Ol Roy Dog Food
October 3, 2008
Filed under Dog Food Reviews, Ol Roy Dog Food Recall, Ol' Roy
Thinking about feeding your dog Ol’ Roy dog food? If so please think again. Ol’ Roy dog food and treats have been involved in numerous dog food recalls. Ol’ Roy Dog Food is manufactured by Wal-Mart. The brand is named after the dog of Wal-Mart’s owner, Sam Walton. The Ol’ Roy Dog Food formulas are well-known among dog owners in the United States because it’s quite inexpensive compared to other popular brands. However, the dog food brand has received a lot of negative feedback because of its low quality ingredients as well as the controversy when it tested positive to the presence of Pentobarbital. We do not recommend this dog food brand and believe it is in the lowest tier in terms of quality.
The Ol’ Roy Dog product lines now include six kibbles and each formula has been designed to meet the AAFCO nutrient profiles required for all life stages.
First five Ol’ Roy dog food Ingredients:
- Ground yellow corn
- soybean meal
- ground whole wheat
- corn syrup
- poultry fat
Although there are different product formulas, they share the same low-quality and controversial basal ingredients. The first five ingredients include ground yellow corn, soybean meal, ground whole meat or meat and bone meal, corn syrup, and poultry fat or chicken by-product meal.
Corn is a common first ingredient among the different Ol’ Roy dog food formulas. Dogs do not need corn as their main source of nutrients. Although it is a rich carbohydrate source, corn which is used for dog food are usually of the livestock feed grade. Another reason to be wary about having corn in the top five ingredients is that corn has been linked to food allergies in dogs.
Meat and bone meal is a good source of meat concentrates, in fact much better than raw meat, but there is a question regarding the source of the components of the meal. The usual practice in feed industries is to make meat and bone meal from animal tissues which have been deemed unsuitable for human food. The meal is actually made of rendered animal products including stomach contents, bones, skin, manure, hair, hoof or horns. Compared to other meat-based meals, meat and bone meal has a lower digestibility and thus cannot be fully metabolized and used by the dog’s body.
Soybean meal is a by-product when extracting soybean oil. Although it contains 48% protein, it is still a plant-based protein, one which is not efficiently assimilated and utilized thus it is considered of low biological value.
Chicken by-product meal is also another ingredient made from dry rendered products of slaughterhouse waste. Once the prime cuts of dressed chicken have been removed, what’s left are made into an unsavory chicken by-product meal, which, just like any by-product meal uses ingredients declared unfit for human consumption.
Animal fat is another by-product of rendering. Since it does not specify what animal the fat is from, it could come from any source including slaughterhouse waste or even restaurant grease.
As though using meat by-products is not bad enough, preserving fat with BHA further brings the quality of the dog food formulas to a much lower level. BHA has been identified as a carcinogen not only in people but in animals as well. Another controversial ingredient is the addition of artificial food color which is another suspected carcinogen.
There is no mention of the incorporation of probiotics or beneficial microorganisms which have been associated with boosting the process of digestion.
Customer Reviews
Any Ol’ Roy dog food formula often receives praise when it comes to its price. However, the high rating stops there. Many dog owners are not satisfied with the questionable and low-fat ingredients which are incorporated in their dog foods.
There are reports of digestive upsets including vomiting and diarrhea as well as of dogs having rough and dry hair coats.
A lot of people decide to buy Ol Roy dog food based on the fact that it is cheap. Thinking like this will catch up to you in vet bills. Your going to take your dog to the vet twice as much as you would if you fed your dog a healthier brand of food.
When looking for dog food, look for a brand that has at least two sources of meat in the first five ingredients, and contains no corn or grains.
I started feeding my dog Ol’ Roy when he turned 3 months old and he’s now 5 months old and he loves it. He’s full of energy and getting bigger, stronger every month. Yankee a Boxador (boxer/labrador).
To River & Brutus:
I’m looking to get a Great Dane Puppy, but if you feed that crap to your dogs……Lets just say I’d never be interested in getting a puppy from you.
All the dogs I had a few years ago ate ole roy and I think didi just fine with it but now that they are gone I have 2 new dogd that I have been feeding purina dog chow to. I have been a bit more concerned with there health I guess so I dont want to buy a food just because it is cheep.
Ol’ Roy is just horrible dog food. I work at a pet shop and someone came in with a Yellow lab that was skinny enough that you could count his ribs. According to her, his previous owner fed him Ol’ Roy everyday since he was a puppy (he is 3 years old now) and but he never gained any weight, and she suspected it was Ol’ Roy. She wanted to switch him to a premium dog food and didn’t care much about price. After a month off of Ol’ Roy, he has gained weight, and seems happier now.
For those that say that all vegetables are good for dogs, Corn is a cheap filler that companies use to produce more food for less money. The first ingredient in ANY good dog food should always be some kind of meat, unless it is a vegetarian formula.
I started feeding my lab ol roy 3 yrs ago and now he’s dead. Three days ago I had to put my 9 yr old lab down because of pancreatitus caused by the fat in the dog food. My vet told me the food I was giving him had to much fat in it and his body couldn’t break it down. This was a very painful way for him to die so for those of you who think it doesn’t matter what is in the food you counld’t be more wrong. Putting your dog to sleep is bad enough, try living with the fact that you could have prevented it by spending alittle more money on his food. I did a little research on ol roy and found that it is banned in several other countries.
so far i have a pit bull named sophia and she loves ol’roy,but my jack russell Lulu loves it more, i tried putting them on another brand of dog food but they wouldn’t eat any of them but i think they wont eat it only becuase there spoiled
I have a 4 year old bull mastiff and usually I feed him kibble’s n Bits but the last couple of months moneys been tight so we started to buy the Ol’Roy well I noticed that his back started to get scabby and fur is just coming off and i think it may be the food Im wondering if anybody else has had or heard of this problem?
I believe saying that because this food is cheap that it becomes a good buy is a bunch of crap. Obviously people who feed this food to their dogs don’t care much about them or the well being of their lives.
This food consists of mostly hair, corn, and Cellulose Powder (aka SAWDUST). Don’t believe me?? Put some kibble in some water and wait for it to turn into mush.
Any food that doesn’t specify an animal meat but just labels it “meat” or “animal fat” is absolutely disgusting. That “meat” can be from any dead animal found (euthanized cat, roadkill, etc.) The ingredients are not only contaminated with diseases and/or chemicals (from being euthanized, etc.), but are completely inconsistent. A new bag means a new unknown dead animal, and your dog may react very poorly to it.
To give your dog the needed nutrients with Ol’Roy, for a 50 pound dog you would need to feed about 7 cups of food a day. With a quality dog food such as any Natura food, you would feed no more then 3 cups a day. Who’s saving money now?
NO DOG FOOD should contain sugar, or anything of the sort!!! (Sorbitol, corn syrup…) It’s just added so your dog will eat the crap, and it’s completely unnecessary for your dog. Your dog probably likes Ol’Roy better then other dog food because of the sugar content. But you’re looking for harsh health problems in the future. Diabetes, overweight problems, oral diseases…
This food is to me just as bad as Purina Beneful so please do not switch to that! Please just think about your dog instead of yourself. If you can’t afford a decent food, you can’t afford vet bills. What if you didn’t have a choice what you were going to eat? Would you rather have that 5 star meal at a terrific restaurant, or unknown slop from the dumpster at a cafeteria?
Worst food on the market next to Purina products!!!
well Crystal I think it so rude that you would post something saying people dont care for there pets cause they feed them this I feed my dog this food up until last week you think when your buying something in the store its safe for your pet well appearently i was wrong but that doesnt mean that i dont care for him i switch his food and hopefully with this food his condition will change if not i spoken to the vet and i will bring him in if it gets worse but because people are low on money and go buy the cheapest food what you think that they should just give up there pets cause there having a bad couple of months well YOUR WRONG!! I think what you said in your post was very cruel!!!
Jake,
I do not have my dogs for breeding, they are just here as pets. So do not worry about getting a puppy from me because we are not having any!
Oh and my dogs ages 5 1/2 and 2 1/2 are very healthy dogs.
I have 20 dogs at this moment and I have fed them OL’ROY for many years,I have not have any problems with this food and they have been healthy and have beautiful shiny hair and lots of energy,and their bowel movements are regular from 2–3 times a day.There are other products in the market that I would like to give them but OL’ROY is more affordable for me at this moment,I would not change the product ,it has been great for my dogs.Thanks OL’ROY.
Hey congratulations to those that are so conceited and can spend hundreds a month for ‘the best’ dog foods in the market,maybe someday when you go broke you’ll end up eating it or maybe eating your dog.
My eldest pet is 14 yrs old there are two in that age and the youngest is three yrs old,and all have been fed with OL’ROY for many years.
I have a 3 year old aussie/german shepherd cross and a seven month old shepherd husky cross (her pup). My take on this situation is this:
The mother has been on vet food throughout her life. MediCal has been a great quality food and has shown a nocticeable difference in energy and awareness. I used Hill’s Science Diet Dental Big Bites but she didn’t have the same energy and her coat became obviuosly drier. Still, I was getting comments from other owners and the public at large that she was soo shiny and well disposed, but I noticed. The Hill’s was 10 bucks cheaper for 18 kg. The MediCal in my town is now over 100 bucks a bag. I had mom stay on Medi_cal PUPPY (higher protein) all through her pregnancy and supplemented with doses of Omega three liquid. After this, mom and eventually the pups grew up on Medi-Cal. That was during the first five months. I kept one pup and the other six ventured to good, experienced owners both in the city and on farms from 8-12 weeks of age.
The food cost for the PREGNANCY AND THREE MONTHS OF PUPPIES exceeded $1200. I never wanted to make money from the pups, and am happy to have these great dogs out there. In order for her to be a complete dog I subscribe to the “needs to be a mom” philosophy. There indeed has been a big change in her attitude to our property and “her neighbourhood”. It is exactly what we desired.
She went from never barking to naturally alerting her presence. A huge food bill is one of the drawbacks.
Dutch is NOT one of the big shepherds, she is only 59 (big aussie looks like a GSD) pounds and on the vet food she varies up and down no more than 2 pounds in either direction (weighed weekly). Her only injury to date is a ripped paw from performing too hard. She’s set to get fixed this month.
This is about the food though. Obviously the vet brands are going to be complete and unless there is a need for specialty foods it will suffice for ANY dog.
The bill for one dog at 60 pounds is certainly 100 dollars per month. Omega spray and 18 kgs every 40 days plus the vet treats, even making cookies and buying butcher bones the costs pile up. Not everyone can afford this. Much like me right now. With two dogs I choose to use the ol’ roy to extend the vet food and with the cost savings (considerable) I supplement with some raw meat daily. (or gas to go fishing-they love fish)
Both are very happy with the ol roy. I use the omega a little heavier, but overall the costs are slightly less, and I am comfortable cutting the raw food out on the weeks where money is tight without worrying about their diet. For the average owner who isn’t competing ( I ski-jore, frisbee, and some agility) with their pets, I would recommend the ol’roy along with some meat and the omega spray. Buying bones with some good meat still on it (ham hocks, beef bones, etc) can give them hours of natural prey-driven exercise and the nourishment which comes with the meat and marrow.
The naysayers can talk all the trash about corn this and that. Rice is NO LESS of a filler than corn. It is just a filler.
The more you pay the less filler you get. That’s the rule and it’s obvious to anyone when they clean up the poop. Dogs don’t “need” all of the grains and can’t use them as well as we can. They are CARNIVORES. So the only grains they get are out of another animal’s stomach. And yes they do eat the stomachs of other animals. So grains and vegetables are a normal healthy part of a dog’s diet.
When you pay more for the same weight of food you will usually get a better product. There is honest competition in the industry and the recent increases in production controls have hurt the smaller “boutique” foods by an increase in the quality controls of the bigger manufacturers.
In short.
I would NOT feed only Ol’Roy to puppies (length according to breed), but once you have established the health and stamina of your dog, switching to the higher end Maximum Ol Roy and being aware of any changes in energy, stamina, and fecal matter of your dog will allow the average owner massive savings.
There ARE better quality foods out there. And if you have a small breed dog, try to spend the money and get the better food. Talk to your vet about the best option. Go to a dog club and ask around . You’ll find a buying group maybe, who get wholesale discounts, but mostly you’ll find people buying iAMS. It’s a pretty good solution for the mid-range buyer.
I don’t want any pet owner to think they are being unfit guardians of their pet’s health by using affordable foods.
Everyone deserves a pet. When you look down at your little friends and there is a happy, healthy dog looking back, you ARE doing the right thing.
But just like yourself, he might like some steak over all that granola.
Just don’t get me started on temptations for cats..