Pet Food News

Their dog food is so much cheaper than what we usually get at Tractor Supply. Is Powell’s dog food a good choice to feed our three dogs? And I’m not looking for Blue buffalo quality or anything like that. We usually by "Retriever Mini Chunk" dog food, so does anyone know how Powell’s dog food would compare?

You’re already feeding absolute crap to your dogs-don’t go any lower. The cheapest food at TSC that is worth feeding is Diamond Naturals-you can find that for as low as $23 for a large bag. It’s healthier than that Retriever crap, and the dogs eat less of it (because it provides more nutrition than the other).

If you’re talking about Powell Feed in Arkansas, they carry Diamond Naturals, as well as Purina Mills products (NOT related to the kind of Purina foods in the grocery store-this is a different company). Purina Mills makes a product called PMI Exclusive, which has a good Lamb & Rice product, as well as a new, holistic line (which is expensive).

Why don’t they put a taste into dog food that dogs will really look forward to eating.

I get the impression that my dog eats his dog food only because he’s hungry not because he like the taste of it.

With today’s technology they should be able to make dog food have a taste dogs will find so delicious. That dogs will prefer their food to people food
@ *Sombra*

Its easier said than done.
It hard to look at my dog staring at my food with a hungry yearning look on his face.

There actually is a kind of dog food that is healthy for your dog. Have you ever tried giving your dog Beneful? If you haven’t you should try giving it to him.

I have 2 dogs and they love it. They scarf their food down like within a minute. I give my older dog 3 scoops of dog food and my younger dog 1 1/2 scoops of dog food because my older dog scarfs her food down faster than my younger dog.

My dog is overweight and I need to help her lose weight. I am going to have her exercise more, but I would also like to change her food. What brand/type of dog food is recommended to help with this?

Do you let your dog feed itself? I mean, just letting her eat whenever she feels like it? That could be the problem. I think there’s a certain amount you should feed your dog daily (like, example, 2 cups for 30lbs of dog). That could be the issue. There’s also treats that help with overweight dogs (not 100% positive if they work…but my dog certainly isn’t chunky and I let her feed herself
Exercise should be enough… most dogs have a pretty high metabolism so it’ll burn off the fat quickly. I feed my dog the all natural Taste of the Wild and so far no issues there.

I have read many articles whether they be fact or paranoia stating that the meat by products found in pet food is often cancerous organs of animals from human food facilities that are illegal to use for human consumption, or road kill, or even dead dogs and cats. Could a big company like fancy feast get away with this? I stay away from big name brands and only use holistic, natural food free of any bad ingredients but I’m concerned about this issue and why it’s happening and what is really in pet food.

AAFCO’s definition of "animal byproducts": the non rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low-temperature fatty tissue and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. They place no requirements on the type of animal, health of the animal, etc. They are usually sourced from slaughterhouses. Basically, it’s just about anything from any sort of animal that isn’t meat.

There is a list of pet food ingredients, and their AAFCO definitions, here: http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/dogfoods.html You’ll note that most of the non-specific ingredients (like Meat, Meat Meal, Meat and Bone meal, Animal Digest, Animal Fat, etc.) place NO requirements as far as the quality of the animal, species of the animal, health of the animal, etc. Some ingredients, like Animal Fat, are sourced from rendering plants. That’s where dead animals are sent when they’re not sale-able for any other purposes. They may have dropped dead in the field for unknown reasons, went down at the slaughterhouse due to ill-health, be roadkill picked up by the county road crews, euthanized shelter animals, euthanized horses, etc.

Yes, they can "get away" with it- because it’s legal, and most people could care less what they’re feeding their pet. Big pet food companies make more money when they use cheap ingredients. So they do. Most of them care about their bottom line, not the health of the pets their products feed.

I recently had a vet tell me I had to get a certain pet food. It was available in one store here and not available on the Net. However I went to a different vet she told me that type of food wasn’t the best. What goes?

Yes. Like with Science Diet, which is junk, but is pushed by vets that count on the "kickback" they’ll receive from Hills. I’d be more likely to trust a vet who recommended a good food that can be purchased in more stores than the vet’s.

I am currently unemployed and in dire need of pet food for my animals. Are there any local organizations (fort worth) that could be of assistance?

Don’t Forget to Feed Me. By taking advantage of the Tarrant Area Food Bank’s 13-county distribution system, Don’t Forget To Feed Me is able to reach out to pet owners via food pantries in Tarrant County. Here’s their website: www.dontforgettofeedme.org

I am seeking large bulk, airtight food containers for humans… about 25 lbs up. Do you know where I can buy these food containers for humans. The only airtight food containers I have found are for pet food. Can these containers be used for human food also?

ALL pet stores sell them. It makes absolutely no difference what the "recommended" purpose is. Use them for what you want.

I brought Preferred pet food cans for my cat from Pathmark and wanted to know if this is a good brand for her? I feed her friskies cans but changed it because it was making her have gas. I want to avoid feeding her dry foods so I’m searching for a brand of can foods that is affordable so I could keep her on it. Preferred pet food cans were very affordable it doesn’t contain wheat, soy or corn which I heard were ingredients to avoid when buying cat food.

I couldn’t find anything about it except a recall a couple of years ago. I wouldn’t let that alone stop you, though, since so many foods have had recalls in the past few years. Great that it doesn’t have wheat, soy, and corn. Not seeing the ingredients list makes it hard to say for sure but that’s a good start. The other thing I like to avoid is by-products, but by-products aren’t as bad as corn and wheat, in my opinion Another check is to make sure the meat is named. It’s good to see chicken or fish or whatever, vs "meat".

If pet food is supposed to be healthy, why do you think so many people have obese pets?

People feed their animal table scraps. People food is a no no, and causes obesity.

I’m having a mice problem and I heard a lot of people use galvanized steel trash cans to store horse feed so that mice can’t get to them. Would this be a good idea for storing my dog food? I heard that it might be hazardous to store your pet’s food in galvanized steel, but couldn’t find anything to back that up. Anyone know anything?

because dog food isn’t acid, and you aren’t cooking in the can, the dog should be fine.
galvanizing (zinc) is what would be potentially unsafe- stainless would be better, but it should be fine because it’s just kibble