# What kibble?



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

So Abbie has been on Natural Balance's Ultra formula and doing pretty well, but not amazing. 

I got the okay from my Mom to switch Abbie's food. She's pretty much paying the majority of my bills, though, now that I'm working at Kohl's as well as NB, I will be able to help a bit more. 


What I'm looking for:

1) Grain free/grain inclusive with good protein level
2) Protein level in the 30's
3) No fish (seems to give her diarrhea?)
4) TRUSTWORTHY COMPANY! This is becoming really important to me. 


So far, I'm thinking Acana and Earthborn Holistic's Great Plains Feast. She's never been on Acana but she did EB in the past and did AMAZING on it. 


Here's what she's on now:

Chicken, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Barley, Potatoes, Carrots, Chicken Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Duck Meal, Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Canola Oil, Brewers Yeast, Duck, Salmon Meal, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Salmon Oil, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Natural Mixed Tocopherols, Spinach, Parsley Flakes, Cranberries, L-Lysine, L-Carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid.


Crude Protein (min)23.00%
Crude Fat (min)13.00%
Moisture (max)10.00%
Crude Fiber (max)3.00%
Omega 6 Fatty Acids 3.00%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids 0.50%


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

I think Acana sounds like a great idea, the only issue is I *think* all of their formulas have fish in them. I wouldn't completely rule it out though, I'd give a small bag a try and see how she handles it. My dogs really liked the food and they looked great on it (with the exception of Finn but he didn't do well on any kibble), I would rotate the flavors but the Grasslands seemed to be a favorite.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I think most of the Fromm 4-Star formulas would fit the bill, they are especially my favorite in terms of company trustworthy and respectability. They have two grain-frees (Surf & Turf and Beef Fritta) and two new grain-frees coming in January. Their grain inclusive foods are pretty nice, too, but I think Jackson just does better on grainfree, I've discovered, so I'm waiting for the new formulas and will put Fromm back in the rotation.

Acana is definitely a favorite of mine, and Jackson's. He was on it the longest and always did really well. We just recently switched back onto it. Only thing I noticed is he drinks a lot more water while on it!

Now and Go! have new and improved old formulas, should be hitting stores any day now, that would work too in terms of all your requirements.


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## Tzubabies (Sep 27, 2011)

Fromm and Champion Pet Foods are the only two that come to mind that I trust. Right now I'm having a money crunch, so was feeding my dogs Dogswell food. I wanted to switch to another food with better ingredients and the same price point; the only food in that category was TOTW. But at the pet store I could NOT bring myself to buy it. Just knowing that it was made by Diamond and the cheap price made me wonder about the _quality_ of the ingredients and how they were processed.

I ended up getting the one food that I've narrowed down to being my favorite- Acana Grasslands. I actually like the slighty lower protein/fat in Acana and the Grasslands is exactly what I'm looking for- grain free, no chicken, not fish based. Ranchlands also fits that, but Grasslands has significantly higher Glucosamine and Chondroitin.

Meggels- the only formula of Acana I could find without fish is from the Classic line- Lamb & Apple. The protein is 27%.


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

Another vote for Fromm.
My girls are doing amazing on it. Great company, great food...fits the bill perfectly.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

If I did Fromm it would have to be the grain free, as I think it would be better for her after being on a grain inclusive food for a few months.




Funny, last night at puppy class, I noticed her coat quality has definitely decreased! She's got a ton of dandruff, it's duller, and I wanted to wash my hands after petting her all night. Just had this dusty/gross feeling on my hands. 


So I'm going to get her a grain free tonight  I might just start out with Earthborn's GPF cause she did AMAZING on that awhile ago. 


I'm thinking that since the Acana does have fish, but it's not the first ingredient, she should be okay. I will transition her slowly when I do put her on Acana. I haven't decided yet what I'm going to pick up when I get to the food store today lol. I know that when I was there on Sunday he had the chicken based one, and the beef/bison based one.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I got her EB's GPF. She has done amazing on it in the past, so we will start this for her rotation back into GF foods 

Plus, it's about $10 cheaper than Acana. But she will try Acana in the future! I like to switch her every bag or two.

Bison Meal, Peas, Pea Protein, Tapioca, Dried Egg Product, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Flaxseed, Lamb Meal, Pea Fiber, Natural Flavors, Blueberry Fiber, Cranberry Fiber, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Spinach, Cranberries, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Taurine, L-Carnitine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Salt, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Yucca Schidgera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product.


Crude Protein, not less than	34.00%
Crude Fat, not less than	18.00%
Crude Fiber, not more than	4.00%
Moisture, not more than	10.00%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids, not less than	2.60%*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids, not less than	1.90%*


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

im not a fan of gpf but if your puo has done well on it..it's definitley a good choice.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

Im confused. You switched off of dogswell due to financial reasons, but then bought grasslands? grasslands is almost 70 dollars lol.


Tzubabies said:


> Fromm and Champion Pet Foods are the only two that come to mind that I trust. Right now I'm having a money crunch, so was feeding my dogs Dogswell food. I wanted to switch to another food with better ingredients and the same price point; the only food in that category was TOTW. But at the pet store I could NOT bring myself to buy it. Just knowing that it was made by Diamond and the cheap price made me wonder about the _quality_ of the ingredients and how they were processed.
> 
> I ended up getting the one food that I've narrowed down to being my favorite- Acana Grasslands. I actually like the slighty lower protein/fat in Acana and the Grasslands is exactly what I'm looking for- grain free, no chicken, not fish based. Ranchlands also fits that, but Grasslands has significantly higher Glucosamine and Chondroitin.
> 
> Meggels- the only formula of Acana I could find without fish is from the Classic line- Lamb & Apple. The protein is 27%.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Grasslands for me is $38. 

For 15.4lbs (which is what I buy roughly each month for Abbie).


RC- I think GPF is a pretty darn good food, on par with TOTW, but from a better company.


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## Tzubabies (Sep 27, 2011)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> Im confused. You switched off of dogswell due to financial reasons, but then bought grasslands? grasslands is almost 70 dollars lol.


Yup, I was trying to save money on dog food, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I worry too much about quality of ingredients and want to buy the best food. So I decided to cut money in another area. Luckily I have 2 small dogs (less than 20 pounds between the two of them), so I can swing it.  

Meggels- what's EB's GPF?


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

how come you didnt stic with dogswell though? isnt that the same price as acana?


Tzubabies said:


> Yup, I was trying to save money on dog food, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I worry too much about quality of ingredients and want to buy the best food. So I decided to cut money in another area. Luckily I have 2 small dogs (less than 20 pounds between the two of them), so I can swing it.
> 
> Meggels- what's EB's GPF?


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

Tzubabies said:


> Meggels- what's EB's GPF?


I believe she's talking about Earthborn Great Plains Feast (grain-free bison formula).


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

yup, that's what i'm talking about lol.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

meggels said:


> I got her EB's GPF. She has done amazing on it in the past, so we will start this for her rotation back into GF foods
> 
> Plus, it's about $10 cheaper than Acana. But she will try Acana in the future! I like to switch her every bag or two.
> 
> ...


it's peas and tapaoica basically...but like i said maybe that;s what ur pup does best on! I would guess the amount of meat has to be 35-40 percent.


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## Breathing Borla (Apr 30, 2010)

I have had really good luck with EVO turkey and chicken


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> it's peas and tapaoica basically...but like i said maybe that;s what ur pup does best on! I would guess the amount of meat has to be 35-40 percent.




And, what, pray tell, is your reasoning behind that statement? Just a nice guess?


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

My only reservation about EB is their pea protein % vs meat meal. I posted a question on their FB page asking the % for cat food because I was hoping to find something to rotate with Totw for my parents cats, this is their response " Our formulation is proprietary and by giving away the percentages of our main protein sources we would be giving away the secret to our great formulas. All ingredients are required to be listed in order of predominance by weight, which means there will be a higher percentage of chicken meal than pea protein. We however cannot disclose the exact percentage"

Considering that cats are obligate carnivores, I dont like seeing plant proteins as boosters in cat food, therefore I will not purchase it. 

Have you looked at Nutrisource grain free? I'm thinking of ordering their lamb formula, its around $40 for 30 lbs, here are the ingredients:

Lamb meal, peas, salmon meal (a source of fish oil), pea starch, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), pea flour, natural flavors, tomato pomace, sunflower oil, dried egg product, potassium chloride, brewers yeast, salt, minerals (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate, selenium yeast), yeast culture (saccharomyces cerevisiae, enterococcus faecium, lactobacillus acidophilus, aspergillus niger, bacillus subtillis), choline chloride, taurine, vitamins (vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), glucosamine hydrochloride, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), chondroitin sulfate, yucca schidigera extract, calcium iodate, rosemary extract.


Grain Free Lamb Formula Dog Food


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I read something just yesterday (and dang can't find it) where if the first ingredient is a meal, that's a dry weight and it really is a major part of the food. If it's just the meat (chicken for example) that's the wet weight and the actual weight will be about 80% less, putting it much further down on the ingredient chart.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> " Our formulation is proprietary and by giving away the percentages of our main protein sources we would be giving away the secret to our great formulas. All ingredients are required to be listed in order of predominance by weight, which means there will be a higher percentage of chicken meal than pea protein. We however cannot disclose the exact percentage"


Wow, that's a REALLY crappy answer!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

thats what I thought too. While not ideal, at least with their dog food they have the primitive natural which is largely meat based, but I dont understand why they cant create a similar cat food.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

xellil said:


> I read something just yesterday (and dang can't find it) where if the first ingredient is a meal, that's a dry weight and it really is a major part of the food. If it's just the meat (chicken for example) that's the wet weight and the actual weight will be about 80% less, putting it much further down on the ingredient chart.


yes that is true....however even with meals there can be a majority of the food being plant based
eb great plains feast looks very plant based...plus it uses canola oil which is just cheap..im not saying it to offend you meggles, but i guess 35-40 percent meat...it's an educated guess.....so yes just a guess...
acana is only 60 percent meat..and there old formula was 55..you really thin eb gp feast is over 45?


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

yeah ive often wondered why they cant mae their bison formula or their fish forula top notch lie the primitive natural...probably because bison and fish are expensive..while turkey and chicken are cheap.


Unosmom said:


> thats what I thought too. While not ideal, at least with their dog food they have the primitive natural which is largely meat based, but I dont understand why they cant create a similar cat food.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I think it's got a decent amount of meat in it, similar to TOTW, which you always are a fan of. I don't think it's MOSTLY peas and tapioca. I just have a problem with you making guesses with no real logic behind them. You always recommend TOTW, and feed it yourself, but you complain about this food having never even fed it. Just doesn't make sense.


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