Re: Taste of the wild dog food Ascorbic Acid is Vitamin C http://www.petfoodindustry.com/2352.html for Choline Chloride.
Re: Taste of the wild dog food Stacia thanks for that info and link the website is defo in favour of the giant pet food manufactures in the US , It really is a minefield when trying to find the right food i have definetly decided to order Lukullus . Mike
Re: Taste of the wild dog food I don't know what the evidence is in dogs, so this may be true. Though of course lack of evidence doesn't tell us everything. Unfortunately, most studies on dog food are sponsored by kibble manufacturers and it would not be to their advantage to delve further into the role of grain in digestive or more serious health problems But it is not true of humans, and if anything, you would think our guts would be better adapted to grain than a dog's. Interestingly many dog food manufacturers make grain free versions of their mainstream kibbles, and describe these as hypoallergenic or something similar. Which would suggest that they do realise that a problem exists. :-\
Re: Taste of the wild dog food I think in part us humans are to blame are demand for food is so high it has forced farmers to use all kind of chemicals in order to increase the yield we see increased health problems and allergies in us humans . And also because grain and other chemically enhanced products are also used in dog food this causes health issues and allergies in our dogs hence dog owners are looking to alternatives such as raw feeding . Mike
Re: Taste of the wild dog food I tend to think dog food manufacturers go along with 'grain free' to "pander" (not the right word, can't think of the correct one, but it is along these lines!) to us dog owners who are seeking something new :-[ That's just me, I am rather cynical!
Re: Taste of the wild dog food There may be some truth in that too However, I think the way we humans process (or possibly struggle to process) grain in our bodies, and the way in which grain has changed over the last couple of generations is quite interesting. Not so much in terms of chemicals, which I think are much more strictly controlled now than they were fifty years ago, but in terms of how we have changed crops like wheat genetically through selective breeding. The wheat we eat today, is very different from the wheat our grandparents ate. It would not be very surprising if wheat and other grains were proven to cause digestive and other issues in some dogs.
Re: Taste of the wild dog food I feed my girls grain free as Ruby has allergies to all grains! When I first fed grain free 4 years ago there were not many pet food company's that produced them. I am pleased to see that there are now various options in terms of price and flavours. When you talk about how people fed their dogs years ago I reckon more fed them meat, potato and veg than fed meat, rice and veg!
Re: Taste of the wild dog food [quote author=rubyrubyruby link=topic=7102.msg97725#msg97725 date=1406532026] I feed my girls grain free as Ruby has allergies to all grains! When I first fed grain free 4 years ago there were not many pet food company's that produced them. I am pleased to see that there are now various options in terms of price and flavours. When you talk about how people fed their dogs years ago I reckon more fed them meat, potato and veg than fed meat, rice and veg! [/quote] Yes I know my Gran had working dogs, and they were fed leftovers a lot of the time, supplemented with raw meat and bones. My grandparents diet though was much simpler, quality meat and lots of veg from the garden.
Re: Taste of the wild dog food I'm not so very suspicious of pet food makers - it seems to be a pretty competitive, well functioning market, with a vast range of products and prices available and enough consumers who are interested in what they feed and will shop around. If consumers want to buy grain free pet food, it's right that companies respond to demand and provide it. That's what markets are supposed to do. Charlie is currently on a hypoallergenic kibble although I'm not at all sure it's necessary. He moved on to it as part of investigating a bout of vomiting and I haven't moved him off it because I thought the next change would be to raw but I still haven't got round to that. I wouldn't jump to the conclusion it was grain in his previous food that caused the problem though (the bulk of the carbohydrate was rice in any event), it could have been but the protein source also changed (from chicken to duck). I did always wonder why I fed chicken and rice when he was poorly when his kibble was made of chicken and rice. : But just went with the flow of standard advice to do so. Is my understanding correct that all kibble contains carbohydrate only because that is a necessary part of the manufacturing process?
Re: Taste of the wild dog food I love the use of 'hypoallergenic' in kibble - I think it is a word used to make us dog owners think that it must be better food than one that isn't described as it, but what exactly does it mean ?????!!! Chloe
Re: Taste of the wild dog food [quote author=rubyrubyruby link=topic=7102.msg97744#msg97744 date=1406535565] I love the use of 'hypoallergenic' in kibble - what exactly does it mean ?????!!! [/quote] Strictly, the term is meaningless - hasn't the cosmetic industry been trying for years to get a regulated definition in place? But in everyday use I take it to mean the kibble is free from things that might cause some kind of allergic reaction in some pets. To be fair, on the packet it doesn't use the term and says the food is free from things that may cause a problem for some pets and has/is: Low molecular weight protein Low allergy protein Lactose-free Wheat gluten-free
