Grade your kibble

Chicken Soup Puppy   114 A+ I'm confused about the baked versus extruded, though.  The bag says it is slow-cooked so which one would that be?  Neither?

I've been perusing this site, reading info about different dog foods.  This has been really helpful.  Thanks to all who contribute to these discussions!
 
My Doberman was originally on Abady kibble, then Canidae briefly, then Wellness... and Wellness kibble and canned when my dog became totally disinterested in eating it.  Recently Wellness changed their formula and within an hour, my dog has "gastro-intestinal distress", shall we call it.  I've tested it out several times all with the same results - something about the food doesn't agree with her.  We're searching for a new food - trying Fromm this week and our local feed store recommended Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul... (cringe!! - my dog likes that food the best so far!  I'll have to send someone else in to buy it.  I don't want to be seen buying those bags - so corny!)
 
Anyway - has anyone else heard of/experienced problems with Wellness?  I did a search through the forums and didn't find anything.
Thanks, folks!  Maybe I should go back to Canidae...?

Oh yes....my puppy was on the original Wellness, then when they changed the formula (despite my gradual change between the two), he got very sick....switched to a different food an everything went back to  normal

I fed mine a bag of Wellness Fish post-formula change and they had no problems at all.  Funny, huh? 

I know! that is so weird.....I really really want to know why some dogs are being affected and others aren't...makes you wonder?

ORIGINAL: myorganicpets

TIMBERWOLF ORGANICS - 121

 
Now if we could just get customer service when trying to order food by phone or website...
 
That alone will make me stay with Innova - reasonably priced, found at my local feed store, well educated associates, and an actual human answered the phone and graciously listened to my questions about feeding differences with Innova Puppy vs. Innova Adult.
 
That and CA Natural has a frequent buyer program - buy 10 bags, get the 11th free!  []

Innova has the frequent buyer program where I buy Boss' food, but it only applies to the biggest bags.

1)     For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
 
I think you should be adding points here.
 
2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or
fat) reference, subtract 10 points
 
Again, add some points here, it#%92s animal source people, get real!
 
 
10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil,subtract 2
points
Sure, lets just forget about probably the finest land based source of essential fatty
Acids (slapping palm against forehead).
 
14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isnâ?Tt allergic to
beef), subtract 1 point
 
Rocket science at work here people…
 
2)     If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
 
Don#%92t be silly, either way the grains have to reach a high enough temperature to convert starch in the grain to dextrin for some cheap protein.  The grain would be unusable otherwise; therefore baking vs. extruding is nothing more than sales appeal marketing strategy.
 
 
5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
 
Speaking of fruit, did a fruitcake happen to create this kibble test?
 
 
11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
 
If in regards to the real deal, give an extra point, if in regards to some engineered variety, no bonus points!
 
Charlie

I know! that is so weird.....I really really want to know why some dogs are being affected and others aren't...makes you wonder?

I read on another board that one of the changes Wellness made was to add a fat-based flavor coating to entice picky eaters. There was someone there who was having problems with her whole crew of Border collies. I think it would depend on how well your dog normally tolerates changes in food, particularly fat content.

I'm not so eager to take this sort of "one-size-fits-all" evaluation as gospel. But it's a good way to get people thinking about the ingredients in their dogs' food. It's amazing to me, since I'm someone who obsesses over labels to a fault, that many people simply read the promo information on the bag and don't read the nutritional labels. Many dogs do fine on foods that would rate in the "D" or "F" range - but there are many who have problems that might be food related, but people rarely think of that. After all, the food is "approved" by the government and backed by scientific study to promote the health of their dogs, right? That's what the ad said, with the shiny-coated dog running down the beach with his owner . . .[]

    Eagle Pack Holistic Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal  -  118 points, A+  - if wild caught salmon and anchovies are the same as organic ; if not -  113 points, A+.

  Dyan, I think your food should have scored higher; the instructions are to subtract points for every grain that is mill run or non specific. Eagle Pack Holistic formulas use whole grains which I believe are better than mill run grains.

 

Dyan, I think your food should have scored higher; the instructions are to subtract points for every grain that is mill run or non specific. Eagle Pack Holistic formulas use whole grains which I believe are better than mill run grains.

 
Yeah, I questioned that,,,I was subtracting for every grain, but then later added for barley and a few other things.     I guess I don't know what mill run is, because I know which specific grains are in the food.     Thanks I was waiting for someone to answer me on that way at the beginning of the thread! 

My dog is a picky eater - and she's too slender to let her skip more than a few meals.  Hence the canned food addition.  She tolerated food changes pretty easily - never had this problem.  Feedstore said maybe an allergy to wheat.  My dog does not appear to be allergic to wheat in other foods, so I'm going to presume it's that fat-based flavor coating.  My vet concurs - says several of her patients are losing weight on the new Wellness formula. 
Gotta write a letter to them, I guess...

   You're welcome, I was slow to get to this thread, it's a fun thread and a good way for members to compare different kibbles. It would seem that mill run isn't something good since points are subtracted for it, and since Eagle uses whole grains and specifically names them I don't think they are "mill run." Eagle Pack says they only add enough salt to meet government standards, so I wonder if salt is required or recommended by the FDA in dog food? If so, I don't think a point should be subtracted for salt although I did of course. I'll bet that if you redid yours without subtracting for the mill run grain your food might score higher than the fish formula.

Yeah, I did do that at the time that I posted, but decided to use the worst instead of the best...it still ended up in the top catagory!!