the truth about dog foods

[RobDar]

having done some rather extensive research on the subject of dog food, and having gone as far as contacting manufactuers and veterinary universities etc....here is what I have found out...
the question of what truely is the best food to feed my dogs...
the answer is to feed them an all natural or holistic diet of raw or boiled meat and vegetables or one of the holistic dog foods...BUT...these diets require a large amount of my own time invested in cooking, balancing, and maintaining the diet and frankly I havent got that kind of time...and the time saving all natural foods...I cant afford...so what then...
I am left with production style foods...so which one is best?
Here is what I have learned is the major difference in foods...
the cheaper foods (someone mentioned ole roy for thier larger dogs) are actually okay foods. The contents as listed on the bag label however are averages. The percentages of crude fat, protien etc are represented as thier ideal mix, but there will be variance up and down from those percentages in your particular bag. The cheaper food producers use a wide variety of grains and whatever grade meat is available. So what you read on the label may not be what you get...close...but not necessarily the truth of the contents.
As you move up in price the contents of the food become more accurate...and...the higher end food have additives. Companies like Iam, Eukanuba, etc have additives like omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids added to the foods (often listed right on the label) for maintance of the coat and immune system etc. Most times however, if you do the math, you can buy the additives yourself from the health food store for a cheaper per year price that buying it in the food.
SO IF YOU ARE LIKE ME YOU STILL DO NOT REALLY HAVE AN ANSWER!!!
here is my own sumation on the subject...
What food you feed your dog is entirely dependant on you and your dog...its activity level...its enviroment etc. I am told one thing is that the dog should have stiff stool. Foods that leave the dog with soft stool can lead to other troubles...not the least of which is that it makes thier little butts uncomfortable.( portions of unspent stool are left behind on the anus when a dog stool is soft...this causes irritation not unlike a person gets when experencing diarehha) It can also lead to the dogs anal glands not being properly expressed during eliminations. I am not sure what benefit there is to the Omega acids found in upper end foods. I have done the reading to see what benefits there is SUPPOSED to be, though I cant say that I really know for sure the food is providing that benefit. (Omega 6 fatty acids are supposed to help with coat and skin...my female who has an old age pancreatic problem is required to be on prescription dog food that doesnt have these additives...I dont really notice a difference in her) So what I finally decided was that I like knowing what my dogs are getting. I like the consistancy of the upper end foods. The other thing is that the upper end food manufactuers usually offer a variety of mixes not available in cheaper foods. A hunting mix, a senior mix, a light mix, a diet mix, etc etc etc.
If I had my choice and the pocket book for it my dogs would get Eukanuba...but I dont...if it were available by me (which it is not) my second choice would be PRO PAC...so I usually am left with feeding my dogs IAMS or PRECISE

well that ended up a bit long winded....sorry

D.E Lee
RobDars Beagle Rescue

[Bev]

Long-winded posts are welcome! Thank you for sharing and welcome to the board.

[Cooks Hilltop Kennel]

Have you tried Diamond Premium Adult? It is the best premium dog food for the dollar.

[DG TX]

At about $0.65 a pound, Diamond is making a good meat based feed FOR PMI called EXCLUSIVE. They ran a special and I fed 6 bags of it and liked it except for the price. Seems they use FRESH MEAT in making it. Just left Ralston Purina after a long haul with them and have settled on Diamond.

[Guest]

not sure I have ever heard of Diamond (which means it may not be readily available around me) but I will check into it. The last food I tried with real meat (eukanuba All Natural) gave the dogs TERRIBLE breath...which of course is not as much of a problem for you guys as it is for me...when someone comes to adopt a dog and thier breath smells like DEATH

[beagleboy]

Hi I am new to the world of dogs and I just got a beautiful female. My question is....Where do you buy that diamond food? I here alot about it but can't find it. All I can find, Besides the usual cheaper brands are, Iams, Eukanuba, and sceience diet. I have check at all pet stores, vets, feed stores, and nothing. Thank you for your help!

[Phillip Smith]

Black Gold is one of the few feeds that has meat meal first, which has no hoof, hair, blood just all meat. Sportsman Pride and Diamond are almost the same, my dogs look a little better and have less clean up on the Sportsman Pride then the Diamond and even better and less clean up on the Black Gold. Less clean up means the dogs are getting more out of the feed.

[M BELLAMY BEAGLES.NET]

I also feed black gold dog food and i think its the best i have ever tried !!!! go to there web site to get more details on there food and find a dealer near you !!!!! http://www.blackgolddogfood.com/

[DG TX]

ANY Purina dealer should be able to get the PMI EXCLUSIVE. It is marketed under that name, but made for them by Diamond. I have heard good things about Black Gold but it is hard to get in some areas.

[Full Choke]

Guest, I'm interested to know, if you asked any of the following questions during your extensive research...

What is the protein requirement of a beagle?
More specifically what is the lysine requirement of a beagle?
What is the lysine requirement of a mixed breed dog?
What is the energy requirement of a beagle?
How are these requirements determined?
What is the difference in nutrient content of a boiled meat/holistic diet and a commercial diet?
Is there a difference in nutrient bioavailability between boiled meat and poultry by-product meal, which would be used in a commercially available diet?

Just curious.
Thanks,
Joe

[RobDar]

Well Full Choke...
The last two questions on your list were the only two questions I would have come across looking into a dog foods...the other questions were more question pertaining to beagles in specific, which I am a bit unsure how a food manufactuer would even begin to answer. To expect that anyone other than a hunter or breeder would have (OR EVER NEED) that kind of highly specific information is expecting alot.
first I will admit I will have to do a little reading for information on Lysine. I am not familiar its benifit or use in the body.
protien requirement of a Beagle is way to general a question to answer well. A hunting Beagle? a couch Beagle? Old Beagle? Young Beagle? Healthy Beagle?
While I am fully aware that there is a calculation of protien to body mass ratio to determine the specific requirement of both breed and individual dogs...that is info I rely on my vet for. I am niether a vet or a bio chemist so I am not sure why this is something I would need to learn
The differnece between holistic and commercial...again a very vague non researchable question. Which commercial diet? There is for instance a big difference between Hills Science Diet and Kibbles and Bits.
I am told, though I have never placed a dog on a holistic diet so I have no actual personal experience to apply, that the holistic diet regiment, when properly balanced and maintained is more easily and more efficient used in the dogs body. (is that what you mean by bio availabilty?) The proponents of holistic foods will say that the holistic creates a healthier dog who will remain free of everything from infection to fleas. While I must admit that it makes sense that holistic diet would be good for a dog,and that this diet would be more easily processed by the canine body, I am not sure it is all it claims. The people who I have known to have thier dog on holistic diet ,a few so fanatic they would allow NO CHEMICALS of any sort on the advice to a holistic vet or holistic dietician...more than one has had a sick dog anyway. One even had a dog die of heartworm because her dietician said the diet should make her dog so healthy he doesnt need heartworm preventive. Well when the dog died the answer was..."well you did something wrong in the diet". Way to convienant an answer for my liking and way too big a risk to take with my dogs.
Those are the best answers my limited knowledge of the subject can offer.
I am just sharing opinion and general information I have come across in my reading and questioning.
Your questions are better geared to a Bio Chemist working for one of the food manufactuers, or a vet?

[guest]

I have tried Sportsman pride and dogs just would not gain weight.
Dogs auctually lost weight .Even the dogs i was not running.
Switched to diamond and it is by far best on market for hunting dogs
that hunts hard all day just $15.00 a bag and i cut down from feeding
4 cups to 2 cups per dog.

[bowhunter59]

seen a remark about kibbles and bits my dogs love it and they r very healthy and hunrt hard as anybodies and will back that up with a show if need be.just feed what u want if dogs r healthy and they like it whats the dang fuss for

[Bsbowhunter]

Mr. Bow, there is no fuss going on here, just some good dialogue. Most of us have considerable time and money invested in our kennels and want to feed our hounds the most benificial yet cost effective brand we can find. I like the thread and was glad to see some responses.

[DG TX]

Things getting too serious with words such as "holistic" and all. Brought to mind a story a story that Kenneth Wolff, a friend of mine, now passed on, told me one time. I laughed hard when I thought of the story!
Seems that Kenneth, then a young boy, & his daddy, Doyle, here in Central Texas were fox hunters back before WWII. Also locally, there was an old bachelor/hermit that lived up on the mountain near where Ft. Hood now stands. This feller was always know to have hounds that could out strike, out run, and out last the best fox hounds brought to Central Texas. BUT, these very hounds always looked poor as a snake and only to be of skin & bones! Folks always wondered what he fed them, if anything.
Early one morning while traveling to town from off the mountain, They passed this feller riding a mule and his pack of hounds following. They noticed him looking off in the brush. Soon after he was out of sight, they heard him holler at his pack. Doyle told Kenneth that the old man must have seen a fox and they should go back to hear the race. They backtracked and when they came in sight of the man they stopped and watched in amasement! Seems he was standing on the back of that mule down in the brush and shaking the cedar berries from a huge cedar tree. And under that mule were them hounds EATING the berries as fast as they fell!! This blows ALL the feed/stamina theories
God bless Kenneth! I hope he is in the Lord's Cedar thicket running Red Fox with his daddy. I miss them and thier kind!