# I am feeding Ol'Roy



## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

Never thought THIS day would come. The old man's appetite is waning, so I took a stroll down the walmart pet aisle to see if I could find something. I came home with a few cans of cheap cat food, some fresh pet, a can of alpo, and a rolled food from the walmart/Ol'Roy line pure balance.

Of course the thing he like best was the rolled food. Or as the ingredients proved - the K9 candy. Molasses as the 3rd ingredient with sugar further down on the list. 

That stubborn old dog is still teaching me lessons - like never say never lol 

But overall the pure balance line doesn't look so bad.
Their grain free buffalo kibble looked pretty decent. I also found a 95% meat canned food there. Nice to see better food options at walmart.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

When my parents were in their 80s, and I was caring for them, they got anything their heart desired! Old dog. Whatever he enjoys.


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## Mudypoz (Mar 3, 2016)

In my house, old dogs get whatever they want. Right now, my 15-year-old has decided he no longer wants raw food, so I'm feeding him Evanger's canned food (Yikes, never thought I'd go there...) along with home cooked whatever he wants. 

He's always been a pretty picky guy, and even more so now, but seeing since old dogs are worth their weight in gold in my book, I'll just cater to him for whatever time he has left.

Today he got some sautéed chicken breast with rice and broccoli, which he devoured, so maybe we'll try that again. The BF is making fun of me for going out of my way to cook for him or find stuff he likes, but my heart is breaking knowing he won't be around for much longer, and I want every day to be great for him.

If he wants Ol'Roy he'll get Ol'Roy, if he want's filet he'll get filet 

Love to spoil the old ones. There's nothing quite as endearing as a gray muzzle.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Ohhhhh Nooooooo! :shocked:

Have you tried REAL meat or liver...cooked or raw??????

Don't know which Ol Roy product you purchased but here is and example of the ingredients they use in their food:

Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, 
meat and bone meal, *from animal sources that could include euthanized animals*”. Farm animals, Zoo's, Shelters

soybean meal, 


*Soy is antigenic (meaning it can stimulate the production of antibodies)*
*Soy is high in goitrogens, which interfere with iodine metabolism*
*Soy denatures during high temperature processing resulting in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines*
*Soy contains trypsin inhibitors (which have caused stunted growth in test animals)*
animal fat * Ingredient determined bytheFDA to be most likely to contain euthanized companion animals*
(preserved with BHA *causes precancerous conditions,kidney and developmental problems in animals.*
and citric acid), 
corn gluten meal, natural flavor, brewers rice, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, 
yellow #5, 
*May be contaminated with such cancer-causing substances as benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl (or chemicals that the body converts to those substances).*

zinc oxide, 
yellow #6, *From CSPI: "Yellow 6 caused adrenal tumors in animals, though that is disputed by industry and the FDA. It may be contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals and occasionally causes severe hypersensitivity reactions. Yellow 6 adds an unnecessary risk to the food supply."*

red #40, 
*From CSPI: "Red 40, the most-widely used dye, may accelerate the appearance of immune-system tumors in mice. The dye causes hypersensitivity (allergy-like) reactions in a small number of consumers and might trigger hyperactivity in children. Considering the safety questions and its non-essentiality, Red 40 should be excluded from foods unless and until new tests clearly demonstrate its safety."*
blue #2, *From CSPI: "Blue 2 cannot be considered safe given the statistically significant incidence of tumors, particularly brain gliomas, in male rats. It should not be used in foods."*

niacin, copper sulfate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, manganous oxide, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, 

menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), *“K-3”:Hazardinformation regarding menadione lists “carcinogenic effects” and states “the substance is toxic to kidneys, lungs, liver, mucous membranes. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target** organs damage.”*


*Some contain of their food contains Ethoxyquin: *
.* Ethoxyquin has been “implicated in birth defects, stillborn puppies, liver failure, infertility and cancer”. Ethoxyquin is a registered pesticide, FDA doesn't allow it to be used as a preservative in food for human consumption, classified as a probable carcinogen.*


Watch that sugar too!


Moms


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Pure Balance is actually an interesting play by WM to capture some of the high-end pet food market. It seems like they created that line to try to compete head-to-head with the Blue Buffalo-type brands of the world (heavily advertised premium foods). You could do _a lot _worse than the Pure Balance line (and they definitely sell a lot worse). It's better than the original Ol' Roy by a huge margin -- they aren't even remotely the same food. They even sell grain free options in the Pure Balance line now. 

I read that the PB canned food is manufactured by Simmons (which I *think* used to be Menu Foods, which was a massive operation). I read somewhere that this company makes _tons _of store-brands of canned pet food. If I remember correctly, the list included Authority for Petsmart. They had serious recalls as Menu, but you can watch out for announcements of those in the usual places.

I've actually spent a weird amount of time in the WM pet aisle reading labels because we've had some older human-adopters who were adamant that they would only buy dog food at WM because they bought everything else at WM (my dad is actually one of these people...LOL). So I tried to help them by figuring out the best option sold there--Pure Balance and Purina Beyond are pretty much it.


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

Yes momto2gsds, I have tried real meat. He even turned his nose up to raw green tripe. This dog has been on a raw diet for over a decade. Occasional stints of home cooked, the honest kitchen, ziwipeak and the like. 

The pure balance Ol'Roy line doesn't have any of those ingredients. No corn, wheat, soy. No BHT, BHA or menadione. All named meats. Their dry formulas are all ranked between 3.5 and 4.5 on dog food advisor. 

The actual ingredients for what I picked up are as follows: 

Beef, pea protein, molasses, carrots, Dried egg product, potato starch, sugar, spinach, glycerin, pea fiber, lactic acid, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium lactate, sodium phosphate, canola oil, potassium chloride & the standard vitamin and mineral premix, mixed tocopherol and rosemary extract. 

Nothing I thought I would consider feeding. But for a 17 year old dying dog? It's probably the insane amount of sugar that is interesting him. 

It is so weird to me though to buying something from that company.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Magwart said:


> Pure Balance is actually an interesting play by WM to capture some of the high-end pet food market. It seems like they created that line to try to compete head-to-head with the Blue Buffalo-type brands of the world (heavily advertised premium foods). You could do _a lot _worse than the Pure Balance line (and they definitely sell a lot worse). It's better than the original Ol' Roy by a huge margin -- they aren't even remotely the same food. They even sell grain free options in the Pure Balance line now.
> 
> I read that the PB canned food is manufactured by Simmons (which I *think* used to be Menu Foods, which was a massive operation). I read somewhere that this company makes _tons _of store-brands of canned pet food. If I remember correctly, the list included Authority for Petsmart. They had serious recalls as Menu, but you can watch out for announcements of those in the usual places.
> 
> I've actually spent a weird amount of time in the WM pet aisle reading labels because we've had some older human-adopters who were adamant that they would only buy dog food at WM because they bought everything else at WM (my dad is actually one of these people...LOL). So I tried to help them by figuring out the best option sold there--Pure Balance and Purina Beyond are pretty much it.


 I do the same thing, for the same reason basically. But I also believe that no person should be surrendering a pet because they can't afford to feed it so I stay on the lookout for cheaper, half decent options.

In Sabs last months she got whatever she wanted, including Snausages and my cheesecake! She loved those bloody things. 
Old dogs have earned the right to eat whatever the heck they want. I would deny the pleasure to gain myself a few more days, weeks, months? 
That seems selfish. If he likes it and he's eating all good.


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

Yes magwart, I know quite a few of the "if I can't get it at walmart then I ain't getting it at all" type of people. 

It's nice to see better options in walmart for them. Fresh pet, pure balance, and beyond might not be the best out there but they don't seem all that bad. 

Can I just say I am thankful for the 15 or so year age gap between my two? I don't want to deal with this senior stuff again for a while. Sigh.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

voodoolamb said:


> Yes momto2gsds, I have tried real meat. He even turned his nose up to raw green tripe. This dog has been on a raw diet for over a decade. Occasional stints of home cooked, the honest kitchen, ziwipeak and the like.
> 
> The pure balance Ol'Roy line doesn't have any of those ingredients. No corn, wheat, soy. No BHT, BHA or menadione. All named meats. Their dry formulas are all ranked between 3.5 and 4.5 on dog food advisor.
> 
> ...


Ohhhh K.....Great!
Then .........eat on Big Guy!!!!  Enjoy your golden years!

Moms


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Voodoolamb, to get a GSD to 17 is a heck of an accomplishment. One rarely hears them going much beyond 13 any more. You have to have been doing an amazing job for a long time to get the dog to this age. You just keep on making him happy. 

When they become sick and geriatric, and the appetite fades, getting any calories into them is a small daily victory. Every day he feels like eating anything at all makes it one more day he's alive. You'll get no judgment from me -- just pure admiration that you've gotten him to the ripe old age of 17! 

Scrambled eggs are another treat some seniors love (and a healthy one too). If raw meat no longer floats his boat, you might try boiling up a carton of chicken livers or beef livers and then slice them up -- and save the boiling water to pour on his other food (kibble, or use to reconstitute THK). Cooked liver seems to be far more appetizing to the oldsters because of the intense aroma. I think their sense of smell fades, so nothing tastes good because nothing smells good--so if you can break through with intense smells, sometimes that's all it takes to get them interested--that may be why the cheaper food is so appealing to him (strong odor).


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## dz0qp5 (Oct 12, 2004)

I wouldn't get hung up on it, if it is labeled complete and balanced nutrition, your dog is getting all the nutrients it needs. I am a long time GSD owner and I have better luck and my dogs do better with the foods that get called garbage on the internet than they do with most of the supposed 5 star foods. A food with a great ingredients list does no good if the dog won't eat it. If it is such a great food you shouldn't have to doctor it up to get them to eat it, you shouldn't have to put pumpkin in it to help stool issues etc. The biggest problem in this country with dogs, just like with humans is not under nutrition but it over nutrition and obesity. Listen to your dogs and your vet and not Dr. Google.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

It seems for me that older dogs tend to hold their weight pretty well. In fact, I don't even feed Babsy anymore. 

She finishes whatever I am eating. She particularly likes breakfast food, oranges, and cherry pie. I have created a master beggar, and she trots out to find the food whenever I am eating. And when the girls come over, it is like Christmas: pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, YUM!!!

I feed Quinn (skinny six month old at night after bringing Babsy in for the night (so she cannot get to Quinn's food). Then, in the morning, I check to see if Quinn ate it all, then I let Babsy out. I bring her in again, and put more food in the bin for Quinn. Whatever Quinn doesn't eat by the time I leave for work, Babs gets. And she eats it. All. 

Jenna will also be 11 in August. She gets 4 cups of Diamond Naturals, just like the two 2-year-old bitches she is in with. Sometimes Jenna eats hers and some of theirs, I guess sometimes they eat some of hers. None are food aggressive, so it works out ok. 

Heidi will be 10 in August. She gets 3-4 cups of DNs. She scarfs it down every day and looks for more. I don't want her to gain too much weight so I am real conscious of it.

Odie turned 8 in October. She is fat. (Coffee table fat -- my only spayed bitch) I give her 2 cups of DN, and Oscar-boy (18mos) gets 4 cups. She is in with him. I don't think she is eating his food or he would be a skeleton. But she must be eating something. She chases him around and plays with him, so I don't know how she manages to hang onto that weight. 

Hepsi eats 6 cups a day. She is in with Cujo who also gets 6 cups a day. Both of them are skinny. She just turned 4 and he just turned 3. I don't think either is as active as Odie and Oscar. Well, this just might be getting off topic. Most of the bitches get 4 cups a day, and the dogs 5-6 cups. But Babsy, just gets to clean up after me and Quinnie, and Odie gets two. And Heidi gets hers shaved back a little, trying to keep her trim. 

Milla and Ninja are going to be 8 in August. They both get 4 cups, but sometimes I trim Ninja a bit, as she is long and low, and tends to hold her weight better than Milla.


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## barnyard (Jun 21, 2012)

I don't think pure balance is bad. It's made by Ainsworth. 
When I had one who was in her last days the only thing I could get her to eat was beneful treats. I felt like I needed to slink out of the store with those but at least she was eating something.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

My last GSD Smoke lived to be 14.5. But his teeth were so bad. It was hard for him to eat anything but canned dog food.


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## Malakhov (Jan 2, 2010)

Here in canada we have the ol'roy maximum brand, which is not quite bad actually.

Ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Poultry Fat (Naturally Preserved), Wheat Mill Run, Rice, Soybean Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Dried Eggs, Calcium Carbonate, Di-Calcium Phosphate, Salt, Natural Poultry Flavour, Flaxseed (Source Of Omega Fatty Acids), DL Methionine, , Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B12, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Ferrous Sulphate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulphate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Chloride, Dried Yeast Supplement, L-Lysine, Choline Chloride, Glucosamine Hydrochloride. 

The di-calcium is questionable but the rest is not so bad (27$ CAD for a 18kg bag).


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Malakhov said:


> Here in canada we have the ol'roy maximum brand, which is not quite bad actually.
> 
> Ingredients:
> 
> ...


Ok, let's compare this stuff to Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice. Now I am not sure how the Canadian dollar is matching up to the US dollar, but this stuff is $32 for 40 pounds (let's see 2.2 pounds in a kg? so, 18kg x 2.2 lbs/kg = 36+ 3.6 = 39.6lbs about 40 pounds:

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Grain Brown Rice, Peas, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pea Flour, Chicken Fat, Dried Beet Pulp, Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Fish Meal, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil (Source Of Dha), Potassium Chloride, Salt, Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Kale, Chia Seed, Pumpkin, Blueberries, Oranges, Quinoa, Dried Kelp, Coconut, Spinach, Carrots, Papaya, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Animalis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Reuteri Fermentation Product, Vitamin E Supplement, Beta Carotene, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid.

It would be interesting to also compare protein, fat, and calorie content -- which would determine how much you would have to feed.


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## Malakhov (Jan 2, 2010)

selzer said:


> Ok, let's compare this stuff to Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice. Now I am not sure how the Canadian dollar is matching up to the US dollar, but this stuff is $32 for 40 pounds (let's see 2.2 pounds in a kg? so, 18kg x 2.2 lbs/kg = 36+ 3.6 = 39.6lbs about 40 pounds:
> 
> Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Grain Brown Rice, Peas, Cracked Pearled Barley, Pea Flour, Chicken Fat, Dried Beet Pulp, Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Fish Meal, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil (Source Of Dha), Potassium Chloride, Salt, Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Kale, Chia Seed, Pumpkin, Blueberries, Oranges, Quinoa, Dried Kelp, Coconut, Spinach, Carrots, Papaya, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium Animalis Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Reuteri Fermentation Product, Vitamin E Supplement, Beta Carotene, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid.
> 
> It would be interesting to also compare protein, fat, and calorie content -- which would determine how much you would have to feed.


Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice is about 60-70$ here in QC. Pet food prices are insanely high here. I used to pay 60-70$ for a orijen bag and was getting one free out of 10 bags but now some places sell the bag for 90-100$ and there's no more promotions.

Just to compare, back in the good old days (a few years ago) when the dollar was up to par with the u.s dollar, I used to buy taste of the wild down there for about 30$ a bag. Now the bag went up down there and here the bag is almost 90-100$.

When I used to have my two german shepherds I had to switch to something else from orijen, I just couldn't afford paying 150-200$ monthly on dog food so I switched to kirkland's and my dogs did good on it.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Malakhov said:


> Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice is about 60-70$ here in QC. Pet food prices are insanely high here. I used to pay 60-70$ for a orijen bag and was getting one free out of 10 bags but now some places sell the bag for 90-100$ and there's no more promotions.
> 
> Just to compare, back in the good old days (a few years ago) when the dollar was up to par with the u.s dollar, I used to buy taste of the wild down there for about 30$ a bag. Now the bag went up down there and here the bag is almost 90-100$.
> 
> When I used to have my two german shepherds I had to switch to something else from orijen, I just couldn't afford paying 150-200$ monthly on dog food so I switched to kirkland's and my dogs did good on it.


Orijen is about 100$ for a bag here too. That's why I feed Diamond.


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## Malakhov (Jan 2, 2010)

selzer said:


> Orijen is about 100$ for a bag here too. That's why I feed Diamond.


32$ for diamond is a great price you're getting. Orijen is now 100$ in the u.s.? That's insane!

Kirkland at 40$ a bag is a balanced choice I think, it got a 4 stars rating so it's not bad.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Kirkland, Diamond Naturals, 4Health -- all made by Diamond, and pretty similar.


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