Feeding time

[Suesse]

Hello, Hope I can post this in Health Forum. We feed our 10 month old Weimer on Puppy Large Breed Science Diet. TO be honest I think we are wasting money on this, its very expensive and I want to change her to a less expensive one. I keep hearing different views, for example:
Dog food that lists Corn more then once in the top five of the ingredient list should be avoided because its a filler and has no nutrients to gain from it. What do you guys feed your dogs one? Can anyone suggest any good website with info about this?

Thanks! :-)

[DaneGirl2208]

well i dont really think your going to find somthing less expensive that is any good.how much does Science Diet cost a bag? i feed Authority to my dogs it works great for the most part..it isnt that expensive and has pretty decent ingredients..

[Moo]

I don't think corn should be in the top 5 ingredients at all. Science diet is definitely over priced for what you are getting- which is not a great quality food. There are definitely better things out there.

Nutro is a good mid-priced, decent quality food.

[alexis rose]

Corn really doesn't have any nutritional value. It basically just passes through the body, but it can get stuck in the intestines.

Keep in mind, the better the food, the less they eat because they aren't eating a bunch of junk and are actually getting full when they eat. I like Canidae and Artemis but those are pretty pricey.

[Suesse]

After looking at ingredients of certain dog foods, I have found out the following:

Purina one has Corn gluten meal listed 3rd and whole grain corn is about listed 6th.

Science Diet has Ground Whole Grain Corn listed 1st and Corn Gluten Meal listed 3rd.

Beneful has corn gluten meal listed 1st and Ground yellow corn listed 3rd.

Nutro MAX has Corn Gluten Meal listed 3rd and not other corn listed.

Nutro NATURAL CHOICE has Corn Gluten Meal listed 3rd and has no other corn.


I could not find anything about Authority – who makes it?


I did find this out there on the World Wide Web, which I though was interesting.

READ THE LABEL

The first ingredient in quality pet food is meat. High-quality protein is crucial for the health of dogs and cats. Cats are strict carnivores and must have meat protein in their diet. Therefore, meat is a crucial ingredient in any cat food. Dogs are omnivores, able to utilize both animal and plant proteins. Chicken, beef, turkey or other meat listed as the first or only ingredient indicates that the food is the highest quality commercial pet food you can buy.

Meat by-products is the next grade down. By-products are things the slaughter house doesn't want-like chicken heads, brains, blood, lungs, bone or diseased livers.

The word "meal" or "hydrolyzed" indicates that the food is bottom-of-the-barrel. This "meat" is from rendering plants, which take in road-kill, euthanized animals and other refuse.

Propylene glycol, ethoxyquin, BHT, colorings and flavorings are potentially toxic when ingested repeatedly. "Corn gluten meal" appears in some pet foods. It conjures up visions of fresh corn. In reality, it's what's left of a corn kernel after all the good part is taken out. These and other "grains", such as "brewer's rice," are virtually devoid of nutrition.

[Suesse]

A 35lb bag of Science diets costs me $35.99

[bernicesmama]

I found that corn made my dogs itch. I switched their food to one without corn and they are doing great! They don't eat as much and not as much comes out of them either. There is Nutro ultra and that has no corn in it.

[Faith]

Originally Posted by Suesse

A 35lb bag of Science diets costs me $35.99

that's actually a bit cheaper than some national brands like Eukanuba - ($23.99 for a 20lb bag)

is there a feed store near your home? generally you can get a better quality food for a cheaper price at them. my local feed carries Canidae for only $20.99 for a 20lb bag - cheaper than the Eukanuba, but a much better food in my opinion.

[dobermom]

Science diet is WAY over priced.

I think Nutro makes a good food, Diamond, and I myself feed Eagle Pack.