Kibble vs Real Food?

[klj100]

My dogs always do better with raw, heck we all do it when they gets the runs. Husky squad is a great follow and make sure they gets lots of trachea, my GSP's were required to have it have two TPLO surgeries and one that now has hip issues.

 

[*zap*]

I think there is lots of filler in dog foods. What do you guys think about canned dog food?

 

[Mosby]

I think there is lots of filler in dog foods. What do you guys think about canned dog food?

I was using canned food as a topper to encourage eating when they are tired and add some fat to their diet. I found. a canned food that was 12% fat and that was ok but the price went crazy and its now $45 a case. Most canned dogs foods are lucky to have 8% fat and most of the can is water. Even cheaper stuff has gone up to over $2.50 a can.

I won't pay that for canned food so I started making my own. Figured out I can make 4 to 6 quarts of food that has the consistency of canned food but I know exactly what goes in it and I can make it for under $30. About 3 lbs of beef stew meat, 1 package of chicken gizzards, 1 package of chicken liver, 1 package of beef liver, 1 can of sardines and 1 can of herring or salmon. I might also add some hemp hearts and flax seed that I have for my oatmeal. Cook it overnight in a crock pot, put it in a blender and freeze in containers. I warm it up in microwave and mix in a couple tbs of it to their kibble. I float my dogs food most of the time and it makes a nice gravy. They love it and I feel like its adding some level of nutritional value. I also use it to spike their morning water on days I don't feed them breakfast and it helps to get them hydrated before we go out.

 

[Mosby]

I thought I would add another thought. When looking at dog food, it isn't just about the brand of dog food for me. Like most guys, what I feed my hunting dogs is really important and I normally take a hard look at what I am feeding and how my dogs are doing once a year. When the wife isn't around, I spend time going into feed stores, farm and ranch stores, Tractor Supply, Menards etc., to confirm what they sell and how it compares to what I am feeding. I found some new dog kibble this year. Some are store brands. One was a performance food made in Arkansas that I never heard of. Ultimately, I decided to keep what I am doing for another year. Not to say its correct but these are the things I look at and it isn't just about the brand of dog food. I have specific things that I look for:

- 30/20 is my minimum for protein/fat for my hunting dogs, especially during the season. That is based on studies done on performance and injury issues. If I still had labs, I would reconsider but I don't. I feed the same year round.

- I won't consider dog food with a recent history of recalls. Not worth the risk to me. YMMV.

- While I can compare ingredients between brands, what I can't compare is the quality of the ingredients. I have found some kibble that looks similar, has similar ingredients and costs half as much. It's tempting to buy cheaper food but I noticed that the cheaper food normally has fewer calories per cup and all other being equal, I buy the denser food.

- I don't mind a dog food with corn. Based on what I've read, corn provides quite a bit of nutritional value and isn't inferior nutritionally to other grains but it is normally cheaper. Because of heart issues, I will not feed grain free food.

- I am feeding PPP Sport Salmon & Rice 30/20. I started to feed it primarily because It has 527 calories per cup and most breeders and trainers I know feed PPP. They know more than I do and have a lot more experience with hunting dogs. That said, I do count calories and I like high calorie kibble. Based on what I have read, I need to get over 2000 calories a day into my dogs when they are hunting, especially in cold weather. Most of the kibble I look at is way less than 500 calories per cup. Some are barely over 400 calories. I don't want to give up 100 calories per cup. No way I am getting 5 cups a day into my small female GSP or young Vizsla. The more calories per cup the better IMO.

- I don't want to rely solely on mail order dog food. I can find the PPP SS in multiple stores in multiple states. I primarily hunt birds in Iowa and South Dakota. IMO I have to be able to get whatever I feed not only where I live but where I go. A lot of good feeds like Inukshuk and Kinetic but I can't get them where I hunt in Iowa or South Dakota. I went online and I can go to Menards, Theisen's, Runnings, TSC and some local feed stores and find my dog food. I can't do that with most other dog food. If I am on birds and having fun, I stay longer. I don't want to worry about not having enough dog food and forced to change in the middle of a hunt. I have also been known to drive off without important things...like the dog food on the porch.

- My dogs readily eat what I give them. They like feeding time. Stools and coat are great. Yes....I actually look at my dogs stools. That hasn't always been the case. I have tried some kibble in the past that my old Vizsla had to choke down or created stomach issues and that is a pain on hunting trips, especially when I'm tired and grumpy. I like happy dogs.

- I have never considered RAW. I am not smart enough and too lazy to try to figure out not only what to feed on a daily basis but how to travel and store it on long trips. I never tell someone else how or what to feed their dogs. If it works for you and your dogs are healthy, more power to you.

These are my criteria for my dog food. I don't believe that what I feed is the "best"...whatever that is. What I am feeding seems to be good enough for what we do, I can easily find it and my dogs seem to like it so I am sticking with it for another year.

 

[KurtR]

I thought I would add another thought. When looking at dog food, it isn't just about the brand of dog food for me. Like most guys, what I feed my hunting dogs is really important and I normally take a hard look at what I am feeding and how my dogs are doing once a year. When the wife isn't around, I spend time going into feed stores, farm and ranch stores, Tractor Supply, Menards etc., to confirm what they sell and how it compares to what I am feeding. I found some new dog kibble this year. Some are store brands. One was a performance food made in Arkansas that I never heard of. Ultimately, I decided to keep what I am doing for another year. Not to say its correct but these are the things I look at and it isn't just about the brand of dog food. I have specific things that I look for:

- 30/20 is my minimum for protein/fat for my hunting dogs, especially during the season. That is based on studies done on performance and injury issues. If I still had labs, I would reconsider but I don't. I feed the same year round.

- I won't consider dog food with a recent history of recalls. Not worth the risk to me. YMMV.

- While I can compare ingredients between brands, what I can't compare is the quality of the ingredients. I have found some kibble that looks similar, has similar ingredients and costs half as much. It's tempting to buy cheaper food but I noticed that the cheaper food normally has fewer calories per cup and all other being equal, I buy the denser food.

- I don't mind a dog food with corn. Based on what I've read, corn provides quite a bit of nutritional value and isn't inferior nutritionally to other grains but it is normally cheaper. Because of heart issues, I will not feed grain free food.

- I am feeding PPP Sport Salmon & Rice 30/20. I started to feed it primarily because It has 527 calories per cup and most breeders and trainers I know feed PPP. They know more than I do and have a lot more experience with hunting dogs. That said, I do count calories and I like high calorie kibble. Based on what I have read, I need to get over 2000 calories a day into my dogs when they are hunting, especially in cold weather. Most of the kibble I look at is way less than 500 calories per cup. Some are barely over 400 calories. I don't want to give up 100 calories per cup. No way I am getting 5 cups a day into my small female GSP or young Vizsla. The more calories per cup the better IMO.

- I don't want to rely solely on mail order dog food. I can find the PPP SS in multiple stores in multiple states. I primarily hunt birds in Iowa and South Dakota. IMO I have to be able to get whatever I feed not only where I live but where I go. A lot of good feeds like Inukshuk and Kinetic but I can't get them where I hunt in Iowa or South Dakota. I went online and I can go to Menards, Theisen's, Runnings, TSC and some local feed stores and find my dog food. I can't do that with most other dog food. If I am on birds and having fun, I stay longer. I don't want to worry about not having enough dog food and forced to change in the middle of a hunt. I have also been known to drive off without important things...like the dog food on the porch.

- My dogs readily eat what I give them. They like feeding time. Stools and coat are great. Yes....I actually look at my dogs stools. That hasn't always been the case. I have tried some kibble in the past that my old Vizsla had to choke down or created stomach issues and that is a pain on hunting trips, especially when I'm tired and grumpy. I like happy dogs.

- I have never considered RAW. I am not smart enough and too lazy to try to figure out not only what to feed on a daily basis but how to travel and store it on long trips. I never tell someone else how or what to feed their dogs. If it works for you and your dogs are healthy, more power to you.

These are my criteria for my dog food. I don't believe that what I feed is the "best"...whatever that is. What I am feeding seems to be good enough for what we do, I can easily find it and my dogs seem to like it so I am sticking with it for another year.

Every runnings in South Dakota except Mobridge where I live has kinetic now and scheels all carry it. But I know what your saying the don’t fix what is not broke.

 

[Mosby]

Every runnings in South Dakota except Mobridge where I live has kinetic now and scheels all carry it. But I know what your saying the don’t fix what is not broke.

That's pretty much it. I tried different brands with my old Vizsla and she didn't benefit from it at all. Looking back the savings were minimal and not worth the trouble. When I got my new pups, I made up my mind to find something that worked that is easy to get and try to stick with it.

 

[JGood]

A lot of things factor in to it. Ultimatly, comparing performance of your animal on different feeds is somewhat futile as you cant hold many of the variables constant and you cant test over a long period of time.

There were a few comments in this thread about "whats good enough for pro-trainers/gmft/FTC is good enough for my dog" but thats not really aplicable either.

When you're a pro trainer who doesnt have a dog food sponsor, you often cant afford to feed more expensive feed. Eukanuba is more expensive than Purina Pro per pound. Multiply that by 20-50 dogs and youre seriously increasing your costs.

To do something raw or labor intesive only multiplies that issue. (i.e. cracking 50 eggs per day or boiling meat)

Some guys have dog food sponsors so they feed whatever the sponsor sends them.

Purina has done a LOT for the sport over the past decade so a lot of guys feel a sense of loyalty to that particular brand.

 

[Mosby]

There were a few comments in this thread about "whats good enough for pro-trainers/gmft/FTC is good enough for my dog" but thats not really aplicable either.

When you're a pro trainer who doesnt have a dog food sponsor, you often cant afford to feed more expensive feed. Eukanuba is more expensive than Purina Pro per pound. Multiply that by 20-50 dogs and youre seriously increasing your costs.

I agree. Food costs are completely different consideration when you run a larger kennel. When I referenced what breeders and trainers are feeding, I was specifically thinking about Vizslas that I deal with. The few Vizsla breeders/trainers I know are small family operations with 4 or 5 dogs and might have a litter.a year. They are unsponsored as far as I know and they feed PPP. One switched to Victor for a while and switched back months later. That said, every dog is different and my old female Vizsla was a reluctant Pro Plan chicken eater. She hated it for some reason and so I switched to another feed when I got tired of dealing with it. Diamond I think and then they had that toxin problem several years ago and I switched again. I went through a few different brands of kibble with her and I didn't see any benefit to switching. No reason to go through that again if I can avoid it with my new dogs. Like you said, trying to compare dog foods and performance can be a futile effort.

 

[KurtR]

A lot of things factor in to it. Ultimatly, comparing performance of your animal on different feeds is somewhat futile as you cant hold many of the variables constant and you cant test over a long period of time.

There were a few comments in this thread about "whats good enough for pro-trainers/gmft/FTC is good enough for my dog" but thats not really aplicable either.

When you're a pro trainer who doesnt have a dog food sponsor, you often cant afford to feed more expensive feed. Eukanuba is more expensive than Purina Pro per pound. Multiply that by 20-50 dogs and youre seriously increasing your costs.

To do something raw or labor intesive only multiplies that issue. (i.e. cracking 50 eggs per day or boiling meat)

Some guys have dog food sponsors so they feed whatever the sponsor sends them.

Purina has done a LOT for the sport over the past decade so a lot of guys feel a sense of loyalty to that particular brand.

But it’s a metric that if the best dogs in the country can perform on that food it will be fine for the average dog. They have kennel pricing but none of the pros I know just get dog food for free.

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

Dogs evolved away from wolves something like 10-15000 years ago. They haven’t had the same diet for that long and their diet has evolved with ours.

Kibble is good. Grain free makes zero sense since dog’s digestive systems are made to process them.

I like inukshuk for my dogs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JGood]

But it’s a metric that if the best dogs in the country can perform on that food it will be fine for the average dog. They have kennel pricing but none of the pros I know just get dog food for free.

For sure. You're not negatively impacting your dog's performance by feeding PPP. Im just pointing out that one kibble isnt supperior to another kibble/raw diet/etc simply because Pros are feeding that particular kibble to their dogs

 

[rideold]

I've thought about raw but my dog's digestive tract doesn't seem to like changes too much and it took a long time to find the food that works for her (Victor Professional). No allergies or anything like that just loose stools. That said, she does get extra bits and pieces from when I make meals and trim meat etc.