WHAT is with the Purina people?

A couple of observations:

1) These attacks aren't one sided. The Purina people (for lack of a better term) are perfectly capable of defending themselves, and even initiating the attacks in a lot of cases. They may say they're preventing the inevitable but,

2) In most cases the 'attacks' aren't attacks at all. Some of the Purina people have extreme reactions to simple comments. I admit that there are one or two posters who have said things that could have been said more diplomatically, but the fact is everyone is being accused of what one or two are doing. Not to mention, several months ago some comments were made by a poster who was banned shortly after and still those comments are brought up every time someone needs some ammo against the premium feeders. This isn't some big plot against Purina feeders, nobody is trying to bash, hang, discriminate, come down on, shred or do anything else to you. They're simply stating different opinions.

I used to feed Purina, and not even one of their better products. I thought the poor dogs were doing fine on it. Now that I have dogs that really ARE doing well, looking back, I realize those Purina fed dogs weren't. Which is why I have trouble believing people who claim their dogs are "doing well" on such foods. I go to the dog park and look at the greasy, smelly, saggy body structure, dirty teeth, huge poop piles, and all of those dog owners think their dogs are "doing well" on the stuff they feed. They just haven't seen a dog that is truly doing well. I have a friend, deeply into dog-showing, who used to feed proplan. Dogs looked pretty good, nothing to complain about. She was talking into trying a super-premium food by her vet of all people, and a month later she came to class, and we, not knowing about the food change, were shocked at how much better her two dogs looked, and loudly commented on it to her and amongst ourselves. We'd thought they were fine, too, but in hindsight, it was clear they weren't as fine as they could have been.
So I flat-out don't believe anyone who feeds these mediocre foods and claims it is "the best" for their particular dog. At the very least you can supplement your purina with some fresh food and some fish body oil.
 

I still consider myself a 'Purina Person' even though I stopped feeding a few months ago. I am now feeding Xbrand of food simply because its better priced. I was paying 18 dollars for a 20lb bag of one, where im now paying the same for 40lbs.

I think our 'biggest beef' (or at least mine) is that someone who feeds a premium food can claim that their dog is doing great because they have great teeth, shiny coats, excellent bloodwork, etc. But because 'we' feed Purina our dogs cannot possible be doing well even if they show the same health signs that the premium fed dogs do.

Let me tell you I have seen some strays on the street that look as good as those premium fed dogs. GORGEOUS thick coats, healthy body types, pearly white teeth, no bad breath etc. What do those dogs eat? Garbage. A bit of chicken, a bit of bread, leftover rice, yesterdays meatloaf etc.

Also, the whole bull on Purina feeders slowly killing their dogs, if those dogs are living to be 18 and 19, how is that slowly killing them?

What do the premium fed dogs live to be 30, with no arthritis and no medical problems?

So I flat-out don't believe anyone who feeds these mediocre foods and claims it is "the best" for their particular dog.

 
So you're saying that Purina feeders are killing their dogs right?  You're condemning the Purina feeders and saying they don't care about their dogs?  The Purina fed dogs are dying a slow agonizing death, is that what you're saying?  So I understand you correctly, you're saying that Purina feeders should force-feed their dogs Innova?  It seems you are also saying that feeding Purina is akin to putting a shotgun to the dog's head?  You are also implying that no dog can live to be over 10 years old on Purina, right?  No dog has ever done well on Purina? Is that what you're saying Mudpuppy?
 
I didn't think so, but I thought I'd save the Purina feeders some typing.

I used to feed Purina, and not even one of their better products. I thought the poor dogs were doing fine on it. Now that I have dogs that really ARE doing well, looking back, I realize those Purina fed dogs weren't. Which is why I have trouble believing people who claim their dogs are "doing well" on such foods. I go to the dog park and look at the greasy, smelly, saggy body structure, dirty teeth, huge poop piles, and all of those dog owners think their dogs are "doing well" on the stuff they feed. They just haven't seen a dog that is truly doing well.

 
This is completely anecdotal, we can keep going back and forth, I know 2 very reputable breeders who also show there dogs and one feeds Pro Plan exclusively, the other feeds Eukanuba, with no or very little supplementation, and have had numerous show champions.  They both have tried better "Super Premiums" and both will tell you that these foods almost ruined there dogs.
 
My sisters dog is overweight, has a greasy coat and just does not look very good in general,  ask her what she feeds, she will tell you Beneful, but I know better, Max her dog eats maybe a  couple of cups of Beneful a week, his diet is primarily potato chips, pasta, ice cream etc.  Now if you were to meet her at a dog bark and ask her what she feeds,  this would reinforce your opinion of Beneful.
 
A freind of mine has a beautiful schnauzer, one of the nicest looking dogs I have ever seen, beautiful coat, bright eyes, great energy, I was very curious what he fed, personally I was hoping it was a middle of the line product like Pro Plan, so it would reinforce my beliefs, I was shocked to find out, it was a generic beneful, pets pride which is sold at Krogers, he says that is all he eats, no supplementation or table scraps etc.
 
These are just all uncontrolled examples supporting what we think is correct.  People will in general, myself included, find evidence or facts to reinforce their own beliefs or pre-concieved notions, this is the very thing that scientists need to guard against when conducting research, and is usually the reason for flawed studies, i.e. This is what I think the result will or should be, now lets build a case to support it.  The bottom line is that this is just all opinion, and the only way to tell what the best dog food is for a particular dog is to feed it and see what results you get.

bottom line is that this is just all opinion, and the only way to tell what the best dog food is for a particular dog is to feed it and see what results you get.

 
...and the only way to make a rational choice on which foods to try is to look at the ingredients list.

ORIGINAL: chinook

bottom line is that this is just all opinion, and the only way to tell what the best dog food is for a particular dog is to feed it and see what results you get.

...and the only way to make a rational choice on which foods to try is to look at the ingredients list.

It's like I said before: If our dogs are getting all of thir nutrition requirements met, why does it matter if it is coming from Purina, or say Innova?

I honestly wouldnt care if I didnt eat steak and shrimp, so long as I am getting the same nutritional benefits, and the food I am eating tastes good.

...and the only way to make a rational choice on which foods to try is to look at the ingredients list.

That does not eliminate personal biasis, it actually caters to it.  Is rice really better than corn??  maybe for some dogs, maybe not for others, is Chicken Meal a better source of protien than Chicken by-product meal?? maybe for some dogs, maybe not for other dogs, is flax oil better than soy oil, maybe for some dogs maybe not for others. Just because you look at an ingredient list and think, oh this looks really good and my dog will like it and do really well on it, guess what, they may not.

To those of you who insist that Purina's ingredients are best for your dog, I think you should realize that Purina themselves has a problem with the ingredients that you are defending.  They have recently come out with a new line "Pro-Plan Selects" and for this line they advertise:

They have a problem with their own ingredients, sounds like a sign that maybe we should too!!  Now if they'd only get rid of the cheap brewer's rice and corn gluten meal, this might actually be a decent food.
 

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

It really is simple.  Some of us feed purina because it is what works best for our dogs.  Some of the premium posters, past and present have called it garbage and tried to get us to try every brand under the sun that they think our dogs should be on.Since they talk about how great their dog/dogs do on their brand, we are only doing the same talking about Purina or whatever "garbage" brand we happen to feed our dogs.  And some have tried preminum foods and they didn't work for our dogs.

But Purina is garbage. All you have to do is look at the list of ingredients and know something about dog nutrition and what should be in dog food and what shouldn't. Sure, some people can live on eating only McDonalds, and they manage to get along all right from the time being, but what are the long term effects of eating that junk.  Only time will tell, and the same story goes for Purina.....

ORIGINAL: jenns

To those of you who insist that Purina's ingredients are best for your dog, I think you should realize that Purina themselves has a problem with the ingredients that you are defending.  They have recently come out with a new line "Pro-Plan Selects" and for this line they advertise:

They have a problem with their own ingredients, sounds like a sign that maybe we should too!!  Now if they'd only get rid of the cheap brewer's rice and corn gluten meal, this might actually be a decent food.

Purina does alot of marketing and couldn't care less about how good their food is......

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Purina is competing in the holistics market. With this food, they can make the same claims as other brands. So, if another brand says this, that's just their wholesome goodness. If Purina does this, it's just shameless advertising.
 
"My dog is better 'cause he gets Ken-L-Ration..."
 

One thing everyone could be missing here...if you type something out it can be read in different ways.  Someone may think I am attacking or being rude when the intent wasn't there.  Sometimes we read way to much into what someone is typing...gotta take it all with a grain of salt.  Unless someone speaks it you do not know there mindset or their intent when they said it or in this matter typed it.

They have a problem with their own ingredients, sounds like a sign that maybe we should too!! Now if they'd only get rid of the cheap brewer's rice and corn gluten meal, this might actually be a decent food.

 
I can't see where this means they have a problem with their food.  It could very easily mean they are trying to cater to those who do not wanthitems in their dog food---and I have read many posts here where folks do not want them.  To me it is like a hambuger.  I like mine to consist of a bun, meat pattie, lettuce, tomato, onions, dill pickles and mustard.  Hubby wants no part of mustard, he wants mayo.  he also wants cheese.  Some don't want lettuce and tomato, many don't want onions,  some want catsup, some want jalepenos, some want nothing but bun, meat and mayo or mustard.    A loaded burger is a lot idfferent from a meat & bun one only, but it is what the customer wants, what agrees with them the best.  So perhaps that is why Purina is coming out or has come out with a new food--to cater to certain groups of people, not because they are unhappy with thier other products.

ORIGINAL: Bobsk8


Purina does alot of marketing and couldn't care less about how good their food is......

 
Exactly - how could anyone put their faith in a company that makes all these different lines of food of all different grades, and makes contradicting claims that each one is the best for your dog's health?  Corn and artificial colors and preservatives are ok for Beneful, because it's the healthiest food for your pet because of all those FRESH VEGETABLES, but Pro Plan Select is the best because it contains none of those bad ingredients like corn, artifical colors/preservatives etc...  Give me a break!  For that alone, bad ingredients aside, I would not support this company.