WHAT is with the Purina people?

Ever notice even the health food guru's die? All those sprouts and nuts and wheat germ didn't prevent it.

ORIGINAL: losinsusan

My great uncle was a very thin but healthy 80-something year old, never drinking, never smoking organic only vegetarian who was into calorie restriction years ago.  He died in a car accident where a seatbelt would likely have saved his life.
 
Well I don't smoke (and wear a seatbelt)! []

ORIGINAL: bichinpanda

They're obviously here because they care.

I don't deny that anyone posting on these forums cares about their dog. But this particular forum is a NUTRITION forum.  It's for discussing different foods and feeding regimens and how to improve on them for optimal nutrition. Lets say you've found a food that works, in this case, Purina, you are not interested in the ingredients or why it works, you just know you like it and you're going to feed it.  You're not interestsed in hearing about the ingredients or antecdotal evidence from posters who use  any other brand.  You're not in a situation where you would like information on improving your current feed..  You feel that what your feeding currently works and will for the rest of your dogs life, and you don't know, or care, how or why, or are interested in sharing why you think it works compared to other brands.  You're not interested in adding other brands to your rotation and would like to hear other people's experiences.  So why post here?  What are these posts contributing to the discussions?  To say that you feed purina and your dogs are doing well. Great! Do any of us need to come to a internet dog forum to hear about people feeding purina and their dogs are doing well?   I could go right now and knock on the neighbor's door across the street and he can tell me he feeds purina and his dogs are healthy.   But I come to forums like this (I'm an old I-dog poster, had to create a new account recently due to login problems) for more advanced discussion on et nutrition because your average person feeds purina and probably has never been involved in a discussion on dog nutrition.  And people are going to disagree and debate.  I belong to a number of forums on different subjects, and if you repeatedly post an unpopular opinion over and over,  you are asking to be critiqued.
Besides, I don't see anyone saying that anyone is "killing their dogs" with what they are feeding.  We are all intelligent people and know that your dog is not going to just drop dead one night from purina poisoning!

don't deny that anyone posting on these forums cares about their dog. But this particular forum is a NUTRITION forum. It's for discussing different foods and feeding regimens and how to improve on them for optimal nutrition. Lets say you've found a food that works, in this case, Purina, you are not interested in the ingredients or why it works, you just know you like it and you're going to feed it. You're not interestsed in hearing about the ingredients or antecdotal evidence from posters who use any other brand. You're not in a situation where you would like information on improving your current feed.. You feel that what your feeding currently works and will for the rest of your dogs life, and you don't know, or care, how or why, or are interested in sharing why you think it works compared to other brands. You're not interested in adding other brands to your rotation and would like to hear other people's experiences. So why post here? What are these posts contributing to the discussions? To say that you feed purina and your dogs are doing well. Great! Do any of us need to come to a internet dog forum to hear about people feeding purina and their dogs are doing well?

 
Sooo, the only people who should be allowed to post here are the ones that feed the premium foods.  They are allowed to tell how well their dogs are doing on which ever premium they feed.  We that feed Purina and other "lesser" foods should not tell what we feed or how well our dogs are doing.  Why?    I thought this was NUTRITION topic, not PREMIUM FOOD only topic.
 
Let me tell you, there is a lot more to be learned here than just which premium food is best.  And I have learned many things here--like adding garlic powder to my home cooking, that my dogs can have broccoli, that most of the premimun foods are "richer" (or denser) and that can be a problem for some dogs...possibily my older golden that got sick every meal when I tried something new for him, etc, etc
 
And I do not rotate my foods.    I did switch from Fit & Trim for my girls and from Dog Chow for my old man about 5 weeks ago, put them all on   formulas of Purina One.  Outside of that, no never rotate kibble.  I vary their meats and veggies some, but not that much.  They are not picky eaters, never have been and I know rotating can upset the digestive system.  And i know that if the digest system stays out of whack for any length of time, it upsets the immune system and that is something i do not wish to happen to mine.  There are to many other things that can upset their immune system without my intentionally adding another.
 
As as to not paying attention to stories told by top feeders as to how their dogs are doing, the same applies the other way around.   We also know our dogs and see how well they are doing.  But apparently we are not suppose to say so..   
 
 

for more advanced discussion on pet nutrition because your average person feeds purina and probably has never been involved in a discussion on dog nutrition.

 
That doesn't mean that we can't discuss Purina just because your neighbor may buy it without thinking about. If anything, we get a better idea of what it's about. So, yes, we need to come to the forum and read about Purina. And Innova, and Canidae, and whatever with bison, apples, alfalfa sprouts, as well as a totally RMB diet. Read about it all. Or don't. Whatever suits you. This is not the only thread in this topic area.

ORIGINAL: bichinpanda

It did bother me when people told me that neither my dog NOR I should been eating white bread ... it's the same thing. Do what you want and what you think is right. Educate yourself, weigh the pros and cons, make a decision, and move on with your life. It doesn't matter what people who feed premium say about your decisions, as long as you've made educated ones.

But if it bothers you to have someone tell you something you eat is bad, how would you ever get educated?

I totally agree about making educated decisions, and part of being educated is listening to other, differing opinions.

Apparently I have a much different opinion of what constitutes an attack because with the exception of a few comments I thought this thread was a interesting debate and people were just expressing their thoughts.

ORIGINAL: ron2

I think they are crazy feeding their kids sugar and grease before they go to school since those are the main ingredients that are in what their kids are ingesting, but if I said anything to them, an arguement would most probably result.Would they stop feeding their kids this junk, after the argument? I doubt it.. I look at the defence of these very poor pet food products as the same type of thing.

I politely disagree. Most dog foods, most especially the name brands, are scientifically formulated and controlled to provide your pet with the proper nutrition. This is, in fact, different than handing a kid a donut and a coke.

You missed the point.  The "scientific formulation" as you call doesn't stop  these companies from putting toxic and unhealthy ingredients in the food that some are feeding their pets.  The control that you speak of, just says that it has to meet some minimum requirements.. In other words, it probably won't kill your dog right away. As I have stated several times in this thread, if anyone is really interested in learning what these bad ingredients  are and the long term negative effects that they can have on your dog,   is very easy to research on the internet, if one  really cares to learn something about the topic.. 
By the way, I am certain that if you talk to people at Dunkin Donuts and Coca Cola, they will tell you that their products are based on a scentific formulation too. So are Twinkies........[]

everyone is welcome to come over to the Dark Side

 
Sorry, but I've got to do it again.
 
[linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19WvrYl-p68&mode=related&search]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19WvrYl-p68&mode=related&search[/link]=
 

ORIGINAL: sooner

ORIGINAL: bichinpanda

It did bother me when people told me that neither my dog NOR I should been eating white bread ... it's the same thing. Do what you want and what you think is right. Educate yourself, weigh the pros and cons, make a decision, and move on with your life. It doesn't matter what people who feed premium say about your decisions, as long as you've made educated ones.

But if it bothers you to have someone tell you something you eat is bad, how would you ever get educated?

I totally agree about making educated decisions, and part of being educated is listening to other, differing opinions.

Apparently I have a much different opinion of what constitutes an attack because with the exception of a few comments I thought this thread was a interesting debate and people were just expressing their thoughts.

I have worked with people and watched them eat white bread sandwiches in the break room at lunch time and many times I would tell them the benefits of whole grain breads vs white bread which does  nothing but spike your blood sugar.  I also tell them that the coke they are drinking with their sandwich  contains about 13 teaspoonfuls of sugar, and Energy drinks are nothing more than caffiene  and tons of sugar at a ridiculous price. I hate to see people making themselves sick eating junk and garbage, but many do .  That is why so many people in the US have weight problems and  young adults are winding up with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure before they are 35.  I just retired from a European based company and on one of my many trips to Europe over the years, one of my co-workers at the company  headquarters one night said to me... " How come Americans are so fat?"   I was suprised at this question , and told him about the poor diet that most of us eat and the avoidance by many of us, of any kind of exercise....  During the rest of my trip there I started to notice that the majority of the people that I saw were in pretty good shape.  iIt was unusual to see a fat or obese person.

 When I got back to the states from that trip, and was walking though the airport, I realized that he was right.  No matter where I looked, the vast majority of people were overweight or very overweight......They were lined up at the Burger Kings and McDonalds stands,  in the airport eating 1200 calorie lunches and probably did this everyday. Then a quick 1200 calorie Cinnabun and a cup of coffee and they were set until dinner.....  []

  I know that junk dog foods are made by the same food  industries that make the people junk food and  these companies   know that the consumer in this country can be easily fooled into buying most anything if it comes in an attractive package and has good marketing...... These comapnies  obviously aren't worried about people eating this garbage day after day , so does anyone  really think that they are worried about your dog's longevity and quality of life from eating the Dog junk foods they make?  

I think what gets my goat the worst is when pet owners refuse to give other foods a shot or they once tried a super premium food eons ago which didnt suit their dogs and then claim NONE of the super premiums work for them.
Some folk say their dogs are thriving on X food,but how can they know for sure when they have nothing else to compare it to? If an owner has been feeding X brand for years and nothing else how do they know their dogs wouldnt do better on another more premium food

 
I'm one of those. Except that I don't claim that none of the other brands will work because I haven't gone through all of them. Yes, there could be room for improvement with perhaps any food. 

ORIGINAL: ron2


That doesn't mean that we can't discuss Purina just because your neighbor may buy it without thinking about.

 
Apparently, we cannot discuss Purina because those who voice their opinions on the ingredients or company tactics are automatically assumed to be "bashing", "attacking", "heckling", and "victimizing" other posters.

meat based, and shouldn't contain any harmful chemicals or artificial substances.

 
My food fits that description and it gets slammed, now and then, when it is mentioned.

ORIGINAL: ron2

meat based, and shouldn't contain any harmful chemicals or artificial substances.

My food fits that description and it gets slammed, now and then, when it is mentioned.

Your food contains lamb meal then 4 rices, poultry fat and menadione. That's why people don't like it.

My food fits that description and it gets slammed, now and then, when it is mentioned.

ORIGINAL: ron2

Please correct me if I'm wrong but don't you (unlike a large percentage of basic kibble feeders) significantly supplement your dogs diet with "people food"?

supplement your dogs diet with "people food"?

 
Not too signifcantly and not the extent of others. When we have steak, pork, or chicken, I will feed him pieces. It may total an 8 oz.  cup, maybe a little less. And it is not every night. It, aside from treat training, is the one major NILIF thing we do. Regular feeding he doesn't have to do obedience for. Getting pieces of meat from me, he has to sit or down. Once in a blue moon, I will make what I call cajun mashed sweet potatos (only because a I use a little cajun seasoning.) I will feed him a few spoonfulls of that, which he will eat. But he's not interested in veggies, in general. But he will eat a wheat cracker, without any trickery. I have watched him eat pecans that fall from a neighbor's tree.

I'm not sure that feeding Purina every day is any worse than feeding a different kibble each and every day and totally throwing a dog into an intestinal tailspin....

Glenda,perhaps feeding a different kibble each day would send your GSD's into an intestinal tailspin,but it doesnt my dogs []