organic food

i am feeding bick van pattens natural balance organic formula i was wondering if anyone has used this or if it is a good feed. it seems to be good. the first ingredient is chicken and it is 21% protein and 13% fat

 

You'll know if its good or not sooner or later... How much does that stuff run a bag

 

21 percent protien is kinda weak, I'd like to know what it costs too?

 

Depends who you get it from. This was the cheapest I found on a quick search.
http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/...&zmam=90031077&zmas=13&zmac=74&zmap=201119720

 

ii think its like 45 for 25 lbs it is prety expensive but she likes it and her stool is small and dark

 

Natural Balance's foods are good quality in general. I sell tons of it in my shop, however I personally think the organic is over-rated. The chicken is human-grade (the same meat that they use in their Ultra and AMP formulas), but it is not organic. The grains are organic.
That said, it is a good food but I wouldn't feed it to my dogs.

What is your goal with your dog? are you trying to bulk him up? would you like to lean him out? are you looking to condition him?
IMHO this food is too high in carbs, to feed to a dog that you want to keep in decent condition.
I actually prefer the AMP over the Organic.

Me, I just throw my guys a piece of whatever was on sale at the store. They get mostly chicken leg quarters, necks, backs, breast/wing; turkey necks, legs, wings; pork feet, tails, neck bones; beef heart, neck bones, and marrow bones. They also get other meats, but this is what is most readily available. AND it is less expensive than what you are feeding, without all those damn carbs to burn off. It isn't anymore time consuming than scooping dry food into a bowl.

 

ultimatek9 what do you think of Blue Buffalo Wilderness? I actually give mine that food and ever since I switched from Solid Gold to this food his stool is dark and never soft. I think my dog had a sensitivity to brown rice and this food has potatoes instead and the protein percent is at 42.

 

My opinion on grain-free dry foods...
It depends on the grain-free dry you are using. The Natural Balance LID diets are grain-free, but the protein levels aren't elevated to a dangerously high level like some other GF diets. I personally believe that Evo, Orijen, Instinct, Blue Wilderness, Barking At The Moon, etc. are too high of protein for a dry food. If you take the dry analysis of these foods and compare it to a raw diet, you will find that the protein and fat content are higher in the dry food. I believe that feeding these high levels, in a dry food, without supplementing the dog's moisture intake can and will eventually cause a problem.

There is a 1 1/2 yr old Border Collie on our flyball team. He had been fed Evo daily for over 6 months. His owner's took him to the vet for some bloodwork, for some reason, and they found that his kidney levels were extremely elevated. I recommended that they put him on a raw diet, and within 4 weeks his bloodwork came back in normal ranges.

Several of these grain-free, dry food companies claim that their protein comes strictly from meat. BS.
Their is no way that they can convince me that their protein level comes from just meat. I am sorry but 40%-70% meat in a dry food isn't going to be higher in protein than a raw diet that is 95% meat (i.e. Nature's Variety or Stella & Chewy's). They have to be using protein derived from another non-meat source too (rice protein, potato protein, wheat protein, soy, etc.).

I have no real problem with high protein diets. However, if the high protein diet is dry and the dog is not intaking enough water, they have no way of flushing the excess protein from their system. Thereby possibly causing it to back up into the kidneys. This is why the majority of people that I know that have switched their dog to a GF dry diet, tell me that their dog is drinking a lot more than they used to. However, dogs that are switched to a raw diet drink considerably less water.

Basically in my opinion, if you are going to feed a high-protein dry food, you need to soak the food or supplement it with more moisture (canned food, raw).

 

I see, I hear everyone talking about a raw diet and it being cheaper and better than comercial food. I guess I have to research about it because I am still a confused with that idea. Maybe mixing half and half. I dont know if the dogs can get all their nutrients from a raw diet or if you have to supplement additional vitamins or minerals for it to be fully nutritional. My food is very expensive I am paying almost 50 bucks for a 25 pound bag. Pluto eats 4/1/2 cups a day, I am buying that bag twice a month so it is very pricey

 

My guys get a mix of different meat/bone. Every so often (maybe once a week) I will give them some veggies. I use a dehydrate veggie mix called Veg-To-Bowl. They get some canned mackerel, hard boiled eggs, raw tripe, or some oil (salmon, wheatgerm, olive, or coconut) a couple of times a week.

I feed my adult dogs 2% of their bodyweight a day (dog's proper weight in lbs x 16 x .02 = oz to feed each day). I feed my dogs once a day (at night) and six days a week. They fast for a full 24 hour period once a week, it's beneficial to their immune system.

Raw meat contains bio-available nutrients and digestive enzymes that the cooking process removes. If you read a bag of kibble or even canned, the first 3-5 ingredients are what makes up the bulk of the food. The next 20+ on the list is what had to be added back into the food, to replace the nutrients removed during the cooking process.

I have been feeding raw for 7 years now. In the beginning, I used to add all kinds of crap to their diets. The more I learn, the less I doctor up their food.

 

I always use to add water to any kibble I feed to my dogs just to help with digestion! Also most grain-free kibbles do use potatoe not just as a carb source but as a protein source.

One thing to remember also is raw meat is not higher in protein than kibble is....raw meat consist of 70% water and enzymes. This natural water and enzymes are what makes raw meat diets work. That is the problem with feeding these high protein kibbles....it isn't the ingredients...its the "high and dry protein" content! Not just the lack of natural moisture but the lack of natural enzymes all lost in the kibbling process!
High quality, biologically-available protein (raw meat) does not generate large amounts of waste like kibble does, because it is easily digested.

YIS

 

Sounds good!!