Dog Community

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:02:24 PM

ORIGINAL: threedogjeep

I THOUGHT NB is grain free?

Did a quick check of the Natural Balance ingredients. The hypollergenic stuff -venison formula, duck formula, fish formula - are grain free. They use potato - not a grain. Their regular stuff has rice and stuff.

Paula

sooner

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:06:55 PM

ORIGINAL: paulaedwina

ORIGINAL: threedogjeep

I THOUGHT NB is grain free?

Did a quick check of the Natural Balance ingredients. The hypollergenic stuff -venison formula, duck formula, fish formula - are grain free. They use potato - not a grain. Their regular stuff has rice and stuff.

Paula

The Sweet Potato & Fish and the Potato & Duck are grain-free. The venison isn't - its got rice.

sooner

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:16:30 PM

ORIGINAL: jessies_mom

It may not be fair to compare Sensible Choice Lamb with the Diamond food since Sensible Choice is marketed as being a good food for dogs with food allergies which is why I fed it to Jessie;

Excellent point. Sensible Choice is marketed toward a consumer that is specifically looking for a simple formula, so that shouldn't be held against them in comparison to multi-protein/carb foods, which don't agree with many dogs.

Rick B

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:20:47 PM

Ron2, all kibble is grain heavy, pure and simple.The difference is you'll notice that with the NB that potato is listed first and then duck. There are no mind games or clever ingredient fragmenting to make people believe that it's something other than what it is.

Original: jenns

I don't know where the "heavy" line is but if you mean primarily (with the exception of grain-free) I agree. Not to nit-pick but virtually all would be more accurate since the grain free varieties likely comprise less than 1% of the total kibble available/sold. The high protein varieties like Innova Evo, Solid Gold Barking At The Moon and Nature's Logic (not grain-free) kibbles are over 50% protein+fat. All three Evo's and BATM are > 60% and are grain free but contain potato.

So I agree 99% that "all kibble is grain heavy, pure and simple." [

]

jenns

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:26:43 PM

ORIGINAL: threedogjeep

I THOUGHT NB is grain free?

It is, I guess I should have said carb-heavy. Well, in comparison to canned or raw, that is.

paulaedwina

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:32:03 PM

ORIGINAL: sooner

ORIGINAL: paulaedwina

ORIGINAL: threedogjeep

I THOUGHT NB is grain free?

Did a quick check of the Natural Balance ingredients. The hypollergenic stuff -venison formula, duck formula, fish formula - are grain free. They use potato - not a grain. Their regular stuff has rice and stuff.

Paula

The Sweet Potato & Fish and the Potato & Duck are grain-free. The venison isn't - its got rice.

Thanks for catching that; I was being hasty.

Paula

tony

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:42:40 PM

Ron2, all kibble is grain heavy, pure and simple.The difference is you'll notice that with the NB that potato is listed first and then duck. There are no mind games or clever ingredient fragmenting to make people believe that it's something other than what it is.

What about there venison and brown rice or some of there other formulations?

Venison, Venison Meal, Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Rice Bran, Peas, Tomato Pomace, Canola Oil, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Inulin, Taurine, Natural Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B).

Misskiwi67

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:43:12 PM

Carbs are carbs... so whats the difference?? The stigma on grains is pressuring food companies to come up with more and more creative ways to formulate dog foods. I wonder if dogs can become allergic to potatos???

Luvntzus

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:50:28 PM

ORIGINAL: Misskiwi67

Carbs are carbs... so whats the difference?? The stigma on grains is pressuring food companies to come up with more and more creative ways to formulate dog foods. I wonder if dogs can become allergic to potatos???

I don't think that's exactly true and it's not usually an issue of dogs being "allergic" to grains, more like intolerant. To my knowledge "glutens" (like corn gluten meal) do totally different things in a dog's system. Beyond that, there are differences even between white and brown rice as far as digestibility and nutrition. Feeding a dog with the carb source of sweet potatoes is VERY different from feeding a carb source of rice flour or ground grain sorghum. Also, the more refined grains, like flours, have less nutritional value.

paulaedwina

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:51:43 PM

ORIGINAL: Misskiwi67

Carbs are carbs... so whats the difference?? The stigma on grains is pressuring food companies to come up with more and more creative ways to formulate dog foods. I wonder if dogs can become allergic to potatos???

It is not so simple. One of my ridgebacks does badly with corn, but not with rice. So carbs are not carbs in that sense. Also some carbs have a higher glycemic index than others - this becomes an issue if you're trying to reduce a dog. So basically; saying 'carbs is carbs' is about as accurate as saying 'proteins is proteins'.

Paula

ottoluv

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:53:18 PM

Feeding a dog with the carb source of sweet potatoes is VERY different from feeding a carb source of rice flour or ground grain sorghum.

Why? Can't find any info confirming or denying this claim.

paulaedwina

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:56:41 PM

ORIGINAL: ottoluv

Feeding a dog with the carb source of sweet potatoes is VERY different from feeding a carb source of rice flour or ground grain sorghum.

Why? Can't find any info confirming or denying this claim.

The claim requires more information before you could look for validity. For instance, if the claim is that sweetpotatoes is very different from rice flour or ground grain sorghum with regards to glycemic index - it would be a relatively simple thing to look for glycemic indeces. If the diffrence is other nutritive benefit of sweet potato vs the other two sources, this is also a relatively simple thing to look up.

Paula

ottoluv

Posted : 12/27/2006 8:58:58 PM

Potato has a high glycemic index as well, so I'm still not quite getting your point

ottoluv

Posted : 12/27/2006 9:05:46 PM

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

this gives a nice breakdown if GI

Rick B

Posted : 12/27/2006 9:09:11 PM

Carbs are carbs... so whats the difference?? The stigma on grains is pressuring food companies to come up with more and more creative ways to formulate dog foods...

ORIGINAL: Misskiwi67

For gluten intolerant dogs (like mine) there is a huge difference between the grains millet and barley. My dog has no problem with Nature's Logic kibble even though millet is the #2 ingredient. All kibbles I've tried with barley or wheat give obviously bad results.

From [linkhttp://allergies.about.com/cs/gluten/a/aa020899.htm]http://allergies.about.com/cs/gluten/a/aa020899.htm[/link]

Symptoms of gluten intolerance (aka Celiac Deisease) "can range from no symptoms at all to severe gas, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. If untreated, malnutrition can occur. If left untreated too long it can be life-threatening."

Which would you prefer?