# How Does this Food Sound?



## Kaydance (Aug 2, 2012)

Hello everyone,

When I brought the pups home they were on Purina One. They had incredibly soft stools and I looked for something better. After horrow stories from other people who got dogs from my breeder, I stayed away from Blue and Nutro. I love a local market around here that sells a local Ohio made food kibble. Their stool hardened up beautifully (well, not hard, but not soft anymore, it's not hard like constipated poops). They love it so much I can use it as treats when training (at least with my female Athena).

The list of ingrediants and nutrition is at the bottom of this page. Does this food sound okay? Its a lot less expensive than Blue, Nutro or any of the others, plus its a local state company in a local market so I feel better about supporting the state and the community.

Pet Wants - Urban Feed Store - Cincinnati Ohio - Pet Food Delivery :: Ingredients

I've been using the puppy formula for my 8-weak-old pups.

Thanks!


----------



## JWM1022 (Jul 24, 2012)

What horror stories about Blue?? I have always heard that's one of the best you can give?


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


----------



## GsdLoverr729 (Jun 20, 2010)

Blue, Nutro, Oriejen, and many other foods are actually great. Any horror stories you heard were likely from people who got angry about the price, freaked out over a recall, OR their dogs simply didn't do well on the foods. I give my girl Blue, Innova and raw mixed together. And she does great on it. When she needed to gain some weight I added some Nutro for a couple weeks. Still no issues. My friend's shepherd pup is on Nutro Max at the moment, and she is doing great on it.
But it's just like with people- some dogs just don't do well on certain foods. Others do.

As for the food you listed: I didn't see anything very concerning about it, personally. But I'm still learning how to read ingredients and what to look for. So maybe someone with more knowledge will chime in.


----------



## Madjukes (Jul 1, 2012)

The food you listed shows a very low % of protein from meat...and a LOT of grain. If your pup does well on it, there's no need for concern, but there are a lot of MUUUUCH better foods.

Breaking it down further, we see that here are the ingredients list:

Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Sorghum (Milo), Oat Groats, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E)), Dried Beet Pulp, Millet, Potato Product, Fish Meal, Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Natural Flavor, Flax Seed, Chicken Cartilage, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Lecithin, DiCalcium Phosphate, Carrots, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach, Fish Oil, Calcium Carbonate, L-Lysine, DL Methionine, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Cranberry, Oligofructose, Glucosamine HCL, Yucca Schidigera Extract.

The first is a meat, which is good. However, the next 3 ingredients are all grains (brown rice, sorghum, oat groats) and not terribly good grains either. This means that there is probably more grain than meat in this food. (For example, we can have 20% be chicken meal, 15% brown rice, 15% sorghum, 15% oat groats, and that would be 20% meat 45% grains). Adding this with only a 25% protein content and 14% fat content (which is quite high compared to the amount of meat in it) I would say this is a middle of the line food.

I just saw that you mentioned it is much cheaper than Blue-- and for the reasons I pointed out, that would be why


----------



## GsdLoverr729 (Jun 20, 2010)

Madjukes said:


> The food you listed shows a very low % of protein from meat...and a LOT of grain. If your pup does well on it, there's no need for concern, but there are a lot of MUUUUCH better foods.
> 
> Breaking it down further, we see that here are the ingredients list:
> 
> ...


 I do believe I looked at the wrong ingredient list >.>


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

the first ingredient is chicken meal.



Madjukes said:


> The food you listed shows a very low % of protein from meat...and a LOT of grain. If your pup does well on it, there's no need for concern, but there are a lot of MUUUUCH better foods.
> 
> Breaking it down further, we see that here are the ingredients list:
> 
> ...


----------



## Loneforce (Feb 12, 2012)

I see they sell taste of the wild there. That would be alot better the what was posted.


----------



## Madjukes (Jul 1, 2012)

Meal is better than straight "chicken" or "lamb" or whatever, because when those are listed, the actual meat is MUCH lower after taking out water (About 70% of it is water).

I prefer to see the first or second ingredient as a meal.


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when a meat is listed as the 1st ingredient the product
has to contain 70% of the product listed and i think
that's after the water is taken out. time to google. 



Madjukes said:


> Meal is better than straight "chicken" or "lamb" or whatever, because when those are listed, the actual meat is MUCH lower after taking out water (About 70% of it is water).
> 
> I prefer to see the first or second ingredient as a meal.


----------



## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

doggiedad said:


> when a meat is listed as the 1st ingredient the product
> has to contain 70% of the product listed and i think
> that's after the water is taken out. time to google.


Madjukes is correct. If it's a meal, it's weighed after the water is taken out, if it's meat it is weighed with the water content.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=labelinfo101


----------



## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Especially when there are very few meat ingredients among the first bunch ingredients listed, it is always better to see a named meat meal rather than a simple meat. Chicken meal is better than chicken as the first ingredient, especially when the next five ingredients after it are grains, legumes or potatoes, for example.


----------



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

What is chicken meal made from?


----------



## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Yes, meat in meal form is delicious. 

Still more nutritious for a canine than a kibble made of mostly grains, potatoes and peas.


----------



## Zookeep (May 17, 2012)

Madjukes said:


> This means that there is probably more grain than meat in this food. (For example, we can have 20% be chicken meal, 15% brown rice, 15% sorghum, 15% oat groats, and that would be 20% meat 45% grains). Adding this with only a 25% protein content and 14% fat content (which is quite high compared to the amount of meat in it) I would say this is a middle of the line food.
> 
> I just saw that you mentioned it is much cheaper than Blue-- and for the reasons I pointed out, that would be why


You could say the same thing for Blue Buffalo. Here are the first few ingredients:

Deboned chicken, chicken meal, whole ground brown rice, whole ground barley, oatmeal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), rye, tomato pomace (source of lycopene), natural chicken flavor, whole potatoes, peas, whole carrots, whole sweet potatoes, 

It could have 10% chicken ( which is 70% water), 10% chicken meal, 9% whole grain brown, 9% barley and 9% oatmeal. Removing the water, this yields 13% meat and 27% grain, which is twice as much grain as meat.


----------



## Madjukes (Jul 1, 2012)

Zookeep said:


> You could say the same thing for Blue Buffalo. Here are the first few ingredients:
> 
> Deboned chicken, chicken meal, whole ground brown rice, whole ground barley, oatmeal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), rye, tomato pomace (source of lycopene), natural chicken flavor, whole potatoes, peas, whole carrots, whole sweet potatoes,
> 
> It could have 10% chicken ( which is 70% water), 10% chicken meal, 9% whole grain brown, 9% barley and 9% oatmeal. Removing the water, this yields 13% meat and 27% grain, which is twice as much grain as meat.


Blue Buffalo has several different products in their line. This is their lowest end one.

For example, their wilderness line has 3 of its top 5 ingredients as meat, and a protein level of 34% as opposed to 24%.


----------



## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Is that a 34% protein level in a large breed puppy kibble? That seems awfully high.


----------



## bjbryant73 (Dec 2, 2006)

I have both of my dogs on Blue and they are doing great on it. It is expensive though - and I've noticed that I am going through a bag a lot faster now that I have 2 dogs. 

But both dogs love the food, coats are shiny etc...


----------



## Kaydance (Aug 2, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the great advise! I put them both on Blue Large breed puppy. The vet also has me mixing in Blue wet food due to his size. Little baby is only 5.6lbs. He spent all day chomping down and the vet us thrilled. Thanks again! They're enjoying Blue even more.


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


----------



## ctrl (Jun 1, 2012)

I thought Blue was PetSmarts brand, they always try and push it when I am there and I think they replaced it with a old brand they owned. Is blue the case of a actually decent, generic brand of food?


----------



## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

*It is very grain heavy.* If you fed it I would highly recommend adding some meat in your dogs diet. Something I recently found out is that a lot of the chicken meal being used is very bone heavy. I saw the percent of bone used in Tyson's chicken meal and I was shocked. If you ever get the time, email the company and ask them who supplies them their chicken meal and if it's Tyson run.....


----------



## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

paulag1955 said:


> Is that a 34% protein level in a large breed puppy kibble? That seems awfully high.


High protein is fine as long as it comes from meat.


----------

