# I know I am feeding my dog supposedly "poor quality" food, but??



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

robby69 said:


> I have read all the websites about the best commercial foods to give you dog, as well as raw and cooking "human" foods.
> 
> My 15-yr spoo had been eating Iams in the green bag for 13yrs. was always a gulper, and less of a chewer... 2 years ago, we sprinkled "Moist N Meaty" on it to entice her to eat more, since she isn't a chewer. Now at 15, she only wants the Moist N Meaty (of course it has sugar in it!)...
> 
> ...


If you know you are feeding a poor quality food, and know that better foods exist, and can afford to feed better foods, what is the reasoning for feeding crappy food? 

I believe genetics have the largest impact on longevity, but a good diet is owed to your dog at minimum and will have hugely positive impacts on his/her health at best.

But, I agree. Let the 15 year old dog continue eating as he/she pleases.  But I do think you owe it to your dog, since you know much better quality foods exist, to feed a high quality diet to your younger dog.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

i think temperance would sell her soul for beneful. she loves it. it's crap food. i used it as a training treat for her!

LOL

she's always been fed 4 & 5 star kibble and is now raw fed.

go figgah.


i say for your 15 y/o dog let it continue as is. with the other, maybe try a higher quality feed? my main concern is now all the recalls w/ dog foods.


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## robby69 (Apr 29, 2012)

It may be "easier" to switch the younger spoo over to a "better" food now that they aren't eating together... They have always been free feeders and have maintained their weights..

The 15yr old is having trouble recovering from her recent bout of Canine Vestibular disorder and we are having to "hand feed" her, atleast for now. Its been 10-days, and she has come along way from when it hit her, so we are hoping for the best since she is now eating and drinking like her old self except for the hand feeding.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 28, 2011)

If you can feed a better quality food, I think you should.  Most dogs love the crappy foods because of the high sugar and salt content. However, in the long run, those foods cause problems with their health. I would allow the 15 yo to eat what she wants at this point, but your younger spoo could definitely benefit from a higher quality food. Btw, there a lot of good foods out there that are much less expensive than Iams. That stuff isn't cheap!


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I agree with the above posts. There are so many options. Grain free are good but your 4 year old may have a good tolerance at this point. 

I remember Iams briefly and only need one word - GAS :alien2:


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## Quossum (Mar 18, 2011)

There are humans who are genetically blessed enough to live to ripe old ages on diets of McDonald's, whiskey, and cigarettes, sidestepping all the research-based pitfalls of those health choices. I wouldn't call parents who feed their kids a steady diet of junk food "bad parents," any more than I would call dog owners who feed their dogs on low quality food "bad owners." I would assume they have their reasons.

My personal choice, though, is to feed my dogs the best food I can afford to give them. I started feeding raw in 1997, with a BARF-style framework, and my feeding has evolved over the years to the present day, to the Prey Model Raw that I feed now. I indulge my dogs with "junk" every once in a while (though these days I even try to provide premium treats as well) just I sometimes indulge myself with a Big Mac. :angel2: 

I considered it a triumph when my puppy was given a Milk Bone brand treat at a drive through (very low quality, grain based treat; wheat flour and wheat bran are the first ingredients) and he recoiled from it with an expression I can only describe as horrified. I dropped it on the seat but he never would eat it. Pup literally didn't recognize grain as a canine-appropriate food! :laugh2:

--Q


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## tintlet (Nov 24, 2009)

I sold a puppy to someone that has only fed Sam's Exceed ( same as proPlan). Dog is 15 years old, never sick. High COI and Wyclif too  .


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## vicky2200 (Feb 14, 2012)

We had a german shepherd who ate kibbles and bits and everything he could get (anything, he ate concrete once.) He lived to be 13. However, now we know better. We feed professional (made by diamond). They do get moist and meaty as a treat. We hide pieces around the house, they find it. They don't get a lot of it. It probably is about 2% of their yearly diet, if even. They rarely get things like peperoni or hot dogs. We do give them scraps daily (unless we are having something like chili.) Sometimes they have things like green beans, other times its chicken or pork. Always lean meats. Our Alaskan Husky does get 'bad' human food from time to time because she is VERY thin (you can see her hip bones) but nothing puts weight on. I do the best I can to make sure that about 70% of their diet is high quality kibble, 24% healthy scraps, and about4 % questionable/bad human foods. Not to say that every day they get bad stuff, but at the end of the year, its probably broken down like this.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

well, thing is ... i've fed all 5 of my current dogs wellness kibble and i switched it up to raw and darn if my male cairn didn't eat jelly beans the other night. :argh:

oh and my poodles really like to eat socks and panties. :argh::argh::argh:

my old man lab/rottie was over 15 when he passed on. ate a mix of diamond natural and pedigree and was fairly robust til the end. he was a good boy.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

faerie said:


> well, thing is ... i've fed all 5 of my current dogs wellness kibble and i switched it up to raw and darn if my male cairn didn't eat jelly beans the other night. :argh:
> 
> oh and my poodles really like to eat socks and panties. :argh::argh::argh:
> 
> my old man lab/rottie was over 15 when he passed on. ate a mix of diamond natural and pedigree and was fairly robust til the end. he was a good boy.


LMAO! 

I have a large bottle of peroxide thanks to Kais appetite for socks!


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

Some dogs thrive and live to old age on awful food.

Some dogs do poorly on the best food available.

Every dog is an individual, but that's not an excuse to give them less than they deserve.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

My mom's cat is like 17yrs old.. she just got her when she turned 15, but she's "been in the family" since she was a kitten.. had been on Purina cat chow most of her life. When they took her in to the vet this year they said she is very healthy and probably has another 6yrs left in her lol.

However I think she is an exception and not the rule lol. The way I see it is they cant choose what we feed them. If WE want to eat junk then that is a decision WE made and have to live with.. But they cant make that choice and I opt to feed them the best I can find. AND they LOVE it. My husband always says they eat better than us.. which is true I love junk food lol! I rather they eat chicken and veggie than the twinkies and mcDs of the dog world.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

My dogs will eat anything too, but I try to feed a high-quality diet only (they occasionally self-supplement with pebbles, the odd dog tag, jewellry, my daughter's hair elastics and once a green knitted glove). But I do notice that Costco is now selling Natural Domain, which is a 4-star rated dog kibble, for about $39 for a huge sack. So that's fairly good quality food at a very low price!


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

I had a medium-sized shepherd mix that lived to 16 on dollar general brand "moist and meaty". She was healthy and rubust until the day she died. My thoughts on the matter? 

How long would she had lived if I had known then what I know now, and she had been on the best diet I could have given her? 

Agree with the above posts. I love my dogs and want to give them the best I can afford. Just because they can live on "crap" food, doesn't mean they don't deserve something better.


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## happybooker1 (Dec 6, 2011)

*MY sis used to feed Ol' Roy Exclusively!!!!*

:afraid: She said her dogs wouldn't eat anything else. 

Her Pyr lived to be 13 (got her when she was 2) and her Sheltie X lived to 14. 

But.... the Pyr was plagued by ear infections the last 6 years of her life. Her Sheltie developed cancer and was PTS.

So... they lived long lives but how much longer and healthier could they have been on quality food??

Back in the '60s and '70s we had 'family' pets. I'm sure we didn't feed 'quality' food then. My grandparents' farm dog got only scraps from meals. They didn't even BUY food for him. I'm sure he caught the occassional mouse/rat/gopher, etc. to supplement his diet. He lived till 15. 

We in Texas are lucky enough to have a state-produced food that is quality and has NEVER been recalled: Victor Premium Dog Food | Professional Formulations. I feed their grain-free formula and it costs WAYYYYY less than BB, Origen, TOTW, etc. I would highly recommend it but I believe it's only available in Texas and Oklahoma.


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Hm... not sure how many people there are here who don't feed food that isn't highly rated.

Let's face it - dogs will eat anything. They will eat roadkill and their own poop. Just cause they eat it, doesn't mean it's always good for them.

I like the healthier options cause their poops are so much better. I fed IAMS to my cats 5 years ago. I didn't know about grain free kibble and all that back then. Before IAMS, it was Science Diet. I just fed whatever my vet told me to feed. Then one day, I woke up and decided to change their food to grain free. I was elated with the results of their poop! I was so astounded I started looking at other food options and looking at the ingredient label. My cats won't touch raw, but that's fine by me. They are on good kibble and get very good treats.

I do allow dog "junk" food every now and then as a special treat, but I'd rather feed them human food before feeding dog junk food. To each their own!


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## 2719 (Feb 8, 2011)

I agree that we should try to feed our dogs (any animal) the best quality that we can afford...and that they enjoy. I also know that some pets have allergy or health issues and can only follow a prescribed diet.

Does anyone know of any studies that have proven that the foods that we are currently rating as 4-5 star or high quality are actually improving the life span of our pets? I am legitimately curious.

In the 1970's we fed our poodle gains burgers (I am not sure if they are still even made)..they were individually wrapped moist kibble shaped like a burger. She had two burgers a day. She lived to a very old age on this food. I also tried to feed my cat healthy food and she, too, would only eat Purina Cat Chow. She also lived to a very old age.

I have become very skeptical in my old age and I worry that all the food that we are being told is great for our pets is really no better....it just has been marketed as better. The recalls at the Diamond plant come to mind...were not some of the foods recalled listed as 4 or 5 star foods?

I truly would be interested to know if the quality of food today is actually extending our pet's lives.

I would welcome any opinions.


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

truelovepoodles said:


> I agree that we should try to feed our dogs (any animal) the best quality that we can afford...and that they enjoy. I also know that some pets have allergy or health issues and can only follow a prescribed diet.
> 
> Does anyone know of any studies that have proven that the foods that we are currently rating as 4-5 star or high quality are actually improving the life span of our pets? I am legitimately curious.
> 
> ...


I can't answer your question exactly - I haven't seen any research on it. But,

We can improve our dogs' lifespans - as much as 2 years! - by keeping them thin and active. The scientific study was done using Purina Dog Chow.


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## Lilah+Jasper (May 13, 2010)

I was in agreement with you until this statement:



sheilaaellis44 said:


> The best dog food is pedigree. But it is very expensive so if you are rich then you can afford it.


Pedigree is rated a one (out of 5) star dog food here
Pedigree Dry Dog Food | Review and Rating

The corn and various meal content makes it one of the lowest rated commercial dog foods. Also, because a dog's system cannot utilize many of the pedigree ingredients, one needs to feed more and clean up more yard waste:afraid: It is false economy to think that Pedigree Dry is a better deal than say a 4 or 5 star kibble.

Is there another formula of Pedigree? Maybe I am looking at the wrong blend...


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## tortoise (Feb 5, 2012)

I think Pedigree is CHEAP! :lol: Orijen - THAT is expensive dog food.

I had gotten in the habit of buying 50%-off almost-expired dog food bags and storing them in the freezer. Only the really good, expensive stuff - and in small bags so I can feed them quickly.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Lilah+Jasper said:


> Is there another formula of Pedigree? Maybe I am looking at the wrong blend...


There are no good formulas of Pedigree... it's an absolutely terribly food. It has ingredients in it that I wouldn't even want in my house, much less to feed to animals that I love. I always get this sick feeling in my stomach when I see people buying foods like Pedigree, Ol Roy, Dog Chow, Beneful, or Kibbles N Bits in stores. I especially get grossed out if they have kids. These foods have all kinds of nasty stuff in them, and little kids will put anything in their mouths. Ugh:dontknow:

As to this recall, yes it included several 4 and 5 star foods. BUT that doesn't really have anything to do with the quality of the food, it has to do with quality of production. Personally, I would take my chances with a 4 or 5 star food produced by a manufacturer with a few recalls, than with a 1 or 2 star food (that contains carcinogens among other things). You have to think about the fact that you are feeding this to your dog every single meal of every single day. Yeah, a nasty ingredient here or there isn't going to kill you. But prolonged exposure can. Lots of these chemicals and compounds can build up in the body's organs over time and wreak havoc over a period of years. I would take my chances on Salmonella. 

Of course, I don't feed any of the foods that were recalled, though if my budget didn't allow me to feed a diet of partial raw, supplemented with Acana kibble, then I would choose one of those foods over something like Pedigree any day of the week.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

There are two HUGE components to discriminating good and bad dog foods. One is quality control/quality of production and the other is the quality of ingredient/ingredients themselves. Both weigh heavily into determining whether a food is good or not. The recalled foods were rated highly because of their ingredients yet maintain a lower price point due to mass production at giant facilities - a negative when you are assessing quality of production. But for the budget minded looking to find an affordable food with high quality ingredients - these are all very good foods. I do not find the presence of salmonella to be particularly alarming. It happens. At least it's not Melamine. JMO.

As to the question of whether or not diet extends length of life...I have not read any such studies. I think that longevity has long proven to be mostly genetic with some environmental impact. I think that a high quality diet enables a dog (or human!) to enjoy the healthiest life. I wouldn't hold my breath about even the best diet alone causing a dog to live longer. I think that a combination of genetics, diet, exercise, and other environmental influences impact length of life in dogs (and humans!)

I feed my dogs a raw diet. I'm not convinced that feeding them Pedigree would shorten their life spay persay...I mean..Pedigree is a balanced diet. I do think that they I would see a decline in the visible health of my dog on a day to day basis, though. For example, we'd go back to plaquey teeth, gas, tummy issues, etc.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

for myself, i feed my human family as clean and healthy a diet that i can afford. I prefer to offer as much organic, locally raised food as I can afford.

for my furbabies, i do the same. currently, I'm feeding raw (ground w/bone). At this time, I put a lot into making sure I can afford it. it did raise up my bill a lot over the kibble i was feeding them (and it was wellness which is not cheap). if I can't afford to continue this, then I will adjust what I offer them and do the best I can. 

for a lot of people, grocery store kibble may be what they can afford. they are good parents to their fur babies with their income and we shouldn't disparage them that.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

I avoid all factory farmed meat for lots of reasons (health, environment, animal welfare, prefer to support family farms rather than the big corporations) and I especially don't trust any of the meat or meat by products in commercial dog food. So I use vegan kibble and I supplement it with meat that I buy directly from local farmers. I buy the cheaper cuts of meat (heart, liver, kidney, chicken ground up with the bones, gizzards when I can get them, eggs from pastured hens) and sometimes feed it raw and sometimes cooked. My dogs have access to kibble all day and they each get about 1/4 pound of meat for supper.

I just ordered 30 pounds of kibble for $52 including shipping
V-dogfood — Welcome

For farmers who sell directly to consumers:
Eat Wild
Sustainabletable


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