grade your dog food
there was an entry over at petbulls on grading your pets' foods, and i was shocked at some of the low grades these so-called great dog foods were getting it's amazing what advertizing can do, eh? (and i liked that the test seemed like it didn't have an agenda [as if it was written by advocates of the raw diet])
here is the entry over at veganpets. i just had to boast. :-) especially for the sake of the anti-vegans and members of stupidpetowners who visit.
Select Ingredients
Ground Rice, Soy Flour, Ground Pearled Barley, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potatoes, Avocado Oil, Carrots, Peas, Flax Seed Meal, Dried Kelp, Salt, Choline Chloride, Lecithin, Garlic Oil, Dried Garlic Powder, Dried Onion Powder, Dried Yucca Schidigera, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Ferrous Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.
http://breeders-choice.com/Dog_Products/avodermdog_veg.html
i'll bold the ones that i was sure of, and leave the ones i either didn't know what it meant or it could have applied and i put my comments why i didn't count it in parentheses.
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source,subtract 5 points (i have no idea what "mill run" means. i googled it, and i don't think it applies here.)
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points (obviously) :-)
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
Extra Credit:
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points (i don't know. it's called "breeder's choice, but company names mean nothing. i did find this Another highly recommended food for skin/coat problems is AvoDerm.
I have never personally used it, but again it is highly recommended. Does anyone have any experience with this food? on a forum for bulldog breeds, but in my quick google search, i couldn't find the actual "high reccommendations" so instead of falsley adding the points, i'll leave them off.
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points (it's pressurecooked. don't know where it lies there. it's still cooked to get the nutrients.)
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points (botanically, the avocado, but still, only the oil. but she does get the occasional fruit from us. i'll have to do some research to see which fruits are good for doggies. i know too much sugar isn't good)
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points (lots of 'em. as snacks too. :-)
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points (yep. #3)
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points (just the ground seeds. although we're thinking of adding a little extra to her food as a supplement.)
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point (nope. just avocado oil and canola oil)
so it got a 99 / A but the range could be between 94 and 110 (depending on the endorsements that are supposedly out there and what the benefit of specifically "sunflower oil" and not other vegetable oils is. and the flax seed meal isn't too low down on the list, so there's still a reasonable amount of the oil in the food.)
so there you go. i feel really good about our choice. :-)
(a selected list of common dog foods:)
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 D
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
Purina Benful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
here is the entry over at veganpets. i just had to boast. :-) especially for the sake of the anti-vegans and members of stupidpetowners who visit.
Select Ingredients
Ground Rice, Soy Flour, Ground Pearled Barley, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Ascorbic Acid), Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potatoes, Avocado Oil, Carrots, Peas, Flax Seed Meal, Dried Kelp, Salt, Choline Chloride, Lecithin, Garlic Oil, Dried Garlic Powder, Dried Onion Powder, Dried Yucca Schidigera, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Ferrous Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.
http://breeders-choice.com/Dog_Products/avodermdog_veg.html
i'll bold the ones that i was sure of, and leave the ones i either didn't know what it meant or it could have applied and i put my comments why i didn't count it in parentheses.
4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source,subtract 5 points (i have no idea what "mill run" means. i googled it, and i don't think it applies here.)
6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points (obviously) :-)
12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
Extra Credit:
2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points (i don't know. it's called "breeder's choice, but company names mean nothing. i did find this Another highly recommended food for skin/coat problems is AvoDerm.
I have never personally used it, but again it is highly recommended. Does anyone have any experience with this food? on a forum for bulldog breeds, but in my quick google search, i couldn't find the actual "high reccommendations" so instead of falsley adding the points, i'll leave them off.
3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points (it's pressurecooked. don't know where it lies there. it's still cooked to get the nutrients.)
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points (botanically, the avocado, but still, only the oil. but she does get the occasional fruit from us. i'll have to do some research to see which fruits are good for doggies. i know too much sugar isn't good)
6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points (lots of 'em. as snacks too. :-)
8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points (yep. #3)
9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points (just the ground seeds. although we're thinking of adding a little extra to her food as a supplement.)
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point (nope. just avocado oil and canola oil)
so it got a 99 / A but the range could be between 94 and 110 (depending on the endorsements that are supposedly out there and what the benefit of specifically "sunflower oil" and not other vegetable oils is. and the flax seed meal isn't too low down on the list, so there's still a reasonable amount of the oil in the food.)
so there you go. i feel really good about our choice. :-)
(a selected list of common dog foods:)
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 D
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
Purina Benful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F