What about these ingredients? - Page 1

I ran across a dog food the other day and was a little intrigued.  What do you all think of these ingredients?

Glucosamine & Chondroitin

Meat & Chicken Meal

Rice, Barley, Corn (not my favorite!)

Poultry Fat

Flax Seed

Organic Trace Minerals

Sel-Plex (selenium yeast)

Yucca

Dried Kelp

As well as some other stuff......but these were of the most interest to me.

Vickie

www.PowerHausKennels.com

"Glucosamine & Chondroitin"

Found in and good for joints

"Meat & Chicken Meal"

I prefer species specific, such as "chicken meal". Good if not overcooked. Reputation of maker is important

"Rice, Barley, Corn (not my favorite!)"

Rice has higher glycemic index than corn. Corn should be in small amounts. Barley is associated with "gluten" in celiac human sufferrers. I now want a small amount of corn in my girl's diet as fiber.

"Poultry Fat"

Better than many other kinds of fats

"Flax Seed"

A source of Omega-3 (C-18) if not overheated. Inefficient but probably enough source of EPA (C-20) and DHA (C-22) for routine maintenance.

Not a bad selection except for the Corn in it

Flax a good source of Colbalt etc Chicken Meal as said it is in effect better than just Chicken because the Moisture content is not added

Steve

IMHO it is pointless to add chondroprotective agents into dog food as you have no idea of the quantities or quality, much better IMO to add a good quality supplement yourself so you can be in charge of source, quality, type and quantity to suit individual dog.

I avoid flax (linseed) as much as possible as many dogs cannot convert the type of Omega 3 from a grain source into usable form.  I would much rather get Omega 3 from a fish source which is more bio available to the dog and flax can cause the itchies in some dogs.

I would rather meat was identified as species specific, when it is notated like this it usually indicates that the source can be changed according to availability and price, not good if you have a dog that has an intolerance to certain protein.

Rice, Barley and Corn - I do not feed grains but if I did I would avoid a mixture and choose oats, then rice first; corn (maize) is tryptophan deficient.  Splitting grains is a common method used by manufacturers to disguise the fact from many consumers that grain makes up at least 60% of the product.

Poiultry fat is good however I would want to explore further and discover if it had been pre used.........

yucca is merrely there to provide an odour controller

I would avoid yeast

Dried Kelp - good for some dogs if high quality for minerals, pigmentation, not good for dogs with a thyroid problem though

Studies show that dogs like humans can convert c-18 Omega-3 to c-20 and c-22 Omega-3, only that the process is inefficient.

All PUFA are unstable to heat.

DHA C-22 in particular is held onto by the body except from mother to offspring.

Fish oil contains two omega-3 fatty acids known as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Flaxseed oil, on the other hand, is rich in alpha-linolenic acid, which is the "parent" fatty acid to DHA and EPA. Although similar in structure, the benefits of alpha-linolenic acid, EPA, and DHA are not the same.

Your body converts alpha-linolenic acid rapidly into EPA, and more slowly into DHA. Roughly 11 grams of alpha-linolenic acid is needed to produce one gram of DHA and EPA.

As it is inefficient it is better for the dog and the human to consume Omega 3s from animal sources especially as you need less of it.............. so it is also cost effective.

Thanks, what do you think about the Selenium?

Vickie

www.PowerHausKennels.com

Selenium content of plants is dependent of the selenium content of the soil.

Selenium in the correct amount is a necessary nutrient.

I have been feeding this food for a couple of days and my dogs find it really palatable and their stools are VERY small in volume and dry up white with in about 12 hours.....so far so good.

Here is the list of ingredients in the order they are contained in the food.  I am not really big on the corn content but even Royal Canin GSD has corn in it!  The food is economical to feed also as I can get a 40lb bag for about $22.  I feed them about 3 cups a day and they are happy and satisfied!

Meat Meal, Ground Corn, Poultry Fat, Chicken Meal, Ground Rice, Ground Barley, Flax Seed, Beet Pulp, Yeast Culture, Natural Chicken Flavor, Potissium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Salt, Vitamins; (Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Biotin Supplement, Riboflavin (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, D-Activated Animal Sterol (source of Vitamin D3), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Organic Trace Minerals (Zinc, Methionine Complex, Manganese Methionine Complex, Copper Lysine Complex, vobalt Glucoheptonate) Trace Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate), Choline Chloride, Schidigera Extract (Yucca extract), Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate.

I hope I spelled all those right!

Still sound like an ok food?

Vickie

www.PowerHausKennels.com

Anyone?

Vickie

www.PowerHausKennels.com