# Ingredients List



## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

This food looks pretty good--what brand is it? 
I'd _personally _prefer brown rice or quinoa over the pearled barley, and I've heard that some dogs have problems with flax (thankfully not mine). 

Does your pooch need to avoid certain proteins?


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## Jazmin's Person (Sep 21, 2011)

Its surprisingly a brand made for walmart. I was pretty surprised when I read it.

She has a sensitive tummy, but it seems to be to chicken.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I wonder what the duck meal is? I see this on other foods . I am not sayin it is bad. I just wonder what it is...


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

A wal-mart sold food? What brand? That's interesting.


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## kdias (Sep 17, 2011)

I would be interested in knowing where it is made as much as the ingredients listed.


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

You can check the brand name here: Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings
Or here: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/


> Posted by *Carley's Mom*:
> I wonder what the duck meal is? I see this on other foods . I am not sayin it is bad. I just wonder what it is...


Same here--as it could be any number of things/ingredients!


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I agree with kdias, where is it made? I would not buy anything to be consumed from China! I have been there , seen it with my own eyes and believe me you want to beware! Lots of our dog treats are from China! I always stay away from those. The things they will let their own people eat is unbelieveable, no tellin what they would let our dogs eat!


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

This is why I prepare my poodles' food using organic/free-range meats and veg/fruit. That way I control what goes in their mouths. 

I'm also reluctant to buy toys made in China but there only seems to be a handful made in the USA.


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## ShelbySP (Dec 28, 2011)

I always look to see where the product was made. Is there a number to call to questions about the product. What research do they have to support the product. Is there a website? Also the guaranteed analysis means nothing, because if you look at the label, it is a range, either min. or max. and not true values.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Is it the Actr1 or something like that? I noticed Wal-mart carries this "holistic adult dog food" and the ingredient list seemed similar. No preservatives, no corn, and no wheat. Made in Canada. If they are getting in on the trend for organic good-quality food, I sure applaud that.


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## Jazmin's Person (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the input  
Yes it is the Act1um from walmart, and it is made in Canada.
The no preservatives, no corn, and no wheat caught my eye, and the ingredient list doesn't raise any major red flags.
I think I am going to give it a go and mix it with her TOTW and see how it works for her.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Jazmin's Person said:


> So I found a new food that doesn't seem to bad at all for the price. Can I please get some feedback
> 
> Duck Good; a whole, fresh protein is listed as the first ingredient. Remember that this is listed _before_ processing, so even though it is the first ingredient it is probably NOT the main ingredient after processing dries out all the water content. , pearled barley Since the first ingredient is _fresh_ and loses it's water content (70-80% of its weight) after processing, that makes THIS the main ingredient in the food. I don't like that this ingredient is a grain, but at least it isn't corn or wheat, duck meal GOOD! This is probably now the second most prevalent ingredient in the food, and it is a meat meal, which means that this food still contains a large amount of meat product. This is essentially dried out duck meat in this product, oatmeal, pea fiber, sweet potatoes, herring meal a second named meat meal, a little low on the list, but still a good addition, dicalcium phosphate, lots of grains and carbohydrates listed before the first obviously named fat source (the olive oil immediately following this note) means that this food still contains a significant amount of carbohydrates. You can reasonably assume that everything listed before and including the first fat source makes up at least 80% of the foods content olive oil, ground whole falxseed, dried alfalfa, apples, bananas, blueberries,broccoli, cranberries, dried kelp,pears, spinach,capsicum,cinnamon,chamomile, paprika, turmeric, vitamin E supplement,choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, vitamin b12 supplement, niacin, sodium selenite, calcium pantothenate, manganous oxide, vitamin A acetate, riboflavin, calcium iodate, folic acid, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrocholride, vitamin d3 supplement, rosemany extract.
> 
> ...


I'm not an expert, but my notes are in GREEN

Also, to clarify some of my statements, all ingredients on a label are listed in order by weight BEFORE processing. That's why I emphasized the water weight issue. A lot of people don't realize this and automatically think that if "meat" is the first ingredient, the food is mostly meat. A really good example of this is some IAMS varieties. "Chicken" is the first ingredient, followed by multiple cheap grains and protein sources. People think it is mostly chicken, but don't realize that once processed, that "chicken" becomes obsolete and drops down very low on the ingredients list. And that makes the #1 ingredient corn. 

And for those who asked about the "duck meal" here are the AAFCO definitions (I have ZERO respect for AAFCO and place NO stock in their "certification" but they are the ones who get to define these terms, so here it is). 

"Meat meal is the rendered product from mammal tissues, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices. It shall not contain added extraneous materials not provided for by this definition.The Calcium (Ca) level shall not exceed the actual level of Phosphorus (P) by more than 2.2 times. It shall not contain more than 12% Pepsin indigestible residue and not more than 9% of the crude protein in the product shall be pepsin indigestible. The label shall include guarantees for minimum crude protein, minimum crude fat, maximum crude fiber, minimum Phosphorus (P) and minimum and maximum Calcium (Ca). If the product bears a name descriptive of its kind, composition or origin, it must correspond thereto."

"Meat is the clean flesh derived from slaughtered mammals and is limited to that part of the striate muscle which is skeletal or that which is found in the tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart, or in the esophagus; with or without the accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, sinew, nerve, and blood vessels which normally accompany the flesh. It shall be suitable for use in animal food. If it bears a name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto."

The difference is that the "meal" has been "rendered" AKA processed by heat and dried out. It isn't _exactly_ the same, but think about having 1lb of raw beef compared to 1lb of beef jerky. You have a LOT more meat content with the beef jerky as compared to the raw beef, because the jerky has very low moisture content and the raw beef has very high moisture content. Then they are both "rendered" (dried out). You are still going to have about the same amount of beef jerky as you started with, and significantly less "beef" than you started with. Then both of these things are mixed in with all that other stuff to make "kibble". 

Hope this helps!


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

sookster, you know much more than me on this subject. I was wondering what you thought of Blue Buffalo and Chicken Soup for the dogs. I feed my dogs a mixture of the two. Do you have a favorite kibble dog food?


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Here's what I know about the two companies: 

Blue Buffalo is (unless something has changed since I last researched it) an independent company. They do their own thing in their own facilities, which I like. No other foods being made on the same equipment, and they don't contract out to other manufacturers. They have had some recalls (most foods have; what concerns me more is how they handle them). I haven't dealt with them personally, but have heard that their customer service is terrible. Again, this is a company thing not really a kibble quality thing. As far as kibble quality, I do like their foods. This brand changed our labrador's life. It was the first food we tried that he could eat without chronic diarrhea (regular old Blue Buffalo, no special variety). I personally think their regular Blue Buffalo food is a bit grain heavy and I prefer their Wilderness line because it is grain free (possibly not suitable for large breed puppies). My BIGGEST issue with this company is that every single food they make, with the possible exception of some of their Basics line, has some sort of chicken in it, so you can't get away from chicken if you exclusively feed this food. I prefer to rotate proteins. 

Chicken Soup is a good lower-budget food. I would never fault anyone for feeding this, but personally wouldn't feed it to my own dogs because of the grain content. It just doesn't have enough meat for my personal preference. But the grains are higher quality than what you find in most commercial, low budget foods and it has significantly more meat content than something like Purina. It is made by Diamond pet foods, which has had their fair share of recalls. But they are MUCH better at handling recalls than companies such as Mars (Nutro and several extremely poor quality grocery store foods) or P&G (IAMS). They make primarily high quality foods (Taste of the Wild, Canidae, and Solid Gold being among them; their regular Diamond Dog Food is the poorest quality food they make). 

So my opinion? If you don't have a problem with grains then either of these foods is a fine choice. Blue Buffalo would rank slightly higher in my opinion (again, JUST MY opinion; doesn't mean its fact). 

Do I have a favorite? Not really. I prefer a rotation diet (rotating proteins AND starch sources). I generally alternate with each bag of food between the following brands, depending on which one is on sale at the local pet supply store and which protein source my dog is coming off of: 

Blue Wilderness (Chicken)
Taste Of the Wild (all flavors)
Acana (Ranchlands)
Back to Basics (Pork or Duck)
Before Grain (Chicken; like Blue all of their varieties have chicken in them) 

We have feed in the past: 
Nature's Variety (Beef, Rabbit; gave Juniper gas but haven't tried with Nova)
EVO (no longer feed because it is now owned by P&G)
Natural Balance (my guide dog pups in training eat this)

Would like to try: 
Orijen (probably next, after we finish the current bag of Acana, to try and put a few lbs on Nova)
Solid Gold Barking at the Moon or Sundancer

If you asked me what I thought the best overall food was, I would say Taste of the Wild. It is great quality at an unbelievable price when compared to other foods of similar quality. It has 4 flavors, which all have very different protein sources, so it is easy to rotate between the four flavors and get a lot of variety. 

But like I said, I feed whatever is grain free and on sale  Sorry... this probably wasn't very helpful. I tend to try and give people the information to make their own decisions than to try and tell them what decision to make. I formed all of these opinions by doing research and reading information, and I am going to interpret that differently than someone else may and form different opinions.


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Do you have any problems with your dogs getting sick from changing foods all the time. I have always heard that was not good to do and to do so very slowly ect. I like the ideal of giving them something new, would love to go that route. Thanks !!!!


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

The first time I change to a new food, I do a slow-ish 1 week swap. As long as I don't see any problems (excessive gas, loose stools, etc.) then I do a cold turkey swap next time (to that same food). I've never had any problems, even with Juniper (lab) who has a very sensitive stomach. 

For example, we just bought a bag of Acana Ranchlands that we are switching both Nova and Juniper too. Nova is coming off Back to Basics (pork) and Juniper is coming off Blue Wilderness (duck). Neither have been on this flavor of Acana before, so we are doing a one week switch. 

If we decide to go back to TOTW after this bag of Acana, say, it's on sale. We would just switch them both cold turkey off the Acana when they are done since they have both been on all flavors of TOTW before with no problems. 

If, however, we go from Acana to Orijen, which neither of them have been on before, we will do another one week switch. If at any point during the one week switch they start to develop stool problems, we slow it down until the problem is resolved. Neither of them have ever had real problems with any grain free food; it's generally grain inclusive ones that cause Juniper to react (either gas or loose stools).


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## bura4 (Jul 25, 2010)

What do you think about this dog food??


Crude Protein 26%; Fat Content 12%; Crude Ash 9%; Crude Fibres 2.5%

Composition: Salmon 30,5%, Potato 30,5%, Fish Meal21,4%, Salmon Oil 7,6%, Beet Fibre 6,4%, Brewers Yeast 2,1%, Minerals 0,8%, vitamins 0,7 %. 


Igor is doing well on it, seems not to tolerate the multiple ingredients of Acana...


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

It's a little over 50% meet product. Doesn't look bad at all to me. I'm not particularly fond of the high potato content, but for a sensitive dog the ingredient list is great.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I'm getting ready to put Bonnie on adult food from Blue Buffalo puppy. In fact, tomorrow I need to buy some. I still am not sure which one to try. I like the cost co foods, but my whippet got fat on it so I had to switch to the weight control one. Taste of the Wild seems so expensive, but I will check it out tomorrow.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Outwest which costco food were you using? They have a fairly new grain free line out that is extremely similar to totw. You may want to check it out if you haven't already. I can't remember what it is called, because I don't have a Costco near here, but know of people who use it with good success.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Yes, they do have a new grain free food now. It is salmon and potato based. I don't like the idea of the potato for some reason. It is Nature's Variety, I believe? To me, potatoes seem worse than brown rice or oats or barley. Am I wrong?


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Potato is a starchy vegetable rather than a grain like rice. Kibble has to have a starch source so hold it together. The food is natures domain. 

Nature's Domain Dog Food | Review and Rating

It's a little high on the ingredients list for my taste, but it's ranked as a 4 star food on dog food advisor. That's a pretty good rating, and if the price is right then it's probably a good choice.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Yah, that's it- natures domain. My sister in law is feeding her poodle Natures Variety Instinct and she swears by it. It's expensive, but she has a Moyen poodle, so he doesn't eat much. The cost isn't that big a deal. That's where I got mixed up. That food seems so high in protein.

I went to look at the dog foods again. I have a few days left of Bonnie's puppy food. I couldn't decide what to do (too many choices!), so decided to look again and decide on Monday. 

My main concern is no wheat and no corn and high quality proteins. I don't object to high quality grains in moderation. My secondary concern is not making my dogs overweight. My whippet has a tendency to get overweight. I don't want Bonnie to get heavy. Some of these foods seem so high in calories. In order to keep them at a good weight, they hardly get to eat any food at all. 

I think I will go on that dog food advisor and look at the foods again.


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