Ingredients in some foods- truth or not

It is 100% true that any company is going to tout it's product as the best, the safest, the longest lasting, the hardest working, the most nutritional...whatever it is suppose to do.  Take landry detergent.  You see the ad on TV where something is just stained beyond hope with grass, blood, catsup, ink, bbq sauce, coffee.  Just a quick dunk in XXX detergent and it is as good as new.  I try it and it doesn't even take a simple dirt stain out much less all that other stuff.  Product ZZZ claimes the same thing, I get the same results.  I beleive the product I use that comes to the closest to it's ads on TV is Dawn dishwashing liquid.
 
Then of course, it seems every pain reliever is the "#1 doctor recommended".  Well, I have my favorite that seems to work best for my arthritis and hubby has a different one that works best for him.  That is where I come off with nothing is as great as they say, no dog food is as 100% perfect as they say, etc.

Ok, first post.  Kind of sparked by an incident that just happened earlier today.  I just relocated recently so I've been on a hunt for Evo since that's what I've been feeding.  Finally I find a place nearby and I stop in, only to find out that the woman that owns the place said she threw out Nutra products because they were horrible.  In there, they were trying to sell me Canine Cusine and Fromms, both which I had never heard of. 
So after throughly bashing the Innova company I question why so many people recommend it and have had good results.  She tells me she researches all the time and subscibes to some pet food mag. that only retailers can get and how we don't know about what really goes into our dog foods because manufacturers don't have to put all that info. on there.  How the people that love Eukenuba (sp?) and bash Ol Roy don't realize they're the same company and that all the food comes out of the same tubes and they just alter the ingredients. 
Once we get off that topic I question her about whether they do anal expressions there because my dog had a recent abcess and surgery so I wanted to figure out how to go about doing that.  After explaining that she can show me how to do it, she then says that the Innova probably caused the abcess because the poop wasn't firm enough to express naturally. 
I was pretty frustrated but I really don't have any scientific knowledge to really put up any arguement.  But how good are companies to tell us, really, what is in the food? 
Sorry about the length, but I've been trying to find a good food that my dog enjoys.  After this whole abcess issue, I'm questioning whether food is an attribute or not.  I know I can't get good information from everyone, and that most of it is probably bad anyways, but I'm open to suggestions and tend to sway towards the majority.

Kodapap, I see what you're syaing. A lot of people love the Innova and Evo, but we are finding that every dog is different.  I have 3 dogs, one my 3 year old  (Dusty)is ill, was infested with parasites as a pup and did damage to his intestines and can't eat anything, except meat or if he does, it only works for a bit, he's another story, sometime I'll tell you. One dog is 8 years old, arthritic but he has a great tummy, and my maltese, has no problems what so ever, she too is 8 years old and has more energy than the other 2!
 Now I literally have tried every dog food out there, even a few of the new ones. I honestly have to say my dogs did the best on Timberwolf Organics, the bison formula and the ocean blue. I am trying it again after coming off of homecooking and let the systems settle down, plus I was worried because we hear it is made at a Diamond plant. Which by the way if anyone has more info. on would be great. But it's the one food that seems to have worked the best, i'll try it again and pray real hard, Dusty tolerates it.
 And, I did try the Evo it did the same thing to all 3 of my dogs. They didn't get an abcess, but full anals and severe diarrhea, so I knew it was too rich of a food, but my dogs aren't like evryone elses, i have a friend who cangive her dog all my leftover open bags of food and that dog tolerates all things. Go figure.
I did do Abady for a while but that's an issue. The kibble they did good with lamb and rice, but I question the company and their claims. If you try I'd stay away from the granular formula. (Long Story)
A lot of people here like the Timberwolf, you can find a supplier near you, order it on line or I use doggiefood.com Tony, the owner is an angel and very helpful.
 Try to get samples. Fromm is ok, but I got some samples of the dry and the kibbles were all different colors. Solid Gold is another one to consider, but you have to research that one. Wolfking and Wee Bit are pretty good, but I think Timberwolf is better.
Keep us posted.
Timberwolf has terrible customer service so I'd rely on all of us or ask some suppliers about it. You won't get the company, that's their only downfall.
 

 Welcome to idog KodaPap;  [] Many here have dogs with anal sac problems no matter what they feed; adding some fiber to your dog's food to help produce firmer and bulkier stools may help ;
                       
                  [linkhttp://www.crvetcenter.com/diseasesofmodliving.htm]http://www.crvetcenter.com/diseasesofmodliving.htm[/link]
 
   The link above explains what causes impacted anal sacs and suggests several sources of fiber. Besides the sources listed in this link you can try canned pumpkin. Adding fiber doesn't help every dog but it helps quite a few and is well worth trying.
    I don't think the woman you spoke to knew what she was talking about when it comes to Natura. I don't know if Eukanuba and Ol' Roy are the same company although it is very unlikely, but the ingredients in Eukanuba Adult Maintenance and Ol' Roy are not the same. Dog food companies are required by law to list all the ingredients they put in their food. You have to keep in mind, however, that they don't have to list something that is in the food that they didn't add themselves. This can be a concern when it comes to chemical preservatives. For example; according to U.S. Coast Guard regulations all fish meal imported into the U.S. that is not destined for human consumption must be preserved with ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin is considered a carcinogen and can also cause kidney and liver problems so it is banned from human food except for trace amounts in chile powder, cumin, and perhaps some other spices. Dog food such as Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach, for example , that have salmon meal or fish meal contain ethoxyquin. You won't see it listed on the label because it was added by the company which made it and shipped it to Purina. A lot of salmon meal comes from Chile. Unless a dog food company has a permit exempting them from the Goast Guard regulation any fish meal they use will have ethoxyquin.
    Fromm is a good product; I don't know about canine cuisine. If you want to continue feeding Innova you can order it online. I think companies like Innova, Wellness, Canidae, and Eagle Pack are trustworthy; they are small companies competing against large companies by making a superior food. If problems were discovered with there ingredients or manufacturing process they couldn't stay in business very long.

you can add some rice too, if the pumpkin doesn't work. Becareful not to add to much though,
you might see it come out in the potty.
jessies-mom knows a lot and is very helpful.
 By the way WELCOME[]

. Which by the way if anyone has more info. on would be great.

 
 Monzie, Diamond has several plants and the one that TO is made at is supposed to be an APHIS plant. This is the reply I got from Mark Brinkmann, who is Chief Operations Officer of Diamond ;
               

 APHIS stands for Animal Plant Health Inspection Service.  It is a division of the US Dept of Agriculture.  APHIS is responsible to make sure that our plant conforms to the health standards required by the countries we export to all around the world. So, yes, our plant is APHIS inspected and approved. Mark Brinkmann In a message dated 5/2/2006 8:03:37 AM Central Standard Time

Thanks. Do you think TO is ok to feed?
 So far it was the best Dusty did on otherwise I have to go back to the pre-mix. I'm trying to get a decent picture of him so you all know what dog I'm always talking about, he's my worry 24/7.

  Thanks for the compliment Monzie but a lot of what I learned is from reading threads on this forum, and there are many here who know a lot more than I do. [] Most of the results I've read about from members feeding TO have been positive; the only negative was from papillon; her dog developed loose stools. If you have trouble finding a food that Dusty does well on then I see no reason not to feed it. By the way, I didn't know that rice helped firm a dog's stool.

Kodapap what exactly did the pet shop owner say about Natura? You said she bagged them,bit you didnt say why she did?

Actually, Dr. Harvey from Dr. Harvey's miracle food told me that, I tried it and it helped, and my vet told me that too.

Thanks for all the quick replies.  There sure is a lot of action on this board!
I did find a local store that carried Timberwolf but I wasn't too familiar with it until recently.  Now I'm wondering since Monzie, you said your dogs had full glands with Innova if it might be a good thing to try something else.  I was looking into Solid Gold, barking at the moon but it seems closely related to the Evo so I'm wondering if I'll have the same problems.  Koda doesn't get diarrhea very often though, so they don't seem loose...all just kind of look like tootsie rolls to me.
 
I have a thing of canned pumpkin.  So many people seem have luck with it so I'll give anything a try.  After this expensive surgery that had to be done twice (long story) I'm really don't want to have to deal with something like this again. 
 
Now the concern with TO coming from Diamond... is that because of the mold or something in the food that was causing illness in some dogs?  I would think that if that was the case, anything coming out of that place now would probably be the safest around.  Kind of like the whole Jack in the Box ecoli incident (for those that know).
 
Edie, the woman I spoke with (she actually sells "organic/holistic food and has a grooming place) just said that dogs did not do well on the food.  Many owners apparently complained about loose stools and that's about all she said.  Honestly after she basically told me the abcess was my fault because of the food I fed the dog and her overall rudeness I stopped listening and waited for her to stop talking. 
 
Hope that covers it all and thanks for the warm welcome!

Our dogs love Eagle Pack and they have several holistic formulas. Its a small company but they do make their own food in their own plant.   Both Ollie and Bubblegum have nice firm stools,,,,beet pulp helps in that area.

Now the concern with TO coming from Diamond... is that because of the mold or something in the food that was causing illness in [some dogs?/quote]

The mold you're referring to is aflatoxin and several dogs died from it. It was in the foods that Diamond made at their Gaston SC plant. All the contaminated foods were Diamond's brands. Here is a link to the report by the FDA after they inspected the Diamond plant;

        [linkhttp://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/downloads/FDA_Inspection_Diamond_Gaston.pdf]http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/downloads/FDA_Inspection_Diamond_Gaston.pdf[/link]

 TO's customer service has been virtually nonexistent and they have not responded to inquiries from some members about which Diamond plant makes their food; also a few months back some members who had ordered TO received bags with mixed kibble in them and bags that were mislabeled so thier quality control has come into question. If you do a search on the forum you will find threads dealing with this topic.
   Some members of this forum have dogs who have loose stools on Innova;

              [linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=53435&mpage=1&key=Innova%2Cstools핋]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=53435&mpage=1&key=Innova%2Cstools핋[/link]

    but it is considered a very good food.
      

I don't feed T.O. and probably won't ever,,,,but if I wanted to, I don't think I would let the fact that it is produced in the Diamond plant bother me at all. I think the Diamond company made a huge  quality control mistake, I think they have rectified it, but I also think that T.O. and any other company that is made in Diamond plants, will be watching closely to make sure nothing goes wrong with their food now that it happened.