Anybody feeding either of these?
What do you think?
What do you think?
Taste of the wild & Blue Buffalo
Nate L
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Been feeding my chessie Blue for 2 years. He's doing great on it. I use the lamb and rice formula for large breeds. 2 cups a day keeps him trim and full of energy.
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I've been feeding my pup Blue Buffalo Large Breed, I have seen a big improvement in his coat sheen as well as stool is much more solid. He can't get enough of it, absolutely loves it, and as previously stated, it is in smaller proportions while giving the same amount of nutrients. A good food, but the price is up there.
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I don't feed either one but just as points of interest, TOTW is manufactured by Diamond. Diamond has had multiple recalls of their foods in the last few years. I'm not setting off any alarms; I'm just saying that Diamond facilities have had some serious issues so it's something to consider.
I considered switching to Blue/Blue Buffalo. I contacted them and asked if they produced their own food. I was told they contract with a single company. I asked what company; they flatly refused to disclose that. I asked if they at least had an employee of Blue on-site performing quality control testing. Again, I was told they did not. Basically, there was little assurance that what the label states is really what's being shipped out. While they test random samples, that wouldn't keep product with safety issues or product that was mislabeled (cheaper poultry by-product meal instead of chicken meal, for instance) from getting out the door.
I'm not picking on these two brands. It's just that with the problems that so many foods have had over the last five years or so, I just think it's a good idea to know what you're buying and who is really producing it.
Ive been feeding totw for about two years and have been very pleased. We'd been having some allergy issues with both Goldens and thet all but cleared up 100% after 30 days
We are feeding the pacific stream , blue bag. We were trying tk get away from grains and all poultry.
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Um, unless I am mistaken, Diamonds recall (that was very serious) was back in 2005-06 and a lawsuit totalling around $3 million was paid out in 2008. Not sure if there has been others that would mean "multiple recalls" or if 2005-06 means "the last few years"... I would have to think that Diamond plants are as safe as any plants any where now.
I really like the TOTW feeds, just too pricey for what I want to feed.
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Diamond cat food was recalled in 2009. So that's two recalls in five years with the latest one being less than two years ago, after Diamond stated how their safety and quality control would lead the industry after the 2006 catastrophe. They're not exactly instilling consumers with confidence.
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm192404.htm
Read the latest review below.
http://www.amazon.com/Solid-Gold-Ba...od/product-reviews/B000F7A4AO/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
(Solid Gold's "MO plant" is the one in Meta, MO, also known as Diamond Pet Foods.)
Taste of the Wild had a "silent recall" of its Pacific Stream (made in Diamond's Gaston, SC plant) about a year and a half ago. It wasn't a major issue as the moisture content was too low (better than too high which can cause mold.) Also, an unannounced protein source substitution caused dogs to get sick. My point is that Diamond has not exactly had the best track record.
Interestingly enough, Blue/Blue Buffalo recently had a recall.
http://www.bluebuffalo.com/news/vitamin_d-voluntary-recall.shtml
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I feed nothing but Purina Pro Plan to our 3 labs. Reasons being they all do well on it (2 participate in HRC hunt tests), Purina uses american products whenever possible and I dont know of anybody that puts the time and money into research that they do to give you the best product for your dog. Diamonds a good food these days but the price is right up there with the ProPlan, Jack
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To each his own but read the ingredients of the Performance Formula:
"Chicken, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), whole grain corn, corn germ meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal digest..."
Pro Plan is actually a very cheaply made food sold at premium prices. Given that "chicken" is really just chicken meal BEFORE the water has been removed, that actually puts chicken much further down the ingredient list making corn gluten meal the REAL first ingredient. Corn gluten meal is a cheap filler, likewise for brewers rice which is nothing more than a nutritionally devoid by-product of the brewing industry. While there's nothing wrong with using fat from animal sources, the fact that there isn't a specific source should be of concern. In other words, it could be any combination of chicken, beef, sheep, pig or even animals that aren't used for food in the U. S. at all. Poultry by-product meal has a low biological value. That's followed by more cheap filler and then animal digest. Purina is the same company that puts a known toxin in some of its foods (Propylene Glycol) as well as plain old sugar. Just remember that shoe leather is high in protein, by chemical analysis, but would make for lousy dog food.
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I beg to differ with your view on ProPlan,but to each his own. I find it hard to believe that Purina is actually putting toxins in their foods as you stated and I also question your sources on some of the other info you offered. As I mentioned nobody actually puts the research and money into nutrition studies to give you the best product for your dog. For me the proof is in the pudding and after feeding the ProPlan to my labs, I got healthy,active and performing dogs, I've been using ProPlan for many years and happy with the results. Good luck with whatever ya choose and you need to go with what best works for you, Jack
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I actually contacted Purina regarding the weight of the chicken in the performance formula specifically and they noted that the weight of the chicken is the highest pre and post processing weight.
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There's absolutely no way that's possible. Chicken is about 70%-75% water.
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Question my sources all you like. Feel free to look things up for yourself if you think I'm inaccurate on anything I stated. A good starting point would be here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=459
Exhibit A: Purina Pupply Chow:
"Whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, whole grain wheat, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soybean meal, brewers rice, meat and bone meal, barley, beef, sugar, propylene glycol, animal digest,..."
From the Centers for Disease Control web site (relating just to topical application of propylene glycol, not actual ingestion):
Topical application to injured skin (as a component of burn creams) or intravenous administration (as an excipient in certain anticonvulsant, antianginal, antibiotic, or other medications) has sometimes been associated with
Physiological Effects:
Hyperosmolality,
lactic acidosis,
intravascular hemolysis,
complications of CNS depression,
seizures,
coma,
hypoglycemia, and
renal failure
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Purina Puppy Chow (cheapest food you can buy) and Purina Pro Plan Performance are not at all the same thing. We fed Pro Plan Performance for years, dogs did allright, but keeping weight on one was really tough. We switched to Arkat, it kept the weight on, but the stools were horrid. We then went to Eukenuba Sporting/Performance. Most dogs did well, teeth were clean, but the amount of grain was too much for one of our dogs. I fed Euk for a couple years and Purina for 4/5 years. Now, we are currently feeding Taste Of The Wild. We use all flavors and it was recommended to switch flavors constantly. We use one flavor/bag, then switch to another flavor and so on until we've used all four flavors. All of our dogs are doing fine on it. Cost is out of this world, feeding 7 working/trial dogs on it now. I believe the cost is (bought in bulk through a distributor) $1.21 per pound.
That being said, we are supplementing ALL of our dogs with one glucosamine/chondroiton pill and one fish oil pill every feeding! After talking with the Euk and Purina folks, it was explained to me that ONE bag of dog food contains the equivelant to ONE single pill. In other words, the amount of Chondroiton and Glucosamine put into each bag is just enough to say that it is in the bag.
I would highy recommend supplementing your dogs diet with Chondroiton, Glucosamin and Fish oil.
Mike
That being said, we are supplementing ALL of our dogs with one glucosamine/chondroiton pill and one fish oil pill every feeding! After talking with the Euk and Purina folks, it was explained to me that ONE bag of dog food contains the equivelant to ONE single pill. In other words, the amount of Chondroiton and Glucosamine put into each bag is just enough to say that it is in the bag.
I would highy recommend supplementing your dogs diet with Chondroiton, Glucosamin and Fish oil.
Mike
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I'm just relaying what I was told directly from the mouth of one of the dietitians at Purina regarding their Pro Plan Performance blend.
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I didn't mean to imply you misstated anything. I'm sure that's is what you were told. However, look at it like this: chicken has a moisture content of about 70% when processing begins. Corn used for feed leaves the field with a moisture content of around 20% and is roughly 15% when processing begins. So if chicken is going to lose 60% of its overall weight during processing while corn is only going to lose 5% of its overall weight to get down the the standard 10% moisture content, you don't need to be a mathematician to see that if corn is present in the first few ingredients, it is impossible for chicken to be the first ingredient after processing.
Although I wouldn't feed their foods, the article below is a good chicken v. chicken meal issue.
http://www.blueseal.com/techtalks/30/
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