CSnowgren
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Apr 2009
Location: Iowa
Posts: 928 |
quote: Originally posted by twilson78
CSnowgren, What does it matter whats in it as long as someones dog does good on it? I tend to lean a little with an above post when he said just because joy isnt $50 for a 35lbs bag doesnt mean its junk! When I was young I saw my grandfather feed dogs the cheapest dog food money could buy BUT he kept them wormed and kept them up to date on their shots and you couldnt find any better looking and acting dogs anywhere! Myself I feed Pride 26/18 thats only 2%fiber and I like it only because it seems to leave less mess but if I didnt feed that I would without a doubt be feeding joy!!! My hounds always seemed to do good on joy before. Just goes to show that you dont have to feed the most expensive feed every dog is different and what my dog does good on yours may not and what yours does good on my dog may not!!!
Canine nutrition and research has come along way since you watched your grandpappy feed the dogs. I think the key word in your first question is "good". To illustrate my point to the extreme....just because your dogs put one foot in front of the other doesn't mean they are doing "good." Just because your '71 Chevelle can get to the store and back on 87 octane, doesn't make it the best choice. Of course like I said, that is to the extreme but I hope you understand what I mean. I have seen many, many shabby looking hounds whose owners claim are a "picture of health" yet they have one foot in the grave. I am certainly not a propnent of feeding the most expensive feed in an effort to feed the best. Shyt, I have a budget to. But there are some very basic and well known things that I avoid, most grain (too numerous to list), by-products, and BHA/BHT for the most part. There are also a few things that I desire to feed my dogs, a quality protein such as chicken meal, fish meal, and lamb meal, ...chicken fat, chelated minerals, glucose polymers, etc. I seek these self imposed requirements out because I, along with many university studies, have found them to be associated with negative results and in some cases, unhealthy. My opinions have nothing to do with cost of the feed. But since you all have brought it up, put your thinking cap on a minute........If a bag of feed can be sold for $20.......what do you think it costs to make that bag? Conversely, if a bag of feed costs $35 or even $50....what do you think it costs to make that bag and why? The answer is simple once you account for branding. The ingredients are more costly likely due to them being better ingredients. Chicken meal is more expensive than chicken by-products. Chicken meal is a cleaner running fuel and is much more digestable. This is where the kcals come in. The lesser the kcal, the lesser the metabolizable energy. This is the amount of the feed that can be converted to usable energy. If the same amount of a different feed shows a greater kcal count, this means the ingredients are more compatible to the dog. This is a desirable thing. My intent is not to cheerlead for a feed or to bash a favorite feed. I don't know much about anything so take it for what its worth.
__________________
“The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatsoever that it is not utterly absurd.”
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|