My comment may not be well-received here on this board, but I'm going to say it anyway. There are many, many (more all the time) people out there who simply cannot afford to feed anything but the less-expensive brands of dog food. That is sad, and in a perfect world, we would all feed raw or at the very least, feed the super-premium brands of kibble that come recommended by authorities such as "Whole Dog Journal." But many families have difficulty coming up with the money to pay the mortgage or rent, put gas in the car or food on the table for the kids, and are not in a position to spend 50, 60, 70 dollars or more on a bag of dog food.

I sincerely hope I will not find myself in a position where I have to cut back on the quality of food I feed my dogs or myself and my husband, but I can see how it happens.

In a lot of cases, when it's not a question of affordability, it is a matter of the owners simply not knowing any better. They see the commercials on TV and believe what they are told. Not everyone has the time or the ability to do their own research.

There are millions of dogs out there who are fed what we on this board would consider unacceptable brands of dog food. But there are way worse things for a dog than eating cheap food, as we all know too well.

All JMO. I mean no offense to anyone. I'm just playing devil's advocate and pointing out the other side of the coin.

A dog being fed at all--anything--is already luckier than many dogs in this country. In every city and in many rural places too, there are dogs that starve to death. There are people in my city that drive around every day trying to care for hundreds of homeless feral dogs whose only food source are the piles of cheap donated kibble that are poured on the ground in vacant lots. I adopted one of those pups.

Every day there are more stories of dogs left to starve in foreclosed homes abandoned by former owners.

I can't feel judgemental about anybody that spends money to put food of any kind in a dog's bowl. Sure, there are better alternatives. But there are also much worse ones.

I take offence to that my sister has two dogs and she loves them very much but now she is pregnant and on bed rest and can only afford the cheap dog food right now, do I like it no but I am not going to berate her because she can not buy the expensive dog food and it does not mean she does not love her dogs any more then you loves yours Ben. I would would rather she buy the cheapest dog food then get rid of them.

I may buy premium dog food for Izzy but if it came to having to buy the cheap dog food in order to keep her I would do it in a heartbeat.

 Quote: jessica dixon

Would you know of the amount of protien, fats etc I should look for or know where I could find out?

For people lucky enough to have the choice, there are a number of web sites that offer reviews of dog food brands. This is one:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

I don't feed commercial dog food (I did in the past), so I'm not an expert on them, and can't make any recommendations. But the rule of thumb about simply reading the ingredient list on the bag (or can) is good common sense advice. In a higher-quality food, a named meat source will be the first or second ingredient, or several meat sources among the first several ingredients. Lower-cost/lower-quality foods will list a grain source, along with animal by-products or animal digest. I'd look to the ingredient list rather than the nutrient profile (fats/proteins/etc.) as an indication of quality.

But even lower quality dog food isn't poison (usually). Animal feeds all must meet bare minimum standards of nutrition. Would most dogs fare better on a better quality food? Absolutely. But that's between the owner, their vet, their pocketbook, and the information they have. I think most dog owners do about as well as they can given the resources they have.

The real "test" of a dog food is how well a dog does on it. There's nothing inherently "bad" about any of them. Some dogs can eat a corn-based kibble and do just fine. Many don't do so well, or at least would do better on something else. My own father dotes on a little terrier that's going on 12 years old that has been fed a steady diet of Ol' Roy (a terrible U.S. brand by most people's standards) and Pupperoni snacks his entire life. Far be it for me to criticize. His little dog is well loved, healthy and happy.

 Quote: Ben McDonald

I guess I must think in a different way, because imho taking care of an animal that is totally dependant on YOU for EVERYTHING , it just seems logical to do your research or gain some sort of factual information on what your undertaking. I equate it to getting married without knowing anything about the other person. Who would make such an important decision blindly? But hey , maybe ignorance is bliss.

Ben, what is there to research if you believe with all your heart that the research has been done for you? Some people do not know that there is anything to question.

I'm sure I can think of TONS of subjects other than dogs where more research could yield a better result. I'm sure there are parts of your life you could improve upon, but since they aren't in your current hobbies or interest, you haven't researched them.

The internet is not that old. It wasn't that long ago that EVERYTHING under the sun wasn't accessible on a whim.

Before 7/10/06 I didn't have any reason to google for help with my dog. Had I not needed any help, I STILL wouldn't know any different.

In addition to the excellent link provided by Tracy, here is a website that I consider to be very educational and informative. If you have the time to delve into it, there is an abundance of information about what goes into commercial dog food, what the good stuff is, what the bad stuff is, etc.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main

 Quote: Jessica Dixon

I live in Australia.. is the pedigree here the same would anyone know? I was told by a vet that its one of the best of the supermarket brands. I have tried doing research but can't find much material.

Can you link us to the ingredient list?

http://www.pedigree.com.au/products/#adult

I couldn't get the ingredients to copy and paste but here they are for a working dog breed; pretty disgusting food, JMO:

http://www.pedigree.com.au/products/#adult

 Quote:

meat and meat by-products(beef, Poultry, lamb)wheat and or sorghum and or barley, wheat bran, sunflower oil, beet pulp, salt, minerals, including calcium, zinc,iron and potassium, safflower seed, vitamins including A,C,D3, E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B5,B6, folic acid, B12, taurine, marigold meal, beta carotene, preservatives, antioxidents, and food colorings.

Not sure if this is the same formula in Australia, but considering that many Vets in the U.S. are advocates of Science Diet. I am not sure I would put my faith in what a Vet would say about nutrition.
Like so many store bought foods, it is so far below the mark for a quality food.

Sure, there are dogs that have long happy lives eating this type of food. I liken this type of dog in comparison to some one like
George Burns, the comedian. He smoked cigars his whole adult life and lived for nearly 100 years. He got lucky and likely had good genes.
But just think of the tons who die every year to cancer and heart disease.

Why take the risk gambling on a sub par food. JMO

It is a *little* better than here, though.:smirk:

I base this of nothing more than corn not being the first ingredient.