Am I the only one who finds this sickening?

[Spiffy'n'Spunky]

I work at Scraps Dog Bakery, Cat and Dog Nutrition Center.

We promote only healthy and real foods for pets and until I began working there I never realized what kind of disgusting nasty...well crud is in pet food!

It makes me ill to think that Science Diet is doing the dogs any good by giving them corn, corn and more corn. Some of the brands that I once respected have been revealed to me as horrible concoctions.

I mean, dogs and cats are naturally carnivors. A wolf or jaguar does not base its diet solely of corn, wheat and by-products, does it?

Why do people keep buying Iams, Purina, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Alpo, Kibbles and Bits, Beneful..ect.

Don't they realize that there are harmful dyes, by-products and not to mention the ethoxyquin, BHA, and BHT in those foods!

Uhg, why are people so ignorant, why don't they just read the darn label and actually do something good for their animal?

Sorry for the rant, anybody else feel the same way?


If you want to check out my work the website is here:
Link Removed

[krittercrazy]

Just as you did not realise until you learned from your job, many people do not realize until they come face to face with a reason to look at what they are feeding their pets. Many of the brands you mentioned are alway advertised as the best. They are recommended by veterinarians. They are what people have always fed their pets. Growing up, my parents got the cheapest store brand possible and supplement with scraps from our table. When I moved out on my own I thought I was doing a great thing to buy purina and other similar brands. Then a neighbor told me about her dog being allergic to corn, the first ingredient in most dog foods. That got me thinking and educating myself.

[Spiffy'n'Spunky]

Why was my link removed?

It was not to a breeder/showing site.
It was to the website of my work which has severaly good links to articles relating to the pet food problem we face.

Anyways if you would like to read these articles they are on the API website

[VoodooJoint]

Please check the classified section of you store site.

It certainly seemed like a decent site other then the AKC Schnauzer breeder advertising on the classified section.

Maybe you could talk to your boss about them not allowing breeders to advertise on the site and instead concentrate on rescue/adoption instead.

[Spiffy'n'Spunky]

I removed the link to the breeders site on my work page.
I can assure you no more breeder pages will be linked to ours.
If anybody would like to send me a rescue to advertise on our page please do, as you could see...nobody has really taken advantage of it.

The food page link is:
foods

[Fay]

What popular brand would you then suggest for cats and dogs? Or you say ALL of them are bad?

[jackrussellgirl]

I find nutrition and feeding very interesting. I guess you could say its a hobby of mine. I swear by Natural Balance. My dog is so much healthier since she has been on Natural Balane. Her allergies are better, her coat is healthier, her poops are better, she has more energy, and she throws up way way way less.

Originally Posted by Buffy

What popular brand would you then suggest for cats and dogs? Or you say ALL of them are bad?

When looking for a food I have a few rules of thumb.
1. If you can buy it at the grocery store its a bad food.
2. The first ingredient should ALWAYS be a meat. (I'm not a fan of vegetarian diets but that another story.)
3. No fillers. Just because a comercial says the food has no fillers donesn't mean it doesen't have them. A filler is any ingrediant that adds bulk to the food. Some examples are wheat, corn, beat pulp, and soy.
4. The food should contain more than one protein source. Except for eggs, there is no protein that provides all the nutrients needed. If you only ate chicken for the rest of your life you would have some nutritional problems.
5. No by- products and don't believe the people who say that by-products are only eddible organs like livers and kidneys, their not.
The only "popular" brand that I would even concider is Pro Plan Selects (not regular Pro Plan).
Some other and harder to find foods are Natural Balance, Merric, Innova, and Canidae/Felidae.

[werecatrising]

I am constantly arguing with one of the technicians I work with about this same topic. She only feeds Science Diet. I tell her to read what the firt ingredient is:corn. She always responds with "well, in my nutrition class they said..." and usually goes on about every batch being made to the same specifications, etc. Well, maybe every batch is made the same. It is still made with inferior ingredients. And guess who teaches most nutrition classes? Representatives for Science diet.

I could get Science Diet and Purina for free through work. I have one cat on a S.D. perscription diet. The rest of my animals get Nutro.

[lynn's Cavies]

I just started feeding my elderly cat Innova, Evo, it has no grain in it. I found out that cats cannot digest grain properly similiar to corn. First ingredient is turkey and then chicken. Since switching her over to this food she has gained weight. She has always been a small cat but as she grew older she started to really lose weight and her hip bones were protruding.

I switched her to Royal Canin Kitten food for awhile but then was introduced to this food and she is doing really good on it. Other foods have caused her to vomit but this one hasn't plus she is a healthy weight. I'm very pleased with the results and plan to continue to feed her this food.

It is put out by Natura Pet Products.

Lynn

[lynn's Cavies]

Originally Posted by jackrussellgirl

Some other and harder to find foods are Natural Balance, Merric, Innova, and Canidae/Felidae.

I didn't realize until after I posted that you had already mentioned Innova. Sorry about that. I definitley do recommend it, too.

Lynn

[Fluffball]

Does anyone make their own dog/cat food? I know some people make their own, cook it, prepare it e.t.c

Just wondering what your thoughts are on this since we are discussing nutrition. And if you have any recomendations on what to include in it.

I think many commercial feeds are truely lacking in essential vitamins and minerals, and are unhealthy. Much like the guinea pig treats on the market that have colourings, additives e.t.c.

Good site, thankyou for posting up this information.

[salana]

The only problem with Innova Evo is that it may be too high in protein. One of our cats couldn't handle the protein and she had huge black poops. Too much protein can also cause kidney problems. Josephine on GL says that cat foods should have 35-40% protein and dog foods should have 30-35% protein.

Cats and dogs may also be allergic to wheat and corn, as well as fish products. Our cat that didn't like Innova Evo also is allergic to wheat and corn, and our other cat can't handle more than small amounts of fish. So there is no one best food for all cats or all dogs. Currently we feed Nature's Variety Prairie dry food, with a little bit of Natural Balance wet food every day for a treat.

Meats and meat meals (includes ground up skin, internal organs, etc. which are good to have) should be the top ingredients. Less allergenic grain/starch sources like oatmeal, barley, and potatoes are good, but obviously shouldn't be the #1 ingredient.

[fairysari]

I just wanted to share a link to a really good site on dog food, that will explain all the ingredients, what they are, their benefits and problems, and how to read and better understand labels on dog food bags. The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare?

[Luvthempigs]

My cats were also sensitive to the high protein in Innova Evo, they currently get California Natural- also made by Natura Pet Foods.

[naturestee]

I'm currently switching my kittens to California Natural Chicken and Rice because one has a food sensitivity. I disagree with the multiple protein source simply because of sensitive/allergic kitties. Beef, lamb, fish, and duck are all common cat allergens. Some cats are allergic to chicken too, and have to be on special allergy foods such as venison.

My kittens were eating Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lover's Soul, which is a great food at a really good price (similar to Felidae), but I guess it's too complex for my sensitive kitty.

IMO my shelter feeds Science Diet, and both my kittens were underweight and had trouble growing until I switched their food.

[lynn's Cavies]

Thanks Luvthempigs,

If my cat starts to show signs of being sensitive to this Innova Evo I will try the California Natural. It's always good to have other options.

Lynn

Originally Posted by Luvthempigs

My cats were also sensitive to the high protein in Innova Evo, they currently get California Natural- also made by Natura Pet Foods.