Dog Community

Before Grain?

Posted : 5/2/2009 11:29:14 AM

Apologies if anyone has posted this food before for scrutiny...Before Grain

I grabbed a tiny bag just for treats for recall from the kennel, but looking at it, it doesn't seem half bad. What do you think? I keep saying I'm going to start supplementing with a bit of kibble now and then, just so I have something on hand all the time. My selection here is terrible though. She has Solid Gold, but I have an aversion to paying for shiny packaging even on human food...She also has EP, but only carries 2 formulas in the big bags. I'm not about to start buying little bags of food, I'd be there daily. Sometimes I wish I had a toy dog...this little $2.49 bag would last a week at least! LOL...I couldn't even feed one of mine for a day with it.

Anyway, Opinions? I'm out of practice at looking at dogfood lables...its been awhile since I fed kibble and even then I had been feeding Orijen or Acana for over a year.

PrincessPenny

Posted : 5/2/2009 7:54:27 PM

I just switched Penny and Daisy onto BG's buffalo formula a few weeks ago. They seem to be ok on it, although it's a bit soon to say. It's cheaper (for me anyway) than most of the other grain free foods out there and I feel more comfortable with the protein precentage it has. They kiddles are verrryy tiny, not sure if that affects you or not, just thought I'd mention it. I'd go for it if I were you, it's a quality food for a reasonable price.

sl2crmeg

Posted : 5/2/2009 8:08:31 PM

Eh, it's made by Merrick - I personally have heard enough stuff (first-hand) that makes me leery of that company. Buuut, if you've got limited options I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

sillysally

Posted : 5/3/2009 12:14:47 AM

Sally got it for a while. Everything else seemed fine but her coat condition seemed to decline, so we took her off it...

jennie_c_d

Posted : 5/3/2009 8:58:41 AM

I can't find ingredients listed on the site. Maybe I'm slow, but it's all flashy and hard to read, so... meh.

I'm trying to look at dog food, too, because when we get back from Perry, Emma is getting allergy tested and put on something better. She smells like a DAWG, and she's lost muscle on this food that she needs for that bad hip.

aDorkable

Posted : 5/3/2009 11:28:01 AM

Misha had this for a little while as an additional supplement to his TOTW. He was hyper on it. He wanted to run all day, everyday. If he were to work, we might switch him over, but for a lazy housedog... maybe not.

Luvntzus

Posted : 5/3/2009 8:55:36 PM

For the ingredients, here's the page with the different varieties:

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/bg_dry_dog_food_1.php

The buffalo variety:

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/detail.php?c=112&s=20440

jennie_c_d

Posted : 5/4/2009 4:45:08 PM

That disgusts me. The "salmon" is deboned salmon, chicken meal, and the "buffalo" is deboned buffalo, chicken meal.

Merrick sucks!

Luvntzus

Posted : 5/4/2009 5:09:22 PM

jennie_c_d

That disgusts me. The "salmon" is deboned salmon, chicken meal, and the "buffalo" is deboned buffalo, chicken meal.

Merrick sucks!

What? Huh?

sl2crmeg

Posted : 5/4/2009 5:24:17 PM

Luvntzus
jennie_c_d

That disgusts me. The "salmon" is deboned salmon, chicken meal, and the "buffalo" is deboned buffalo, chicken meal.

Merrick sucks!

What?

The chicken meal, in both formulas. I *think* Emma can't have chicken.

JoAnnDe

Posted : 5/4/2009 6:22:49 PM

I bought a 'sample size" bag of the salmon and a bag of the chicken. I personally don't like Merrick all that much either, but I figured for treats it would be ok. I only use kibble as treats but I wanted something "different" for outside - you know, something "special". Prancer will do ANYTHING for the salmon. I haven't opened the chicken yet. I like it for treats - the kibble are TEENY. I've used Orijen for treats also - but the Salmon BG gets much bigger OH OH OH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I"LL DO ANYTHING YOU ASK results Wink Its a keeper for treats. Not sure I would use it as a staple food - Prancer doesn't do well with high fats and I'm not sure I'm sold on the higher protein thing for a house dog.

Luvntzus

Posted : 5/4/2009 7:27:46 PM

sl2crmeg

The chicken meal, in both formulas. I *think* Emma can't have chicken.

Ahhh, okay. That's the one thing I don't like about Before Grain. It would have made SO MUCH more sense to have only buffalo and only salmon in the non chicken varieties. It makes no sense at all, because it could have filled a niche for a lot of customers.

huskymom

Posted : 5/4/2009 8:59:15 PM

That's what I thought too. Having the chicken as the main ingredient(and it is the main ingredient, because the Salmon and Buffalo are not "meal";) kind of bugged me. It would be a nice alternative for those that can't feed chicken. My dogs are fine with chicken though so its not a huge issue for me.

The fact that its made by Merrick is what bugs me I guess. Though everything I've heard has been second and third hand. Basically the biggest reason I made the switch to raw was because I just couldn't trust some big dog food company to care enough about my dogs health. But I'm not sure that Merrick is the worst. Surely the bigger names are worse. Purina, Pedigree, Iams...none even have decent ingredient lists so how stringent are their quality control programs? I honestly don't know. I have no access here to anything else. I fed EP for a bit but my dogs were doggy on it and they are never doggy(smelling I mean). I have to go a couple hours either direction for Acana or Orijen so that's not really an option. Maybe its just easier to stay with Raw.

Hehe.... Pork should be cheap soon anyway... Stick out tongue

24Pawsnclaws

Posted : 5/8/2009 1:53:33 PM

Merrick is "ok" . The canned isn't worth the money for a 1/2 can of overcooked / processed ground meat and water. Have you considered looking into ACANA ? It's put out by the makers of ORIJEN but is much more affordable. Comes in 3 varieties also but the quality of ingredients is ouotstanding. I've got it in both the cat's and dog's rotations. For the money and the quality it's an excellent deal. I can get it at my local Pet Supplies Plus. You can also get it at Petfooddirect.com and I think also at Alphanutrition.com.

huskymom

Posted : 5/8/2009 5:17:12 PM

Trust me, price is not the issue here. I fed Acana before I ever fed Orijen, now I would switch back and forth if it was available. Its not. Not here. I have to go 2 1/2 hours one way to get it or 4 hours the other. Neither of the pet food stores here can seem to make an agreement with them.

The Before Grain is available. That's why I asked about it. But I'm not real sure I want to feed any kibble really.