Author Topic: Dog Food  (Read 18917 times)

Offline JoMorningstar

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Re: Dog Food
« Reply #15 on: August 31, 2008, 09:54:33 pm »
Hi,  I too feed raw.. have for 7 yrs now with Heather, And Heather, my Great pyr Service dog is 10 yrs old her vet says she is fit as any 6yr old would be. grin.

I used to recommend EVO to other people. but they have recently (since the recall last year) changed their formulas, and i no longer encourage it.  For instance this ingredient list for Evo large bite dry food http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1485 no longer states that they include *fermentation solids*.. NOW its under " Direct-Fed Microbials " and unlike the other ingredients there is NO pull down to explain that.  in putting that into google, i found http://ag.udel.edu/anfs/faculty/kung/articles/direct_fed_microbials_and_enzyme.htm  which goes into details about the fungal yeast products that  are grouped in probiotics.  those mentioned in the article are some of the very ones that Evo Used to list on thier ingredient list.  Makes me wonder why they took the detail off their website?? perhaps because other people were getting alarmed at seeing them, or the increasing problems being observed by pet owners with other brands. dont know. its only a speculation.

one dry kibble that i have not been able to find fault with, (and i do a LOT of kibble ingredient research) is DVP Natural balance Limited ingredient formula's  When i go to pow wows in the summer / fall this is what i take for her to eat.. its too hard to keep the raw cold enough even with its own cooler and nearly all ice.  the last pow wow, i took the venison and sweet potato for her. and she was quite happy.  First of the month of August, i took a long road trip, and i took 2 1 lb bags of her raw and a small bag of the kibble.  she was more interested in eating the kibble. so i shared the raw dinner with the woman who i took to pick up a new dog for training to be a service dog. boy that dog sure loved the raw also. Heather was happy to share.

the reason that i do not like the evo now.. is that they are adding in things that are not proven to be without risk to dogs.  as with the latest problems with canidea  the fermentation solids are not that great a thing for dogs. many dogs are coming up with lots of health concerns. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/canidae.html

Also.. some things they do not tell you.. that the dried chicory root makes a lot of dogs itch.  its also a laxative to dogs, thats why they use it, as there are other forms of inulin that are easier on the dog, but dogs are not designed to digest grains and the dogs system may lag trying to digest them. so the laxative sends the poop out.

with Raw you have much less poop coming out then the amt of food going in. 

Josephine Morningstar & Heather, Grt Pyr, MASD
Native American in New England.

Josephine Morningstar & Heather, Grt Pyr MASD
Native American in New England.
Never threaten anyone. It ruins the surprise.

Offline JoMorningstar

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Re: Dog Food
« Reply #16 on: September 01, 2008, 07:38:49 am »
im not really sure where the hostility comes into play. it was not my intention to bring that out in anyone.  i posted what i found on the internet..

maybe i should give you some background... HEY i used to feed EVO.. and did so for 2 yrs.. but Heather's allergies did not get better.. come to find out that she is very much allergic to SOY and any soy products.. so when i went to raw meat.. her allergies subsided..

last october, though it was found that she had hypothyroidism .. and my vet says.. it was from many years on SOY products..

great pyrs are low metabolism.. so it takes longer to get out of their systems. 

now for the rest of her life.. Heather has to take 2 thyroid pills twice a day.  i merely try to educate.. and i do preamble my opinions with just that.. my opinion. i did not attack anyone on this thread nor forum.  but golly gee it sure feels like the masses are against me.

----------------
as to soy products.. maybe ya'all should check out this site. http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/
Josephine Morningstar & Heather, Grt Pyr MASD
Native American in New England.
Never threaten anyone. It ruins the surprise.

yellow_dog_mom

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Re: Dog Food
« Reply #17 on: September 01, 2008, 07:58:08 am »
All of this totally confuses me, and I'm sure many others  as well ???

Jo Morningstar said;
"one dry kibble that i have not been able to find fault with, (and i do a LOT of kibble ingredient research) is DVP Natural balance Limited ingredient formula's" 

but on Consumer Affairs, the website which you also posted--this company is linked with serious complaints of PET DEATH. So are you saying THAT only one particular type of their animal food killed pets?
 
 I have such a DOG FOOD HEADACHE :o
« Last Edit: September 01, 2008, 08:01:58 am by yellow_dog_mom »

Offline JoMorningstar

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Re: Dog Food
« Reply #18 on: September 01, 2008, 12:15:49 pm »
All of this totally confuses me, and I'm sure many others  as well ???

Jo Morningstar said;
"one dry kibble that i have not been able to find fault with, (and i do a LOT of kibble ingredient research) is DVP Natural balance Limited ingredient formula's" 

but on Consumer Affairs, the website which you also posted--this company is linked with serious complaints of PET DEATH. So are you saying THAT only one particular type of their animal food killed pets?

-------------
the company name was involved as was alot of others, but it was involving gluten that was being added to congeal / combine the food in processing.

IF you look closer to what i was happy with it is *limited ingredients*.  they have NO GRAIN.. NO chicory root,  esp no gluten .. so this formula was the only one out of the rest that was totally grain / gluten free.

the only formula that was involved in the recall ( http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/naturalbalance04_07.html ) was the venison and ** Brown Rice**.

what i have liked and use when i go to pow wow.. is this one. http://naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/VenDog.html

quoting the ingredient list on that page...
INGREDIENT LISTING

Sweet Potatoes, Venison, Venison Meal, Potato Protein, Canola Oil, Potato Fiber, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Choline Chloride, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
 
no grains of any kind. not even rice. also no chicory root, no rosemary extract, and none of the *fermentation solids*. either. 

Heather is able to switch for the 2 days of pow wow (or 4 some times) to eating this particular kibble, her stools are  the same, also small, no smell to them, dont attract many flies either. but it maybe the location we are at the pow wow.. as i do not even see many mosquitoes (its in a mtn valley)

main thing is that she does not itch from eating the kibble. so for Heather it works.. so i recommend it to others that have had dogs having trouble with other kibbles or the itchy ness they cant quite pin their finger on..
Josephine Morningstar & Heather, Grt Pyr MASD
Native American in New England.
Never threaten anyone. It ruins the surprise.

Offline patrick

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Re: Dog Food
« Reply #19 on: September 01, 2008, 01:52:59 pm »
Hypothyroidism can be genetic or an autoimmune disorder.  That's why thyroid testing is now part of OFA and CHIC. - have you had the full panel testing done and sent- not at your vets- it needs to sent off to one of the vet universities.

Unfortunately many many many 'allergy' symptoms are actually symptoms of hypothyroidism-   Also hypothyroidism can be linked to a iodide deficiency - there is a supplement called thyroid support which some people have used successfully to get their dogs off of thyroxine.  Far more complex than just saying it's due to soy