Royal Canine Food thoughts - Page 1

I have been told that Royal Canine is a very good product and I would feed less of it as it is very balanced.  Are there opinions here on the matter.  I am considering the change from Iams Proactive health.  Any comments from people who use or have used RC would be really helpful in my decision to make the change.

WPool

I use Royal Canin and like it very much. It's highly palatable (i.e. tastes really good in the dogs' opinion) and the German Shepherd formula kibble is specially shaped to help prevent bloat (not sure if it really makes a difference or not). My dogs do well on it - even the ones who aren't GSDs! :)

There are lots of different foods out there - the trick is to find the one your dog likes, does well on and has a decent recipe. Some recipes are "better" than others (better quality ingredients or more "meat-based" etc.) but your dog may not tolerate them as well as others. For instance, though I don't necessarily like the Nutro recipes, my dogs do really well on Nutro foods.

I also have used "Taste of the Wild" with good success, as well as Eukanuba Performance formula.

It is a good quality food.

About  3 months ago I was introduced to this board, I then switched from Beniful to Royal Canine for both my GSD and English Bulldog.  My Bully who is 3 would always drop his food and never finish his bowl. Since the switch to the special formula for bullys, its shaped to stay in his mouth and he always finishes his food. As for my GSD, he would eat all the puppy formula.. but i just switched to the adult gsd formula  and he isnt to fond of it. I may switch back to the puppy formula for a little longer.

I am not a fan of it, Like many other Kibbles there is too much grain in it, And the Worst Filler of all which is of no value to a dog, Beet Pulp, they grow it in thousands of tons over here and the rubbish which is left goes into animal foods including the dog food, You see huge piles of it in the fields waiting to be picked up months after it has left the ground and the food is not cheap for what is in it, but so are most other kibbles full of grains and beet pulp as well

i chose to use one without grains or beet pulp in it a kibble witha little grain like barley or brown rice is better than one with beet pulp, My opinion

Steve

Beet pulp won't kill your dog :) I don't belive in the statment that it is a reason for alergies, my food use is it as a filler and no issues with my dog. Actually I did find a study on beet pulp somewhere and it dose assist in a transit time or something like that. Bottom line is that not everything works the same on all dogs, you need to try and see what works best for your dog. There is no such thing as perfect kibble no matter where you look and who you talk with. You want something guaranteed to work go raw it is the healtiest food around, but not all of us can afford it.

 I,ve fed it for about 2 years with excellent results.

I have changed to Orijen on Steve's recommendation and i am over the moon with the results

no grain /crappy bulk ingredients = really healthy dogs

I agree there is no such thing as the perfect kibble BUT there are some excellent ones available

Its all about trail and error

Orijen ingredients....Fresh salmon (includes chinook, coho and sockeye species), salmon meal, russet potato, herring meal, fresh lake whitefish, sweet potato, fresh lake trout, fresh Northern walleye, freshwater cod, fresh herring, sunflower oil, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherals, a natural source of vitamin E), sun-cured alfalfa, dried sea vegetables (brown kelp, Irish moss, dulse and bladder wrack), leeks, psyllium, crab shell, rosemary, lecithin (source of inositol), apples, cranberries, black currants, marshmallow root, chicory root (FOS), licorice root, yeast extract (MOS), fennel seed, zea mays, peppermint leaf, marigold flowers, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosehips, vitamins (Vitamin E, choline chloride, Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin B12, folic acid, biotin), sea salt, minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate), direct fed microbials (dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product).

ORIJEN Dog Food does not contain artificial preservatives.

Botanical Inclusions per kg:
chicory root (Cichorium intybus) 500 mg, licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) 400 mg, fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) 350 mg, marigold flowers (Calendula officinalis) 300 mg, sweet fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) 300 mg, peppermint leaf (Mentha x piperita) 300 mg, chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita L.) 300 mg, dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) 150 mg, summer savory (Satureja hortensis) 150 mg, rosehips (Rosa canina) 150 mg

Calorie Content per kg:
4200 kcal, approx. 45% from proteins, 25% fruits and vegetables, 30% fat> Nutritional Guarantee:
ORIJEN Adult Dog Food meets the nutritional profiles of the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials

I believe that Royal Canin is a low quality food. It has a high grain content and only one protein. It is in meal form so it is more conentrated, but the number of grains out weighs the protein. Not only does it contain Beet Pulp, but also soy isolate,cellulose, sodium silico aluminate, and soya oil. It also contains anchovy oil, and no where on the website does it state that is is free of ethoxyquin.

I also believe Royal Canine is a below average food.  I feed Orijen with outstanding results