Royal Canin dog food
October 12, 2008 by admin
Filed under Royal Canin
Royal Canin Dog Food
Royal Canin Dog Food is made and manufactured by, Royal Canin USA. Royal Canin dog food is marketed towards people looking for breed specific dog food.
Royal Canin Dog Food Review
Royal Canin dog food comes in numerous different recipes geared towards your dogs specific needs. We are going to take a look at each formula and review the ingredients.
Royal Canin Dog Food Products:
- Royal Canin MINI Babydog 30 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Puppy 33 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Adult 27 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Indoor Puppy 27 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Indoor Adult 21 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Toy Indoor Adult 25 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Chihuahua 28 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Dachshund 28 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Miniature Schnauzer 25 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Poodle 30 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Shih Tzu 24 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Yorkshire 28 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Special 30 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Weight Care 30 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Dental Hygiene 24 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Beauty Care 26 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MINI Aging Care 27 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MEDIUM Puppy 32 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MEDIUM Adult 25 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MEDIUM Active Special 25 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MEDIUM Bulldog 24 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MEDIUM Cocker Spaniel 25 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MEDIUM Aging Care 25 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Babydog 30 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Large Breed Puppy 32 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Large Breed Adult Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Aging Care 26 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Boxer 26 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI German Shepherd 24 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Golden Retriever 25 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Labrador Retriever 30 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Joint and Coat Care 28 Dog Food
- Royal Canin MAXI Weight Care 27 Dog Food
- Royal Canin CYNOTECHNIQUE ENERGY 4800 Dog Food
- Royal Canin GIANT Adult 28 Dog Food
Royal Canin Dog Food Consumer Ratings
| Title | Votes | Rating | Review |
| Royal Canin MAXI Aging Care 26 Dog Food | 9 | 4.1 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MEDIUM Bulldog 24 Dog Food | 11 | 4.3 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Adult 27 Dog Food | 18 | 3.2 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Babydog 30 Dog Food | 1 | 2.0 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Chihuahua 28 Dog Food | 18 | 3.4 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Dachshund 28 Dog Food | 16 | 6.1 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Dental Hygiene 24 Dog Food | 14 | 5.5 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Indoor Adult 21 Dog Food | 14 | 3.6 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Indoor Puppy 27 Dog Food | 14 | 3.3 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Miniature Schnauzer 25 Dog Food | 21 | 4.8 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Poodle 30 Dog Food | 9 | 5.7 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Puppy 33 Dog Food | 66 | 5.1 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Shih Tzu 24 Dog Food | 26 | 3.8 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Special 30 Dog Food | 22 | 5.2 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Toy Indoor Adult 25 Dog Food | 3 | 6.0 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Weight Care 30 Dog Food | 11 | 2.3 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin MINI Yorkshire 28 Dog Food | 20 | 4.9 | -1.0 |
| Royal Canin dog food | 73 | 6.6 | -1.0 |
What a marketing scam to get people to fork out more money on a low-quality product. Dogs do not need breed-specific foods unless you’re talking about large breed and small breed formulas. All a dog really needs is high quality ingredients, which this food does not really contain, especially not for the price. Some people who have purebreds are so hoping to have a reason to justify their purchases that these breed-specific foods appeal to, they’re willing to spend the extra money without looking into the quality and other options out there. If they really wanted to do their purebred a favor, they’d look into another brand of food!
For a few years I’ve fed my boxer pedigree, science diet, etc. and the results were poor skin and occasional puking.
A year ago I googled boxer allergies and read about the problem boxer have with corn and decided to plunk down the extra money for RC Boxer 26.
It cost 50% more than the major brands but I would pay double!
Better skin, reduced paw licking, no more puking, reduced gas.
There is no corn in Boxer 26.
Some other vendors Boxer breed products contain corn- I would stay away from those if your dog shows andy allergy symptoms. vendors Boxer
their website says it all – “we focus on nutrition ratios rather than ingredients.” In other words, junk. Any of the good foods are listed on The Whole Dog Journal because they don’t accept paid advertising
This may be so, but google does! So, if you decide to look online at The Whole Dog Journal, be wary of all the paid google ads that display discretely as links.
I would just like to comment on the recent change in the formula for the medi-cal hypoalergenic dog food that our eight year old bull dog has been eating for over six years ,for some reason Royal Canin and Medi-cal have changed the formula in their canin dry dog food and our dog will not eat it and hasen’t eaten for three days ,why change somwthing that works if its not broke don’t fix it.if anyone can help us out by helping us find the origional food maybe packaged for another company or still being produced under a new name we would realy appreciate it our poor baby hasn’t eaten in three days she takes the new food into her mouth and spits it on the floor ,but two phone calls to royal canin and they assure me they are making the same formula only the bag has changed maybe they shoul try eating a little of it themselves.
As with Jim Bona’s Oct. 6 comment, we have had a similar experience in our Yorkie’s negative response to his latest bag of Royal Canin Hypo-Allergenic Potato & Rabbit dog food, which he had happily and healthfully eaten for the last 4 years, up until now. We are trying to figure out whether there has been some change in the formula or his taste buds, or if we just got a tainted batch which then, in turn, tainted our home storage container. Or could the change in the bag itself have altered the food’s flavor, aroma, or essence in some way?
we have our labs on Royal Canin for labradors; however, their skin is very dry and they shed more then they did before. Is there another type that would be better for their coats?
Pat,
Try Blue Buffalo or NutroMax, both brands are good for skin and coat, Blue Buffalo is what I give my dog now and she loves it, don’t forget to gradually introduce by mixing otherwise, some serious consequences…good luck
I have a white boxer. These dogs are prone to allergies, especially skin allergies. I’ve had her on Natural Balance, Nutro, Avoderm, Pro Plan, Eukanuba Boxer Formula, and many more in my frustrated quest to find the right food for my dog. She developed a skin allergy to all except the Natural Balance but then lost weight on that food. I switched to Royal Canin Boxer and she has a shiny coat, drastic reduction in eye allergies, no skin allergies and is a fantastic, healthy weight. Why is this food getting such poor reviews???
I don’t know why this food is getting bad reviews. I have a feeling it’s because people can be very narrow minded. I work in the retail pet industry. It is required that we research food to understand the nutritional quality. I have a cocker spaniel who is prone to allergies (big surprise?). I have fed him Eukanuba, Natural Balance, and Avoderm. All are great foods. After doing some research I recently switched him to Royal Canin Cocker Spaniel formula. He LOVES it. And he is doing great on it. No skin bumps and a healthy coat. They have really done their studies to formulate great quality dog foods. I also really like that they have even thought of the shape of the kibble. Royal Canin doesn’t just do labratory studies like most dog foods. They get out there and do actual studies with breeders. They have been around for years and they are constantly thinking of new things. I would recommend this food to anyone.
You don’t know why??? I’ll tell ya, look whats in it. 4 grains to begin with and rice and rice flour are low grade grains, brown rice is ok. Soy is just down right bad, dried beet pulp is as bad as it gets. This food is very grain heavy with nothing in it to help your dog to stay healthy.
Chicken meal, rice, brown rice, oatmeal, soy protein isolate, rice flour, chicken fat, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), soya oil, salt, calcium carbonate, dried egg product, fructo-oligosaccharides, potassium chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, taurine, potassium citrate, L-tyrosine, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin, L-ascorbyl
NOW LOOK WHATS IN MY BRAND OF CHOICE. See the difference? Notice all the meats how about whole eggs. Notice NO useless grains.
Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, lake whitefish, chicken fat, sweet potato, whole eggs, turkey, salmon meal, salmon and anchovy oils, salmon, natural chicken flavour, sunflower oil, sun-cured alfalfa, dried brown kelp, carrots, spinach, peas, tomatoes, apples, psyllium, dulse, glucosamine Hcl, cranberries, black currants, rosemary extract, chondroitin sulfate, sea salt.
pat small here is a list of some very good dog foods and not in any order
Artemis*
Blue Wilderness
Go
Horizon*
Evo****
Innova**
Instinct***
Orijen************************
Taste of the Wild***
Wellness
Acana**
Fromm*
Merrick
Canidae
Evanders
Earthborn
Natures Variety
Natures logic
Solidgold
Pinnacle
Timberwolf
Blue Buffalo
Halo
California Natural**
WOW this crap is even worse than I thought. Go ahead kill your dog, but remember you read this !!!!
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/newpetfoodrecalls/brand_list.cfm?Trade_Name=Royal%20Canin&pet=Dog
Jess, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Chicken meal, is a higly digestable protein. it has water and fat removed. rice is a starch, a carbohydrate which provides energy for your dog. it also provides fiber. isn’t fiber important? Soy protein isolate is a highly digestable protein. Dried beet pulp (white) is a fermentable/non fermentable fiber, this helps grow good bacteria in the gut and gets rid of the bad. anchovy oil is highly concentrated omega 3 omega 6 which provides nurishment for skin and coat. you ever see EPA and DHA on baby formula? thats because it also helps with congnivtive learning. dried egg is the most digestible protein sources, its almost perfect.
Now agreed your ingredients may look better on paper (fruits and veggies) and the average consumer will say “oh boy my dog is eating so healthy” , but at the end of the day being anthropomorphic is the not the key to a dog or cats nutrition. what are cranberries and blueberies doing in the diet? they are antioxidents, RC just has them in a more synthetic, digestable form. the ingredients have to be to be broken down into form for them to be used for energy. so really nutrients are more important than ingredients. potato by the way is a starch, needed for energy but most vet’s agree that the insulin spike that potato gives is not as good as corn used as a carbohydrate. Corn also contains a little fat which is used for energy and linelaic acid which is good for skin and coat. so all you grain haters need to keep reading the research.. i dont’ know of anyone that is alergic to corn, let alone dogs. it’s usually a protein source and the only way to find out if they allergic to something is to switch them to a different diet for 6 months and then switch them back to see if the symptoms happen again. Most skin problems are from poor diets to begin with. Once they are switched to a premium food grain or no grain, those symptoms typically go away anyway.
I never had anyone tell me I didn’t know what I was talking about and then try and say soy,corn and beet pulp is good for dogs. I have never said nor well I ever say chicken meal is bad for dogs, so please don’t put words in my mouth. My god you have no clue, CORN IS AS BAD AS IT GETS FOR DOGS, IT CAUSES SKIN,COAT, EAR AND EYE PROBLEMS IN DOGS. DOG DO NOT NOR CAN THEY DIGEST CORN AND THAT IS A FACT. It really does amaze me when people who only use a letter as there name come here and try to act like they know soething about dog food.
Here is a link to a great site and you need to spend some long hours reading. Oh and be sure to check out the ONE STAR DOG FOODS because that is where you’ll find this dog posion.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
You really need to do some research on corn here is just one listing on why corn is bad.
Corn (in such large amounts) is terribly hard on a dog’s digestive systems, and has no nutrients.
Corn can be bad for dogs for a couple of reasons:
1. It is a cheap carbohydrate source, and a filler, and if it makes up the majority of the food, your dog is eating a ton of filler (and producing a ton of waste) without getting much nutritional benefit out of it.
Meat should be the primary ingredient in dog food.
2. Many dogs are allergic/develop allergies to corn. It isn’t a part of their natural diet. Domestic dogs don’t graze in corn fields, and wild dogs don’t encounter corn in the wild.
Dog food ingredients are listed in order of most to least…so if your dog food lists “whole corn” first, that means it makes up a large part of the food. If you add the first and third ingredients together (both corn), that means that the majority of each kibble is corn.
Again, little nutritional value for the dog.
You want meat — as much meat as possible in the first few ingredients, from a known source (i.e. chicken, lamb, not just “meat”).
Here is a link to one of the best sites on the net and is on Ingredients to avoid!!!!!
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients
Every dog is different and if a particular dog food brand is working for your dog then why not stick with it! I have tried a few of these “high quality” dog foods with less than satisfactory results. Ingredients are not the tell-all of if a dog food brand will work for your dogs needs. Shouldn’t the best indication be a happy, healthy dog?
Jess this royal canin Ingredients looks better, in some countries the Ingredients is,
Maize, dehydrated Poultry meat, Maize product, Vegetable protein Isolate, Animal fat.
This is the worst dog food I have seen next to Pedigree and Eukanoba.
Well Nate your vet loves you feeding this because HE GETS TO SEE YOUR DOG AND YOUR CHECK BOOK SO OFTEN.
No Shan Ol Roy is by the far the worst dog food then beneful and the Pedigree, eukiaweful and RC.
Dear Jess,
I am a veterinary student currently taking a course in nutrition at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. I was interested to read these comments as we are predominantly informed about RC, Hills and Eukanuba/Iams at my university and it is good to get as much information as possible to formulate accurate opinions before deciding how to advise clients on appropriate nutrition for their pets.
The problem that I have with what you say about the ingredients used by RC to formulate their foods, is that your information has been obtained through websites only, not feeding trial studies or scientific papers or any other peer-reviewed sources. The websites that are your sources claim to be ‘independent reviewers’ of pet nutrition, but content on the www is not peer-reviewed, nor is it regulated by any reviewing body, so how can you be sure what you are reading is accurate? And what are the credentials of the authors of the material written on those websites?
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is the reviewing body that ensures the quality of the pet food manufactured by companies like RC. All premium pet foods should be reviewed by AAFCO and have an AAFCO statement written on every bag detailing what calculations / testing procedures have been undertaken to ensure the food is appropriate for your animal. I hardly think that such a large regulatory body would endorse ingredients like corn if “CORN IS AS BAD AS IT GETS FOR DOGS, IT CAUSES SKIN,COAT, EAR AND EYE PROBLEMS IN DOGS. DOG DO NOT NOR CAN THEY DIGEST CORN AND THAT IS A FACT” as you suggest it is/does.
Granted, premium pet foods like RC are very expensive but the cost must be at least somewhat reflective of the amount of research and development undertaken to ensure the foods provide correct nutrition for your pet, wouldn’t you think? Likely that is why supermarket brand pet food is so cheap.
Unfortunately for manufacturers you can probably dig up dirt on all pet food brands via Google or Yahoo and use it to discredit a certain company. Personally I would be wary of trusting anything found on the internet that is not appropriately referenced using peer-reviewed sources.
Finally, I can see that you are very enthusiastic and passionate about ensuring pet owners get the right advice, keep their pets safe from harmful foods and keep the money in the owner’s pocket which is great – but perhaps you should find more appropriate sources supporting your recommendations and provide your credentials before advising people what is or isn’t good food for their pet.
I’ll tell you why, because I lost a great GSD to a tumor. 2 different vets told me the same thing, that they could NOT rule out bad dog food and it was a very likely source. So over the last year I have educated myself on good and bad ingredients in dog food. NOW I DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING but if I see corn,wheat and other crap in Dog food I have no problem with calling it crap.I come across more people who have and have had issues with RC. We all know they fund vet schools, so that soon to be vet well tell his patents RC is the best. It’s a no brainer!!!!
Now find some dirt on Orijen, Acana, Evo, Innova, Ca. Natural, Health Wise, Fromm, Merrick and TOTW. Their are many more dog foods I recomend BUT, RC or should I say the “R”eal “C”rap, Eukacrummy & Hillis is far from one.
Let me ask you this would you recomend this puppy list to a dog owner???
Chicken meal, brown rice, “”corn gluten meal”", “”chicken fat”", chicken, “rice”, dried egg product, “”dried beet pulp”" (sugar removed), natural chicken flavors, “”wheat gluten”", anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), “dried brewers yeast”, potassium chloride, sodium silico aluminate, flax seed, “salt”, fructo-oligosaccharides, choline chloride, L-lysine, taurine, “”salmon meal”", “dried brewers yeast extract” (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, niacin supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2) supplement, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, zinc proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of Vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract.
corn gluten meal IS AS BAD AS IT GETS AND IT IS the 3rd ingredient. A study at Purdue University says chicken fat in the 1st 5 ingredients can cause bloat. I don’t know about that, but they did the study. dried beet pulp is terrible and is in the food only to harden the stools and to me this is saying they know they make a bad dog food. wheat gluten, come on this is terrible for a dog. salmon meal, I would bet anything this has ethoyquin in it. Why so much salt?? Sodium everywhere. Their is other ingredients I do not like in this food, but if this what you are going to recomend I would never recomend you as a vet to anyone.
Good luck with your studies and please look hard at whats in dog food. Here is a list of what I like and yes their are more.
The A list
1. Orijen
2. Evo
3. Horizon Legacy
4. Acana
5. Innova
6. Wellness Core
7. Blue Wilderness
8. Taste of the Wild, wetlands & Prairie only
9. Fromm
10. Go, free endurance, chicken & Salmon only
The good price list
1. TOTW
2. California Natural
3. Health Wise
4. Kirkland, Costco
The B list
1. California Natural
2. Instinct
3. Evanders
4. Wellness
5. Timberwolf
6. Artemis
7. Solidgold
8. Canidae
9. Prairie
10. Karma
11. Health Wise
bec,
RC is premium priced, not a premium food. for what they charge there are truly premium kibbles available.
ask RC what percentage of their kibble is meat product. they likely will not divulge this as it is certain to pale in comparison to many much higher quality kibbles (or they will hide behing the “proprietary information” veil.
Champion and Natura will provide this information because they are happy to let their customers know they make a meat based kibble.
Dear Derek,
RC is an AAFCO endorsed ‘premuim’ food, as is Natura (I do not know anything about Champion). What criteria do you believe identifies a pet food as a ‘truly premium kibble’ then?
I know it is difficult to appreciate but while it important to select for foods that are primarily meat based, it is not all about quantity. Quality (amino acid profile) of the protein source is also essential – especially for dogs and cats who are monogastric (have 1 stomach) and so need to obtain all of the essential amino acids required for normal bodily function from their food.
Digestibility is another important factor under consideration when selecting ingredients for pet food, there’s no point incorporating a whole load of meat if it is included with other ingredients that decrease the digestibility of that meat or if it’s digestibility is decreased by the method of processing used to create that pet food.
Finally it’s the Dry Matter weight/proportion of the meat used in the food that is key to what final percentage of the food is actually meat protein – by law, manufacturers must list ingredients as a percentage of the food by precooked weight so ‘fresh lamb 35%’ for example may be a precooked weight of 35% but after processing (ie. dehydration to make kibble, animal muscle cells are ~60% water) the actual percentage of lamb in that food may have been reduced to only 15%. So when ‘fresh lamb’ is first on the list of ingredients, it will be the greatest proportion of the food when fresh (60% water) but when dehydrated/processed is may represent a proportion of dry matter content less than the ingredients listed further down the list.
So when processed into kibble ‘fresh lamb’ may be only 15% of the kibble (when listed as 35% fresh weight proportion) while ‘barley’ that may be 4th on the list of ingredients and allocated 20% of the fresh food proportion (approximately 10% water) after dehydration may represent 18% of the kibble, so there could be more barley dry matter in that kibble than lamb, you just don’t know. Natura for example are happy to provide that information to you because legally they must divulge the fresh weight/proportion and don’t need to make comment on the dry matter proportion. I’m not saying that they don’t put a higher percentage of meat in their foods than many other manufacturers, I’m just saying that you can’t assume that RC has a lower percentage of meat in their kibble compared to Natura based on the information on the package/website because of the legal requirements of how that information is divulged.
For the record I do not feed my dog RC, Eukanuba or Hills although I am a vet student / vet nurse and I do not mean to cause offense by this debate. I find it very interesting to see consumer opinions of pet food as there are many brands on the market and it is good to know what people like and do not like.
First of all, way to regurgitate most of that off the Royal Canin website.
Second, EVERY dog food must meet AAFCO standards. Yes, there is a difference between meeting the standard and actually doing the feeding trial, which I get, and many may not…..BUT, the feeding trial is bogus because there isn’t a single company the does the trial long enough to actually see the effects. Who actually governs over AAFCO?
As a vet student that you are, you would also know the many dog foods include synthetic vitamines or vitamine/mineral supplements that are so low of an inclusion that the dog would have to eat half the bag to achieve any benefit.
EVERY kibble should be supplemented with a whole foods supplement or at the very least, a digestive enzyme. Regardles of how great your kibble is (and I feed only Orijen, Acana or Evo products for my kibbles) it is still not natural for a K9 to eat and digest this.
You are correct in saying that we do not actually know how much meat is actually in the kibble. It’s unfortunate, AAFCO has standards, but their standards aren’t really high enough. For kibbles with grains, it is harder to figure, but grainless foods with higher fat percentages and higher calories, tend to lead you to believe of a higher meat base.
I’m not sure if we are debate Royal Canin or not, but they include corn gluten meal, soy oil and brewers yeast in their formulas. Royal Canin is not cheap….In my opinion, if you are willing to spend the money on RC, I’d take a look at Orijen, Acana, and Evo. If money is no objen, I’d feed raw or Honest Kitchen.
Dear Eric,
The information I have written above about fresh lamb dry matter content was extrapolated from my nutrition lecture on companion animal feeding which may or may not have been taken from RC by my lecturer. Wherever it is from, they have a point if you agree that we don’t actually know how much meat is in the kibble.
AAFCO oversees the feeding trials and the statement on the bag should read “Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that [product name] provides complete and balanced nutriton for [specific life stage]” if at least 8 healthy adult dogs of the specified age group are fed the diet solely for a minimum of 26 weeks, checked by a vet at the beginning and end, and observed weekly for daily food intake, general health and wellbeing (blood work also perfomed at the beginning and end) are fit, healthy and happy at the end of the trial.
Synthetic sources of vitamins and minerals have been formulated to be more available to the animal than natural sources and are included at very small quantities because they are only required in very small amounts because they are so readily available, and so as to minimise waste (they will be urinated out if unused) and minimise the chance of toxicity. Digestive enzymes promote digestibility of ingredients and make the energy and nutrients more available to the animal. While I agree that is it not natural for our pets to be consuming synthetic ingredients, they are domestic not wild and everything else about their lives with humans is hardly natural so why is it so much of an issue for owners to feed them synthetic vitamins and minerals? We eat synthetic ingredients in most processed foods we consume.
I have comments to make on the rest of your post and Jess’s last post but I don’t have time at the moment. Will come back later. Thanks for everyone’s feedback.
Bec, the garbage foods in the grocery store meet AAFCO standards. you are writing as though meeting those standards make a food stand up to some level of scrutiny. AAFCO standards are laughable….foods like Orijen, Acana, EVO, etc..go so far beyond those standards. i am talking about meat % in the final product, after cooking. that is why named meat meals must be used, as no manufacturer could use enough raw chicken, turkey, etc…to cause there to be any significant amount in the finished product after the cooking (they could, but they would charge us $150 per bag).
again, other quality manufacturer will give information regarding meat content in the finished product. RC wont, and im certain their isnt much.
RC is more concerned with “MARKETING” to the unsuspecting by making “breed specific kibbles”, putting a nice picture of that breed on a bag so the consumer gets bamboozled into thinking that food must be something really special for their..GSD, Poosle, Boxer, etc…instead consumers should look for a food with good meat content and quality ingredients as well as a manufacturer that runs their own facility and makes their own food.
Bec,
hopefully once you become a vet, you will no lomnger be regurgitating the information being fed to you by some of these companies and you will spend some time researching and keepin up with what foods are widely available on the market.
then, you wont just be another vet who pushes foods like SD, RC, Eukanuba, Purina, etc….you will be able to tell customers about all the wonderful, TRULY premium foods (not foods that say “premium” because AAFCO says they can)that are available on the marketplace, foods with high levels of meat content (for example, many of the grainless foods on the market).
Hi Bec,
See, that AAFCO trial is laughable at best. 8 dogs in 26 six weeks, hardly seems like a study. It sounds more like a weekend co-ed project. I understand that we have to have standards, but their standards are so sub-par…someone needs to come in and govern over AAFCO or reorganize what is standard AND how a feeding trial is done. In 26 weeks, the seasons have changed, activity levels have changed, ailments have arised, different stress situations have come into play…..you get the picture. And 8 dogs? That’s like me and two of my neighbors. And where are the studies performed? In the dogs normal, comfortable environment? Or in some lab? Some low grade kennel? Are these dogs loved? Are they kennel dogs, looking for a home? I have weimaraners, were the studies performed on shiz-tzu’s?
I also agree that synthetics are more readily available, but that doesn’t make them better. And yes, over supplemented, the dog will excrete what is not used, but I’ve read plenty research papers on toxicity to understand that it is natural for dogs, and humans for that matter, to excrete any unused vitamins and minerals without toxic issues. The levels at which toxicity would come into play, the animal would have to consume extreme levels, over and above the daily dosage during sequential feedings. The chance of this happening? Highly unlikely. You have a better chance of running into HOD first…..which is usually mis-diganosed.
I understand that we have domesticated our dogs, but they are still carnivors. Domesticating is behavior, not how they eat. We has humans, should not be eating the processed foods that we eat….but we eat them anyway. So if we eat them, then they are good enough for our pets as well….right? Well, I don’t believe it is right, but it is what we feed, because everyone says so. A natural diet of raw meat and meaty bones is more species appropriate than dry kibble. Kibble has come a long way though, but it is still not natural. It’s McDonalds for dogs…..conveinient, just like for us. You gain nutrition, but lets be real, McDonalds for humans isn’t really species appropriate now is it? It’s not the best nutrition you could feed. A home cooked meal with chickens in your back yard, vegetables picked from your own garden, made with love by mom….now that is species appropriate for humans. But let’s be real, who today has time for meals like that? Maybe once…twice a week, if you are lucky. Yet we should be eating that way 3 times a day. Kibble is conveinient….that’s it. Orijen is the best kibble they have come up with thus far. But it’s still not natural, yet I eat McDonalds so my dogs eat kibble.
I see and understand your debate on domestication, but I think you are confusing domestication (the change in behavior of a species) with what the species should be eating. And as someone who should understand nutrition, processed anything and synthetic anything is not appropriate for any species on this planet.
I hope you realize that I’m not attacking you, but enjoying this debate. Thus far, I understand your points, but I don’t agree with all of them. I think it is clear on the parts both of us agree upon.
Ingredient
Maize, dehydrated Poultry meat, Maize product, Vegetable protein Isolate, Animal fat. This is the RC ingredients in India. Explain this Bec, If there is valid reason for these Ingredients then I(we) shall accept RC is really committed to pet foods. Every dog food brands point of view is money, but it should not be on the Illness and negative health on dogs.
Hey Bec
Here is a link to what I feel is one of the better dog food sites on the net. A lot of great information, that isn’t just someones opinion. Look on the left side and there are lots more info.
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients
Oh I do agree with you. You have to take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt, but if you read the same thing over and over again it is most likely true. And I really believe the list in the link above is 100% acurate, I just feel they left some unneeded stuff out. Such as apples and tomatoes, I feel they aren’t needed in a dogs diet. Now that would just be my opinion and is far from being a fact.
It’s kinda sad your lecturer is quoting quotes off of dog food manufactures sites. That really tells me something about your professor/lecturer. Seems they are just quoting the INTERNET, LOL. If you want to read some really BIG lies by a dog manufacture go to abady dog food, they say and I quote “that their dog food can cure hip dysplasia”. Now I am pretty certain you being a vet student you have some knowlege in that field. My point is you really can’t believe anything these manufactures say. I feed Orijen, can I believe they actually have 70% meat in their food like they say??? Humm, I really am not certain. but at least they have alot because the ingredient list is so full of meats.
Dear Shan,
Maize is corn – corn is a good source of fibre (hulls) that maintains large intestinal microbial flora, minimises gas production and keeps faeces firm – and is a high energy carbohydrate with high vegetable protein value (starch component) however is a potential allergen for dogs with food sensitivities. Dehydrated poultry meat is similar to poultry meal (90% dry matter) but unground, likely sourced from more poultry species than just chicken, contains only skin and muscle meat, no bones. I do not know what ‘maize product’ is, I suggest you contact RC for that information. Vegetable protein isolate is vegetables processed to isolate the protein component (amino acids) and make it readily available to the pet’s digestive tract – vegetable and animal proteins have very different amino acid profiles so it is important that both are incorporated to attain the appropriate mix of essential amino acids for the dog/cat. Often vegetables are incorporated in pet foods but the majority of their nutritional value is trapped within their outer ‘shell’, for example like a pea. Isolating them makes those proteins easily and readily available in the dog/cat’s small intestine for absorption and utilisation. Animal fat is fat taken from non-specific animal sources, fat is a high energy nutrient almost always incorporated in all processed pet foods to increase energy density.
Those are the reasons I have been taught as to why those ingredients are incorporated into RC foods. Questionable that the first ingredient listed is maize which is then split into maize and ‘maize product’ (ingredients splitting), however the first 3 ingredients listed are good sources of protein (discounting the maize product) – 1 cereal, 1 meat and 1 vegetable source of protein. They have not included other cereals such as oats, barley, wheat etc. just the maize which is the ‘best’ allround cereal grain (for the high energy and protein content compared to other grains) as long as the animal it is fed to is not food intolerant.
I agree that every manufacturer has their valid reasons for selecting particular ingredients and do so for the merits of those ingredients. The only thing I would be investigating in the above mentioned ingredients is the ‘maize product’ and the actual final percentage of total maize on a dry matter basis – both questions you can pose to RC directly. I have met many animals on RC and they all appear happy and healthy to me, and in my 5+ years as a veterinary nurse I have heard few complaints about RC as a brand (usually food hypersensitivity/intolerance based) and many good things. I doubt they would intentionally cause illness or negative health to pets as they are the market for their product, however they are a business like every other business and their aims incorporate keeping production costs low and charging plenty of money for what they produce.
From what has been discussed above it appears as though if you would prefer a ‘natural’ diet Orijen, EVO, Acana etc are they way to go. Though I do not condemn RC for utilising cheap, readily available ingredients as long as their use is of appropriate nutritional value and not harmful to the pet.
Dear Derek,
I am doing my research on alternative pet foods to what we get given as examples in class as we speak. Everyone here has been great helping me sort out my views on manufacturers and ingredienst etc and consumer views also. Unfortunately Innova and California Natural are the only brands on the list Jess has given that I have seen in Western Australia (in a few small pet store, not in the huge franchise pet stores) and I have lived here for 22 years, so this is likely one of the reasons they are not discussed in our veterinary programme at Murdoch. I am completely open to suggestion though and have not even settled on a manufactured pet food for my pride and joy (1.5yo golden retriever with mild atopic dermatitis) who is on human grade turkey breast mince and sweet potato + supplements, so do not be concerned that I will purely regurgitate to my clients what I have been taught at uni.
Also, for the record – AAFCO is regulated by the NRC (national research council) who’s nutritional minimum requirement tables I’m fairly sure all pet food manufacturers use to measure their products against.
Would love to stay and continue responding to messages but uni is calling. Back later.
Bec,
Great write up on you answer to Shan.
What kind of products are you able to obtain in Australia?
One of my favs, but I don’t know if you have it or can get it, is Honest Kitchen. It is a dehydrated raw that is FDA inspected not AAFCO. My vet has pushed Science Diet and Iams until I turned him on to Honest Kitchen. Now he feeds it to his own cats.
Royal Canin, along with Science Diet, is the most overpriced rip-off on the market. It is apparent that they spend more money on the fancy packaging, with the picture of each breed, than they do on what they put inside the bag. There is absolutely no reason to have a different food for each breed of dog. It is the biggest marketing gimmick around and it is astounding that so many people fall for it. Its certainly not the worst food on the market, but when you buy Pedigree, you know that you are buying the lowest priced food on the market and you don’t expect anything better. When you pay the prices Royal Canin charges you expect to get something better and Royal Canin costs as much as real quality foods (Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux, AvoDerm, Pinnacle, Dogswell etc.) Why, why, why would anyone pay the prices Royal Canin charges when they can get real quality for the same price?????
Well, working at a large pet food retail store, and after doing a lot of research and listening to countless pet food companies come in and pitch thier food I can tell you RC is not a bad food. The do more research than all other pet food brand combined to see what is good for a dog and what is not good for a dog. But most importantly to me is the customer reponse. I have made suggestions for tons of different dogs with different types of food including Blue Buffalo, Bil Jac, RC, Castor and Pollux, amongst a few others, and about 90% of the people I suggest go on the RC for whatever reason they come back and thank me, and then they tell a friend about it. The internet is fully of opinions, but when i see in real life how happy customers are when they dinally find a food thier dogs likes, and that in the long run it saves them money i know its a good food. I also personally use this food. I started off on Pedigree because it was what i had always fed my dogs growing up and knew nothing more about foods. When i started at my job i switched to NutroMax. A decent entry level premium food, and i saw good benefits, so i moved up to Nutro Natural Choice, saw some improvement in skin and coat, so i went to Ultra. Loved it my dog was happy, nice firm stool, active shiney all i could ask for. Then one day she just stopped eating it. I had to change wend to RC and havent looked back. She is still all of the above, and more. She eats far less which saves me money and is the picture of health. Never loses or gains weight. If this was such a horrible food, it wouldnt be on the market. The key thing to remember is that just because a dog food is working for one dog it might not work for the next. Otherwise there would just be 1 dog food. Research has shown that this is not the case. I always tell my customers if your dog is doing well on the food its on and you are happy stick with it. Even if they are looking at going from a food that costs $25 a bag to something closer to $45 a bag.
You should quit because you have no clue about dog food. OL ROY is no DOUBT, “THE WORST” dog food made today. RC is down right terrible and you have the eduction of a 3rd grader. NutroMax and Ultra and extremely LOW grade dog foods… AND YOU ARE GIVING RECOMMENDATIONS OUT ABOUT DOG FOOD??? Geez, that’s like putting a private in charge of the entire military of the USA.
Hey Jess,
I have to say since I put my Boxer on RC he has been doing phenomenal!!! No more runny stool, skin problems, excesive licking etc… I also can confirm that several champion breeders in my area that have BIS & BIG Boxers on RC from the begining. I have had my Boxer on everything from the raw natural organic food crap being marketed now as EXCEPTIONAL (NOTTTT!) to $75.00 bags of Innova to some other “Natural Dog Foods” gimmick crap. Bottom line. RC stopped all symptoms, period. Why such animosity against RC? If it works for your dog, and they’re healthy, then you should be better off. what’s the argument about? No one dog food is the end all cure all for all dogs.
Read the ingredient list !!!!!!!!! That is what I have against it. Lets take a look
Chicken and chicken meal is fine, brewers rice is a super low grade of rice/grain, Corn gluten meal is the lowest of lows when it comes to corn BUT CORN CAN NOT be digest by dogs and causes all types of issues with dogs from allergies to ear and skin issues. Dried brewers yeast has no business in a dogs diet, none zero. The salmon oil and salmon meal contains eythoxyuin, banned in human food. Soya oil is soybean oil and it is almost toxic to dogs and causes numerous issues with dogs, once again from eye problems to allergies. Salt should not be in a dogs food period and the only reason it is there is to make it taste better to the dog. Sodium selenite is just more salt. Citric acid is almost funny being in a dogs food, because it is so bad for them. Most of the nutrients and vitys they add are super low grade. Don’t believe me? Go do some research and here is a beginning.
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients
Chicken, brewers rice, chicken meal, brown rice, corn gluten meal, oatmeal, chicken fat, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), dried brewers yeast, salmon oil, soya oil, potassium chloride, salt, flaxseed, DL-methionine, choline chloride, sodium tripolyphosphate, Vitamins [dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C*), biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), folic acid], salmon meal, dried egg powder, magnesium oxide, Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate], marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), L-carnitine, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, and citric acid.