What do you think?

When you feed a low quality food, you acually end up having to feed more of it than if you were to feed a high quality food.  I feed my chihuahuas Timberwolf Organics... a 4.5lb bag costs $8, and I only have to feed each of my dogs 1/4 of a cup of food a day.  Now, if I were to feed Kibbles and Bits, I would feed 1+ cups a day to each of my dogs.  With the higher quality food, I'm only feed 1/4 of what I would feed if I was feeding a low quality food. 
 
I highlighted all of the bad ingredients in K&B:
 
INGREDIENTS: Corn, soybean meal, ground wheat flour, beef & bone meal, animal fat (BHA used as preservatives), corn syrup, wheat middlings, water sufficient for processing, animal digest (source of chicken flavor), propylene glycol, salt, hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, caramel color, sorbic acid (used as a preservative), sodium carbonate, choline chloride, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), calcium sulfate, titanium dioxide, yellow 5, red 40, yellow 6, BHA (used as a preservative), dl-methionine.
 
In a dog food, meat should be the first ingredient.  There should be very little (if any) grains.  K&B uses the lowest quality grains, and barely any meat.  This is equivilent to eating McDonald's everyday.

By the way, Presidents Choice is not a good food either.

K&B uses the lowest quality grains, and barely any meat. This is equivilent to eating McDonald's everyday.

I reckon it would be worse than Mcdonalds [8|] At least big macs etc have salad on them,i can not see one healthful ingredient in kibble n bits,not one!! [&:] [&o]

ORIGINAL: ~Jessie~

By the way, Presidents Choice is not a good food either.

PC ingredients,
"Lamb, brewers rice, ground corn, lamb meal, corn gluten meal, rice bran, barley, poultry fat (naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), beet pulp, liver digest, dried whole egg, whole ground flax seed, salt, fish meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, liquid garlic, safflower oil, zinc oxide, vitamins A, D & E supplements, ferrous sulphate (ron), zinc proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, calcium iodate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, calcium pantothenate, copper sulphate, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B12, biotin, sodium selenite, menadione sodium bisulphite (a source of vitamin K activity), manganese oxide, folic acid, cobalt carbonate.

I'd say it's a heck of a lot better than KnB. It isn't a a bad food actually. I don't like corn or beetpulp in my kibble, but as kibbles go you can do a lot worse. This has lamb and lamb meal, dried egg and liver digest.

Paula

I'd say it's a heck of a lot better than KnB. It isn't a a bad food actually. I don't like corn or beetpulp in my kibble, but as kibbles go you can do a lot worse. This has lamb and lamb meal, dried egg and liver digest.

ORIGINAL: paulaedwina

It looks pretty mid-grade though they use the dreaded menadione as well as nonspecified poultry fat and nonspecified fish meal.

ORIGINAL: DakotasDoode

I'd say it's a heck of a lot better than KnB. It isn't a a bad food actually. I don't like corn or beetpulp in my kibble, but as kibbles go you can do a lot worse. This has lamb and lamb meal, dried egg and liver digest.

ORIGINAL: paulaedwina

It looks pretty mid-grade though they use the dreaded menadione as well as nonspecified poultry fat and nonspecified fish meal.

Yes I would call it midgrade - and leaps and bounds far superior to KnB.

Paula

I am thinkign about going back to it. Cost wise it is right for us right now. Until we get some things straightened away.
I'll go check and see if the Chicken and Rice has a small bag to sample for him. If he won't eat it I guess we're just going to have to stick to K&B for now. I'd rather see him eat something that isn't the best for him rather then not eating at all []

ORIGINAL: purple chaps

I am thinkign about going back to it. Cost wise it is right for us right now. Until we get some things straightened away.
I'll go check and see if the Chicken and Rice has a small bag to sample for him. If he won't eat it I guess we're just going to have to stick to K&B for now. I'd rather see him eat something that isn't the best for him rather then not eating at all []

Did you notice the food that I posted, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul? Kibbles N Bits is about $24.99 for 35 pounds. Chicken Soup is $29.99 for 35 pounds. So that's only a very little bit more expensive to purchase and will actually end up being less expensive because you'll have to feed less of it. There are other good food options in the same price range if you're interested.

As far as your dog being picky; you're going to have to do some tough love at first. He's been eating the equivalent of McDonald's Happy Meals every day. It's to be expected for him to turn his nose up to a healthy food. The only way around that is to put down the new food for about 10 minutes and then pick up whatever he doesn't eat. NO table scraps or anything else unless he eats the food you put down first. Do that twice a day (morning and evening). He'll probably go on strike and hold out for something better, so he may not eat for a day or 2 (maybe even 3 days), but rest assured he WILL eat if you don't cave and give him something different.

I will look into the other foods for sure Thank you[]
He was on the "better" food before he was ever on the K&B. He's only been on that since September.
He was on the PC brand up until then. I didn't realize how little of it he had been eating until he ate the K&B.  He had always been picky, right from a puppy.
He wasn't underweight according to the vet. She said he was in great shape. *Not ribby, but not fatty eiter*
But just for my own confort I wanted him to be a little heavier, in case he got sick or something.
I'd rather have him a tad over weight then under weight. I'm the same with my horses.
 

ORIGINAL: purple chaps

I will look into the other foods for sure Thank you[]
He was on the "better" food before he was ever on the K&B. He's only been on that since September.
He was on the PC brand up until then. I didn't realize how little of it he had been eating until he ate the K&B. He had always been picky, right from a puppy.
He wasn't underweight according to the vet. She said he was in great shape. *Not ribby, but not fatty eiter*
But just for my own confort I wanted him to be a little heavier, in case he got sick or something.
I'd rather have him a tad over weight then under weight. I'm the same with my horses.

This reminds me, I brought Ella to the vet the other day, and this is completely off topic, but I always hear people talk about how many overweight dogs they see and I didn't really know what they were talking about because I never see fat dogs, in fact I see some that just look too skinny with bad skin and coats. But when I brought Ella to the vet the other day, I saw SOOOO many fat dogs. I thought, "this is what everyone's talking about!!!!" I then realized how in shape my dog is! And the worst part is is that NONE of them seemed to think their dogs were fat. One lady said that when she adopted her dog, her dog was underweight. She said she was a little overweight now but she'd rather have that than a dog that was too skinny. I just gotta ask, what happened to the happy middle? Why is it one extreme or the other with a lot of people?

I understand a little weight on in a case of illness, but barely then, even. Sometimes a dog with more weight (even a tad extra) could suffer even more when they're ill. I would think (and i am not an expert so I could be wrong) that extra weight would be bad for circulation, harder on their heart, and muscles during an illness. I don't know.

You want the opposite for dogs. Even a little overweight is tremendously unhealthy. Fat does nothing, zero, zilch if they get sick. Fat wears on their joints. A fat dog is reluctant to move in a healthy way because it's uncomfortable. It gets in the way if they want to scratch or twist around to groom. They are not as flexible as us in that respect and so a little extra padding gets in the way quickly - that's why an elizabethan collar works so well.

A health dog will not starve itself. Feed as much of a healthy food as the dog will eat and stay in condition (ribs easily felt, but not backbone, tucked waist visible from above, shape of hips visible but not individual pelvic structures).

That's good that he hasn't been on Kibbles N Bits all along! And I totally understand that some dogs are just naturally more picky than others. I've got one of those dogs and I can't blame him for wanting tasty food.

I just thought of another way to encourage your dog to eat a healthier kibble. You can add a little warm, low sodium chicken broth (very inexpensive generic brand) to his kibble. Just make sure that you don't ever take the kibble and "doctor it up" after he's refused it. You can give kibble with other things added, but the key is to give it to him that way in the first place. Don't hand feed him or encourage him to eat. Just put the food down and if he eats he eats, if not try again the next time. []

I try to keep my three goldens next to thin.  KayCee, a little over 7 has had both knees operated on and Buck, 12 next month has arthritis in hips and lower spine.  The less weight on their joints the better. I have rheumatoid arthritis and the same applies to me.  But it harder for me to keep weight--i can eat when and what i want to LOL, but the dogs only eat what i feed them so is easier to control their weight.

I tried the broth idea before. That was a no go [] Same with Gravy *may not of been as healthy, but i wanted him to eat.*  He's just so weird sometimes [&:]
 
But please don't think when I say I want him a little heavier I mean 'fat' I have had the vet always tell me about how great he looks and how he's at a great weight. I just want him to be a teeny bit more. But again, not fat.  Just a little thicker incase he does go entirely off his food for some reason.