What do you think of these ingredients?

    • Gold Top Dog

    What do you think of these ingredients?

    Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Cooked Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Rice Flour, Ground Barley, Whole Ground Sorghum, Whole Ground Millet, Catfish Meal, Beet Pulp, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Chicken Liver Meal, Oat Meal, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of vitamin E), Dried Whole Carrots, Dried Whole Celery, Whole Ground Flax Seed, Lecithin, l-Lysine, Sea Salt, dl-Methionine, Monosodium Phosphate, Fructooligosaccharides, Potassium Chloride, Dried Whole Beets, Dried Whole Parsley, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, l-Carnatine, Chondrotin Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Beta Carotene, Ferrous Sulfate, Ascorbic Acid (source of vitamin C), Manganese Sulfate, Inositol, Niacin Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Copper Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Calcium Pantothenate, Calcium Iodate (source of iodine), Manganous Oxide, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of vitamin K activity), Folic Acid.

    Crude Protein Min 27%, Crude Fat Min 15%, Crude Fiber Max 3.0%, Moisture Max 10%, Ash Max 5.75%, Calcium Min 0.90%, Phosphorous Min 0.72%, Vitamin E Min 200 IU/kg, l-Carnitine Min 105mg/kg, Omega 6 Fatty Acids Min 2.95%, Omega 3 Fatty Acids Min 0.50%, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Min 185 mg/kg, Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA) Min 1100 mg/kg, Glucosamine Min 400 mg/kg, Chondrotin Sulfate Min 42 mg/kg, Fructooligosaccharide Min 701 mg/kg.

     

    My first thought is that I don't like rice being the 2nd ingredient, however, it seems to have a lot of decent proteins in it. The company is sending me a free 22# bag so that I can try it out on Neiko.... 

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    Pet food ingredients must be listed on the label in descending order by weight. However, the weight includes the moisture in the ingredient, which makes it tricky to interpret. "A moist ingredient, such as chicken, which may be 70 percent water, may be listed ahead of a dry ingredient, such as soybean meal, which is only 10 percent water--yet the soy actually contributes more solids to the diet," says Susan Donoghue, V.M.D., owner of Nutrition Support Services, Inc., and past president of the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition.

    Similar materials listed as separate ingredients may outweigh other ingredients that precede them on the list of ingredients. For example, chicken may be listed as the first ingredient, then wheat flour, ground wheat, and wheat middlings. The consumer may believe that chicken is the predominant ingredient, but the three wheat products--when added together--may weigh more than the chicken.

    http://www.dognutrition.com/reading-dog-food-labels.html

    • Gold Top Dog

    Jewlieee
    My first thought is that I don't like rice being the 2nd ingredient

    The article I just posted made me think of you. Rice could infact be the number ONE ingredient.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Actually chicken meal is chicken without the moisture content. That is why a meat source in Meal form is better than a protein source in its natural form (with water). So I'm pretty confident that chicken meal is the largest ingredient.  

    • Gold Top Dog

    I'm assuming that you want our actual opinion, & not a regurgitation of someone else's opinion?

    If not, then disregard the rest of this post.

    If so, then here's mine....

    I'm not thrilled that rice is that high up on the ingredient list, but like you, I do see that there are quiet a few other nice protiens in it.  I probably wouldn't feed it to four of my dogs, but only because they do better with higher protien levels.  I would try it with my older girl, to see how she did on it.

    Do you know how many kcals are in each cup?

    I'd be interested to know what brand that is, as well.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Ah very good to know :o)

    If Neiko doesn't have issues with Grains, Oils, and Preservatives I would say go for it.

    Personally (as you know) I could never feed this to lil Kayla, she'd be so0o0o sick [this food contains a lot of her food-based allergies]

    Allergies aside, I don't care for food with that much grain in it.

    You know Neiko the best; Is it just the rice that concerns you?

    • Gold Top Dog

     A bit grainy and I like WHOLE grains better.  Millet I don't like, beet pulp isnt a fav, brewers dried yeast.....it isn't terrible, but not all that great.  I guess I'd give it 2 of 5 stars.

    • Gold Top Dog

    It's Total Performace Dog Food - recommended by a disc dogger.

    I'm not really sure on the ingredients that's why I'm asking. On one hand it is grainy, on the other the grains really aren't that bad. And again, there's a lot of meal protein sources included which is nice. Maybe this is the type of food a dog like Neiko needs (who is on the go go go all the time and loses weight easily). The more I try new foods and do more research I'm beginning to believe that a performance dog has different requirements than your typical house pet. What I would normally consider a great food doesn't seem to have enough punch to keep weight on without feeding double or triple the recommended daily amount.

     Usually I'm pretty quick to make up my mind on food but these ingred's have thrown me for a loop.

    Since they are sending me a free bag, I'm going to try it and see how Neiko does. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    Jewlieee

    Since they are sending me a free bag, I'm going to try it and see how Neiko does. 

    Exactly! That's really all you can do. It's free, and if you don't feel Grains are a problem, go for it.

    Keep us updated I'd like to hear the results :o) [I like hearing "Aussie" stories from you since as you know my Mom has her Aussie now]

    • Gold Top Dog

    Pomeranian <3

    Jewlieee
    My first thought is that I don't like rice being the 2nd ingredient

    The article I just posted made me think of you. Rice could infact be the number ONE ingredient.

     

     *sigh* Rice is NOT the "number one" ingredient in this case.  It is "chicken meal," not "chicken" only.  Chicken meal is exclusive of water (just like soybean meal--same difference), so the chicken meal IS in fact the number one ingredient in this food.
     

    • Gold Top Dog

    The only non-whole-grain I see is rice flour..pretty far down the list. So I'm confused. Millet is a whole grain.

    And the only preservative I see..is vitamin E. Since when does that count? All foods have vitamin E... I preserve my HOME MADE dog food with vitamins E and C. Hmm

    I think it looks fine. The only ingredients that bother me are rice flour and menadione. If you're not worried about either of those, go for it. The truth is you can't tell from the ingredients list whether the food is "grain-heavy", because that first ingredient, chicken meal, could make up 70% of the food for all we know. In that case, would anyone call it grainy, just because it has several different grains? 27% protein is a pretty darn respectable amount. Canidae ALS and Innova (which most people around here consider pretty top-of-the-line foods..personally I think they're too grainy) only have 24%.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Jewlieee

    Actually chicken meal is chicken without the moisture content. That is why a meat source in Meal form is better than a protein source in its natural form (with water). So I'm pretty confident that chicken meal is the largest ingredient.  

    Pomeranian <3

    Ah very good to know :o)

    That was all ready clarified.... ???

    chelsea_b made a good point too by the way.

    • Gold Top Dog

    the only meat meal that is present in significant quantities is chicken. The rest are too far down the list to really contribute anything. I'd be more worried about the fact that the second and third ingredients are rice and potatoes. With a protein % at only 26%, most likely the food is mostly rice and potatoes, with some chicken, and then all of those other ingredients present in not very significant quantities. Chicken meal is 63% protein dry weight, so in order to end up with a food that has only 26% protein dry weight you have to really dilute it out.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Typically if a company use WHOLE grains, they are specified as WHOLE GROUND BROWN RICE, etc.  And where they listed something else as whole, I suspect that these are fragments that are listed elsewhere.

    This food might be great for a performance dog....I can't say that it wouldn't be.  But, you asked for opinions, so ya got mine! Tongue Tied

    • Gold Top Dog

    Glenda..  If it just says "rice", it's white rice..but if it says "brown rice", it's whole grain.