Re: Behavior and dog foods

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elegy 21 years ago

We've all heard the phrase "You are what you eat".

>
>How does this apply to the various commercial dog foods? Do the high
>end dog foods like Science Diet and Pro Plan have any substantial
>effect on canine behavior, either negative or positive, over regular
>dog foods like Pedigree and Alpo? Is it worth the extra money? My vet
>keeps telling me to switch to Science Diet, but I suspect that might
>have something to do with the fact that he sells the stuff. We
>currently feed Alpo dry, and my dog seems to be thriving. He is a 3 >year old Collie. >
>Thanks in advance,

i have no idea but i would not consider either science diet or pro plan to be "high end".

if you want the switch to be worth your money, switch to something like innova, canidae, wellness. you will feed much much less food, so the cost difference really isn't that much, and your dogs will look and feel much better.

-- my best friend is a pit bull.

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Marcel Beaudoin 21 years ago

" snipped-for-privacy@milmac.com" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

This is just from my personal observations. I am no expert of dog diets or health or anything like that.

We normally buy Science Diet for Moogli (10 lb shih-tzu/min. schnauzer mix). For whatever reason, when we went to buy SD the last time, there was none left, so we bought some Beneful (he really liked it as a puppy). The differences were remarkable. First, his poops are bigger, smellier and softer. Second, his bowl is getting to be more of a mess. He is picky with the 3 or 4 kinds of kibble in Beneful, and will spread out the ones that he want, shoving his face deep into his bowl to try to get at the ones that he wants. His energy level is about the same, but he seems to be more, unfocussed is the closest I can get to the term. He also eats more of the Beneful, so while it is cheaper, the bag doesn't last as long.

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MauiJNP 21 years ago

my dog will not eat Science Diet. I even tried the new stuff, Science Diet Nature or something like that. He won't touch the stuff. He eats Pro Plan currently though I didn't consider this high end and wanted to switch to something better. Now, I am not sure.

is there anyone out there that can recommend a food for him? stick with pro plan? switch to something else?

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culprit 21 years ago

1) Science Diet and Pro Plan are *not* "high end" dog foods. they're the same old stuff in a fancy package. 2) you're right. your vet is pushing Science Diet on you because he sells it, and because his "nutritional training" (if he got any), came from Hill's, the maker of Science Diet.

i usually recommend these high end, pricy foods, with fancy ingredients and all that. we're currently feeding Pinnacle Trout and Sweet Potato (sounds like something you'd get in a fancy restaurant doesn't it?). but then one of my dogs gets rashes and licks herself like crazy if she eats corn or wheat products. the first few ingredients are: Trout, Oatmeal, Toasted Oats, Herring Meal, Oat Flour, Canola Oil, Sweet Potato, Calcium Carbonate, Flax Seed, Lecithin, Grapeseed Oil fancy stuff.

but honestly, if your dog is thriving, if he's healthy, happy, and energetic... you might as well just keep feeding what you're feeding him.

-kelly not a vet.

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nothing 21 years ago

x-no-archive: yes

i feed my dog (part poodle part shnouzer) pedigree, and he has had a healthy life, he is 14 now. he has had some joint decline but i give him joint medicine now and pedigree for senior dogs. just about any dog food will do just as good as long as you care for him in other ways too, like brush his teeth, give him vitamins, etc.

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Leah 21 years ago

Dog foods like Science Diet and Pro Plan are only marginally better than Pedigree and Alpo. It's all junk.

Yes, food can have an effect on behavior. Maybe somebody who has more thoroughly researched that end of it can chime in with some examples (I've heard that cutting down on protein can calm an overly-hyper dog, but wouldn't swear to it).

If you're looking for a good food, you have to look for foods that (1) contain human grade ingredients, (2) use fresh meat as the protein source, (3) aren't mostly filler with just a smidgen of meat, (4) use whole grains.

In PetsMart, there's only one food I'd recommend - Blue. Maybe Royal Canin. The other decent foods can be found in feed stores, grooming shops, dog bakeries, but not in retail chains.

Though there is another poster who disagrees with me , I like this:

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. It's a good food at a reasonable price, and fairly easy to find.

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