Question...

[magicre]

I wasn't trying to cause a big debate or anything...it was just a question that popped into my head and thought I'd see what everyone here thought.




As an example (and I don't know how accurate this information is - I got it off this website http://www.petobesityprevention.com/..._Dry_Foods.pdf) Purina Pro Plan Adult Chicken and Rice (ick I know) has 489 kcals/cup and Orijen Adult has 483 kcal/cup ....so almost the same amount of kcals per cup.


Pro plan ingredients: Chicken, brewers rice, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), whole grain corn, corn germ meal, brewers dried yeast, fish meal, dried egg product, natural flavor, fish oil, calcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried colostrum, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, calcium carbonate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

Orijen: Fresh boneless chicken*, chicken meal, fresh boneless salmon*, turkey meal, herring meal, russet potato, peas, sweet potato, fresh boneless turkey*, fresh whole eggs*, fresh chicken liver*, fresh boneless lake whitefish*, fresh boneless walleye*, sun-cured alfalfa, pea fiber, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), organic kelp, pumpkin, chicory root, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, blueberries, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium yeast, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium.

but.

pro plan has brewers rice, mixed tocopherols which is from soy, corn gluten and corn germ, a known allergen for dogs, and i've always wondered what natural flavours mean. and that's just the short version.

orijen.....it's got better quality items...even though dogs don't need starches like pea protein or potato...but at least it does not have by product meal, whatever that is....and it has vitamins...so i would go with the orijen....

for me, it's all about the ingredients and i am pretty sure orijen costs more.....still, i'd go with it, because pro plan is part of the mc donalds of dog food, IMHO. so no bang for your buck.

with a better quality food, you save money on vet bills....that is something that deserves consideration also....

feeding pro plan with its brewers yeast and corn products and grains and less proteins....your dog's digestive system will suffer.

[DDBsR4Me]

but, to the OP, calories is not the issue, it's the quality of each calorie fed to the dog, so science diet bad and k9 better and there are others more appropriate for a dog that is not the company line...royal canin and science diet have to stop...

so when you go to pick your dog food and you want the biggest bang for your calories.....research some of the threads in this section.

there are people who have picked out somce pretty good brands that are better for your dog and reasonbly priced and each calorie counts for something...:)

Thanks Magic....but I'm not looking for a dog food and I wouldn't feed my dogs RC or "Science Death" in a million years. I'm happy with what I'm feeding atm. This was just something I was curious about

[magicre]

Thanks Magic....but I'm not looking for a dog food and I wouldn't feed my dogs RC or "Science Death" in a million years. I'm happy with what I'm feeding atm. This was just something I was curious about

it's good to be curious and debate is healthy. keeps the brain from standing still.

much better to dance...love your dog...:)

[Celt]

I have fed food being very conscience of the number of calories (have a pup that needs to ingest a certain amount per day) and discovered that, at least for him, the quality doesn't affect how much you feed if the calories are the "same". The food "states" the number of calories per cup, then there are that many calories whether or not they are "good" is not what counts (at least for my boy), just that they provide for the energy needs