WHAT is with the Purina people?

OBVIOUSLY a rattle snake bite has nothing to do with the food [8|] The food may have nothing to do with the thyroid,kidney infection,{arthritis,cancer[although high grain diets are known to exasberate these problems},allergies,luxating patella's,poor night vision,or it could have everything to do with it.My point is dont rule it out completely,it's much easier to blame things that are out of our control than something so simple as the diet we are feeding.

Some dogs, IMO, do better-solid stools, less digestive problems, more active, better appetite etc...) on different foods, be they Purina, Iams, Euk, NB or Newman's Own.

 
According to this logic, every single brand of food that is sold for dogs is completely equal in it's quality and nutritional content, it's a matter of  just picking a couple at random and see which one your dogs don't have problems on.  Sorry, but I don't buy this.  I think there are many brands out there and they just cater to different markets.  Supermarket brands like Purina, Beneful, Ol roy etc are targeted to the mass market consumer who does not put much thought into their pet's nutrition and assumes (wrongly so) that if it says complete and balanced on the bag, it's as good as anything else.  Then there are the brands like Hill's and Iams that cater to the people that blindly trust their vet's advice on what to feed, and still really don't put much of their own thought into their pet's nutrition.    Then you have the premium brands that came out because  a movement began where people were questioning the ingredients in commercial diets and  whether these ingredients are species approporiate, or caused cancer etc...   Purina is now starting to try to tap into this market as well with their Selects line, but instead of getting people to switch from other premium feeds to Purina, I think they'll just convert some of those in the first group who will see the market campaigns and suddenly make them think about what the ingredients in their current supermarket brands are doing to their dog.

ORIGINAL: jenns



According to this logic, every single brand of food that is sold for dogs is completely equal in it's quality and nutritional content, it's a matter of  just picking a couple at random and see which one your dogs don't have problems on.

No, sorry, it's not.  But you feel free to misinterpret anything you want, you have that right.  And I'm sure you have that right because alot of people died to give it to you.  So be sure to stop the bickering long enough to thank a veteran.[]

OBVIOUSLY a rattle snake bite has nothing to do with the food The food may have nothing to do with the thyroid,kidney infection,{arthritis,cancer[although high grain diets are known to exasberate these problems},allergies,luxating patella's,poor night vision,or it could have everything to do with it.My point is dont rule it out completely,it's much easier to blame things that are out of our control than something so simple as the diet we are feeding.

 
I am sorry  but i do have to rule out food.  Luxating patellas are caused becuase the groove the knee cap rides in is not deep enough and the knee cap jumps out.  That has nothing at all do do with food.  Check out a book on Golden Retrievers, or better still, 4 or 5 and every one will tell you that goldens are prone to cancer, HP, allergies, and low thyroid, food having nothing to do with any of them.  Also, go as a guest to any of the golden forums I belong to (Chat goldens, Love of Golden Retrievers, Goldendogs-online, GoldenRetriever forum) and see how many dogs have been diagnosed with low thryoid and cancer in the past year, how many young ones have died, how so many are battling allergy related hot spots, and then check out the nutrition section and see what they are fed.  They are fed everything from Purina, etc to top of the line to raw and it has made no difference.  Just as many of the premium and raw dogs are having these problems as the "lower grade" food dogs are having.Only 2 dogs on all these forums are older than my Buck, and the oldest is like 10 months than he is, and if I remember correct, she gets Nutro, as does the other 5 (she is a breeder). 
 
Just how many people do you know that would be the equivilant of Buck's age that has perfect vision?  My vet said his eyeballs are perfectly healthy (as did anothe vet who checked him), but are just old.  I wear bifocals and have for years.  I don't think food has anything in the least with his eyes getting old.  And I have also learned that kidney infections are common in older dogs.  KayCee did have that bad ear infection  in one ear a little over 2 1/2 years ago, but that is the only one.  Would seem to me if it was food related, she would have recurring infections.  
 
If they start throwing up their food, having runny poop, KayCee starts getting hot spots in "off season " or the other two starts to get them, etc, you can bet your last dollar I would try another food to see if that was causing the problem. 

I'm sure glad the democrats took the house, hopefully they will take the senate too.

According to this logic, every single brand of food that is sold for dogs is completely equal in it's quality and nutritional content, it's a matter of just picking a couple at random and see which one your dogs don't have problems on

 
I do not pick Purina at random nor based on ads or promos.  I pick Purina because of seeing our dogs on it for 5 decades.  I have seen healthy, active dogs live beyond life expectancy, hunt into old age, never sick (not even ear infections). 
 
I watch the Bud commercials with the beautiful horses, I love the commercials but I have yet to go out and buy a single bottle of Bud.  I love the Bush Beans commercials with the golden retrieve, Duke.  But in this case I use Bush beans---and have LONG before those commercials ever hit the air.  I see commercials for tuna help and hamburger help and some are cute.  But forget, I am not going to go buy them because i like to cook from scratch.  Commercials, ads, etc do not make me rush out to by a product (I actually do not watch many commercials on TV.

I'm sure glad the democrats took the house, hopefully they will take the senate too.

 
I am not of any party, I just see what  each stands for and vote for the ones I think will do the best job, is the most honest (if there is really such a tink as honest politian) and yesterday i voted for some Repub, some Demo, a couple of Liber, and even one independent.  My grandpa always voted straight repub. party and it didn't matter if it was monkey running for prez with a three toed sloth running as his VP.  I loved my grandpa to death, but didn't think this was the way to vote, especial of the Democ. was the better man.

From what I have seen Pedigree, Science diet, and Iams all have grain as their first ingredients.  Purina One and Purina Pro Plan do not have grain as the first ingredient.  My vet said to make sure the first ingredient is meat/meat product.  Whats funny is he sells science diet.  I feed Purina One because Harley likes and is doing well on it.  I am doing other research and am considering other brands but not completely convinced.  Harley had been on Euk and beneful and Ol Roy before I got him.  I have gradually taken him up the levels and have tried a few of the better brands.  QC is another concern of mine as well as the AAFco testing.  I want to make sure that whatever I do feed is getting great QC although problems can still arise.  Hmm maybe there is some security with a big name company...who knows.  I have learned alot on here and I do research on brands and try to do the best for my dog. 
We all are trying to do what we feel is best for our dogs...thats what is important.  I guess we could continue this discussion in 5 to 10 years and discuss how our dogs are fairing then.  Only time will tell.  My dog Kane was on Purina dog chow and Hi pro and he died at 8 due to seizures which started one night and never stopped till he was put down.  Would better food have prevented a hereditary condition who know?  But I am not going to feel bad that I feed him Purina and think that I killed him through feeding him that food.  I suppose anyone who has lost a dog younger then they thought they should should soley blame the food.  I don't think there is a person on here that feeds only kibble and no bones, treats or supplements or Raw or homecooked.  So I guess everyone doesn't think that their kibble is good enough on its own.

ORIGINAL: Firestorm

From what I have seen Pedigree, Science diet, and Iams all have grain as their first ingredients.  Purina One and Purina Pro Plan do not have grain as the first ingredient. 

 
The first ingredient of One and Pro Plan is a meat, not a meat meal, which means it can be 70% water. After cooking they do have grain as the first ingredient.

I am sorry but i do have to rule out food.

 
I really don't want to get into this, but I want to help explain why food could cause seemingly non-food-related issues, like allergies (to things besides food). If you fuel your body with potato chips, ice cream, candy bars, french fries, etc. (and no, I'm not comparing that sort of diet to any dog food [sm=peace.gif]), you're most likely going to get sick a lot, and have a lot of health issues, not necessarily just diahrrea, throwing up, or anything else that's obviously food related. You're probably going to have a weakened immune system, which will make you prone to infections, PLUS any allergies you have will probably be WAY worse. Things you never even noticed on a healthy diet, allergies, maybe arthritis or joint pain, and many other things, will show up on an unhealthy diet, because your body doesn't have the resources or strength to deal with it. That doesn't necessarily mean you're going to feel tired (although that's likely too), or even look bad, you might have great skin, healthy looking hair, bright eyes, enough energy, and yet the unhealthy diet causes problems in other areas of your health.
 
Sandra, I'm not even suggesting this is true for your dogs, I'm just trying to explain what others didn't seem to be able to.
 
I do have to say something. I don't believe that just because you might be genetically prone to problems, you have to have them. Just because heart disease is common in my relatives, even the ones who eat healthy and exercise, doesn't mean I shouldn't try to revent it in myself. And likewise for dogs. Just because labs are prone to obesity doesn't mean I can't revent my lab mix from becoming obese. Just because goldens are prone to so many things doesn't mean you can't try to prevent them. But again, I'm not saying you're not trying, or doing something wrong by feeding what you feed. Just because I would do something differently doesn't mean what you do is wrong.

I'm sure glad the democrats took the house, hopefully they will take the senate too.

 
LMAO. Way to stir the pot! (But I agree!!) []

ORIGINAL: abbysdad

I'm sure glad the democrats took the house, hopefully they will take the senate too.

Oh, I'm sorry, there's a difference between a democrat and republican these days?
Man, I must be missing something...

Oh, I'm sorry, there's a difference between a democrat and republican these days?
Man, I must be missing something...

 
Not a HUGE difference sometimes, but yes! Definitely a difference!

oh![]
Because see, last time I checked, my lovely little democratic state gov. took 40% of my local teachers' pension funds so that he could fully fund the Chicago teachers' pension funds.
And I won't go onto how else he's screwing people...
BUT, this IS Illinois.

I understand exactly what you are saying.  But on the other hand, I see many posts here by feeders of premium food whose dogs have allergies, senstivie stomaches, arthritis.  That brings me full circle to why if feeding the best prevents these things, why do these dogs have them?  Why aren't they in perfect condition?  On my golden forums I read of  4 year old who was on premium dying of cancer, or a 9 year old whose owner has all hers on raw to prevent cancer--but he died of cancer.  Many have HD and have had hips totally replaced.  Many are having tumors removed.  Somethings can not be prevented no matter what food you feed, and  none of mine has had anything that changing from Purina would prevent or cure.