opinions on this food

    • Gold Top Dog

    opinions on this food

    I posted about this a while ago on the old board but there are a lot of new people with opinions now and I'd like the old opinions again too :).  I feed Zoe Innova now, but I am thinking about switching every 3-4 months between 2 foods to keep her happy.  So I'd do Innova and one other food.  Here's a local company I am considering supporting.  I found out about it at a dog show here in Baltimore.
    [linkwww.veruspetfoods.com[/link]>http://www.veruspetfoods.com/][size=2]www.veruspetfoods.com[/link]

    It is a local company and the food seems good. Also, I stopped at the high end dog food store near me and the owner said she felt it was as good as Innova and agreed Innova is very good. She said she has fed both to her dog and in general changes their food once a year or so. Also, the guy who sells the food said its baking process is better than Innova and will cause less gas and wet poops which some people complain about. This food is a bit cheaper than Innova for us because it is local, but not a huge difference. So, here are the ingredients... what do you think?

    Ingredients : Chicken Meal, Ground Oats, Ground Brown Rice, Rice Bran, Poultry Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Citric Acid, and Rosemary Extract) Dried Beet Pulp, Alfalfa Meal, Flaxseed, Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavors, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Chicory Root Extract, Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Garlic, Ascorbic Acid, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, d-Calcuim Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium Iodate.
    Crude Protein, minimum 24%
    Crude Fat, minimum 15%
    Crude Fiber, maximum 5%
    Moisture, maximum 10%

    It says 1688 k/cals per lb. so he said divide it by approx. 4 to get kcals per cup. Also, it's suggested feeding amount has me giving Zoe only 1/2 cup per day but Innova would be 2/3. The lady at the pet food store said do 2/3 not 1/2 cup of this too.
    • Gold Top Dog
    It seems pretty decent....IMO, I think the Innova is far better.  I guess it all depends on how you feel about having more grains than meat protein, rice bran (useless fiber), beet pulp, a non-specific fat (poultry fat) and tomato pomace.  It's certainly better than some though! 
    • Gold Top Dog
    no one else has any thoughts?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Why is beet pulp no good in food?  Since beets are so good for us, it seems it would be good for dogs also.  And my old irish Setter I lost 9 years ago at age 12 1/2 would have loved it if it tasted like tomatoes, LOL,  He use to clean my garden out of tomatoes, squash, green peppers.
    • Puppy
    Sandra, the problem with tomato pomace is it's not whole tomatoes, it's just the leftovers from processing, the skins etc. If it's not an organic source, it may have a high concentration of pesticides.
    It's not the worst food I've ever seen, but I don't think it compares to Innova's quality.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Hey, what about OUR tomatoes!  I never peel them before putting them salads, on sandwiches or just 'popping" cherry tomatoes.  Or our lettuce or anything else.  I do wash everything, but who knows if we ever get all that junk off our fresh food.  Kinda scarey isn't it.  I never sprayed any of my veggies in the garden, and I used bought sheep manure for fertilzer.  Fish remains makes TOP fertilizer and when I bury them in flower beds bertween season, I have the most beautiful flowers.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Beet pulp as used as a stool hardener which is not necessary if the food contains enough natural ingredients to do it on its own. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    So I have pretty much decided against rotating this food with the Innova.  I am looking into Canidae and Eagle Pack.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I think Canidae is better.  One thing that really bothers me about Eagle Pack is that they use more salt than cranberries and blueberries.  Makes me think that the food is either very, very salty, or the fruit is only put there to look pretty on the label.
    Eagle Pack also uses the tomato pomace and beet pulp, Canidae doesn't.