[sharyorkie]

Hi I have never posted before.But I am on here all the time reading the dry food reviews.I Am now totally confused? I currently feed Pro-Plan small bites chicken and rice I now know it is not the best.My Yorkies are VERY PICKY and I usually have to add canned food to get them to eat.ANY suggestions on a good dry food for small Yorkies that are very picky!! I have tried Nutro, Taste of the Wild and Acana and they will not eat any of these.If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate them
Thank You

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi sharyorkie –

I’m not sure what your budget is – but raw, homemade, fresh cooked (like Fresh Pet), dehydrated (like The Honest Kitchen), freeze-dried raw, air-dried (like Ziwi Peak) and canned foods all seem to appeal to picky dogs more than kibble. They are all more expensive to feed than kibble, but also healthier and more species-appropriate.

If you need to stick with kibble, I’d recommend trying something like Tripett (canned green tripe) – you can add just a spoonful or so to some warm water, mash it up to make some gravy and then completely coat the kibble. I’ve never heard of a dog that didn’t love green tripe. I’d try this trick with any of the 4 or 5 star kibbles.

[Mom2Cavs]

I’m gonna suggest some foods that my Cavaliers like, but your dogs still may not. So…it’ll have to be a trial and error process, I’m afraid. Some pet food stores will have samples of certain foods, so you might ask your local pet store about that. Also, some foods have a money back guarantee and will allow you to take opened bags back to the store (I always save my receipts, just in case) for exchange or refund. Now….my small dogs like Merrick very much! Merrick has grain free and a small breed formula that does have a small amount of whole grains. I have used both with great success. It’s what mine are eating now. Fromm is another food that picky eaters might like. They also have grain inclusive and grain free formulas. Nature’s Variety is another food that I would recommend to try with picky eaters. They have grain inclusive and grain free versions. Merrick and Nature’s Variety are available at Petco, while Fromm is sometime harder to find and only available at independent pet stores. Of course, there’s also Blue Buffalo and Wellness, and also Innova that are popular foods. Earthborn Holistic is one I’ve heard people like, as well. I hope this helped some. 🙂

[DieselJunki]

I have an 10 week old puppy that is extremely picky. Hound Dog Mom suggested the Tripett to me and my dog LOVES it. We went from having to sit at the bowl with him to just putting it on the floor and leaving him be. He won’t pick his head up until it is ALL gone and then stands and licks the bowl and floor. If you can get some Tripett do it! A couple spoonfuls and some warm water mixed in good with the kibble works wonders.

[sharyorkie]

THANK YOU Very Much for the info!! I called a couple of stores and found the Tripett I am going to get a few cans tomorrow.

[sharyorkie]

Does anyone use supplements? Such as salmon oil,probotics,digestive enzymes?? Would love to hear your suggestions
Thanks

[pugmomsandy]

I currently use krill oil, probiotics and enzymes couple times a week. Mostly mixing it in with their kibble or canned food. I don’t supplement raw food usually although hiding a capsule in a ball of raw meat works very well. I’m currently using the Mercola brand but there are several others. Nordic or Grizzly for fish oils. Nzymes brand. OnlyNaturalPet.com has a selection. Sometimes I just give them a raw whole sardine instead of fish oil and then sometimes I just feed them raw tripe which has enzymes and beneficial organisms. Another brand I use is Garden of Life.

[mlp576]

I have been using a whole food supplement and my dogs have been doing amazing. There moods are calmer yet they seem to have more energy. The coat looks amazing and my oldest is getting up the stairs easier. http://www.friendsfurlife.rockyandbella.com I totally recommend it. I use Pedigree maintenance however surviving and thriving are 2 different things all together. My Aunts dog is diabetic and told me that she has been able to cut down on the amount of meds for him so that is a testimony in itself.

[pugmomsandy]

This is another whole food supplement. It doesn’t have rice or natural bacon flavor like the one mentioned just above.

http://natureslogic.com/products/fortifier.html

[DoggieDoc22]

Best dry food to feed Yorkies hands down would be Royal Canin’s Yorkshire Terrier, or their Yorkshire Terrier Puppy if we are talking puppies.

If you aren’t familiar with Royal Canin, they are the industry’s leader in science and research, accounting for over half of all research done in the dog and cat food industry. They develop diets based on thorough feeding trials and scientific studies to meet the specific needs of the pets that each of their diets target.

The important things to keep in mind when feeding Yorkies are that:
1. They are notoriously picky eaters – The reason for this is that Yorkies actually have a reduced sense of smell when compared to other breeds. They have a lower number of the neurons used for sensing smell than the average dog. Royal Canin’s Yorkshire Terrier formula has a unique blend of aromas and flavors to stimulate the Yorkie’s fussy appetite.

2. Yorkshire Terrier’s, as I am sure you are aware, are well known for their long, silky coats. The Yorkie, unlike most other breeds, do not have an undercoat, and instead have long individual hairs. This makes them susceptible to breakage, and feeding a diet that strengthens their coat is extremely important. The Royal Canin diet is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids from fish oil to help support their delicate coats.

3. The Yorkie, being a smaller breed, has a longer life expectancy than the average dog. Royal Canin’s Yorkshire Terrier formula contains antioxidants to maintain healthy cells and help to fight the effects of aging.

As far as supplementing, it is important to choose a diet that is complete and balanced, if you choose the right dry kibble there is no need at all for supplementing, and doing so will actually have a negative effect.

[BryanV21]

^ *cough* rep *cough*

[DoggieDoc22]

@BryanV21 – There is such a thing out there as an educated consumer. Everything I listed is found right on the website for that food, and can easily be found by using google. I have been feeding my dogs Royal Canin for years and they do great on it.

[Hound Dog Mom]

DoggieDoc22 –

There is also such a thing as consumers fooled by marketing tactics – you’re paying a premium price for a mid-grade food. You can’t put ground chuck into a recipe and come out with filet mignon.

[backyardwolf]

I have to agree with Hound Dog Mom. When did corn gluten meal and brewers rice become quality ingredients? Corn, Wheat, and Soy are the first 3 things you want to be certain are not in any food you feed your dogs. You will notice that all the foods that are 4-5 star foods do not have these three things. So that is always a good place to start. We all want what is best for our pets and time and time again we have found that these 3 ingredients don’t provide anything good to our dogs.

[BryanV21]

HDM is being kind calling it “mid-grade”. I consider mid-grade something like Natural Balance, which is a fine food, but a little low in meat for my tastes. Anything with corn as a main ingredient is “poor” in my opinion.

I can find all sorts of misinformation on the internet, so telling me I can find it on their website or any other website means nothing. I choose to learn about the ingredients and go from there. And why the hell would you take what the company selling the food has to say? That’s idiotic. I mean… what do you expect them to say? “Our food is filled with corn, which isn’t a great ingredient”?

[DoggieDoc22]

“There is also such a thing as consumers fooled by marketing tactics”

It’s funny that you mention that because that’s exactly the way to describe people like yourself, backyardwolf, and BryanV21. Who exactly is it that you ever hear bashing corn, wheat, soy, etc? Let me guess, Blue Buffalo commercials, Wellness commercials, etc. There is absolutely zero research out there that shows that any of the ingredients you list are harmful or of lower quality in any way than potatoes for instance (since that is the carb of choice in Natural Balance since that brand was mentioned in a prior post). The whole “grain-free”/anti-corn kick that has been going around lately is nothing but marketing spin by pet food manufacturers.

The reason is simple, humans, dogs, cats, gorillas, whatever animal you choose to speak of don’t need ingredients. They don’t consume food to fulfill a need for any particular food. They need nutrients. You could put together the most expensive pile of ingredients you could find, mix them all together and feed them to your dog. If they don’t meet your pets nutritional requirements then you just fed them a crap food.

I think a lot of you would benefit greatly from listening to someone other than the Blue Buffalo or Orijen rep at your local pet store and look at the science. Some companies actually spend money researching what is best for your pet and conducting feeding trials to make sure the animals they are intending to feed thrive on their diets. Believe it or not, you can find some actual research based information on the internet, rather than the usual baseless spin put out there by manufacturers. For your own benefit, here is a good place to start: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/nutrition/faq/general_pet_nutrition.html

You might find this section in particular quite enlightening:

“Is the ingredient list a good way to determine the quality of a pet food?

Although ingredient lists are commonly used by lay people to determine the quality of pet foods, this approach has many pitfalls and is very subjective to intentional manipulation by the food manufacturers. Ingredients are listed on labels in order of weight, including water, so ingredients with high water content (like fresh meats and vegetables) are going to be listed higher than similar amounts of dry ingredients even though they may contribute fewer nutrients to the overall diet. Additionally, ingredients from the same source (such as chicken meat, chicken fat, chicken by-product meal) can be split into component parts, further complicating assessment.

Pets require nutrients, not ingredients; a diet full of great sounding ingredients can be less nutritious than a diet containing less appealing (to people) ingredients.”

[BryanV21]

There’s no research? Are you kidding? There’s a TON of research that shows why corn, wheat, soy, and grains in general are not ideal for a dog’s diet.

And where do you think nutrients come from? INGREDIENTS!

Just quit… please. For your sake and mine.

[Hound Dog Mom]

DoggieDoc22 –

You obviously don’t know my feeding philosophy – I don’t let any company influence my decision on what to feed. I’m not fooled by Blue Buffalo and Wellness commercials or the Blue Buffalo or Orijen rep at my local pet food company. I’m not fooled by dry weight versus wet ingredients or ingredient splitting, nor do I think white potato is superior to grains. In fact I wouldn’t feed any of the foods you mentioned to my dogs (Blue, Wellness, Natural Balance, etc.). My dogs eat real food. Raw meat, bones, organs and whole food supplements the way nature intended – no marketing spin there, no ingredient splitting, no reps selling me food and no need to worry about which ingredients are going in dry and which are going in wet. You’re bashing people for buying into the marketing of certain pet food companies when you are just as blinded by the marketing tactics of the big name pet food companies as anyone else is by the small “holistic companies.”

[DoggieDoc22]

@Bryan at this point your level of ignorance is reaching a comical level. You have done nothing but spout opinions with no basis behind them at all. I at least have backed up my position with an article posted by a well respected veterinary school. I will take what they have to say over the opinion of some random label reader on the internet.

@Hounddogmom. If you want to argue raw vs. kibble that is a completely different argument. The original poster asked a question about dry foods, and that is what I responded to. Raw diets have their advantages for sure, and anyone that has the time and dedication to go the raw route gets my respect. Although feeding kibble may not be the best route, it is the most convenient for the majority of pet owners out there.

The point I have been trying to make is this, don’t fall for the typical bs that dog food manufacturers try to throw out there. All of this talk about grain free, and no byproducts etc. is nothing but marketing. What is important, as I said, is the nutrients found in the food. Royal Canin, although they may use controversial ingredients, spends more money than any manufacturer out there on research, quality control, and feeding trials. This isn’t opinion, this is fact. I much prefer a company that is going to invest their time and money actually trying to find a scientific basis for the amount of each individual nutrient they put into their food, rather than one of the “holistic companies” that bases the formulation of their diets on a preference to certain ingredients.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’m not trying to argue raw versus kibble. I’m correcting the blanket assumptions that you were making labeling us all as Blue/Wellness/NB pushers fooled by product reps. There’s not one commercial product on the market – “holistic” or non-holistic – up to my standards for what I would feed my dogs.

[Melissaandcrew]

Hi DoggyDoc-

Does RC still give free food to the vets that sell their products to feed to their own dogs?

[Anonymous]

I also have a Yorkie. I’ve had so many issues of him eating as well. He’s been on Pro-Plan as well as numerous of others to name. These are special dogs and can’t tolerate the natural no grain type of foods, such as Acana. I found this out when he had bloody stools right from the start of eating this brand. He’s back on Royal Canine for Yorkshire Terriers (again). At first he was eating this, now he’s not unless I add something. Then he went for it, then he didn’t. Heated it up and then he went for it for a while and now I’m back to just giving him dry. At times or should I say most times, he has to play before he’ll eat. Never a dull moment with the little guy. I’m sure you have experienced this and these little guys will hold out for the good stuff, but don’t worry in time they will eat. You need to stick to one food especially made for Yorkshire Terriers.

[Hound Dog Mom]

“These are special dogs and can’t tolerate the natural no grain type of foods, such as Acana.”

Huh. I know a few people with Yorkies who feed high protein grain-free foods and their dogs do great. My grandmother has a Yorkie/Poodle mix that eats a rotation of high protein grain-free foods and Acana is in the rotation, the dog is very healthy…

[Anonymous]

I was told by my Vet that “Acana is too rich for my Yorkie & I need to switch him again. I hate to admit that he’s been on over 10+ foods that I can’t keep track. But after I think he’s doing fine on the food, he doesn’t like it and literally has gone 3 days without eating. Recently for a week he only ate once a day and not the whole amount. But we’re sticking to the same food (RC) and just not heating it up anymore.

[BryanV21]

Breed specific foods is a marketing ploy… plain and simple.

[Anonymous]

In my opinion, I believe specific dog breeds need certain ingredients in their diet and a regular adult dog food would not have the specific ingredients of nutrient and vitamins for a Yorkshire Terrier.

[BryanV21]

It’s better to buy a good adult food and then add supplements to that. Most dry dog food makers add supplements to their food before cooking, and the food is cooked at such a high temperature that the supplements are all but gone.

Besides, wouldn’t you and/or your vet rather control the amount of supplements in a dog’s food, rather than having somebody else do it for you?

[DoggieDoc22]

“It’s better to buy a good adult food and then add supplements to that. Most dry dog food makers add supplements to their food before cooking, and the food is cooked at such a high temperature that the supplements are all but gone.

Besides, wouldn’t you and/or your vet rather control the amount of supplements in a dog’s food, rather than having somebody else do it for you?”

Or you could feed your dog a complete and balanced diet so that there would be no need for supplementing. By supplementing the food that you give to your dog basically what you are saying is that the food you have chosen to feed them isnt providing all of the nutrients that they need so you are then going to go out and spend MORE money to buy a supplement, rather than just feeding them something that met all of their needs in the first place.

[DoggieDoc22]

“Breed specific foods is a marketing ploy… plain and simple.”

That is another pretty silly and baseless comment. So you are going to tell me that a Poodle, which is prone to cataracts, dementia, and has a fully curly coat has the same nutritional needs as a bulldog, which is prone to digestion issue, excessive gas, and weight gain?

What’s next, you are going to tell me that all humans have the exact same needs too and a professional athlete and a plumber don’t have differences in what they require from what they are eating?

[BryanV21]

Acana is a good dog food. Hell, it’s MUCH… MUCH… MUCH better than Royal Canin. In fact, I could literally name a couple dozen other brands I’d feed my dog, or recommend to others, before Royal Canin. So right off the bat there’s a problem.

With that said, even if somebody fed Acana or almost any other food but RC, their dog may need a supplement(s) of some kind. Take larger dogs that are prone to hip and joint issues… you may want to add a chondroiton/glucosamine supplement to their food. Or say you have a dog prone to UTIs… add a cranberry supplement to their food.

As for your last eye roll inducing paragraph… just like not all different breeds have the same dietary needs, neither do two dogs that ARE the same breed.

I really shouldn’t need to explain this to somebody with “doc” in their name, but alas…

[BryanV21]

What if a dog DOESN’T need a supplement that’s already been added to a food? What then? You can’t take it out of the food, let alone be able to purchase said food cheaper. And speaking of money, RC is a rip-off. Why in the World would you want a food that’s mainly corn? Whether that be for a human or a dog. Corn is a filler, and a poor one at that, so it’s insane that a food whose main ingredient is that should cost that much.

[theBCnut]

If you really are a DoggieDoc, you should read the commenting policy for this website. Then you should read up on what nutrition experts have learned in the last several years. Processing food destroys many of the nutrients in said food and just adding them back will never be as good as eating whole non processed or minimally processed foods. Getting a majority of your calories from starch, otherwise known as empty calories, is bad. No dog food is perfect, just like humans need a varied diet, dogs do too, for optimal health. Tell me how healthy you would be if you ate cereal bars for every meal, day in and day out. Garbage in, Garbage out goes for our pets too.

[InkedMarie]

Veggienut: any time you have a dog with issues, you need to keep tract of what you’ve fed along with the ingredient listings.

[Hound Dog Mom]

doggiedog –

No single food meets all of a living thing’s needs and whole food derived nutrients are far superior to synthetically added vitamins and minerals. I “supplement” my dogs’ food – but not with synthetic vitamins and minerals. They get super foods such as spirulina, chlorella, bee pollen; healthy fats such as fish oil, coconut oil, etc.; foods rich in enzymes and probiotics; healthy herbs like turmeric and garlic; etc. What I feed my dogs is so naturally rich in vitamins and minerals that I don’t need to add anything synthetic. I don’t trust a dog food company to add everything needed to keep my dogs’ immune systems in peak condition – because there is no dog food that does this. Chemically synthesized vitamins and minerals are more likely to be tainted, pose a greater risk for overdose and aren’t utilized as efficiently by the body – in whole foods, nutrients work synergistically with hundreds of other compounds and many of these compounds have different forms in nature and can only be found in whole foods. Synthetic supplements have been linked to increased risk of cancer and increases in lifestyle diseases in people – why wouldn’t it be the same for our pets? Many medical organizations advise against the consumption of synthetic vitamins and minerals for humans. This is why foods should be rotated so a dog isn’t overexposed to anything. Your statement that different breeds need different foods isn’t accurate – or at least shouldn’t be accurate if a dog is eating an appropriate food. “a bulldog, which is prone to digestion issue, excessive gas, and weight gain” – probiotics and enzymes address digestive issues and gas, if a dog were eating a fresh species-appropriate diet rich in natural enzymes and probiotics this wouldn’t be an issue; dogs that are overweight don’t need a special food, they need their portion size (calories) reduced, weight loss is based on calories in and calories out not fat content or caloric-density of a food. “Poodle, which is prone to cataracts, dementia, and has a fully curly coat” – again, if eating a high quality species-appropriate foods the chances of any of these “tendencies” causing an issue would be greatly reduced. High quality foods have balanced ratios of quality omega 3 and 6 fatty acids for the coat health and whole food antioxidants help with health issues such as cataracts and dementia. Low-grade foods like RC, SD, Purina, etc. have to add supplements because their base ingredients are so low quality and nutritionally devoid. Luckily for these companies there are tons of people out there like you and veggienut that actually believe synthetically supplemented corn puffs with a picture of your breed on your bag are the best thing to feed.

[Anonymous]

I just checked the bag of Royal Canine, and it doesn’t have any corn in it….and I can afford to pay for it~!

[BryanV21]

4th ingredient

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4006848

BTW, if you get a higher quality food you don’t have to feed as much. Therefore, over the course of say a year, the cost difference is negligible.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Yes, it does contain corn.

Royal Canin Yorkshire Terrier 28 Formula

Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Brown Rice, Chicken Fat, Chicken, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Egg Powder, Barley, Natural Chicken Flavor, Cellulose, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Anchovy Oil, Dried Brewers Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Soya Oil, Fructo-oligosaccharides, Salmon Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Choline Chloride, Dried Brewers Yeast Extract (source of Mannan-oligosaccharides) , Taurine*, Vitamins [DL-Alpha Tocopherol (source of Vitamin E), Inositol, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C*), D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement], Magnesium Oxide, Borage Oil, Trace Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Glucosamine Hydrochloride*, L-Carnitine*, DL-Methionine, Marigold Extract (Calendula officinalis L.), Tea (Green Tea Extract), Chondroitin Sulfate*, preserved with Natural Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Citric Acid and Rosemary Extract

Brewer’s Rice: Leftover debris from human-food production, no nutritional value.

Corn Gluten Meal: 85% of corn in the US is genetically modified, according to the NCAP corn gluten meal is “a by-product of processing corn to make corn starch and corn syrup.”; gluten is cheap and of low bioavailability and used to falsely boost the protein content of a food; corn is also highly susceptible to aflatoxin contamination.

Natural Chicken Flavor: Source of MSG

Dried Beet Pulp: 95% of sugar beets grown in the US are Monsanto’s genetically-modified variety.

Dried Brewer’s Yeast: Potential source of MSG.

Soya Oil: 93% of soy is genetically modified.

And look at that huge long list of synthetic vitamins and minerals at the end – they need to add all those because the main ingredients are of little to no nutritional value.

If you can afford this, you can afford much better for your dog. You’re paying a premium price for a mediocre food.

[Anonymous]

Whoops, I just missed it~! I just checked the bag again, and it’s the 5th ingredient.

[Anonymous]

He’s eating it without issues, and I’ve switched so much due to him having bloody stools from various foods or not liking the food. So if this is working, I’m not switching~!

[theBCnut]

Then instead of arguing about why the food is “good” just admit you feel safe feeding garbage. Now is not too soon to start researching what you want to switch to if he starts not doing so good.

Oh sorry, that didn’t come out quite like I meant it to. I guess I have strong feelings about these companies that are deceiving people.

[Mom2Cavs]

veggienut, I understand your frustration and I’m usually a firm believer in using what works, but I do have parameters and corn cannot be in my dogs’ food, so I would be looking for a new food still, if it were my dog. Alas, it’s not my dog, so….

Btw, I posted on the Acana Intolerance thread, as well.

[Anonymous]

I have done what I thought was best thru all of his years and fed him all the natural foods, but always had problems from bloody stools and/or vomiting. Finally, I’m listening to my Vet and feeding him this brand. I’m sure you all are going to argue about how Vet’s don’t get the nutrimental education and etc. But I go to the best Vet in the city and fly in from all over the USA to have them care for their pets since they care for more than dogs, cats & birds~!

[Mom2Cavs]

Yes, it is your decision and your dog. You are doing what you feel best and I’ll refrain from commenting anymore. We all do what we feel is best for our pets because we love them.

[gebo]

Sharyorkie,

If you haven’t made up your mind, try a 6 lb bag of Bil-Jac Small Breed select. It has worked for me as I had 4 picky eaters and this is the only food I have found they all love. It will make you giggle when you watch them tear after it as I am 55 years old an have never seen anything like it. Some people will tell you that corn in a dog food is a bad ingredient and you should avoid it at all costs. I believe otherwise. I used to automatically eliminate any food that had corn in it because I read on the internet that it was bad for dogs. This is a great website but it is mostly made up of opinions (me included) and people’s personal testimonies. Do more research and call a few companies.

I got sick and tired of feeding some of the 5 Star foods and watching my dogs not eat it, get runny stools, get weird skin issues, runny eyes, fart up the living room, etc. I went contrarian and fed Bil-Jac and won’t go back. Hey, give it a try. They say they actually have a money back guarantee on their food.

[Mom2Cavs]

gebo, one thing I want to say about your post is that the suggestion you made “call a few companies” might be the wrong one…..any company you call is going to recommend their own food, aren’t they? I do believe in feeding what works for your dog, but I have to set some parameters. I wouldn’t feed my dogs just anything because I felt it might “work” for them. There are just some ingredients that I will not feed. I still say there are some foods that are reasonably priced that contain better ingredients than Bil-Jac (which btw isn’t all that inexpensive, if I remember correctly from working at a pet specialty store that carried it). I won’t feed corn, wheat, soy, artificial preservatives, synthetic vit. k, ethoxyquin and dyes. There might be a food that my dogs seem to do well on with these ingredients, but we’ll never know because I won’t even look at them twice. Those are the parameters I start with, along with others like made in the USA, sourced in the USA and preferably made by the company selling it (this is one I might let slide). Anyway, after a food passes all these parameters then I’ll consider feeding it. If it works, great…we have a winner. Again, I’m glad you feel Bil-Jac is working for your dogs but it would not pass my parameters to even be considered for mine. Differences of opinions, certainly.

[DoggieDoc22]

Mom2cavs, it’s great that you have parameters as to what you will feed your dogs. You clearly have good intentions and want what’s best for your pets which is great. I can understand your stance against artificial preservatives and some of the other things that you mentioned but I’m curious as to what you have against corn wheat and soy. Unless your dog has allergies there is honestly no reason to be against any of those ingredients. Corn in particular, being that it is the one you singled out earlier. Why the anti corn stance?

[Mom2Cavs]

Via my vet, corn, wheat and soy can be highly allergenic in dogs. Also, sometimes they are added to bump protein levels while using less meat. So, after hearing that, I’ve never fed foods with those ingredients. If my dogs have issues with other ingredients I am feeding, then I will stop feeding the food they’re eating. So far, my dogs have done exceptionally well without eating corn, wheat and soy. This is just the way I want to feed my dogs. I’m not against grains and I do sometimes feed foods with whole grains included in the ingredient panel, like Acana Duck & Pear which contains oats.

[gebo]

Mom2cavs,

In response in why I go to the manufacturer, they are the ones making the food. When I talk to the nutritionist(s) and find out more about their ingredients as to how they are handled and where they come from and why they use such and such, I am better able to use that info in my research. I don’t go to a Ford dealer when I want to know about a Chevrolet. I’ll go to a Chevy dealer first, evaluate what they tell me and then i might make a trip to a Ford dealer to get their opinion as to why their Ford is better than a Chevrolet. Make sense? I’m not so naive that I just believe every single word a company says about their product. But I am wise enough and open minded enough to hear them out and then make a reasonable decision based on what they tell me.

You believe what your Vet told you and I understand where you are coming from. I left a Vet I’d had for over 10 years who I would have trusted alone with my wife. He diagnosed one of my dogs with 2 types of cancer. I went for a second opinion and it turns out they were fat deposits. He cannot look at me in Walmart. He and I know what he tried to do. Hey, I don’t always believe what my personal Doctor tells me. I like to look at actual research and listen to that still small voice on the inside of me. When you have some time to kill, call up Bil-Jac and ask to speak with their nutritionist. You know, just for kicks. Ask him all the questions you have about canine nutrition. He spent over 45 minutes with me one afternoon. After he explained their ingredients, suppliers, their unique manufacturing process, etc., I was convinced to give it a try. I realize you may never get past the corn, but at least you may be able to reinforce your current beliefs.

[Mom2Cavs]

You’re right, I do believe my vet…I switched to this holistic vet which is almost an hour away because my old vet did not diagnose one of my dogs correctly and treated me badly (which was the last straw). The old vet also knew nothing about nutrition. My new vet actually carries Nature’s Variety in his clinic, along with Steve’s Real food. He’s very knowledgable about nutrition, among other things…like the breed I own, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. And no thanks, I won’t be speaking with Bil-Jac anytime soon. I am very happy with my Acana and Primal. Thanks, though. We each have our own opinions and I just prefer to leave it at that.

[DoggieDoc22]

“We each have our own opinions and I just prefer to leave it at that.”

Nutrition and the effects of food on the health of your dog has nothing to do with opinion. It is science. The negative things that your vet is telling you about corn, soy, wheat, etc. has no scientific basis to it, and there for is incorrect. There is a lot of misinformation in the dog food industry, manufacturers capitalize on a lack of a strong regulatory body, and on the general lack of knowledge in the customer base. Do a little bit of your own research, the truth is out there.

[Author]

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