After researching the subject for many months, I compiled a list of my "Recommended Pet Foods". I'd love to hear from you if you use a pet food that fits the criteria below and you don't see it listed, so that I can add it to my list. Some companies make several products, some fit my criteria while others don't. So please be specific when listing your pet food.
My Recommended Natural Pet Foods (in alphabetical order):
Barf World Raw patties
Blue Buffalo Co.
Bravo Raw Diet
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul
Evangers
From Family
Halo Purely for Pets
Holistic Blend
Horizon Pet Food
Merrick
Nature's Variety - Instinct - canned
Newmans Own Organics Premium
Petcurean
Primal Pet Foods
Sojourner Farms (Sojos) dehydrated mix
Solid Gold: Hund-N-Flocken, Katz-N-Flocken, Millenia, Wolf King
Stella and Chewy's Pet Food
Wagalicious Natural Pet Food
Wellness by Old Mother Hubbard
Criteria for the list:
* First ingredient must be a specified meat such as "chicken".
* No by-products
* No corn as it's hard to digest and one of the prime causes of allergies in pets
* Fat should be specified, such as "chicken fat," not just "animal fat"
* Preservatives should be natural and not chemical, for instance Vitamin E
On the subject of "chicken meal," according to Wikipedia, the quality of the protein from "chicken meal" as an example depends on the type and amount of meat in the mixture, and although it's better than "chicken by-products," it's generally a lesser quality protein source than "chicken meat." Chicken meal can only be the meat from the chicken, whereas chicken by-products can be all parts of the bird, including beaks, feathers, feet, intestines, etc. If your food has chicken meal as the first ingredient, be sure it's a manufacturer you trust to use only top quality meat.
On the subject of "fat," if the product doesn't specify the animal from which the fat was taken, and is labeled simply "animal fat," the contributing animal is not known, and the resulting oil is very low in linoleic acid which is essential for skin and coat health.
The pet foods that list meat as the first ingredient tend to be the most expensive, and I know that we can't all afford the top of the line pet foods. There are many other good pet foods out there where the first ingredient is for example "chicken meal," but my goal here was to list the very best pet foods. One trick I use is to mix a top brand with a less expensive yet all natural brand to help keep the cost down and make it go further, yet my pets still get the benefit of the high-end food. I also feed raw food for one meal a day to assure they are getting the best quality high protein diet I can give them. For premium content and convenience, nothing beats BARF World frozen raw food patties. For less expense but very convenient, try The Honest Kitchen's dehydrated raw mix and just add water and meat. You might also consider making your own raw food mixture, which I posted about previously HERE. I know it takes a bit more time, but it can be done cheaply and raw food is the best food by far for your dog or cat. Before changing your pet to a raw diet, do your research on the subject. You might also want to read my post on "Changing your pet to a raw diet", along with other posts under the category "dog diet" and "cat diet" located on the left under "Topics".
Thank you everyone for any foods you contribute to the list.
____________________________________________
Natural and organic pet supplies can be hard to find locally and expensive to have shipped due to weight. Now you can get top brands of natural pet food and supplies at up to 25% off retail...$4.95 flat shipping at PetFlow.com
8 comments:
Thanks for visiting. Food allergies do cause lots of issues with some pets. I use Wellness for my cats plus a oil supplement.
Wellness is an excellent pet food and supplementing with omega fatty acids also helps for a pet with allergies. Thanks for visiting us.
I agree that too many times nutritional deficiencies are treated medically...with steroids and antibiotics. Even the best pet foods are highly processed so adding good supplements is key to long term good nutrition. I have used dinovite supplement including their omega fatty acid supplement (Lickochops) with excellent results. And, I found these videos to be really helpful when choosing a good pet food.
http://www.dinovite.com/library (3 dangerous assumptions about pet food).
Thanks for your comments and for stopping by. The overprocessing of pet foods does indeed leave nutrients lacking and supplementation can be helpful, especially in our older pets.
We also use a supplement with the food
to help replace the nutrients that are lost in the cooking of the dog food. we use Dinovite in a powder form
I agree, about food allergies. I have six wonderful rescues and they are all fed a raw diet. I rotate the protein. I have three doxies and one Chi, and two Bichons. All are on a raw diet except for my male Bichon, I have tried everything and he will not eat it so I give him Orijen. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Emiy,
You may have already tried this, but sometimes it helps get a dog used to the different texture and taste of raw food to mix it in with a canned food he already likes, starting with a very small amount of the raw and then gradually over several weeks increasing the raw and decreasing the canned food. In the end, you may have to just go with what he wants to eat. Another thought - you could try coating a chew toy or chewable treat like a pig ear etc with the raw food - let it sit for awhile so it isn't so messy and you might want to give it to him outside to spare any carpeting from stains. I used this trick for the opposite reason- my one dog didn't think she liked dehydrated pig ears when I first tried them, but with it being coated with her cherished raw food, she decided to give it a try and now she begs for them.
I had the same problem you're having with one of my cats. The oldest one and youngest one took to the raw food immediately, while my 10 year old never has embraced it. For years she wouldn't eat anything except kibble, not even a high quality canned cat food and never liked any cat treats either. Just recently I tried putting a dab of the raw mix covered with tuna juice and she has started eating it. I read somewhere that cats can be especially finicky, but some dogs too. They tend to want to eat what they were weened on, and unfortunately my kitty was living out of a dumpster when rescued so who knows what that food was and she's not too willing to give up what she knows. I wish you luck and success - I know it can be challenging but at least he likes the Orijen which is a very good food.
My Goldie has just been tested and found allergic to turkey, rice, corn, white potato, peas & kelp.
The ONLY commercial food that I can find that excludes all of these ingrediants is K9 Natural from NZ. It is freeze dried with the main protein(85%)being either Lamb,Beef or Venison (3 different flavours).
Post a Comment