4 ms·

My take on this is that the big three dog food companies have the budget for food scientists and a reputation to protect. After all the scares with boutique bra

by js2 4y ago

My take on this is that the big three dog food companies have the budget for food scientists and a reputation to protect. After all the scares with boutique brands, I would only ever feed my dog food from Purina, Mars, or Hills. For training, I use either their normal kibble if the dog is sufficiently food motivated, or string cheese. The only treats my dogs get are to lick the plate if it’s suitable.

technothrasher 4y ago
> My take on this is that the big three dog food companies have the budget for food scientists and a reputation to protect. When we first got our pup and had her in for her initial vet check-up, the vet went over all the fancy-ass boutique brands of dog food that were all natural and holistic and organic, blah, blah blah. I said that all seemed a bit silly to me and I'd rather feed my dog kibble unless it was definitely unhealthy for her. The vet then said, "yeah, honestly, that's what I feed my dogs. But people like to get sold all this stuff, so..."
- awillen 4y ago
  Yeah, my dogs both ate Purina One at the rescues where I got them, so I just kept them on that. Once my older dog got to about 6 years old, he started having loose stool, so I switched him to Taste of the Wild, and that's been better. In general as long as your dog is healthy and pooping fine, there's no need to buy ultra-fancy foods.
- perardi 4y ago
  It is possible, with a whole lot of caveats, that fancy grain-free dog foods may cause health issues. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fda-grain-free-diet-alert-dcm/ https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fda-grain-free-d... Again, caveats a mile long. No RCT, no systematic reporting, overall small number of cases…but there is at least some association with super fancy boutique diets and dilated cardiomyopathy. But beyond that: not exactly swimming in good evidence that feeding dogs something beyond, I dunno, Purina Pro Plan, ends up in significantly better health outcomes for dogs. I mean, I love my dog, I'd do a lot for my dog, but there better be a stack of evidence a mile high that I should be paying 3x or 4x for boutique dog food. From everything I can see, keeping him lean and active is going to do a lot more than getting some “paleo” dog food that’s hyped by a TikTok influencer.
- madamelic 4y ago
  Unfortunately my dog is somewhere between "brat" and "so fraught with digestion issues" that she gets the fancy stuff with a mix of dry and wet. In the hopes of this not being entirely low-quality reply: sometimes the fancy stuff is needed / better, but also I think younger people especially want to give their dog something good and not feel like slop that the dog doesn't enjoy. I personally wouldn't give a normal healthy dog any of the mega-brand stuff because of how much filler and crap there apparently is. I'd much rather feed my dog a custom raw diet than subject them to bunch of filler and grinded up bones tbh. Pet food brands have a steep hill to climb to shake off the impression it is just like garbage-tier materials grinded up.

by js2 4y ago

technothrasher 4y ago

> My take on this is that the big three dog food companies have the budget for food scientists and a reputation to protect. When we first got our pup and had her in for her initial vet check-up, the vet went over all the fancy-ass boutique brands of dog food that were all natural and holistic and organic, blah, blah blah. I said that all seemed a bit silly to me and I'd rather feed my dog kibble unless it was definitely unhealthy for her. The vet then said, "yeah, honestly, that's what I feed my dogs. But people like to get sold all this stuff, so..."

awillen 4y ago
Yeah, my dogs both ate Purina One at the rescues where I got them, so I just kept them on that. Once my older dog got to about 6 years old, he started having loose stool, so I switched him to Taste of the Wild, and that's been better. In general as long as your dog is healthy and pooping fine, there's no need to buy ultra-fancy foods.
perardi 4y ago
It is possible, with a whole lot of caveats, that fancy grain-free dog foods may cause health issues. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fda-grain-free-diet-alert-dcm/ https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/fda-grain-free-d... Again, caveats a mile long. No RCT, no systematic reporting, overall small number of cases…but there is at least some association with super fancy boutique diets and dilated cardiomyopathy. But beyond that: not exactly swimming in good evidence that feeding dogs something beyond, I dunno, Purina Pro Plan, ends up in significantly better health outcomes for dogs. I mean, I love my dog, I'd do a lot for my dog, but there better be a stack of evidence a mile high that I should be paying 3x or 4x for boutique dog food. From everything I can see, keeping him lean and active is going to do a lot more than getting some “paleo” dog food that’s hyped by a TikTok influencer.
madamelic 4y ago
Unfortunately my dog is somewhere between "brat" and "so fraught with digestion issues" that she gets the fancy stuff with a mix of dry and wet. In the hopes of this not being entirely low-quality reply: sometimes the fancy stuff is needed / better, but also I think younger people especially want to give their dog something good and not feel like slop that the dog doesn't enjoy. I personally wouldn't give a normal healthy dog any of the mega-brand stuff because of how much filler and crap there apparently is. I'd much rather feed my dog a custom raw diet than subject them to bunch of filler and grinded up bones tbh. Pet food brands have a steep hill to climb to shake off the impression it is just like garbage-tier materials grinded up.