Grrr..why are dog food companies so useless??

I just weighed the Nature's Logic kibble I feed my lab.  1 cup is about 4 ounces in weight at 550 cal per cup.  1  kg of kibble in weight (2.2 lbs) translates to about 8.8 cups (in weight) = 4,840 cal per kg.  I think your calculation is actually correct.  Let me know what they say.  I am interested because I do feed Nature's Logic (and very satisfied with the result.......).

Pauline

I like Nature's Logic a lot, I really do..it's just stuff like this bothers me. I understand they're just a little company, but come on..if they're knowledgeable enough to formulate a dog food (especially one with no vitamin supplements!), shouldn't they know how many calories are in a kg of their food, right off the top of their heads, without me having to convert cups and grams and whatnot? It's just frustrating...

I'll let you know when he responds...

their reply to you doesn't surprise me.

When I emailed them asking what the ash content level was of their food, what's-his-face of the company emailed me back and told me, "When someone asks me about ash content, I have to ask them if they even know what ash content is."

WOW.  These dog food companies are really showing that they have balls of steel lately.

Okay, someone please correct me if this is fuzzy math, but from their website, the chicken formula is:

38.3% protein
18.1% fat

From somewhere else, the "max" moisture is 9%, and an estimate from me puts the ash content around 8%, which leaves 26.6% carbs. That's all fine and good, right?

So.. in a kg of the food there is:

383 g protein
181 g fat
266 g carbs
(moisture and ash are non-caloric)

383 g protein at 4 calories per gram = 1532 calories from protein
181 g fat at 9 calories per gram = 1629
266 g carbs at 4 calories per gram = 1064

= 4225 calories, but that's TOTAL, not metabolizable energy (ME), which is what most dog food manufacturers (even Pedigree and such) use. Assuming their 551 calories per cup is not ME, it's CLOSE, but no cigar.

So...what gives?

chewbecca

WOW.  These dog food companies are really showing that they have balls of steel lately.

Seriously. What happened to "the customer is always right"??

 I have no idea.

I'm in the market for a new food for Ella.

I'm DONE with Timberwolf, for real this time.

DONE.

Chris Porch left the company, they go through employees like mad, they've raised their prices...blahblahblah.  I'm done.

I won't feed Nature's Logic either, not after that guy's email.  Call me picky or petty, but I am not giving them my business.

I have Orijen 6 Fresh Fish for Ella right now, but I don't know that I want that high of a protein food for her in dry kibble form.

But everything else, as far as I know (besides maybe the sunflower oil) seems pretty perfect with the food.

Okay, my last e-mail to NL:

"Thanks a lot for the response. I have one more question though. I fed the chicken formula to my dog for a few months (only ended up stopping because I couldn't find it locally and didn't want to pay nearly $20 shipping, but anyway), and while I did, I weighed it a few times. The most I ever found a cup of it to weigh was 110 grams. I'm not saying you're wrong by any means, but volume can be a kind of imprecise way to measure, so I'm just making sure I understand. The 551 calories per cup is based on a cup weighing 124 grams, not the other way around, correct? I've never heard of analyzing a food by volume instead of weight, but I just want to double check. Thanks again.

Chelsea"

Their response..sigh...

"Chelsea,

We do an average weight of many batches. Our moisture may vary from 5% to 9% so that would account for different weights.

Also, we use a dry measuring cup and ry to shake it to get the most we can in an even cup. There may be a little difference in a liquid cup measuring device.

Hope this helps.

Where are you located? We can check for other places for you to buy.

Sincerely,

Scott Freeman"

No, that DOESN'T help Mr. Freeman! Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!!! I'm really frustrated, if you couldn't tell.... This Scott Freeman fellow seems like what I would call a "77".

lol.  And Scott Freeman is the owner of NL.

 I'm sorry for your troubles!  It's very frustrating w/ some of these companies lately...
 

chewbecca

I won't feed Nature's Logic either, not after that guy's email.  Call me picky or petty, but I am not giving them my business.

I can understand because I am not too thrilled with the owner of Nature's Logic either.  However, I personally still will feed Nature's Logic to my lab, Niko, on a rotation basis.  Niko thrives on the food and that is the only reason for me continuing with Nature's Logic. There are times I get annoyed because Nature's Logic does not say the sources or origin of their ingredients and for that reasons, I don't feed 100% Nature's Logic (although they have different varieties of kibble, canned products, and raw food).   I wish they could be more like Natura who had no problem stating their canned products are made by Menu Foods, the quality control steps they put in place, and etc...etc...  Other than Natura's Healthwise product (I just added the lamb kibble into my lab's rotation) and Innova EVO 95% canned meat toppers, I don't feed any other Natura products because I prefer not to feed my lab potatoes (I don't mind sweet potatoes).  Maybe one day Natura will come out with a potato free food......