesli bars and premade meals, while they are perfectly fine for us to eat, it doesnt mean they are healthy for us. Many of the muesli bars contain way to much sugars and carbohydrates along with certain preservatives which can cause health issues later on in life. It doesn't complete you daily dietry needs and sometimes can exceed the maximum daily intake. Most of what we eat isnt digested and the liver stores it up as fat cells because its recieving too much, so instead of expelling the waste the body stores in case you suddenly find yourself stranded for weeks with no food. This eventually leads to obesity, and premade foods are one of the biggest reasons obesity is a problem.

Edited April 23, 2008 by kyliegirl

[poodlefan]

Kyliegirl:

While yes our dogs thrive on the cheap dog food, the point is, is it actually good for them? most brands are like hamburger versions for dogs, causing obesity because of the amount of fat in them or the lack of real meats and vitamins. It isnt to say it will kill them, but it may not be the healthiest option for them either.

Fat contents in processed foods often don't vary all that much, regardless of price. Read the bags if you don't believe me. What causes the price to vary is the source of the protein, the quality and source of the fillers used and what preservatives/flavour enhancers and nutrients are added.

I'd say the most common cause of canine obesity is the same as human obesity.. too much food and not enough exercise. It's more the quantity of food dogs receive rather than the quality in a lot of cases. Most processed pet foods contain sufficient nutrients - a surfeit of them in many cases.

Following your analogy about processed foods not being best for us, what leads you to conclude that higher quality processed foods are best for dogs? Is an expensive breakfast cereal automatically going to be better for us than a cheap one? Is Nutrigrain better for you than Cocopops? Or Wheatbix?

Edited April 23, 2008 by poodlefan

[Guest Tess32]

Tess, smoking and feeding Pro Plan aren't even comparable. Surely there's a better argument than that. :rolleyes:

I think you'll find my post isn't about Proplan or any particular brand, but about feeding what you believe to be low quality food because the dogs *appear* to be thriving on it. Do you see the analogy now? Smoking and drinking and eating Maccas doesn't always result in an obese person with flaky skin. Sometimes people don't even realise that their dog's itching and scratching COULD be attributed to the food, because it's not always obvious.

The point is that not every consequence is visible to the eye and it's hardly wise to want to go back to feeding PAL.

[kyliegirl]

Kyliegirl:

While yes our dogs thrive on the cheap dog food, the point is, is it actually good for them? most brands are like hamburger versions for dogs, causing obesity because of the amount of fat in them or the lack of real meats and vitamins. It isnt to say it will kill them, but it may not be the healthiest option for them either.

Fat contents in processed foods often don't vary all that much, regardless of price. Read the bags if you don't believe me. What causes the price to vary is the source of the protein, the quality and source of the fillers used and what preservatives/flavour enhancers and nutrients are added.

I'd say the most common cause of canine obesity is the same as human obesity.. too much food and not enough exercise. It's more the quantity of food dogs receive rather than the quality in a lot of cases. Most processed pet foods contain sufficient nutrients - a surfeit of them in many cases.

Following your analogy about processed foods not being best for us, what leads you to conclude that higher quality processed foods are best for dogs? Is an expensive breakfast cereal automatically going to be better for us than a cheap one? Is Nutrigrain better for you than Cocopops? Or Wheatbix?

its not just the fat contents in the food I am talking about its the amount which will be preserved into fat because the body cannot use it because it contains no actual nutrition for the dog. Take home brand pet food for example, the chicken/veggie, the meat cubes in that can are actually a mixture of grains to create a "false meat" in other words just a filler, nothing more. what the body doesnt use but can use later it will store up as body fat, even while your exercising it will store it up until you burn it off.

Most cereals are just a filler, while grains are beneficial for humans as we use carbohydrates as an energy source they dont exactly have the same benefits for dogs. Grains are high in carbohydrates and dogs do not require large amounts, this again causes a severe increase in weight gain as carbohydrates turn into fat cells.

The value of carbohydrates in dog and cat foods is often debated among nutritionists. Despite the debate, most commercial dry foods contain between 30% and 70% carbohydrates. If we examine the diets of the wild canines and felines that most closely resemble our domestic pets, we recognize that the wild canines do eat some carbohydrates through the consumption of berries and intestinal contents of their prey. However, it would rarely constitute even 30% of their diet, and in wild felines, the carbohydrate intake would be less than 5%, if any at all. This then raises the question as to why we feed our domestic pets so much carbohydrate, when it appears to be an unnatural food source.

Canines and felines have the ability to consume large quantities of protein and then convert that protein into energy in addition to muscle. They also have the ability to convert many carbohydrate sources into the same kind of energy. This ability to utilize both carbohydrates and proteins as an energy source explains how we are able to feed our pets a high carbohydrate diet, particularly when we feed processed carbohydrates that are easily digested by canines. While cats are similar to dogs in their ability to utilize some carbohydrates, cats need a much higher level of protein and fat to remain healthy. So, essentially we are meeting the dog's or cat's protein requirement with meat, and then meeting their energy and fiber requirements with carbohydrates instead of the protein they would often use in the wild.

Using carbohydrates as an energy source has benefits for the manufacturer and consumer. Carbohydrates are less expensive and more readily available as an energy source than proteins. Carbohydrates are also essential in the formation of dry pet food. The starchy carbohydrates are used to add structure, texture, and form to kibbled food helping to create a product that is stable and easy to feed. Canned foods could be composed without the addition of carbohydrates, but dry kibble could not exist in its current form without carbohydrates.

While carbohydrates are an important part of dry commercial pet foods, they can occasionally cause medical problems in dogs and cats including obesity and maldigestion. Obesity occurs when an animal's energy needs are exceeded and the extra glucose created by the digestion of the carbohydrates is stored as fat. Realize that an excess of carbohydrates, fats, or proteins can all lead to obesity, but carbohydrates are often the most common energy source and are easily converted to glucose.

Edited April 23, 2008 by kyliegirl