I know that Purina, Science Diet, Eukanuba, etc. are not high quality foods and I do not feed any of these to my dog. However, I'm wondering why if they're so bad, dogs aren't dying from them daily? Why would these companies that are poisoning dogs be allowed to continue doing so? Wouldn't the owners of the quality kibbles and foods get on the bandwagon to banish all of these other poisonous foods? I'm just wondering why the distribution of these foods continues, why veterinarians continue to promote kibble that has road kill in it (when they do in fact know a thing or two about nutrition and they do care about animals and what they eat) and why the many dogs I have personally known to be on that garbage live longer than some dogs on high quality foods? Just something that crossed my mind as I knock myself out trying to find yet another high quality food to make the switch to since my dog isn't taking to the one he's on. Incidentally, when he was on Purina he no problems at all!
Seriously, he only began with loose stool, shedding, and paw chewing when I switched to higher quality kibbles. I won't ever go back to Purina, but I just wonder if we REALLY know what's in our dogs food---even if it is "higher quality". What do you think?

You know, the only reason low quality dog food is popular and everything is because most people dont actually know what is in that food, they dont look at the label or they dont know what by-products are. They are cheaper and most dog owners put price over quality, sadly. And dogs are dying from them daily they take years off dogs lives but most peoples dogs do eat that food anyway, nobody notices. Quality kibble companies dont have as much costomers as "leading" companies like purina and such so its hard to out do them...And some dogs just live longer because they have healthier lives aside from the food they eat. If i were you I would keep my dog on the better food though.

Good Luck!!

Well, I know about Purina first hand, as their major plant is right here in my area and I visited it one time. They are not so much a bad food, they just aren't a good food. They use alot of corn and animal byproducts in their food which makes the food cheaper for them to make, meaning that it's cheaper for you to buy. If you aske them about this, they tell you that upfront. (Purina was actually the only petstore variety that wasn't recalled last year.) The problem with a high corn content is that it's pretty hard on their digestive tract. It can make their poop smell really bad. (In general corn is a bad/usless veggie to humans as well. It has very little nutritional value and our bodies really don't digest it)

I personally wont feed my dog purina because I believe that if you can't feed your dog the best, feed him the next best thing. If you can't afford an extremely expensive dog food (which, be honest, not every dog owner can afford. Doesn't make them a bad pet owner, just less fortunate than some) I buy my animals the best food that I can afford at the time generally. The one exception that I never make is that the number one ingredient needs to be a meat product. The next thing I try to do is look for something that has an absence of corn. I try to buy the same thing most of the time, but when I can't I do make sure that I mix the foods at first to adjust my pets to the change.

I agree with you. There would be no reason that vets would promote certain foods if they didn't think there was something good about them. My vet personally gives out bags of Science Diet after every check up. The way I look at it, it's the difference in some parents making sure that their kids only eat organic because they can afford it, and other parents just making sure that their kid has proper nutrition no matter where the slab of beef, egg, or fruit came from. Personally I was raised on the "whatever is cheaper at walmart" diet and I've grown to be pretty healthy and strong. Likewise, I've had farm dogs who lived off of Ol'Roy from the day they took their first bite of dog food to the day they took their last bite. Every single one of those dogs lived long healthy lives, and were just like every other dog I've had...

Don't kick yourself too hard if you can't afford the top of the line dog food. I'm sure you know that you are doing right by your dog, no matter what you do. Not everyone can afford to fix their dog a steak everynight, and they also can't afford the dog food brands that do it for them.

Because it isn't like they are packing these foods with cyanide. They just aren't good quality foods. Example: People who eat McDonald's every day and other junk foods dont keel over and die daily. They just die sooner and aren't in good condition before they do.



Added: You are 100% right though, unlike these others think, all the foods you listed are crappy.

A dog requires raw meat. That is all there is to it. If you feed your dog that, you will see a great improvement in their health. Of course, a depletion of your funds. But if we choose to keep them, then we should feed them.