IAMS LAMB MEAL AND RICE
Calories
3,551 kcal/kg
341 kcal/cup
Guaranteed Analysis
Nutrient (percent)
Crude Protein, minimum 22.0
Crude Fat, minimum 12.0
Crude Fiber, maximum 5.0
Moisture, maximum 10.0
Omega-6 Fatty Acids, minimum 2.0*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids, minimum 0.2*
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.
Iams® ProActive Health™ Adult Lamb Meal & Rice Formula is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for Maintenance.
Manufactured under U.S. Patent Nos. 5,616,569, 5,932,258 and 6,093,418; other U.S. and foreign patents pending.
Feeding Guidelines
Weight of Dog (lbs) Dry cups per day
3 1/4 - 1/2
10 3/4 - 1
20 1 1/4 - 1 1/2
30 2 - 2 1/4
40 2 1/4 - 2 3/4
50 2 1/4 - 2 3/4
60 2 1/2 - 3
70 2 3/4 - 3 1/4
80 3 - 3 1/2
100 3 1/2 - 4
Ingredients
Lamb Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Corn Grits, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Ground Whole Grain Barley, Dried Beet Pulp, Fish Meal, Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Caramel, Choline Chloride, Flax Meal, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Monosodium Phosphate, Rosemary Extract.
LAMB MEAL is the dry rendered (cooked down) product from lamb tissues, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Lamb meal is simply lamb meat with the moisture removed, making it suitable for use in dry food. Before you buy a product containing lamb meal, ask the manufacturer about the origin of the lamb meal they use. This is a great ingredient to start out with! If it were just lamb and not lamb meal, it wouldnt be as good because lamb is 70-80% water.
BREWERS RICE is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.
Brewer's rice is a lower quality rice product that is missing many of the nutrients found in ground rice and ground brown rice. Since it is the second ingredient in this formula, we can only assume that it is being used as a cheap filler.
CORN MEAL is the entire corn kernel, finely ground.
While the whole corn kernel is nutritious, corn is considered to be highly allergenic. Being the third ingredient also shows us that it is being used as another filler.
GROUND WHOLE GRAIN SORGHUMis the ground grain of the sorghum plant.
Sorghum is a member of the grass family; its leaves and stalk resemble corn but it does not have ears. Although sorghum is a good source of carbohydrates, it is low in digestibility and therefore avoided by me.
CORN GRITS are coarsely ground grains from which the bran and germ have been removed, usually screened to uniform particle size.
Corn grits would be considered a grain fraction, missing its complete host of nutrients. Therefore, i would recommend avoiding this ingredient, especially if it is high on the ingredient list.
CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. Chicken by-product meal is an inconsistent ingredient because of the multiple organs used, their constantly changing proportions, and their questionable nutritional value. Chicken by-product meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal.
CHICKEN FAT is obtained from the tissues of chickens in the commercial process of rendering or extracting. Chicken fat is the highest of all animal sources in linoleic acid (over 23%), an important element for skin and coat health. I would definitely recommend chicken fat! But, be aware that products with a lot of fat may not be suitable for puppies. You will find that a lot of grain free dog foods will fit this category. Please contact your vet before starting your puppy on a regiment of grain free dog food. And if they tell you that you should try Science diet, Iams, or Eukanuba, then you should switch vets because they don’t have you or your pets’ interest in mind.
BARLEY is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. Ground barley is the entire barley kernel, ground or chopped.
Ground Barley is a good quality source of carbohydrates. The only reason you should stay away from Barley is if your dog is gluten intolerant. Some signs of intolerance will be vomiting, loose stool, diarrhea, or even bad gas. Changing your dog’s food too quickly can also produce many of these symptoms so talk to your vet before you do anything drastic.
DRIED BEET PULP is the dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned, freed from crowns, leaves, and sand, and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. Dried beet pulp is added to some pet foods to act as a fibrous stool hardener. This ingredient is quite controversial in the dog food industry. Some focus on the fact that it is a good source or fiber and other argue that it is used as a filler and that better sourses of fiber could be used. For the most part, this ingredient is usually pretty far down the list and should be taken lightly. Unless it is one of the top ingredients, don’t pay too much attention to it.
FISH MEAL is the clean, rendered (cooked down), dried ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish or fish cuttings, either or both, with or without the extraction of part of the oil. Fish meal is made from unspecified types of fish. As long as you know that the fish is free of any artificial preservatives (ethoxyquin) I would still say that this is a good ingredient even though we don’t know what type of fish it came from. Since this is the 10th ingredient, it doesn’t really help or hinder my opinion.
CHICKEN FLAVOR is added to dog food to make it more appealing to your pet. For most cases, if the dog food has good ingredients, they won’t need to use any flavorings.
EGG PRODUCT is product obtained from egg graders, egg breakers, and/or hatchery operations that is dehydrated, handled as liquid, or frozen.
Egg product consists of the unused leftovers from eggs for human production. It can include undeveloped eggs, shells, and other tissues unfit for human consumption. This is also much cheaper than the whole egg, but not near as beneficial.
EVERYTHING ELSE on the list seems to be ok, and i will mention that they do use natural preservatives. (mixed tocopherals)
When looking at a dog food i find it is important to look at three things.
1.) The guaranteed analysis-This will show you the crude percentages of four main things: Protein, fat, fiber, and moisture. Personally, i like to see the protein over 23%, the fat between 10% and 22%, the fiber will almost always be 4%, and the moisture can be whatever you want it to be. When it’s higher the kibble is softer and when it’s lower the kibble is crunchier. But I will say that i have not found a good semi-soft kibble in my research. Plus, it is harder to keep semi-soft dog foods fresh longer. The guaranteed analysis seems ok, but i would like to see protein a little higher, and the moisture is at 10% which means that it is a hard kibble.
2.) The second thing i look at is the ME, or metabolizable energy. These are shown in kcals per cup, pound, or kg. The higher this number is the better. This formula has 341 kcals per cup which is a little on the low side. Some weight management formulas could get away with this amount but that’s just because it is used to slim your dog down. Metabolizable Energy alone will not tell you if it is a good dog food. Kcals can come from bad ingredients and good ingredients alike. Some dog foods have upwards of 500 kcals per cup!
3.) The last of the three main things i look at are the ingredients. Usually i look at them first. If the ingredients are bad then i don’t need to look at the other two areas. If the ingredients are good then you can get a better picture of the amounts of those good ingredients from guaranteed analysis and the ME.
THE YEARLY COST of this formula (for a 75lb dog) will be about $232. During that time your dog would have eaten 251lbs of food. This is about average as far as amounts of food go. For some dog foods the amount are over 400lbs! So your amount of "waste" would be normal. Some of the formulas for IAMS don’t show the feeding recommendations for 75lb dogs so i will show you the yearly costs for a 50lb dog and the costs for a 75lb dog:
Proctor & Gamble Iams ProActive Health Weight Control--$194 (50lb dog)
Proctor & Gamble Iams ProActive Health Adult MiniChunks--$171 (50lb dog)
Proctor & Gamble Iams ProActive Health Adult Chunks--$150 (50lb dog)
Proctor & Gamble Iams ProActive Health Adult Large Breed--$233 (75lb dog)
Proctor & Gamble Iams ProActive Health Active Maturity Large Breed--$222 (75lb dog)
Proctor & Gamble Iams ProActive Health Weight Control Large Breed--$234 (75lb dog)
IN CONCLUSION IAMS has a good first ingredient and a good fat, but almost everything else is low quality or unrecommended. I would not suggest buying this brand, and would instead suggest Diamond Naturals or nutro Natural choice, which are a better quality food and are in the same yearly price range.
9.30.2008
9.26.2008
Beneful
Baneful original
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (Min) 25.0% Calcium (Ca) (Min) 1.1%
Crude Fat (Min) 10.0% Iron (Fe) (Min) 200 mg/kg
Crude Fiber (Max) 4.0% Selenium (Se) (Min) 0.2 mg/kg
Moisture (Max) 14.0% Vitamin A (Min) 10,000 IU/kg
Linoleic Acid (Min) 1.5% Vitamin E (Min) 100 IU/kg
CALORIE CONTENT
Metabolizable Energy (ME)
3689 kcal/kg
1674 kcal/lb
360 kcal/cup
INGREDIENTS
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, biotin, garlic oil, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
So lets get started by going through our ingredients. Ground yellow corn is the entire corn kernel, ground or chopped. While the whole corn kernel is nutritious, corn is considered to be highly allergenic. Chicken by-product meal consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
Chicken by-product meal is an inconsistent ingredient because of the multiple organs used, their constantly changing proportions, and their questionable nutritional value. Chicken by-product meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal.
Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. Corn gluten meal is a low ash source of protein and acts as a urine acidifier in some of our cat food formulas. Cats vs. Dogs: While not the best quality source of protein, the use of corn gluten in small amounts offer preventive health benefits for cats. In addition, unlike dogs, cats do not usually show signs of allergic reactions to corn products. I do feel strongly, however, that there is no justification for the use of corn gluten in dog foods and consider it to be only a cheap protein filler when used in this manner.
Wheat flour consists principally of the soft, finely ground and bolted meal obtained from milling wheat (containing essentially the starch and gluten of the endosperm) together with fine particles of wheat bran, wheat germ, and the offal from the tail of the mill. Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients. I try to avoid all processed grains, relying instead on only whole grains for complete carbohydrate nutrition.
Animal fat is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.
Animal fat is a by-product of meat meal processing. The origin of the contributing animals is never known, and the resulting oil is very low in linoleic acid -- an essential fatty acid that is important for skin and coat health. As with any other unknown ingredient, the control over quality is very limited so I stay away from it.
In a side note, the mixed tocopherals that preserve this are ok. It is a natural preservative.
Rice flour consists principally of the soft, finely ground and bolted meal obtained from milling rice (containing essentially the starch and gluten of the endosperm) together with fine particles of rice bran and the offal from the 'tail of the mill.' Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients.
Beef is the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cows 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. This Protein is a perfectly fine meat, but since it has been used so much in the last 100 years of dog food formulas, it has become an allergenic for some dogs. (so has chicken) Another point I need to make is that on the front of this bag it shows off that this food is made "with real beef". Beef is the 7th ingredient! However, we cannot say that they were lying because they were using the "3%" rule which states that when ingredients are mentioned on the bag and take up less then 25% of the total bag weight, they need to say "with" in front of the afore mentioned item. This ingredient also must take up more than 3% of the total weight.
Soy flour is the finely powdered material resulting from the screened and graded product after removal of most of the oil from selected, sound, cleaned and decupled soybeans by a mechanical or solvent extraction process.
Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients. (wow am i a broken record or what!)
Our next ingredient is one which i am most proud of when i see it:SUGAR- The term sugar means sucrose. Commercially produced table sugar comes either from sugar cane or from sugar beets. This ingredient has no purpose, except to get your dog hooked on their food. Dogs don’t need sugar in their diet!
From here on out, we see a lot of minerals and chemicals but in that bunch of items which we don’t recognize are some which we do: Added colors (bad), Dried vegetables(good), and menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity). Chances are you have not ever see that last one but i feel its important to discuss it. This ingredient has been added to increase the amount of vitamin k in your dog. This however is not necessarily a good thing. Since this ingredient has not been approved for long term use in dog food, i stay away from it. Some negative effects from large doses of this ingredient include: cytotoxicity in the liver cells, considerably weakens the immune system, damages the natural vitamin K cycle, causes hemolytic anemia and hyperbilirubinemia (not just linked to large doses), is directly toxic in high doses (vomiting, albuminuria)(unlike natural vitamin K), causes irritation of skin and mucous membranes, and causes allergic reactions and eczema.
When looking at a dog food i find it is important to look at three things.
1.) The guaranteed analysis-This will show you the crude percentages of four main things: Protein, fat, fiber, and moisture. Personally, i like to see the protein over 23%, the fat between 10% and 22%, the fiber will almost always be 4%, and the moisture can be whatever you want it to be. When its higher the kibble is softer and when its lower the kibble is crunchier. But i will say that i have not found a good semi-soft kibble in my research. Plus, it is harder to keep semi-soft dog foods fresh longer. The guaranteed analysis looks ok. The percentages aren’t low enough to say they need improved, but knowing now that the ingredients are not up to par, we can conclude that "ok" percentages doesn’t mean its an "ok" food.
2.) The second thing i look at is the ME, or metabolizable energy. These are shown in kcals per cup, pound, or kg. The higher this number, the better. This formula of Beneful has 360 kcals per cup. This is also an acceptable amount, which proves again that ME alone will not tell you if it is a good dog food. Kcals can come from bad ingredients and good ingredients alike. Some dog foods have upwards of 500 kcals per cup!
3.) The last of the three main things i look at are the ingredients. Usually i look at them first. If the ingredients are bad then i don’t need to look at the other two areas. If the ingredients are good then you can get a better picture of the amounts of those good ingredients from the guaranteed analysis and the ME.
The yearly cost of using this food (for a 75lb dog) is about $232. In that year your dog would have eaten 314 lbs of dog food! All that food has to go somewhere, which leads me to another benefit of buying a better quality dog food: the amount of waste. How much waste are you willing to pick up? Beneful as a brand will cost you anywhere from $232 to $274 per year for their adult formulas.
In conclusion, Beneful has bad ingredients, i high yearly cost (for what you get), and will not "benefit" your dog in the long run. Don’t be fooled by the bag price.
Some good alternatives in the same price range are: Diamond Naturals, or Nutro Natural Choice.
GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein (Min) 25.0% Calcium (Ca) (Min) 1.1%
Crude Fat (Min) 10.0% Iron (Fe) (Min) 200 mg/kg
Crude Fiber (Max) 4.0% Selenium (Se) (Min) 0.2 mg/kg
Moisture (Max) 14.0% Vitamin A (Min) 10,000 IU/kg
Linoleic Acid (Min) 1.5% Vitamin E (Min) 100 IU/kg
CALORIE CONTENT
Metabolizable Energy (ME)
3689 kcal/kg
1674 kcal/lb
360 kcal/cup
INGREDIENTS
Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, water, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, dried peas, dried carrots, calcium carbonate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, biotin, garlic oil, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.
So lets get started by going through our ingredients. Ground yellow corn is the entire corn kernel, ground or chopped. While the whole corn kernel is nutritious, corn is considered to be highly allergenic. Chicken by-product meal consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines -- exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
Chicken by-product meal is an inconsistent ingredient because of the multiple organs used, their constantly changing proportions, and their questionable nutritional value. Chicken by-product meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal.
Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. Corn gluten meal is a low ash source of protein and acts as a urine acidifier in some of our cat food formulas. Cats vs. Dogs: While not the best quality source of protein, the use of corn gluten in small amounts offer preventive health benefits for cats. In addition, unlike dogs, cats do not usually show signs of allergic reactions to corn products. I do feel strongly, however, that there is no justification for the use of corn gluten in dog foods and consider it to be only a cheap protein filler when used in this manner.
Wheat flour consists principally of the soft, finely ground and bolted meal obtained from milling wheat (containing essentially the starch and gluten of the endosperm) together with fine particles of wheat bran, wheat germ, and the offal from the tail of the mill. Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients. I try to avoid all processed grains, relying instead on only whole grains for complete carbohydrate nutrition.
Animal fat is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.
Animal fat is a by-product of meat meal processing. The origin of the contributing animals is never known, and the resulting oil is very low in linoleic acid -- an essential fatty acid that is important for skin and coat health. As with any other unknown ingredient, the control over quality is very limited so I stay away from it.
In a side note, the mixed tocopherals that preserve this are ok. It is a natural preservative.
Rice flour consists principally of the soft, finely ground and bolted meal obtained from milling rice (containing essentially the starch and gluten of the endosperm) together with fine particles of rice bran and the offal from the 'tail of the mill.' Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients.
Beef is the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cows 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. This Protein is a perfectly fine meat, but since it has been used so much in the last 100 years of dog food formulas, it has become an allergenic for some dogs. (so has chicken) Another point I need to make is that on the front of this bag it shows off that this food is made "with real beef". Beef is the 7th ingredient! However, we cannot say that they were lying because they were using the "3%" rule which states that when ingredients are mentioned on the bag and take up less then 25% of the total bag weight, they need to say "with" in front of the afore mentioned item. This ingredient also must take up more than 3% of the total weight.
Soy flour is the finely powdered material resulting from the screened and graded product after removal of most of the oil from selected, sound, cleaned and decupled soybeans by a mechanical or solvent extraction process.
Whenever flour is part of an ingredient's name, the grain has been processed and some (or all) of the nutritional value has been lost. Frequently these flour ingredients are simply the leftover dust from processing human food ingredients. (wow am i a broken record or what!)
Our next ingredient is one which i am most proud of when i see it:SUGAR- The term sugar means sucrose. Commercially produced table sugar comes either from sugar cane or from sugar beets. This ingredient has no purpose, except to get your dog hooked on their food. Dogs don’t need sugar in their diet!
From here on out, we see a lot of minerals and chemicals but in that bunch of items which we don’t recognize are some which we do: Added colors (bad), Dried vegetables(good), and menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity). Chances are you have not ever see that last one but i feel its important to discuss it. This ingredient has been added to increase the amount of vitamin k in your dog. This however is not necessarily a good thing. Since this ingredient has not been approved for long term use in dog food, i stay away from it. Some negative effects from large doses of this ingredient include: cytotoxicity in the liver cells, considerably weakens the immune system, damages the natural vitamin K cycle, causes hemolytic anemia and hyperbilirubinemia (not just linked to large doses), is directly toxic in high doses (vomiting, albuminuria)(unlike natural vitamin K), causes irritation of skin and mucous membranes, and causes allergic reactions and eczema.
When looking at a dog food i find it is important to look at three things.
1.) The guaranteed analysis-This will show you the crude percentages of four main things: Protein, fat, fiber, and moisture. Personally, i like to see the protein over 23%, the fat between 10% and 22%, the fiber will almost always be 4%, and the moisture can be whatever you want it to be. When its higher the kibble is softer and when its lower the kibble is crunchier. But i will say that i have not found a good semi-soft kibble in my research. Plus, it is harder to keep semi-soft dog foods fresh longer. The guaranteed analysis looks ok. The percentages aren’t low enough to say they need improved, but knowing now that the ingredients are not up to par, we can conclude that "ok" percentages doesn’t mean its an "ok" food.
2.) The second thing i look at is the ME, or metabolizable energy. These are shown in kcals per cup, pound, or kg. The higher this number, the better. This formula of Beneful has 360 kcals per cup. This is also an acceptable amount, which proves again that ME alone will not tell you if it is a good dog food. Kcals can come from bad ingredients and good ingredients alike. Some dog foods have upwards of 500 kcals per cup!
3.) The last of the three main things i look at are the ingredients. Usually i look at them first. If the ingredients are bad then i don’t need to look at the other two areas. If the ingredients are good then you can get a better picture of the amounts of those good ingredients from the guaranteed analysis and the ME.
The yearly cost of using this food (for a 75lb dog) is about $232. In that year your dog would have eaten 314 lbs of dog food! All that food has to go somewhere, which leads me to another benefit of buying a better quality dog food: the amount of waste. How much waste are you willing to pick up? Beneful as a brand will cost you anywhere from $232 to $274 per year for their adult formulas.
In conclusion, Beneful has bad ingredients, i high yearly cost (for what you get), and will not "benefit" your dog in the long run. Don’t be fooled by the bag price.
Some good alternatives in the same price range are: Diamond Naturals, or Nutro Natural Choice.
9.25.2008
Nutrish (by Rachael Ray)
Rachael Ray is known throughout America to be a great chef and TV host. So when she came out with her dry dog food, Nutrish, expectations were high. And while the products packaging is very appealing, the public has not totally jumped on board the Nutrish train. I have already seen it at a discounted price at Wal-Mart and Giant Eagle. So, interested in the product I finally went to Giant Eagle and looked at a bag. On the front, it displayed a picture of Rachael ray cooking at the stove and her handsome dog isaboo sitting patiently for her home cooked meal. It also lets customers know that it is made “with real beef and brown rice" or "with real chicken and vegetables".
To the untrained customer this sounds great! But most customers don't know much about AAFCO and their strict rules on labeling. One rule is more commonly known as the 3% rule, or the "with" rule. It states that when ingredients are put on the bag to be shown off to the customer, they must use the word "with" when the ingredient is less than 25% of the total weight. The most it has to be is 3%. So, when we look at the front of the bag again and we see that it is made "with real chicken and vegetables" we now know that there is less than 25% chicken and, most probably, a little more than 3% of vegetables. To make our argument a little more concrete, lets take a look at the ingredients.
Rachael Rays Nutrish Chicken and Veggies- Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Corn Gluten Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Peas, Dried Tomatoes, Dried Carrots, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Olive Oil, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Oxide, Dried Parsley, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Mixed Tocopherols, Niacin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid.
So normally I would say that the first two ingredients were good and that since we have Chicken and then Chicken Meal (chicken with the water and fat taken out) we could have some confidence about the amount of meat in the dog food. But since we know that the total chicken percentage isn't higher than 24%, that confidence is gone. On top of that when we factor in that "chicken" is 70-80% water, our confidence goes down even further. If you do the math, the highest the percentage of chicken could be is about 16%, and the vegetables are around 3 or 4%(Salt was above the individual vegetables on the ingredient list) Now lets take a look at the other ingredients in the list.
Brewers rice. Here is the definition that AAFCO gives us: "The small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice." This grain is already processed and is missing a lot of the nutrients that whole grain rice or brown rice have. Brewers rice is also much cheaper than whole rice and is used primarily as a filler.
Corn Meal. The majority of people believe that corn is a horrible grain that has no nutritional value and causes itchy skin, ear infections, and liver problems. While all these things have happened because of corn, and it has been shown to be one of the major allergens to dogs, it is wrong for us to assume that corn WILL cause these problems for your dog. But just to be safe, i usually stay away from products with corn.
Soybean meal is defined as,” The product obtained by grinding the flakes which remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans by a solvent or mechanical extraction process." "This is a poor quality protein filler used to boost the protein content of low quality pet foods [and] has a biologic value of less than 50% of chicken meal." (Sabine Contreras, nutritionist)
Animal fat is listed next. This makes me worry. When the fat is not specified it could be that it is from road kill, euthanized dogs and cats, or it could be as simple as a combination of beef fat and chicken fat. But since we have no control over the quality of the fat, i stay away from it.
Corn gluten meal is another cheap protein booster which also serves as a binding agent. Lower quality proteins cause stress to your dogs kidneys and liver and in the long run can cause kidney and liver problems. The next three ingredients are good. (brown rice, oatmeal, and dried beet pulp) After those we start getting into the smaller quantity ingredients like natural flavoring(which shouldn’t be needed if you are using good ingredients), salt, and finally the "veggies" which were mentioned on the front of the bag.
The last ingredient i will go into is the Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex. This ingredient has been added to increase the amount of vitamin k in your dog. This however is not necessarily a good thing. Since this ingredient has not been approved for long term use in dog food, i stay away from it. Some negative effects from large doses of this ingredient include: cytotoxicity in the liver cells, considerably weakens the immune system, damages the natural vitamin K cycle, causes hemolytic anemia and hyperbilirubinemia (not just linked to large doses), is directly toxic in high doses (vomiting, albuminuria)(unlike natural vitamin K), causes irritation of skin and mucous membranes, and causes allergic reactions and eczema.
When looking at a dog food i find it is important to look at three things.
1.) The guaranteed analysis-This will show you the crude percentages of four main things: Protein, fat, fiber, and moisture. Personally, i like to see the protein over 23%, the fat between 10% and 22%, the fiber will almost always be 4%, and the moisture can be whatever you want it to be. When it’s higher the kibble is softer and when it’s lower the kibble is crunchier. But I will say that i have not found a good semi-soft kibble in my research.
2.) The second thing i look at is the ME, or metabolizable energy. These are shown in kcals per cup, pound, or kg. The higher this number is the better. This formula has 341 kcals per cup which is a little on the low side. Some weight management formulas could get away with this amount but that’s just because it is used to slim your dog down. Metabolizable Energy alone will not tell you if it is a good dog food. Kcals can come from bad ingredients and good ingredients alike. Some dog foods have upwards of 500 kcals per cup!
3.) The last of the three main things i look at are the ingredients. Usually i look at them first. If the ingredients are bad then i don’t need to look at the other two areas. If the ingredients are good then you can get a better picture of the amounts of those good ingredients from guaranteed analysis and the ME.
YEARLY COST ANALYSIS
If you feed a 75lb dog this food for 1 year, it will cost about $548.00 and they will have eaten about 325lbs of food. One reason its costs are so high is because their biggest bag is only 14lbs. No bulk size savings here.
In conclusion, my opinion of Nutrish should be pretty obvious. I see it as a marketing plan to use a chefs name to sell a dog food. I do feel bad for Rachael Ray IF she was unaware of the quality of the product she was endorsing. On the other hand, if she did know the quality of the product then i would have to change my loving opinion of her.(for her dogs sake)
To the untrained customer this sounds great! But most customers don't know much about AAFCO and their strict rules on labeling. One rule is more commonly known as the 3% rule, or the "with" rule. It states that when ingredients are put on the bag to be shown off to the customer, they must use the word "with" when the ingredient is less than 25% of the total weight. The most it has to be is 3%. So, when we look at the front of the bag again and we see that it is made "with real chicken and vegetables" we now know that there is less than 25% chicken and, most probably, a little more than 3% of vegetables. To make our argument a little more concrete, lets take a look at the ingredients.
Rachael Rays Nutrish Chicken and Veggies- Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Corn Gluten Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Peas, Dried Tomatoes, Dried Carrots, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Olive Oil, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Oxide, Dried Parsley, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Mixed Tocopherols, Niacin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid.
So normally I would say that the first two ingredients were good and that since we have Chicken and then Chicken Meal (chicken with the water and fat taken out) we could have some confidence about the amount of meat in the dog food. But since we know that the total chicken percentage isn't higher than 24%, that confidence is gone. On top of that when we factor in that "chicken" is 70-80% water, our confidence goes down even further. If you do the math, the highest the percentage of chicken could be is about 16%, and the vegetables are around 3 or 4%(Salt was above the individual vegetables on the ingredient list) Now lets take a look at the other ingredients in the list.
Brewers rice. Here is the definition that AAFCO gives us: "The small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice." This grain is already processed and is missing a lot of the nutrients that whole grain rice or brown rice have. Brewers rice is also much cheaper than whole rice and is used primarily as a filler.
Corn Meal. The majority of people believe that corn is a horrible grain that has no nutritional value and causes itchy skin, ear infections, and liver problems. While all these things have happened because of corn, and it has been shown to be one of the major allergens to dogs, it is wrong for us to assume that corn WILL cause these problems for your dog. But just to be safe, i usually stay away from products with corn.
Soybean meal is defined as,” The product obtained by grinding the flakes which remain after removal of most of the oil from soybeans by a solvent or mechanical extraction process." "This is a poor quality protein filler used to boost the protein content of low quality pet foods [and] has a biologic value of less than 50% of chicken meal." (Sabine Contreras, nutritionist)
Animal fat is listed next. This makes me worry. When the fat is not specified it could be that it is from road kill, euthanized dogs and cats, or it could be as simple as a combination of beef fat and chicken fat. But since we have no control over the quality of the fat, i stay away from it.
Corn gluten meal is another cheap protein booster which also serves as a binding agent. Lower quality proteins cause stress to your dogs kidneys and liver and in the long run can cause kidney and liver problems. The next three ingredients are good. (brown rice, oatmeal, and dried beet pulp) After those we start getting into the smaller quantity ingredients like natural flavoring(which shouldn’t be needed if you are using good ingredients), salt, and finally the "veggies" which were mentioned on the front of the bag.
The last ingredient i will go into is the Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex. This ingredient has been added to increase the amount of vitamin k in your dog. This however is not necessarily a good thing. Since this ingredient has not been approved for long term use in dog food, i stay away from it. Some negative effects from large doses of this ingredient include: cytotoxicity in the liver cells, considerably weakens the immune system, damages the natural vitamin K cycle, causes hemolytic anemia and hyperbilirubinemia (not just linked to large doses), is directly toxic in high doses (vomiting, albuminuria)(unlike natural vitamin K), causes irritation of skin and mucous membranes, and causes allergic reactions and eczema.
When looking at a dog food i find it is important to look at three things.
1.) The guaranteed analysis-This will show you the crude percentages of four main things: Protein, fat, fiber, and moisture. Personally, i like to see the protein over 23%, the fat between 10% and 22%, the fiber will almost always be 4%, and the moisture can be whatever you want it to be. When it’s higher the kibble is softer and when it’s lower the kibble is crunchier. But I will say that i have not found a good semi-soft kibble in my research.
2.) The second thing i look at is the ME, or metabolizable energy. These are shown in kcals per cup, pound, or kg. The higher this number is the better. This formula has 341 kcals per cup which is a little on the low side. Some weight management formulas could get away with this amount but that’s just because it is used to slim your dog down. Metabolizable Energy alone will not tell you if it is a good dog food. Kcals can come from bad ingredients and good ingredients alike. Some dog foods have upwards of 500 kcals per cup!
3.) The last of the three main things i look at are the ingredients. Usually i look at them first. If the ingredients are bad then i don’t need to look at the other two areas. If the ingredients are good then you can get a better picture of the amounts of those good ingredients from guaranteed analysis and the ME.
YEARLY COST ANALYSIS
If you feed a 75lb dog this food for 1 year, it will cost about $548.00 and they will have eaten about 325lbs of food. One reason its costs are so high is because their biggest bag is only 14lbs. No bulk size savings here.
In conclusion, my opinion of Nutrish should be pretty obvious. I see it as a marketing plan to use a chefs name to sell a dog food. I do feel bad for Rachael Ray IF she was unaware of the quality of the product she was endorsing. On the other hand, if she did know the quality of the product then i would have to change my loving opinion of her.(for her dogs sake)
Pedigree
Ok, so instead of analyzing each formula of all the brands of dog food (which would be ALOT!!!), I'm going to give a review for each brand (unless I see one specific formula that deserves to be pointed out). So, I figured we might as well start off with a bad one so you all can learn about what ingredients to look out for. (I will use the ingredient list from the pedigree complete nutrition as a model of what you will find in the other formulas.)
PEDIGREE COMPLETE NUTRITION INFORMATION :
Ingredients-Ground Whole Corn, Meat And Bone Meal, Ground Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved With Bha/Bht), Wheat Mill Run, Wheat Flour, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Caramel Color, Chicken By-Product Meal, Rice, Vegetable Oil (Source Of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [Source Of Vitamin E], L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [Source Of Vitamin C*], Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Added FD&C And Lake Colors (Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Red 40).
GAURANTEED
Crude Protein--Min. 21.0%
Crude Fat--Min. 10.0%
Crude Fiber--Max. 4.0%
Moisture --Max. 12.0%
Linoleic Acid (Omega 6 Fatty Acid)--Min. 1.8%
Vitamin E --Min. 225 Iu/Kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C*)--Min. 70 Mg/Kg
*Not Recognized As An Essential Nutrient By The AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.
Recommended feeding requirements
WEIGHT OF DOG Cups Per Day+
Up To 10 lbs. 1/3 to 1
10 to 25 lbs. 1 to 2 1/3
25 to 50 lbs. 2 1/3 to 4
50 to 75 lbs. 4 to 5 1/3
75 to 150 lbs. 5 1/3 to 9
1 cup = 8 oz. Measuring cup
1 can = 13.2 oz, 1 pouch = 5.3 oz
Ok, So let’s get started and look at the ingredients. First on the list is Ground Whole Corn. Corn by itself is not the best grain for dogs since it is one of the most common allergens for them. Plus, it can be hard for some dogs to digest corn which can stress the kidneys. Since this is also the number one ingredient, it is obviously being used as a cheap filler. Second on the list is Meat And Bone Meal. This is probably the worst ingredient you will ever see. Meat and Bone meal could be anything. And usually that’s what it ends up being; anything. That includes horses, 4d animals(dead, dying, diseased, and disabled), road kill, and even euthanized cats and dogs. There is absolutely no control over the quality of this ingredient so please look out for this. The third ingredient is Ground Wheat. Wheat is another very common allergen for dogs so I try to stay away from it. Next is Corn Gluten Meal. This is another no-no. Though this is not necessarily "harmful" to your dog, it still is made from corn and its main use from the manufacturer’s point of view is to boost the protein amount with a bad quality protein. This will cause stress to your dogs’ kidneys and liver. Animal Fat is also a no-no. Again we have no control over the quality of this fat since we don’t know the origin. It is also preserved with BHA/BHT which is an artificial preservative which when used in excess can cause tumors. The amounts of BHA/BHT which are used in the dog food are very small, but it has never been tested or approved for long term use. Because of that, I make sure not to buy food with this ingredient. Wheat mill run is like the afore mentioned wheat except it's a worse quality wheat. Wheat flower is another example of an ill quality wheat. Now we are getting into the smaller quantity ingredients. Some of them are ok but there are still by-products, caramel colors, and more artificial colorants, which some dogs can be allergic to.
The Gauranteed Analysis is not very appealing either. Crude protein is the total amount of protein in the dog food (from the meats, grains, and veggies). 21% is pretty low considering it’s not a weight management formula. 10% fat is a normal amount, and fiber and moisture are normal as well.
The feeding guidelines are just that. Guidelines! however these guidelines are based upon how many calories a dog of that size normally burns in a day. However, even that number varies between brands, but for now I will hold their guidelines constant and assume that they all used the same daily calorie burning amounts. So, for a dog weighing 75lbs (chases weight), they would need 5.33 cups per day. that’s a lot! This product costs about $21.50 for a 40 lb bag. If I would use this product for one year it would cost me approximately $195. It is the cheapest formula of pedigree, the highest is the lamb formula which comes in at $269 per year.
When we factor in the number of recalls this company has had, I have to recommend that you stay away from this product. It will most likely shorten your dog’s life and add to the chance of getting diseases.
Some good alternatives would be Nutro Max, Nutro Natural Choice, or Diamond Naturals. These are all better quality foods and are in the same price range (if not below it).
Thanks for reading! I hope I helped you understand this product more than you did! If you have any requests, leave comments and I will try to work on them.
Pedigree Complete Nutrition
PEDIGREE COMPLETE NUTRITION INFORMATION :
Ingredients-Ground Whole Corn, Meat And Bone Meal, Ground Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved With Bha/Bht), Wheat Mill Run, Wheat Flour, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Caramel Color, Chicken By-Product Meal, Rice, Vegetable Oil (Source Of Linoleic Acid), Vitamins (Choline Chloride, Dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [Source Of Vitamin E], L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate [Source Of Vitamin C*], Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], Biotin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Potassium Iodide), Added FD&C And Lake Colors (Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 2, Red 40).
GAURANTEED
Crude Protein--Min. 21.0%
Crude Fat--Min. 10.0%
Crude Fiber--Max. 4.0%
Moisture --Max. 12.0%
Linoleic Acid (Omega 6 Fatty Acid)--Min. 1.8%
Vitamin E --Min. 225 Iu/Kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C*)--Min. 70 Mg/Kg
*Not Recognized As An Essential Nutrient By The AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.
Recommended feeding requirements
WEIGHT OF DOG Cups Per Day+
Up To 10 lbs. 1/3 to 1
10 to 25 lbs. 1 to 2 1/3
25 to 50 lbs. 2 1/3 to 4
50 to 75 lbs. 4 to 5 1/3
75 to 150 lbs. 5 1/3 to 9
1 cup = 8 oz. Measuring cup
1 can = 13.2 oz, 1 pouch = 5.3 oz
Ok, So let’s get started and look at the ingredients. First on the list is Ground Whole Corn. Corn by itself is not the best grain for dogs since it is one of the most common allergens for them. Plus, it can be hard for some dogs to digest corn which can stress the kidneys. Since this is also the number one ingredient, it is obviously being used as a cheap filler. Second on the list is Meat And Bone Meal. This is probably the worst ingredient you will ever see. Meat and Bone meal could be anything. And usually that’s what it ends up being; anything. That includes horses, 4d animals(dead, dying, diseased, and disabled), road kill, and even euthanized cats and dogs. There is absolutely no control over the quality of this ingredient so please look out for this. The third ingredient is Ground Wheat. Wheat is another very common allergen for dogs so I try to stay away from it. Next is Corn Gluten Meal. This is another no-no. Though this is not necessarily "harmful" to your dog, it still is made from corn and its main use from the manufacturer’s point of view is to boost the protein amount with a bad quality protein. This will cause stress to your dogs’ kidneys and liver. Animal Fat is also a no-no. Again we have no control over the quality of this fat since we don’t know the origin. It is also preserved with BHA/BHT which is an artificial preservative which when used in excess can cause tumors. The amounts of BHA/BHT which are used in the dog food are very small, but it has never been tested or approved for long term use. Because of that, I make sure not to buy food with this ingredient. Wheat mill run is like the afore mentioned wheat except it's a worse quality wheat. Wheat flower is another example of an ill quality wheat. Now we are getting into the smaller quantity ingredients. Some of them are ok but there are still by-products, caramel colors, and more artificial colorants, which some dogs can be allergic to.
The Gauranteed Analysis is not very appealing either. Crude protein is the total amount of protein in the dog food (from the meats, grains, and veggies). 21% is pretty low considering it’s not a weight management formula. 10% fat is a normal amount, and fiber and moisture are normal as well.
The feeding guidelines are just that. Guidelines! however these guidelines are based upon how many calories a dog of that size normally burns in a day. However, even that number varies between brands, but for now I will hold their guidelines constant and assume that they all used the same daily calorie burning amounts. So, for a dog weighing 75lbs (chases weight), they would need 5.33 cups per day. that’s a lot! This product costs about $21.50 for a 40 lb bag. If I would use this product for one year it would cost me approximately $195. It is the cheapest formula of pedigree, the highest is the lamb formula which comes in at $269 per year.
When we factor in the number of recalls this company has had, I have to recommend that you stay away from this product. It will most likely shorten your dog’s life and add to the chance of getting diseases.
Some good alternatives would be Nutro Max, Nutro Natural Choice, or Diamond Naturals. These are all better quality foods and are in the same price range (if not below it).
Thanks for reading! I hope I helped you understand this product more than you did! If you have any requests, leave comments and I will try to work on them.
Pedigree Complete Nutrition
How it all started
Recently, i found an interest in dog food. It started when i looked at what my dog chase was eating. After i read the ingredients i wasn't really sure what i read. I mean, what is SUPPOSED to be in dog food anyway? But, for curiosity sake i started researching dog foods, and looking for websites that would tell me how good one dog food was from another. After finding many sites with "dog food grades" i finally started researching the dog foods myself to clarify WHY these sites gave these grades. During my research i found a great site called dogfoodproject.com. This is where i learned the bulk of the information i now have. What i learned amazed me! I couldn't believe what dog food companies were putting in their dog food! Or cat food for that matter. With my new found knowledge i decided to help my fellow animal lovers/owners and find good dog foods for a good price. Customers often comparison shop by the price per bag but through my yearly cost analysis i've discovered that good dog foods can be less per year than other "cheaper" brands. And so with that i will be starting a dog food chronicles which will go through every dog food on the market (or at least every one that pet supplies plus sells to start) and tell you how good they are, how much they will cost you per year and whether or not there is a better cheaper food out there for you. Since i'm in school these may not come quickly but ill do my best.
The reason i started all this, Chase.
The reason i started all this, Chase.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
