Premium Dry Dog Foods

[Hazz]

There are commercially available BARF patties for those whom don't have the time to prepare the barf diet themselves or can't handle working it out correctly

[Canine Country]

Why is it that the popular premium food also have massive advertiising budgets.

They will fit out your shop, paint massive advertising, do huge promotions and offer expensive insentives. This money has to be add into the cost of the foods.

This also add to the doubt over the actual cost and quality of base product in the food.

[cactus]

I used to travel past a dog food manufacturer's operation every day. I could always tell when they had killed the horses...the stench is *awful*. "Meat" in dog food is most often derived from horses in this country. "Meat by-products" are also often sourced from horse carcasses.

The usual bits of the animals and birds used in pet foods are anything that isn't fit for our tables (for those ppl that eat meat, at least), and include:

intestines, feet, feathers, eyes, sinew and tendon (humans can't eat these at all!), pieces of heads including ears and mouth parts, organs not fit for human consumption (you really don't want to know!), and other bits and pieces that have been extruded to form a kind of glutenous mass. The stench alone is enough to cause retching in humans not accustomed to it.

I don't know- is horse meat less nutritious than cow, pig, lamb kangaroo, chicken etc? As far as I know its important that dogs get to eat sinews and tendons and offal etc- its part of a biologically appropriate diet. Dog food isn't meant to sound appetising to us humans but in their natural state animals eat and thrive off all that yucky stuff and they dont waste a single bit of a carcass :rolleyes:

[O-Ren]

There are commercially available BARF patties for those whom don't have the time to prepare the barf diet themselves or can't handle working it out correctly

But isnt there the issue of the deadly preservatives that were found in "Pet Mince" (220, 221 etc ) the same with these patties? i gues its all down to trust, but wholsomely all you can do to assure ur pets are getting ALL and ONLY wot u want them to get is by buying the ingredience optimally human grade and makeing there meels urself right?

So rediculous that it comes to this, companies doing every thing they can to make a buck and save another buck elswhere

[Zorro_007]

Cactus, so I gather that it is a biological necessity for dogs to ingest BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin also??? not to mention all the other rubbish that is added to pet food!!

[Hazz]

Interesting O'ren I thought the Billinghurst Barf patties were free of these preservetives - anyone correct me if I'm wrong

[Zorro_007]

O'rens - that is a good point but it's called BUSINESS and PROFIT....they would much rather spend money on advertising because ultimately it brings in the cash, as much as they may spend millions on this they must be getting trillions in return otherwise they wouldn't keep on doing this. It's all about the money...I can just hear them "BRING ME THE MONEY....!!"

[cactus]

Cactus, so I gather that it is a biological necessity for dogs to ingest BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin also??? not to mention all the other rubbish that is added to pet food!!

Dont recall saying that at all Zorro. You must be putting words in my mouth.

[Zorro_007]

I used to travel past a dog food manufacturer's operation every day. I could always tell when they had killed the horses...the stench is *awful*. "Meat" in dog food is most often derived from horses in this country. "Meat by-products" are also often sourced from horse carcasses.

The usual bits of the animals and birds used in pet foods are anything that isn't fit for our tables (for those ppl that eat meat, at least), and include:

intestines, feet, feathers, eyes, sinew and tendon (humans can't eat these at all!), pieces of heads including ears and mouth parts, organs not fit for human consumption (you really don't want to know!), and other bits and pieces that have been extruded to form a kind of glutenous mass. The stench alone is enough to cause retching in humans not accustomed to it.

I don't know- is horse meat less nutritious than cow, pig, lamb kangaroo, chicken etc? As far as I know its important that dogs get to eat sinews and tendons and offal etc- its part of a biologically appropriate diet. Dog food isn't meant to sound appetising to us humans but in their natural state animals eat and thrive off all that yucky stuff and they dont waste a single bit of a carcass :rolleyes:

Nope, not putting words in your mouth....I am referring to the above post where you are mentioning that dog food isn't meant to sound appetising for us humans and that is true enough, that would apply to a barf diet too since it is recommended that a biologically appropriate diet for dogs should consists of raw meats but the difference between a barf diet and commercial dog food is the preservatives and hence that is what I meant when I joked that should dog food contain noxious and carcinogenic additives and preservatives to be biologically appropriate for dogs since you made it sound that it's okay if all those ingredients that Lillysmum quoted are used for dog foods.

[huga]

This debate has been done a stack of times on this forum. There will always be the BARF people and the dry food people. Me? I fall somewhere inbetween and couldn't be happier with my dogs' diet, their health and the overall look of them. They get a mixture of Nutrience and whatever else is going (chicken mice, wings, necks, offal, lamb, sardines, old fruit and veggies etc). People shouldn't be made to feel guilty because they don't feed their dogs an entirely raw diet, and believe me, people will feel guilty when it comes to their dogs.

[Sagittarian]

"Meat" in dog food is most often derived from horses in this country. "Meat by-products" are also often sourced from horse carcasses.

Well, as the partner of the owner of a pet supplies store which does carry a few Australian made products, I'll be asking for a tour of the Australian factory. As a horse lover, I will be asking some VERY hard questions!

Why is it that the popular premium food also have massive advertiising budgets.

They will fit out your shop, paint massive advertising, do huge promotions and offer expensive insentives. This money has to be add into the cost of the foods.

Oh, bugger. Nobody has offered us (as a four month old store) fit outs, paint jobs, huge promos, or expensive incentives. What ARE we doing wrong????

What we have been offered is ongoing support as far as nutritional advice help lines (we, or customers can ring at any time if a query arises regarding products); as well as 100% money back guarantee on product (which we gave as asked for the first time this week for a lady with an elderly dog who just couldn't manage the kibble size); plus friendly service and advice.

To the person who made this quote, have you opened a pet supplies store? And, if so, what is your secret for getting all this financial help, as we certainly don't get it!

It is a funny thing. The best help we get is from the premium/super premium suppliers, and the accessories (eg toys, lead etc) people. Those who provide fresh meat and "natural" products are rarely available. They tend to be (with a couple of exceptions) harder to get serious answers from (although Ecopet have been wonderful in quickly providing accurate information about preservatives), and harder to pin down to decent information for customers.

I would like to say that I have also visited the pet food company factory that Magnum attended - at the same time - and I saw the same high quality products as she did. Instead of simply believing the rumours, the scare-mongering, and the negatives about petfood companies, why not check them out for yourself? Barf is great - but it is not for everyone or every dog, anymore than dry foods are for everyone or everydog. Why turn it into an us or them scenario all the time???

Just My Exceedingly Humble Opinion

Phillipa

Pet Nutritionist

(Sags)

[Teebs]

This debate has been done a stack of times on this forum. There will always be the BARF people and the dry food people. Me? I fall somewhere inbetween and couldn't be happier with my dogs' diet, their health and the overall look of them. They get a mixture of Nutrience and whatever else is going (chicken mice, wings, necks, offal, lamb, sardines, old fruit and veggies etc). People shouldn't be made to feel guilty because they don't feed their dogs an entirely raw diet, and believe me, people will feel guilty when it comes to their dogs.

I agree - my dogs get a mix of food and they are health and happy!! Atlas has never looked better then he does at the moment!!

Each to their own - this thread is just going to go downhill.

[cactus]

Each to their own - this thread is just going to go downhill.

lol, I thought it started at the bottom of the hill, and that we were all gonna have to get behind it and push that baby uphill!

It never ceases to amaze me when people cant accept difference, and think only in terms of absolutes. Thats got to be a tough life, but still- no excuse to make others' lives tough!!

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Actually, I reckon feed your dog whatever suits you and it...it makes no difference to me. But in sharing MY experiences with processed foods vs home prepared raw, whole foods diet, and in explaining my reasons for choosing the latter, I hope to be helping others to understand that pet food makers really don't care about your pet except for the fact that they make money when you buy their product. They don't have to use quality ingredients in this country, so they rarely do that. Horse meat is cheap, plentiful and available. It's illegal to use horse meat in places such as the US, b/c it's also illegal to slaughter horses for consumption (human or otherwise). Every horse carcass apparently has to be accounted for. Makes me wonder why this is so, when horses are used in pet foods here daily!

As for preservatives, they're not found in the ingredients used to make these dog foods but manufactured so that the already going off meat products in your dogs' food is stopped from complete breakdown before your pet ingests it.

BARF products such as Dr B's patties do not contain artificial preservatives and I'm not sure if they contain natural ones, but they are frozen at the factory and as such, I would suggest they do not need extra preservatives.

I use my natural approach to feeding myself as well as my dogs. I feel much healthier than I have in years...I guess that it's working for me!

[Canine Country]

But isnt there the issue of the deadly preservatives that were found in "Pet Mince" (220, 221 etc ) the same with these patties? i gues its all down to trust, but wholsomely all you can do to assure ur pets are getting ALL and ONLY wot u want them to get is by buying the ingredience optimally human grade and makeing there meels urself right?

Frozen products do not require any preservatives, all items tested and requiring preservative 220,221 223 etc were long life refrigerated item such as vacuum packed meat, etc.

All frozen stored meat products can be presevative free, roo turn darker without presevative

but is still ok as long as it is stored frozen and used within 24 hrs of thawing.

All Barf patties are stored frozen.

[Canine Country]

To the person who made this quote, have you opened a pet supplies store? And, if so, what is your secret for getting all this financial help, as we certainly don't get it!

Yes, I do own a Pet Food and Supplies Store. I do not get financial support from any of these companies as i wish to remain independant.

I have been involved with larger stores that have had shelving and advertising supplied including full facia paint advertising. Some of the condition can become restrictive. Try asking or offering signage right to a single brand. Eg Science Diet, Eukanuba or Purina.

[Sagittarian]

My comment was tongue in cheek. We are completely independent and will never permit an other company (petfood or otherwise) have a stake in our store. It was just a rather sweeping statement you made - our experience is that the companies do not try to take over.

Anyway, everyone's experience is different.

Sags

[KitKat]

The RSPCA SuperStore has Hills all over it...and it's the only dry food they stock from memory.

The store i generally go to (doesn't sell pets) stocks the most common varieties of foods (Euk, RC, Proplan etc, Supercoat, Bonnie, Pal etc). They pay for their shelf space and to put up some advertising if they are doing a special etc at the end of the shelf space...but they pay for the privalge. And the spot is only theirs for a limited amount of time before another brand gets their turn.

[huga]

O'rens - that is a good point but it's called BUSINESS and PROFIT....they would much rather spend money on advertising because ultimately it brings in the cash, as much as they may spend millions on this they must be getting trillions in return otherwise they wouldn't keep on doing this. It's all about the money...I can just hear them "BRING ME THE MONEY....!!"

Yep, Pet Food companies are like any other company - they are in it for the money, otherwise what would be the point? I have noted though, that it seems to be the lower quality dog foods sold in supermarkets that rely on the multi-million dollar tv ad campaigns to sell product, but not the super premium foods, why do you think this is?? The food I feed for eg. I heard about through word of mouth - because my dogs do well on it, I keep buying it. I have never seen/heard any advertising for this brand.

It is not in the best interest of a pet food company to make crappy food - otherwise no one would buy it!! :D

[PEARL]

I do feed Inova as it is supposed to be an all natural product, I have fed pro plan in the past but will be switching to a raw food diet as I can't help but be a doubting thomas and do have my doubts when it comes to pet food. Iams I will never contemplate, I have tried it once and my dogs didn't like it and even if they did I wouldn't spend my money on it as I hate what they stand for.