Flint River Ranch

My professor/department head, who BTW, has a masters degree in animal nutrition has been using FRR for about 3 years. She has been really statisfied with it for her dogs, but just recently has switched her cats over to EP Holistic Select cat food. The reason she switched is because FRR has raised the ash % in their cat formula and she tries to keep her cats diet with minimal ash content. She is also considering switching her dogs over to EP Holistic's as well.

From what I remember from a thread that was posted a while ago about a person who had a dog with Struvite Crystals (I think the dog was a schnauzer). They were feeding FRR and I emailed the company and their "Target Urine pH" is between 7.5 and 8.0- really alkaline for dogs prone to UTIs and Struvites.
 

From what I remember from a thread that was posted a while ago about a person who had a dog with Struvite Crystals (I think the dog was a schnauzer). They were feeding FRR and I emailed the company and their "Target Urine pH" is between 7.5 and 8.0- really alkaline for dogs prone to UTIs and Struvites.

 
Oh man! That's way too high for my girls.  So that's out.  Thanks so much for sharing this, I'd hate for them to get more crystals or worse, start developing stones.  That really tells you how much grain it's got! Yikes!

Shamrockmommy have you tried any of the super premium foods,if so would you mind sharing what they were? []
I notice you feed biljac and now asking about FRR,which i fed many moons ago and had nothing but trouble with,huge stools,funkified skin etc etc There are so many far superior foods available and i was just wondering why you chose biljac and FRR [sm=happy.gif]

As for Timberwolf organics,i am in the happy with it camp.I think it's an amazing food and i have nothing but good things to say about it! I too think its ingredients far surpass many of the premium foods around.

Shamrock Mommy, I'm so sorry! I got my foods mixed up!
Innova EVO and Solid Gold's barking at the moon has a pH of 7.0 to 8.0
 
FRR has a "target urine pH" of between 6.8 and 7.5
Still a big high (as most foods are supposed to be between 6.5 and 7.0)
 
Sorry I got that confused!  

Shamrockmommy have you tried any of the super premium foods,if so would you mind sharing what they were? []
I notice you feed biljac  [sm=happy.gif]

 
Sure Edie. Ok, but you asked for it!   Here is the long version.
 
I got my first dog and started him on Nutro, then tried Iams and Bil-Jac and Authority.  I was 'enlightened' lol and began the raw/natural diet "Volhard Natural Diet" for several years.  I got into showing bichons and toy poodles and over the years have fed Sojos (you mix raw meat with their grain base and I also fed either chicken wings or necks with it) TWO when it first came out- and had MANY issues with, so now I avoid it- mostly the customer service and digestive issues varying between bags. Always used Eukanuba small breed puppy or Bil-Jac puppy for my bichon and poodle pups. They did quite well on those.
 
I have tried Innova, some did ok, most had diarrhea and GAS even though I was not overfeeding and was careful to change over slowly.  I tried California Natural and lost coats- they looked sparse and moth eaten.  I tried Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul and a couple developed crystals in their urine. Canidae was a no, lost a ton of coat.  Nature's Variety, although it looked excellent, reeked, was greasy and I didn't see any fantastic results with it.  Royal Canin looked nice enough but they had cow pie poops. Wellness had giant 4 time a day poops and makes too high of urine pH, had 2 girls develop UTIs on the food, and keep in mind, I always add a good bit of water to all kibbles, so theoretically, that water should have been able to flush out the crystals.  Nutro the dogs liked well enough but I had a couple throwing up bile in the morning on that.  Once I switched to other brands the vomiting stopped.  Evo equals screaming poops! LOL
 
Hmm what else.  I really liked PetGuard and it is one that I rotate to throughout the years. I probably should just stick with this one. I usually get shamed because it has corn in it- but corn in the right spot on the ingredient list really helps put coat on.
 
I also have done homecooking with the Strombeck recipes and also one that I worked out wiht my holistic vet (meatloaf style).  They looove this of course, and I continue to bake a meatloaf now and again for them. 
 
I still toss a raw wing, make meatloaf or hand out fruits and veggies throughout the week, so they do get plenty of variety. I like to have kibble as a base and sometimes I'm so busy chasing a toddler, it's more practical to give a bowl of kibble with some warm water.
 
So you see, I have tried many things over the last 10 years and I've got lots of options. My issue is mainly watching the bichon girls' urine pH, so that they dont' wind up with UTIs and crystals again- or worse- stones. 
 
I'm pregnant at the moment, so having a hard time with extruded kibble because it has extra fat sprayed on, which means it has a smell (pregnant nose!) and the greasiness just skeeves me out.  My dh is deployed so I can't delegate dog-feeding to anyone else at this point.
 
Which is why Bil-Jac (vacuum/baked) works well for me... plus it keeps the girls' pH right where they need to be.  Their coats are looking nice and full, and tear staining is fading on the bichons' faces and beards.  As bad as the ingredients look, I've talked at length with the company about just what by-products are used. Corn doesn't bother me a bit, they grow great coat when their foods have some corn in them. Molasses is fine with me, because it was also fed when I was making the Volhard diet.  Makes for great black pigment on noses and eye halos.  This is one instance where I believe the performance of the food proves itself over the ingredients.  
 
I was interested in FRR because it's baked, not greasy, good ingredients in it.  But the fact that it produces a urine pH of 7.5-8.0 now rules it out completely for us. Would hate to develop another UTI or stones!
 
So there's the long story.  I've been around the food aisle a time or two
 

LOL TH thanks for writing such a well detailed post,it must have taken you ages,or your a quick typer?? []

ORIGINAL: Edie

LOL TH thanks for writing such a well detailed post,it must have taken you ages,or your a quick typer?? []

 
I'm a quick typer,  usually have many more typos tho :-D

It seems now matter what the brand, not matter how "great and perfect" it is, some dogs do not do well on it.  I think almost every well known "top brand" has been covered in this topic and in every case, someone's dog/dogs did not do well on it.
 
I have said I feed Purina with some  home cooked.  Well, my dogs have beautiful coats, are full of energy, get perfect blood panels, have normal, solid poops, never had kidney infections of any kind, KayCee, going on 7, has had one ear infection, Buck 11 has never had one, Honey age 4 has never had one.  The one time I tried a "better food" on Buck, he threw up every time he ate it. 
 
I see no reason to change to a "better food" as problems they do not have now, could be brought on by that food.  I will stick to my Purina, thanks.  It works for my fur kids.
 
I am sure the home cooked helps.  For instance last night they got beef liver pieces boiled with some white potato and some green beans.  Tonight they got some mackeral with green beans and carrots.  I have chicken livers and chicken hearts in the ref. to feed them later this week, plus cans of mackeral, sardines and pink salmon.  I also do an egg each in the microwave from time to time.

It seems now matter what the brand, not matter how "great and perfect" it is, some dogs do not do well on it.

Of course! LOL No matter what dog food it is, Emma isn't going to do great on it. On most, she'd do horribly bad. The only dog food she doesn't have horrible allergic reactions to at least one ingredient is Natural Balance, and it has menadione. Go figure, right?

Some dog is going to have a problem with any food, no matter what it is. They're all different, and no one food, one training method, one shampoo, one anything is going to work for everybody

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

It seems now matter what the brand, not matter how "great and perfect" it is, some dogs do not do well on it.    I will stick to my Purina, thanks.  It works for my fur kids. I am sure the home cooked helps. 

 
Hi Sandra! I was worried- haven't seen you post in a while. Good to see you!
 
I agree with you. If it works, keep it up.  At this point, I've tried just about everything, save for a few brands.  I always end up back with Bil-Jac or PetGuard. These are the foods that work best for my guys, honestly.

And I'm sure the homecooked helps yours as it does mine.  As I said, I add a wing or a veggie or meatloaf or even whatever we humans are having, if I've made extra.
They seem no worse for wear.
 
In fact, my minpin is 10 years old, and my vet argued with me and said no way was this dog older than 4 yrs! So that speaks something right there. I offered to bring in his registration papers to prove his age LOL. 
 
Some people really get out of joint over this- I'll admit, I used to as well when I would only feed raw (don't ask about the frequent diarrhea in the crates overnight- with bichons and poodles in show coat- what a fun mess to clean!).  But bottom line that I've learned over the years is to do what works for your dog.

Actually, Jennie they took out the menadione in the NB foods a couple months ago.

I convinced my retired parents in a rural town to swtich from Purina Beneful to FFR.   This is because they deliver to your door for one reason .  And it is much better food than Purina.
 
Well, the dog had  a nasty lick granuloma on her paw from Purina and FFR cleared it up.
 
The dog LOVES FFR chicken.  When they were miigrating off Purina to FFR, the dog would spit out the Purina and eat the FFR.
 
I will say the dog is having anal problems and I'm not quite sure what to make of it.  The dog is also very overweight, this may be thyroid.  I told mom to add pumpkin for the anal rob.  She has been on FFR for over 2 years. 

ORIGINAL: sandra_slayton

I have said I feed Purina with some  home cooked.  Well, my dogs have beautiful coats, are full of energy, get perfect blood panels, have normal, solid poops, never had kidney infections of any kind, KayCee, going on 7, has had one ear infection, Buck 11 has never had one, Honey age 4 has never had one.  The one time I tried a "better food" on Buck, he threw up every time he ate it. 

I see no reason to change to a "better food" as problems they do not have now, could be brought on by that food.  I will stick to my Purina, thanks.  It works for my fur kids.

I am sure the home cooked helps.  For instance last night they got beef liver pieces boiled with some white potato and some green beans.  Tonight they got some mackeral with green beans and carrots.  I have chicken livers and chicken hearts in the ref. to feed them later this week, plus cans of mackeral, sardines and pink salmon.  I also do an egg each in the microwave from time to time.

I'd definitely say that the home cooking helps A LOT to fill in the nutritional gaps of Purina. Especially the sardines, salmon, mackeral etc have the omega acids that are so healthy.

This thread has been really interesting for me to read because I've tried almost every food out there for my dogs, but never Flint River Ranch and was also curious about it. My Shih Tzu is now eating Timberwolf Organics (Bison formula) and I'm very impressed with the food. For the first time EVER I'm totally satisfied and I'm one PICKY customer. lol  I spend tons of time researching nutrition and different foods/supplements and the Timberwolf is far and away the best in my opinion.

We have tried Innova, Chicken Soup, and now we use Flint River Ranch. I think they are all good brands. Innova didn't seem to digest as well as the others. She liked Chicken Soup as well, but the vet was a little concerned about all the different proteins. Anyway our dog trainer fed her FRR and we have used it ever since. She likes both the chicken and Fish and Chips (trout and sweet potato)