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#1
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Ideas on best dog food
I have done a little reading on dog foods and dog nutrition and I am a
little confused. I really don't know if one dog food is better than another. I want to use the dry food because it is better for the teeth and doesn't smell, but other than that I am seeing a lot of claims, do's and don't that don't necessarily make sense. One of them is the addition of corn. Now, I realize it is not natural for dogs to attack a corn field, but corn on the other hand has some fiber in it that might just be good for dogs. Fiber is good for humans. People keep saying they want smaller dog stools. In humans, though, larger stools mean more fiber and are perhaps healthier, so I don't see the size of the stool as being an important factor at least for health. I see two camps. The meat and more expensive camp and the cheap, it's all about the same stuff camp. Testimonials don't help because they are contradictory. Some people say Ol' Roy is the best thing since sliced bread and others say if you feed it you are going to kill your dog....give him skin problems, cancer, etc. I'm pretty sure there is no proof of these ominous health claims, but still I want good food, but would rather not pay for hype. Any thoughts? I have a 9 wk old border collie that I'm feeding Purina Puppy Chow to. His first owner was feeding her that so I've just continued with it, but eventually, I'll change to something else....but what? dkw |
#3
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Ideas on best dog food
I have a 9 wk old border
collie that I'm feeding Purina Puppy Chow to. His first owner was feeding her that so I've just continued with it, but eventually, I'll change to something else....but what? dkw Purina is fine. If it ain't broke.... you know the song! Here's the deal - at our practice, the only food I've ever heard the doctors discouraging is Old Roy. LOTS of filler making lots of pooping and we see more skin issues with it. Otherwise, unless the dog needs prescription food, the doctors recommend continue feeding what has worked well. Store brand food - they tend to mention Pruina as it's the most available brand around here. Just don't change foods often as it can cause tummy upset and lots of gas. And if you do change, make it a gradual one, slowly adding the new food to the old until it's finally just the new food after about a week. And stick with dry. |
#4
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Ideas on best dog food
On Jan 26, 7:42 am, "Sharon Too" wrote: I have a 9 wk old border collie that I'm feeding Purina Puppy Chow to. His first owner was feeding her that so I've just continued with it, but eventually, I'll change to something else....but what? dkwPurina is fine. If it ain't broke.... you know the song! Here's the deal - at our practice, the only food I've ever heard the doctors discouraging is Old Roy. LOTS of filler making lots of pooping and we see more skin issues with it. Otherwise, unless the dog needs prescription food, the doctors recommend continue feeding what has worked well. Store brand food - they tend to mention Pruina as it's the most available brand around here. Just don't change foods often as it can cause tummy upset and lots of gas. And if you do change, make it a gradual one, slowly adding the new food to the old until it's finally just the new food after about a week. And stick with dry. Thanks. That makes sense and that is what I'll do. dkw |
#5
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Ideas on best dog food
"diddy" wrote in message ... "nitrogenous waste" is referring to the increased ammonia production to maintain the acid balance (which occurs post-glomerulus), and to liver urea production (which occurs pre- glomerulus). The increased amount of ammonia created to moderate acid base causes the initial scarring. Phosphorous exacerbates the scarring and reduces the ability of the individual nephron function. How does phosphorus exacerbate the (renal tubule) scarring? Phosphorus increases acidity levels which would then leads to increased ammoniagenesis by increasing acidity within the renal tubules. .........Oh good gravy. Exactly what's the date of this old Steve Crane post? Or do you have the source for this information. http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/nielsen/ww...Nutrition.html ...........this is for livestock nutrition 1 cup of corn Corn Proximates ........Where is this from? What kind of corn - dried uncooked field corn? -- "Interpreting Pet Food Labels" http://www.fda.gov/cvm/index/consumer/petlabel.htm ............Page not found Links from the American College of Veterinary Nutrition: http://www.acvn.org/WebsiteEvaluation.html ..............404 Website not found Specifically with regard to regulation and labelling: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/index/animalfeed/petfoods.htm ............Page not found http://www.aafco.org/ I don't know where questions 1-3 are on this site, but the inclusion of grains by all pet food manufacturers is done for ONE reason. .........It's a cheap source of energy and they can't make dry food without grain. Period. buglady take out the dog before replying |
#6
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Ideas on best dog food
wrote in message oups.com... I want to use the dry food because it is better for the teeth ..........Actually it's not, but is a fairly common myth. Fiber is good for humans. ..........Dogs aren't humans. They're digestive tract is nowhere near as long as ours. Bowel cancer is hardly ever an issue with dogs, which is where the fiber for humans is important. Corn isn't used for the fiber, but as a source of energy - a carb. Dogs don't physiologically require carbs. so I don't see the size of the stool as being an important factor at least for health. .........if it's not digested, it comes out the other end. Do you really want to be spending money on poop? You can look at this site to compare dog foods: http://www.doberdogs.com/ Pet food labels: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/petlabel.htm and http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00173.htm buglady take out the dog before replying |
#7
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Ideas on best dog food
In article .net,
buglady wrote: Dogs don't physiologically require carbs. !!! Of course they do! They don't rely on carbs for energy production to the same extent that humans do, but yes, some carbohydrates are necessary for good dog nutrition. In fact, canine nutritionists specializing in performance dogs recommend carb supplements (sports drinks, basically) for replenishment after a sprinty-type event if there's going to be another sprinty-type event the following day. Carbohydrates are necessary as an energy source both in muscle and in the brain. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community |
#8
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Ideas on best dog food
"Melinda Shore" wrote in message ... !!! Of course they do! Nope, no need for one carb to pass their lips. *Except for the lactating bitch, there appears to be no dietary requirement for carbohydrate. Gluconeogenesis from alanine and lactate can supply any need for glucose.* Merck Vet Manual, 7th ed. p 1204. buglady take out the dog before replying |
#9
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Ideas on best dog food
In article .net,
buglady wrote: Merck Vet Manual, 7th ed. p 1204. That edition was published in 1991, and given that it was a veterinary handbook and not a research journal it wasn't current even then. That assertion is profoundly wrong when it comes to performance dogs and it's generally wrong when it comes to pet dogs. Do a quickie Google search on the terms dogs carbohydrates You'll find stuff published in this century. If you're interested in finding out more, try dogs "muscle glycogen" There are also a number of decent books on dog nutrition and audio tapes/CDs published by the Alaska Dog Mushers Association. You don't have to rely on a superannuated veterinary handbook. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community |
#10
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Ideas on best dog food
On Jan 26, 5:39 pm, (Melinda Shore) wrote: In article .net, buglady wrote: Merck Vet Manual, 7th ed. p 1204.That edition was published in 1991, and given that it was a veterinary handbook and not a research journal it wasn't current even then. That assertion is profoundly wrong when it comes to performance dogs and it's generally wrong when it comes to pet dogs. Do a quickie Google search on the terms dogs carbohydrates You'll find stuff published in this century. If you're interested in finding out more, try dogs "muscle glycogen" There are also a number of decent books on dog nutrition and audio tapes/CDs published by the Alaska Dog Mushers Association. You don't have to rely on a superannuated veterinary handbook. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community I'm sure you are correct. While it may not be necessary to eat carbs, the protein and fat would need to be turned into carbs, namely sugar to be useful to the cells for energy. At least that's the way it works in humans and all mammals I would imagine. I think a lot of the bodybuilders eating their high-protein diets are just wasting their money by buying expensive protein supplements while the body converts them to carbs. Much easier and cheaper to eat the carbs in the first place. Dogs, like people probably have a wide range of healthy mix for carbs, protein and fat, provided they don't overeat. A hundred years ago, at least in this country, if you told somebody you were vegetarian, they would swear you would just die from lack of meat, too. That was wrong for people, and it seems to be wrong for dogs too. Many of the opinions do not appear to be based on science for dogs any more than they are for humans. I don't know why I thought it would be easier finding an ideal diet for my dog. I'll just wing it, probably get the high corn, lower meat stuff, and see how it goes. If my dog becomes lethargic, loses weight, or gets a skin problem, heck, I can always switch. I really don't want to spend any more money than I need to on my dog. I had to laugh to myself when the vet recommended a lot of tests and Science Diet for my pet, since I don't go to the doctor myself and eat a lot of low-priced (but nutritious food) too. I'll stick with the heartworm and general innoculations for parvo, etc. and forget the exams, fecal test and expensive food for now. I don't need to pay $100 for the vet to tell me my dog is healthy. dkw |
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