# Company Researches 2,200 Dog Food Formulas And Finds ONLY 119 To Be Satisfactory



## Tabatha (Apr 21, 2015)

*Company Researches 2,200 Dog Food Formulas And Finds ONLY 119 To Be Satisfactory*.

I've been saying for years that "Veterinary recommended diets" are crap! Many, like like Hill's Z/D, I don't even consider food. The protein sources in ALL kibble are rendered inert and void of nutrition due to the high heat cooking process. Synthetic vitamins and minerals (usually from China) are added as well as fat and flavoring to make it palatable. Just because your dog likes it or eats it, doesn't mean it's good for them. They'll eat dark chocolate if given the opportunity.

As I said to one person who asked why I would feed raw food to my pets, would you feed your children the same TV dinner every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner for their entire lives? Yes, it is technically nutritionally balanced but what kind of damage do you think it would do over time?

Hill's Z/D Ingredients:
*Starch*, Hydrolyzed Chicken Liver, Soybean Oil, Hydrolyzed Chicken, Powdered Cellulose, Lactic Acid, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement , Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors , Beta-Carotene.


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## Beaches (Jan 25, 2014)

Thanks Tabatha. Very interesting - my dog food didn't make the list! Anyone feed Acana or Orijen?


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## Rusty (Jun 13, 2012)

That is interesting! We feed Acana to both our dogs, and they're doing well on it. We tried Orijen with our first dog, and it was just too rich for him.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

I wonder if dogfoodadvisor will have anything to say about this test. I think it's good info to have but dog food advisor likes a lot of the brands that didn't make the cut.

Rick


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## hollyollyc (Dec 2, 2014)

Happy to see the food I feed listed!

I rotate ACANA and Orijen (I believe they are the same company.) and use air-dried ZiwiPeak as treats. Major fan of ACANA/Orijen because they are made for all life-stages.  

This helps me decide what different brand I want to rotate into Jasmin's diet. I am leaning towards Fromm.

Also went with Stella & Chewy when doing raw diet with Jelena awhile back and was not disappointed.

I am almost 100% sure that Banfield Pet Hospital has a contract with Hill's Science Diet. They call it the "prescription" diets, not sure how effective it is, but I see people walking out with the GI Upset Hill's canned food that the vets say they should get. I have always done fasting/plain rice, chicken. Is it me or do the brands that have commercials and a crap ton of advertising usually have the worst quality foods?

Thanks for sharing the article Tabatha!


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## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

My dogs food didn't make the list but Im not worried. They are doing great on it and they like it. My dogs are picky (my Border Collie tried tons of brands before I finally found one she would eat more than once every 3 days.) The food I feed didnt make the "list" because it has grain in it. I do not believe in the "NO" grain movement for dogs. I dont have a problem with their food having grain in it, due to them not having food allergies. And I dont buy the "supermarket" type foods which are mostly all junk. I do like ProPlan Performance if that counts as a lower brand food. My dogs are doing great on their food,And If It Aint Broke Dont Fix It! I am feeding Breeders Choice Active Joint Chicken formula (got 4 stars on the dogfoodadvisor website). Stella also gets a big spoonful of Evangers Organic Chicken canned food on her dinner. It only contains Organic Chicken, Natural Well Water, Organic Gar Gum pretty darn simple recipe!


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i fed wysong for years. did some switching around as my dog got older and found his food less palatable. hit a really bad patch and tried hills for sensitive stomachs. he ate it and seemed to like it. sometimes you just have to go with what works for the moment.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

PoodleRick said:


> I wonder if dogfoodadvisor will have anything to say about this test. I think it's good info to have but dog food advisor likes a lot of the brands that didn't make the cut.
> 
> Rick


I agree. I guess before I would take anything that is said in this "review" too seriously, I would like to read who the group is, who funded them, etc., and what their ultimate goal is/was. I will admit I didn't look into that part, just browsed the list.

I also think there are many ways to spin results and different benchmarks which may or may not have been established. And, let's not forget, one food that does not work for you may work wonders for me and my dog loves it. I tend to rely more on Whole Dog Journal food reviews since they have no skin in the game, and basically rate up thumbs up or down and fully disclose their criteria for such.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I too take it all with a grain of salt! If a person takes the time to really care about their dogs food and how it can affect their health, they know about the yucky ingredients, and how to identify them by just reading the label! For people who are devoted to all aspects of their dogs health, the food they feed is a constant search for "perfect" LOL!!!! It can be obsessive Hahaha!!!!!


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

My brands didn't make the list, either. I'm just going to stick with what's working for my guys, I have healthy, shiny active dogs feeding Victor, 4-Health grain free (to three of them only) and occasionally Wholesome. I've tried a lot of different foods over the years. This works without damaging my budget too badly. lol

I don't know why I bother feeding decent food, they're just going to go out in the back yard and get into the pig, chicken, and goose 'exhaust' anyway - not even going to think about the litter box. Oy!


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

Is Canagan really that obscure? I never see it even mentioned in major review sites, or discussion for that matter. PureNatural is another highly regarded international brand up here, but it's usually missing as well.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

liljaker said:


> I agree. I guess before I would take anything that is said in this "review" too seriously, I would like to read who the group is, who funded them, etc., and what their ultimate goal is/was. I will admit I didn't look into that part, just browsed the list.
> 
> I also think there are many ways to spin results and different benchmarks which may or may not have been established. And, let's not forget, one food that does not work for you may work wonders for me and my dog loves it. I tend to rely more on *Whole Dog Journal *food reviews since they have no skin in the game, and basically rate up thumbs up or down and fully disclose their criteria for such.


Haven't heard of them. I'll check them out.

Rick


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

BorderKelpie said:


> *My brands didn't make the list*, either. I'm just going to stick with what's working for my guys, I have healthy, shiny active dogs feeding Victor, 4-Health grain free (to three of them only) and occasionally Wholesome. I've tried a lot of different foods over the years. This works without damaging my budget too badly. lol
> 
> I don't know why I bother feeding decent food, they're just going to go out in the back yard and get into the pig, chicken, and goose 'exhaust' anyway - not even going to think about the litter box. Oy!


Mine either. I've been feeding Penny Merrick grain free since I got her and she seems to be doing well on it. I also add Merrick grain free canned as a topper and she loves it. Apparently Merrick didn't make the cut for "a history of recalls". I'm kinda on the fence about that. I'd rather them recall when there is a problem than not recall. I wonder if they researched brands with no recalls to see if they should have recalled something. Not even sure if that's possible. Anyway I don't see me changing what I'm buying based on this but I do add other foods for variety of diet and keeping Penny interested.

Rick


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## hollyollyc (Dec 2, 2014)

AngelAviary said:


> My dogs food didn't make the list but Im not worried. They are doing great on it and they like it. My dogs are picky (my Border Collie tried tons of brands before I finally found one she would eat more than once every 3 days.) The food I feed didnt make the "list" because it has grain in it. I do not believe in the "NO" grain movement for dogs. I dont have a problem with their food having grain in it, due to them not having food allergies. And I dont buy the "supermarket" type foods which are mostly all junk. I do like ProPlan Performance if that counts as a lower brand food. My dogs are doing great on their food,And If It Aint Broke Dont Fix It! I am feeding Breeders Choice Active Joint Chicken formula (got 4 stars on the dogfoodadvisor website). Stella also gets a big spoonful of Evangers Organic Chicken canned food on her dinner. It only contains Organic Chicken, Natural Well Water, Organic Gar Gum pretty darn simple recipe!


AngelAviary, I think as parents to our dogs, we know them personally and what they like/works well with them. I have no clue how some of these "supermarket" foods stay in business. Must be all that advertising and people looking just for a convenient bag of dog food. When Jasmin gets older I was thinking about adding in some wet food as topper, but I am afraid she may just eat the wet food and leave the kibble. Have you ever run into this problem when you started mixing wet and dry?

Also, as a side note, I use to feed Evangers awhile back and someone told me verbally that they switched off of Evangers because they recently changed their formulas? I have no clue about the validity of this statement though. From your post it looks like the ingredients are the same in their canned food and very simple.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

hollyollyc said:


> AngelAviary, I think as parents to our dogs, we know them personally and what they like/works well with them. I have no clue how some of these "supermarket" foods stay in business. Must be all that advertising and people looking just for a convenient bag of dog food. When Jasmin gets older I was thinking about adding in some wet food as topper, *but I am afraid she may just eat the wet food and leave the kibble. Have you ever run into this problem when you started mixing wet and dry?
> *
> Also, as a side note, I use to feed Evangers awhile back and someone told me verbally that they switched off of Evangers because they recently changed their formulas? I have no clue about the validity of this statement though. From your post it looks like the ingredients are the same in their canned food and very simple.



I did with Beau and with Penny she tends to pick just the canned food if I use Merrick's new "Raw Infused" canned food as a topper. But she eats all the food if I use Merrick's other canned food with is more like a paste. So I make sure I mix it really well so she really can't just pick the canned food out. It's the same when I mix bacon grease in the with the kibble

Rick


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

We feed Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice large breed. Our dogs both eat it enthusiastically and maintain healthy weight and always are checked out as A OK by our vet. Since changing to it was very hard on Peeves' GI tract I will not switch again unless out of medical necessity. The puppy will be transitioned to Blue Buffalo too (breeder is feeding Fromm, but said she likes BB and that she thinks her puppy owners should do what works for their household as long as it gives good results for the dog).

As to grain free, that was part of why I switched. I thought corn in the old food was making Lily gassy. Switching did help, but she misses her corn. She will take every opportunity to eat the chickens feed which is mostly corn (but organic). I had to chase her away from the feeder while I was refilling it for the chickies several times this morning. she was licking mash out of the ports on the bottom while I was pouring food into the top. Go figure...


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Huh, seems the Tractor Supply store a mile from my house not only has the Merrick grain free I've been feeding Penny it also has Earthborn Holistic this review recommends. So I don't have to go 12 miles to the Petco or Petsmart or Bark or any of the other pet stores to get good food. Tractor Supply, who knew.

Rick


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

PoodleRick said:


> Mine either. I've been feeding Penny Merrick grain free since I got her and she seems to be doing well on it. I also add Merrick grain free canned as a topper and she loves it. Apparently Merrick didn't make the cut for "a history of recalls". I'm kinda on the fence about that. I'd rather them recall when there is a problem than not recall. I wonder if they researched brands with no recalls to see if they should have recalled something. Not even sure if that's possible. Anyway I don't see me changing what I'm buying based on this but I do add other foods for variety of diet and keeping Penny interested.
> 
> Rick


I feed a lot of different brands, including but not limited to Merrick canned and TOTW kibble. I'm on a list where Food Advisor emails me when there is a food recall. I can tell you that the vast majority of the recalls are the discovery of salmonella in the food. Well, big woopdi doo. That doesn't worry me much at all.


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## sparkyjoe (Oct 26, 2011)

I wish they would give a complete list of *all* brands & formulas they evaluated and why they were cut.

We plan on rotating brands and formulas, but the brand we're currently feeding (Dr. Gary's Best Breed, Grain Free Salmon w/Fruit & Veg) is not on the final list. This is a small, Ohio based brand, pretty much only available in Ohio and surrounding states, although it is starting to branch out a bit. 

My guess is that it didn't even make the original list of foods they started with, but Fletcher seems to be doing great on it and it doesn't have anything from this reviews "no-no" list, it has 4 stars on DogFoodAdvisor and is recommended by WDJ. I think we'll continue to keep it in the rotation unless there are problems.

The other grain free brands we're planning on feeding are Acana, Fromm and maybe Merrick.

As others have said, I'll take this with a grain of salt and base my choices on multiple information sources and, most importantly, how Fletcher does on a particular food.


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## AngelAviary (Aug 12, 2014)

hollyollyc said:


> AngelAviary, I think as parents to our dogs, we know them personally and what they like/works well with them. I have no clue how some of these "supermarket" foods stay in business. Must be all that advertising and people looking just for a convenient bag of dog food. When Jasmin gets older I was thinking about adding in some wet food as topper, but I am afraid she may just eat the wet food and leave the kibble. Have you ever run into this problem when you started mixing wet and dry?
> 
> Also, as a side note, I use to feed Evangers awhile back and someone told me verbally that they switched off of Evangers because they recently changed their formulas? I have no clue about the validity of this statement though. From your post it looks like the ingredients are the same in their canned food and very simple.


Hi there hollyollyc. I agree with you about knowing our "babies". Most of the Supermarket foods seem to be the old standbys that have survived for unknown reasons! Puppy Chow and Dog Chow are still out there! Kibbles and Bits have new commercials! To me they are like PlayDough foods! 
I dont have a problem with Stella eating just the canned with her dinner. The Organic Chicken formula I mix is a wet ground mix so when I stir it in it coats all the dry and kinda clumps it together. She loves it. I dont know if the formulas have changed but alot of their canned is just like raw/people food. I tried a ton with my Border Collie and she would not eat them. The one called Whole Chicken Thighs contains 2 whole chicken thighs (bones included!). Ingredients listed on can is: Whole Chicken Thighs, Chicken Broth. So that seems pretty simple and straight forward. The Roasted Chicken Drummet is the same way (with carrots and peas), it looks like your dinner coming out of the can.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I think there are tons of people who can't afford to think as many of us do about dog food. If it is hard to put good nutrition on your table for your human family because of money problems you certainly aren't buying Ziwipeak.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Of course I quickly looked for my brand Acana, and it's rated 5. Yay! Our dogs love it, their coats are super glossy, and it's never had a recall.


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## Deere (Jun 25, 2021)

Beaches said:


> Thanks Tabatha. Very interesting - my dog food didn't make the list! Anyone feed Acana or Orijen?


I feed Orijean for Large Puppies.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Deere said:


> I feed Orijean for Large Puppies.


FYI this is a really old thread, until today last added to in 2015.


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## Deere (Jun 25, 2021)

Oh, I thought I added/replied to the forum about Blue Buffalo. Thanks for telling me.


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