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So what is everyone feeding now?

Remali

Well-known member
With all the recalls, and now the newest recalls, I decided to update my dogs' food, and today I decided to make the switch to Innova Evo, since it doesn't have any grain products in it. But now I find out that it is made by Menu Foods?! I thought that this particular brand of dog food was only made at this company's own plants....so now I am totally confused and not sure what I should do, and what to think. I had been feeding my dogs California Natural. So, I was wondering what everyone has done in regards to feeding their dogs now that the dog food recall seems to be expanding.
 
I haven't given Tucker dog food in 3 weeks. I'm not confident that any brand, regardless of whether or not their foods appear on a recall list is safe. Since learning there are only a handful of pet food manufacturers that make hundreds if not thousands of pet food brands and the recalled foods list is over 100 now and continues to grow, daily it seems, I cannot feel confident about dog food at the moment. This is not a recommendation to anyone. It's just how I feel personally.

I have been feeding Tucker brown rice, with some vegetable or fruit, and protein, mostly boiled chicken, egg, tunafish, cottage cheese, yogurt. However, I am uncertain about how much rice and how much protein. I usually put about 2 tablespoons of cooked rice and a good handful of boiled chicken with tsp canned pumpkin, or couple of green beans, or cooked carrot, or apple.
 
I've been very tempted to do the same Joanne...and I may switch to home-cooked meals for my boys, it is something that I haven't ruled out yet. It sounds like you are feeding a very good and well-rounded diet.
 
We're doing California Natural Lamb with Merrick's canned food. Has CN been recalled as well?? Ruby seems to like it enough, but of course her stomach has been upset due to the sudden food change. She also regularly gets plain yogurt, fruits, and veggies.
 
I switched my dogs to home prepared meals about a month ago.

Though we here in Australia have not so far been affected by the contaminants in pet foods, I am glad I don't have to be looking over my shoulder & wondering when/if it will hit.
 
I have been feeding CA Natural chicken and rice and am in the process of switching to Primal prepared raw. Not specifically doing it because of the recall...but that's just another factor.
 
It is difficult to know what to do. I feed evo to my cat and Innova Healthbars to Brodie so I wanted to find out what the deal was...I didn't know evo was manufactured by menu foods either.

Here's what I found: Only the evo canned food is manufactured by Menu foods and it is made at the South Dakota plant which hasn't produced any contaminated food. Natura (Innova, Evo, and California Natural parent company) owns and operates its own manufacturing plants that make its dry pet foods and treats and biscuits.

Here's a link to Natura's Response to the Recall
http://www.naturapet.com/about-natura/news.asp?id=16
 
I have been feeding Tucker brown rice, with some vegetable or fruit, and protein, mostly boiled chicken, egg, tunafish, cottage cheese, yogurt. However, I am uncertain about how much rice and how much protein. I usually put about 2 tablespoons of cooked rice and a good handful of boiled chicken with tsp canned pumpkin, or couple of green beans, or cooked carrot, or apple.

Hey Joanne, In my pursuit to learn about canine nutrition there is a fair amount of latitude re the ratio of protein to carbs. Some say 50% protein 50% carb, while others go 70% protein to 30% carb.

Here is a web site that might be helpful. The writer Mary Straus seems to be a very moderate person, not making extreme claims about what is best. There is helpful stuff on her site ranging from feeding kibble, through cooked home prepared & raw home prepared.

http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html

This site, owned by Lew Olsen is great too and has some sample menus.

http://b-naturals.com/Apr2006.php




 
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I think Evo is pretty safe. I guess due to the rice issue I would want to ask if California Natural is produced solely by them and check orientation of rice but otherwise it is a nice low allergen food. Personally I use Canidae - all U.S. grown and self manufactured with Merricks Puppy Plate (no rice - just meat and veggies). For snacks Canidae Snap It Bars (she really likes them but I havent found a cookie my cookie monster doesnt).

I'm staying put as now as its not the time to play switch-o-roo. But later I would like to try Evo and perhaps Merricks kibble for variety.
 
Of interest is that Tuna ,in water, now seems to have vegetable broth(soybeans)-listed on the back. Some dogs have gastric problems with soy.
When do they make all these switches-I thought Tuna in water was just that,period. All a little discouraging.
 
I'm feeding my dogs Canidae, EVO, and Pinnacle Trout & Sweet Potato. I've found that Geordie is sensitive to grains, so he is fed only EVO.

The only treats we're giving them besides vegetables and fruit are EVO treats, which are grain free.
 
I am feeding Evo now and feel pretty secure with the decision given the assurances I received from them that they do not source any ingredients in China.
 
The Dogaware site is really great -- has some excellent resources.

I really like this article from the Wysong site that she links to. It is a must read, as far as I am concerned! I wanted to especially highlight the end of the article where it suggests how to go about choosing a food > Note what is said about grains -- a non-grain food is not necessarily a better choice, and ingredients like corn are not necessarily any more likely to cause allergic reactions than rice or wheat or chicken. Just to keep in mind setting aside the current concerns as this is an area in which so many supposed 'authoritative statements' are made about what causes allergies and what were beneficial ingredients (I readily admit to having bought the lines (and repeated them on my own board and elsewhere in the past) offered on so many dog diet discussion sites until I started actually reading source material, not the 'so and so says this' kind of statement with absolutely no proof of its truth). If you definitely have a dog with allergy problems from diet, then it does make sense to eliminate specific ingredients that can cause problems -- but that would run the whole gamut of grains to proteins of course. More common ingredients aremore likely to cause allergies -- hence, chicken, beef, corn, wheat... so those are always a god place to start. But millins of animals eat corn and wheat with no problem at all and some kind of starch is needed to form the kibble; you cannot make it just from meat and some veg! (y).

Also note the skepticism about 'human grade', 'organic', and other claims made on food packages (there is NO standard for these terms that anyone has to meet). These in my mind are JUST as deceptive as the more claims you see on the more commercial foods these other brands are supposedly ethically superior to. It doesn;t mean the food isn;t good, but just that they are engaging in the same kind of waffle they may complain that commercial makers use. Again, I always say: be skeptical! Ask questions! And be cautious about claims for miraculous foods, diets and ingredients regularly made on many websites, boards and lists, as well as by some manufacturers.

The extract (warning: does contain sales pitches for products made by Wysong):

What To Do
How do concerned pet owners wanting to cut through all the marketing clutter negotiate a path? It is very simple if the basic principles I have discussed above are kept in mind. Here are tips on how to implement an intelligent health and feeding philosophy:


1. Learn how to feed fresh food. Alternate these with honest processed foods fed in variety, and complement these foods with well- designed supplements. (See the Wysong brochure, How To Apologize To Your Pet.) Don't get all particular and paranoid about balancing nutrients and ingredient do's and don'ts. Rotate, vary, mix it up and fast once in a while. Trust in nature, not some marketing hype. (Use the same principles for yourself and your family if you want optimal health as well.)


2. If you must have human grade or organic foods for your pet, go buy the real thing at the grocery meat counter. Take it home, cut it up and feed it raw. Freeze the remainder into small meal portions and use them for subsequent meals. Don't turn your brain off and go buy "organic" or "human grade" pet foods that for their cost could only contain hints of the real thing. Pet food manufacturers may be clever at marketing, but they are not magicians. One thing is certain; they do not buy ingredients and then sell them to you for less than what they buy them for.


3. Use appropriately designed supplements such as Call Of The Wild™ and Wild Things™ to balance raw meals and help make them safe if you are not skilled at such meal preparation.


4. The best raw, processed food alternative to fresh foods from the grocer is non-thermally processed dry foods - not raw frozen ones. (See Wysong Archetype™.) Use this food for alternate meals and as top dressing to heat processed foods.


5. Check the credentials of the person making the decisions in the company whose products you buy. Don't go to a plumber for brain surgery and don't expect serious healthy products from business people.


6. Steer away from brands that are pushing any particular hot buttons such as "natural," "no by- products," exotic ingredients (quail eggs, watermelon, persimmons, etc.), organic, omega-3, rice and the like. Although these features may bring some merit to a food (if they are put in at other than "pinch" levels), they are not an end in themselves and if the packaged food is fed exclusively can cause more harm than good.


7. Steer away from brands that fear monger. For example, there is the no corn or wheat scam - "buy our brand; it has no corn or wheat." (Just saying a product has "no" something is enough to scare the non-thinking public to the brand that doesn't have the boogeyman ingredient. Profiteers know this and play it to the hilt in the pet food industry.) The truth is, grains are put in dried nugget foods because they contain the starch necessary for the extrusion process. Starch is pretty much starch regardless of whether it comes from corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, millet or whatever. Grains also help decrease the cost of pet foods. They contribute some nutrition but in a properly formulated meat-based pet food the majority of the nutritional value comes from the meat. It is true that animals may develop allergy to corn or wheat but that can happen with rice or any other grain or ingredient as well. Problems are prevented by varying the diet. That is why Wysong has developed the range of formulations it has and puts them in small portion packs so the foods can be rotated. Of all the Wysong formulations, the ones with corn are chosen on almost a 5:1 ratio over all others and are the diets we receive the thousands of raves about, even in those pets supposedly allergic to corn! (See Wysong Testimonials: http://www.wysong.net/testimonials.shtml.) This is not to tout the merit of corn, or any grain in pet food for that matter. They are sort of a necessary evil in dried extruded foods and any of them can bring some benefit if rotated in the diet.


8. Do not feed any product exclusively. Variety is the spice of nutrition and the road to good health.

9. Features to look for in a packaged product would be those that bring the product close to the raw-whole-fresh-natural standard described above: active enzymes, probiotics cultures, natural preservation and protection against food-borne pathogens, proper packaging, intelligent formulation and balance, micronutrient dense, freshly produced, fresh ingredients - and the expertise to do all of this, not just say so on a package or brochure. (Some brands trying to get on the raw food bandwagon make outright false claims about "cold" processing.)


10. The company should be able to intelligently explain what they are doing in terms of processing, packaging, product preservation and prevention of food-borne pathogens. It is one thing to simply put a certain ingredient into a food, quite another to protect it until it is consumed. For example, Wysong owns its own manufacturing facilities in order to go beyond industry standard techniques. Special portion pack, light- and oxygen- barrier bags, modified atmosphere flush and natural ingredients to prevent oxidation and food- borne pathogens are part of all Wysong products. (See technical monographs on Packaging, Antioxidants and Wyscin™.)


11. Most important, learn. Support a company that helps you learn the truth and teaches you how to be at least somewhat independent of commercial products. Demand that producers provide proof for their claims in the form of good logic, evidence and science. Try to discern the company's true motives, your pocketbook or your pet's health. Learn how to go beyond The Pet Food Ingredient Game.

The link to the full article:

http://www.wysong.net/health/hl_969.shtml

Would I buy Wysong if it were available? Not necessarily -- some foods have soybeans which I do not believe is a good choice; the Guardian had an extensive article about why soy is worrying for everyone, human and pets, especially for children or babies, a while back (no so much sy sauce and tofy; more the processed soy that is now *everywhere* and soy milk as a daily food item). I also am no longer much of a raw advocate. But this article has some great points that can be applied to any food.

Incidentally, cooking is so easy and inexpensive. I just made enough food to last my three for abpout a week of emals, for a cost of under $10. I cooked a whole large chicken (boiled), added in a large bunch of fresh kale chopped, four large carrots chopped, abpout a cup and a half of oats, and a couple of pieces of lamb's liver pan cooked, diced and stirred in. Then the fun of mushign it up by hand to take out all the chicken bones (you could make the easier by boning the whole frsh chicken and boiling just the meat and some maojor bones -- but I like doing the whole thing and fishing out all the bones after, carefully of course). This cooks for a couple of hours on very low. The time made to prepare and then package into tubs, excluding the coooking, was about 30 minutes. Nice fresh food for all the doglets for the week!
 
I am continuing to feed Wellness Super5Mix Chicken. Gracie does very well on it, her coat seems shinier and her stools are much more firm and less often. This Wellness product does not include Wheat/Corn gluten or rice protein concentrate, although I know a few other Wellness products do (though none have been recalled). Since the food does not contain any of the questionable ingredients, I feel comfortable staying with it. The other thing influencing my decision is that we only relatively recently switched to Wellness, so I'm not looking to switch again quite so soon (at the vet's recommendation). I did just recently find a store nearby that stocks Merrick's, so I'm considering supplementing with that from time to time, as well.
 
That article certainly hit some interesting points, but the product pushing was a bit distracting. It seemed like it was telling everyone to be wary of marketing stratagies, when that was its core basis!! icon_nwunsure

The main point that I took from it, is that the pet food industry is marketing a product for profit so common sense must be applied when judging the honesty of thier ploys. But, it is what it is, and almost everything in life is attached to a capital hierarchy.

To answer the main question, I am feeding Nature's Variety medallions to my shih tzu because he is actually allergic to wheat, corn, and soy. He has also been showing sensitivities to potato. *heavy sigh* (That is another issue I had with the article. Yes, food companies push their products to consumers that own pets with sensitivites to these things, but that is like criticizing lotion companies who market towards people with dry skin. :rolleyes:. I understand the "fear monger theory" that applies to uneducated consumers, but I am really thankful that I can actually find products that Stewie can eat, and believe me...there aren't many!!)

I am also feeding NW Raw instincts kibble to my 3 cavaliers. They love it and Wesley's coat looks better than it ever has before. Cody is having trouble with the transition (major diarrhea), so we will see how he does after his fast/chicken with rice bit. I would feed them all NV raw if I could, but I can't afford it. I am working up the courage of doing the home based raw, but baby steps and lots of research come first!!;)
 
Thanks Caraline. I'm familiar with the dog aware site, but the bnaturals is a new resource for me.
 
Our two are on California Natural Chicken and Rice. Awhile back I started researching making their food--cooked, not raw, and was advised by our vet to wait until Gus was a year old. He's a year now, so we're starting to considered homemade food again. With all the recalls, it's perfect timing.
 
my two eat Evo and Faith has NV Raw in the mornings. Kosmo didn't do well with several different foods so I switched to Evo and he's been fine. Now he won't eat anything else - including raw.. Faith is on NV RAW and it's done wonderful things for her.. then Evo in the evening because I want to make sure all of her nourishment needs are covered :xfngr: I just hope this recall crap ends soon:xfngr: :xfngr:
 
my two eat Evo and Faith has NV Raw in the mornings. Kosmo didn't do well with several different foods so I switched to Evo and he's been fine. Now he won't eat anything else - including raw.. Faith is on NV RAW and it's done wonderful things for her.. then Evo in the evening because I want to make sure all of her nourishment needs are covered :xfngr: I just hope this recall crap ends soon:xfngr: :xfngr:

:mad: No, now they are starting to worry about OUR food-- there has been word on 2 hog farms that they have found melamine in the hogs system. sandy
 
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