Diet for high cholesteral

Purina Fit & Trim dry food lists the fat content at 7 percent (minimum) to 9 percent (maximum), so I'd click around online and check the guaranteed analysis for better quality foods to see which are in that same range.

I checked just a few brands for you:

Blue Healthy Weight -- 6 percent fat (minimum)

Natural Balance Reduced Calorie -- 6 percent fat (minimum)

Innova Reduced Fat -- 7 percent fat (minimum)

California Natural low fat rice and chicken or rice and lamb -- 7 percent (minimum)

Wellness Super5Mix Healthy Weight -- 6 percent (minimum) to 10 percent (maximum)

My 10 yo dog has been eating Innova reduced fat for quite awhile now and does very well on it.  But I'm keeping a wary eye on the ingredients/quality since Natura sold out to P&G.

I would not feed Innova or California Natural, as the company has been bought out by Proctor and Gamble.  They can change the ingredients at any time, without having to put the changes on the label for six months.  JMHO, but if it were me, I'd opt for Natural Balance or Wellness. 

spiritdogs

They can change the ingredients at any time, without having to put the changes on the label for six months.

I'm not trying to be contentious at all, but do you have a reliable source for that?  It's something I frequently see posted on message boards, but I've spent a lot of time looking for a reliable source to substantiate it, and I can't find a single one.  I've got two pets with food-related issues, so it's an important issue to me.

All I can find are sources like this FDA document, which make no reference at all to any lag time allowed for updating ingredient labels.  Rather, it (and all other reliable sources I've found) state that:

Pet food labeling is regulated at two levels. The federal regulations, enforced by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), establish standards applicable for all animal feeds: proper identification of product, net quantity statement, manufacturer's name and address, and proper listing of ingredients.

A few other options to consider:

Eagle Pack Weight Management

Canidae Platinum

Castor & Pollux Ultramix Weight Management

Precise makes a light food, too. Fluffy eats it, because she is an easy keeper, and still wants the extras that the tough keepers get. Works just fine, for her. Bean ate it, when she porked out for a bit, too, and may go back to it, in the summer.

Myra

I'm not trying to be contentious at all, but do you have a reliable source for that?

It varies by state -- but the big one that worries me is that in most states in the US they only have to list what THEY add.  so if they use a meat meal that was - at the rendering plant -- treated with high amounts of BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin--- they don't have to list it unless it's someting THEY added.  It can be tough to gett them to admit it.

You aren't going to find easy stuff that's national -- most of these laws are state laws. NOT federal

SwifferLips

My border/beagle Jake was just diagnosed with high cholesterol.  Normal is 270, he's at 338. 

Hmm n- you realize that this is NOT like a human having high cholesterol?  Dogs don't process it like humans do -- it doesn't clog their areteries.

Instead it's actually ONLY a problem if other specific things in the bloodwork are high too -- It's more an indicator than something specificially to try to get down on it's own.  Notably -- it's kidney related if the cholesterol and a couple of other things are high (and I can't remember offhand which) -- but it's NOT the cholesterol on its own that's any kind of a problem

 Callie's right; cholesterol doesn't affect a dog's arteries and isn't a problem by itself. It can be related to liver problems though, if some other liver values are also high like alkaline-phosphatase, GGT, and bilirubin.

Myra

I'm not trying to be contentious at all, but do you have a reliable source for that?  It's something I frequently see posted on message boards, but I've spent a lot of time looking for a reliable source to substantiate it, and I can't find a single one.  I've got two pets with food-related issues, so it's an important issue to me.

  I found this;   Innova, P&G and food labeling in general ( long post) - Food & Nutrition Forum;

To those concerned about Innova:
If you wish not to support a big company like Proctor & Gamble, it is a personal choice, and thats fine. I personally do not like the sale, but I will continue to buy Innova until (if) there is an ingredient change.

Out of concern for my own pets and because of client questions I used my veterinary connections and contacted the aafco chair of the petfood committee regarding labeling changes and this so called ' 6 month window' rumor that has been going around. I am in no way affiliated with P&G or Natura ( I'm a vet tech, and personally feed and have seen the good the line as done for my pets) but I am tired of seeing all the bashing of this good food just because the company sold itself.

My question was " Is there a time period companies can go by when changing an ingredient ( no matter how minor) on a label or does it have to be changed immediately?" here is her reply:

Since AAFCO is a "model" for state pet food regulations, I cannot speak for every state. BUT, the label of a pet food must represent the contents in the can, box or bag. I know of no regulation that allows a company to distribute a product under a label that is inaccurate. However, a state feed control official may allow a company to use up their existing inventory for a minor labeling error, but this is rare. This practice should typically never occur for changes with a product's ingredients or when there is a concern about the safety of the pet food. For instance, if a company made a error in the text on the label and perhaps made a claim that was not acceptable, I might be willing to allow the company to use up their existing inventory while they printed corrected labels. But, if a company was using an ingredient that was not allowed in animal feed and pet food, and they were told they had to remove that unacceptable ingredient, I would not allow the company to use up their inventory of old labels. They would not be allowed to use a label that listed that unacceptable ingredient even if they had removed that ingredient from their product formula. I suppose I could allow them to block out that particular ingredient, usually if this was for a small local company. But blocking out an ingredient would be impossible for a large company who distributed products nationally since no one would be able to edit that many labels by hand!

As another example, a company contacted me asking if they could use their existing labels that listed "salmon", but they wanted to switch to another type of fish. I told them they could not use their existing labels. If their label had stated "fish", then they could vary the different types of fish in their formulation. But when the label specifically stated "salmon", they could not use that same label when using trout, whitefish, or some other type of fish.

The label of an animal feed or pet food that lists an incorrect ingredient statement is in violation of state and federal law. There is no allowance or exemption in the regulation for using old labeling for a reformulated product. If for some reason a state feed control official did allow that practice, that state feed control official's decision would not apply to product sold in any other state. Approval of an incorrect label would only be allowed in that one state which allowed it.

 Sounds to me that the "six month rule" is strictly an internet rumor. 

jessies_mom

Sounds to me that the "six month rule" is strictly an internet rumor. 

Thanks so much, Janice.  That post pretty much summarizes everything I've found about ingredient labeling.

As far as state/federal -- My understanding (which certainly could be wrong or simplistic) is that states can pass laws or regulations that are more stringent than federal laws/regulations, but not less.  So if the FDA requires "proper" ingredient labeling, states couldn't do a lot to get around that.

Yes, the vet explained to me that it doesn't work like in humans.  He recommended a "diet" food to try to get Jake's weight down which will in turn reduce his cholesterol. 

But ... the cholesterol alone being high is nothing bad.  It always has to be viewed as part of a ratio ... and all the vet "diet" foods are SO low in quality -- man, I wouldn't be doing that.  Unfortunately that *sounds* (it may not be but it SOUNDS like ...) like the vet is just trying to get you to use something they sell.  They don't make much on food but they LOVE to "control" everything to make you come in more. 

My dogs are at the vet monthly or more often ... I don't mind going TO the vet ... but I won't feed a substandard food just on that sort of basis.

I sent an email to the Pet Food Institute to ask them about the six month rule.  Several reputable dog food information sites quote the six month window, but I'm happy to be corrected on that point if necessary.  However, the key issue is whether or not to feed your dog something that is manufactured by P&G.  I stand by my reluctance to feed their products to my animals when there are much higher quality foods available on the market.  Don't forget, they *were* involved in the massive pet food recall that killed so many animals.   That's because, for P&G, economy trumped quality, and I believe it still will.

 UPDATE - Here is the email I received from the Pet Food Institute regarding the six month window for label changes:

"Most ingredient changes are very minor, and if so, a short allowance is made for using up packaging.  MAJOR changes require that labels be changed As Soon As Practical.  It takes several weeks to get packaging changed, depending on the difference in the label.  If it is just an ingredient, itself, that is a much simpler change than if you’re making a statement about that ingredient (“Calling it out”).  Basically there’s about a 6 month allowance to get ALL packaging changed, because of distribution and logistics issues.

Significant label changes – those dealing with the first 6 or so ingredients have a much higher threshold to meet before labeling can be changed, with formulations, palatability challenges, digestibility challenges, etc., so ingredient changes are pretty rare in the grand scope of pet food."