# Best dog food (without china ingredients)



## rockysdad

Which is the best in your opinion?

Notify me and everyone if i listed a brand that includes china ingredients, thats a big no-no...

Also let me know if I may a great brand (that is common enough to buy in stores or online like amazon/petco)


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## kathylcsw

I feed my dogs a raw diet but I got Earthborn Primitive Natural for my cats and they LOVE it! It looks like a great company that is also socially responsible so I can't imagine they they would use Chinese ingredients. I have to order it from Amazon. I know that people who feed kibble on here recommend it a lot for dogs as well.


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## Javadoo

Without question-Fromm.
But I am a rotation feeder and I also feed Earthborn Holistics and Acana.
Fromm is my favorite though.


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## kaliberknl

Wellpet uses vitamin C and taurine from China.


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## MollyWoppy

I feed Windy Orijen and Fromm. I'd also feed Acana and Earthborn but I can't find it round here.


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## Sheltielover25

kaliberknl said:


> Wellpet uses vitamin C and taurine from China.


You beat me to it! Yeah, if you want a food that doesn't use anything Chinese ingredients, Wellness is not the one.


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## whiteleo

I feed raw to my own dogs but have fed Acana grasslands to all my B.T. fosters and they have all done amazing on it. Acana and Orijen are made by Champion and the reason I do the Acana is because I have never had an issue transitioning a dog to it from mostly grocery store dog food. If i did that with the Orijen they would have immediate nasty poo as it was more protein then they could handle. Both are great foods but I prefer the lower protein level of the Acana


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## Little Brown Jug

NV Instinct gets their rabbits from China. At least that's what I was told a couple of years ago by a rep because North America doesn't have ample supply or something along those lines. Not sure if they still do or not.


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## meggels

I thought they got them from France now lol


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## Little Brown Jug

No clue Meg. Just what I was told a couple of years ago, not sure if they still do or not. I think back then he mentioned something about their venison as well but I can't remember what it was.


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## meggels

Yeah I think they used to be from China but in the past year or two switched to France? Not totally sure though, I can't keep up with ALL the dog food companies LOL


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## Sheltielover25

kathylcsw said:


> I feed my dogs a raw diet but I got Earthborn Primitive Natural for my cats and they LOVE it! It looks like a great company that is also socially responsible so I can't imagine they they would use Chinese ingredients. I have to order it from Amazon. I know that people who feed kibble on here recommend it a lot for dogs as well.


This is was the reply I got from Earthborn when questioning them about Chinese Vitamins:

"Certain subparts of the vitamin premixes are only available overseas. Our US supplier assures us that they make every effort to source from reputable non-Chinese vendors. All these ingredients are thoroughly tested and undergo many quality checks to insure safety and that specifications are meet. But even with these checks in place, it is difficult if not impossible to say that some subpart of some vitamin ingredient may originate in China." 

So when they say it's basically impossible to know if a subpart didn't come from China, how is Orijen or Acana, for example, able to say with certainty nothing comes from China? Thoughts on this?


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## whiteleo

Sheltielover25 said:


> This is was the reply I got from Earthborn when questioning them about Chinese Vitamins:
> 
> "Certain subparts of the vitamin premixes are only available overseas. Our US supplier assures us that they make every effort to source from reputable non-Chinese vendors. All these ingredients are thoroughly tested and undergo many quality checks to insure safety and that specifications are meet. But even with these checks in place, it is difficult if not impossible to say that some subpart of some vitamin ingredient may originate in China."
> 
> So when they say it's basically impossible to know if a subpart didn't come from China, how is Orijen or Acana, for example, able to say with certainty nothing comes from China? Thoughts on this?


Maybe they actually follow it from start to finish...


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## xellil

Sheltielover25 said:


> This is was the reply I got from Earthborn when questioning them about Chinese Vitamins:
> 
> "Certain subparts of the vitamin premixes are only available overseas. Our US supplier assures us that they make every effort to source from reputable non-Chinese vendors. All these ingredients are thoroughly tested and undergo many quality checks to insure safety and that specifications are meet. But even with these checks in place, it is difficult if not impossible to say that some subpart of some vitamin ingredient may originate in China."
> 
> So when they say it's basically impossible to know if a subpart didn't come from China, how is Orijen or Acana, for example, able to say with certainty nothing comes from China? Thoughts on this?


Pretty scary when a dog food company has no real idea where the ingredients come from.

It's also why alot of stuff IN dog food doesn't turn up on the ingredients list. If they get fish (from somewhere) it could have ethoxyquin in it, which is horrible stuff. Since THEY did not put the ethoxyquin in the fish, they list it on the ingredients label as "fish." All perfectly legal, and the consumer has no idea there is something very bad in the dog food.


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## chowder

I can't really say what one 'best dog food' is because what is best for one dog is not best for another. My dogs just don't do well on Orijen, NV or GO, although it is a good food. Some of the ingredients don't agree with Rocky and they actually would make Chelsy horrendously ill when she was alive (although Shade thrived on Orijen). Evo was great for all of them because it had less of the botanicals and fruits then the others. You have to go by the individual dog. I don't like foods with a lot of fruits, vegies, and botanicals in them. I just don't think they are needed. 

Of those, I would pick Evo or Orijen or Acana only.


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## greyshadows

I like all the Acana varieties and my dogs do very well on them. Ironically, my dogs don't do well on Orijen...


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## rockysdad

Since rocky is less active now due to dm issues, would you guys recommend more or less protein?

More protein- orijen
Less protein- acana

Is that correct?

Thanks!! So far looks to be very close between orijen and acana, are they made from the same companies or somehow related? Theyre packaging and prices seem very similar....


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## whiteleo

rockysdad said:


> Since rocky is less active now due to dm issues, would you guys recommend more or less protein?
> 
> More protein- orijen
> Less protein- acana
> 
> Is that correct?
> 
> Thanks!! So far looks to be very close between orijen and acana, are they made from the same companies or somehow related? Theyre packaging and prices seem very similar....


I had posted that they are both made by Championpet foods...If your dog is less active i would go with less protein.


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## kaliberknl

I believe the diabetes dog list suggests Orijen b/c of the low glycemic index. More of a higher quality protein is important for both sick and old dogs. High fat may be more of a challenge for a dog with a pancreatic problem. Best wishes!


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## InkedMarie

Javadoo said:


> Without question-Fromm.
> But I am a rotation feeder and I also feed Earthborn Holistics and Acana.
> Fromm is my favorite though.


Which Fromm do you use?


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## Javadoo

InkedMarie said:


> Which Fromm do you use?


I rotate all 4 Fromm grain free formulas-Beef Frittata, Surf & Turf, Salmon Tunalini & Gamebird.


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## InkedMarie

Javadoo said:


> I rotate all 4 Fromm grain free formulas-Beef Frittata, Surf & Turf, Salmon Tunalini & Gamebird.


Thank you!


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## Javadoo

InkedMarie said:


> Thank you!


You're welcome!!
I love Fromm as a company and my girls do wonderful on their foods. 
If I had to feed a food from just one company, it would be Fromm.


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## InkedMarie

Javadoo said:


> You're welcome!!
> I love Fromm as a company and my girls do wonderful on their foods.
> If I had to feed a food from just one company, it would be Fromm.


One very local store carries Fromm, the gold and the 4 star but very limited amounts of each but they can order for me weekly. Where in New England are you? I'm in NH, right near the heart of this weeks Bike Week in Laconia!


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## Javadoo

InkedMarie said:


> One very local store carries Fromm, the gold and the 4 star but very limited amounts of each but they can order for me weekly. Where in New England are you? I'm in NH, right near the heart of this weeks Bike Week in Laconia!


I am in North central MA, right on the southern NH border....Brookline, Mason, etc.
You must be having a blast up there...do you have to wear ear plugs all week?


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## InkedMarie

Javadoo said:


> I am in North central MA, right on the southern NH border....Brookline, Mason, etc.
> You must be having a blast up there...do you have to wear ear plugs all week?


I'm partially deaf so no, I don't wear ear plugs for bike week but i should have a couple weeks ago when I was front row for a concert at the Meadowbrook. I seriously had ringing in my ears for three days and everyone sounded like Alvin and the chipmunks!


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## PDXdogmom

Champion Petfoods (Orijen and Acana) say they use no ingredients from China. But they will not say where their vitamin pre-mixes come from. Try contacting them about it and see if you get a direct answer - they haven't said in the past. If the vitamins came from Thailand (which has a huge pet food vitamin premix company) would people feel entirely OK about that?

I did not answer the poll. "best" is hard to define - depends what you are looking for in a dog food.


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## kaliberknl

I thought I found a web page a few months ago which listed country of origin for all of Champion products and nothing including vitamins came from China. Since, I have tried to relocate that web page but their site is rather disorganized and difficult to follow! PDX, you've tried to contact them?


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## Sheltielover25

PDXdogmom said:


> Champion Petfoods (Orijen and Acana) say they use no ingredients from China. But they will not say where their vitamin pre-mixes come from. Try contacting them about it and see if you get a direct answer - they haven't said in the past. If the vitamins came from Thailand (which has a huge pet food vitamin premix company) would people feel entirely OK about that?
> 
> I did not answer the poll. "best" is hard to define - depends what you are looking for in a dog food.


Yes! I'd feel more comfortable buying ingredients from Thailand than I would the USA most of the time. I researched this and after discovering almost all of Thailand's economy depends on exporting things of this nature, they have very strict codes/tests that they go through. Thailand is a wonderful country and I'd stand behind their products. Never could find anything being recalled that came from Thailand and had to do with food.


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## xellil

this is from the Champion website:



> There are no ingredients from China used in the preparation of our dog and cat food formulas, including vitamins — we are 100% China-free.


Champion Petfoods | F.A.Q


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## kaliberknl

China owns many companies in Thailand. The only Asian country I knowingly buy consumable goods from is Nepal because my dogs love the yak chews and I "think" they are safe. Australia posts a list of rejected imports, where they originated, how many and why. I'll see if I can find it for you because I don't think Thailand fared much better than China.


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## DaViking

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/portal/# Knock yourself out with rejected products from Thailand. Arsenic, mercury, salmonella, the list is as long as a bad year. At the end of the day non of these countries provide the same level of trust as most western countries does, and even then you can be taken for a ride. Personally I don't have any big issues with vitamin premixes from asia. It's not a product where it makes sense to conduct any "monkey business" and dangerous material is easily identified before anything reaches production. A vitamin premix is nothing like meats, fats, carbs or major functional ingredients from China. The risk of shortcuts is way higher with macro nutrients.


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## PDXdogmom

xellil said:


> this is from the Champion website:
> 
> 
> 
> Champion Petfoods | F.A.Q


Well yes, Champion has said they have China-free ingredients for some time; but I haven't seen anywhere that lists where their vitamins come from. A friend e-mailed them about half a year ago asking the vitamin source and the response kind of talked around the question with no real answers. I've also read posters on other forums not being able to find a clear answer either.

As far as vitamins in general, personally I wouldn't base my choice of food on that one issue primarily. There's a lot of other things I look at first.


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## kaliberknl

DaViking said:


> https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/portal/# . It's not a product where it makes sense to conduct any "monkey business" and dangerous material is easily identified before anything reaches production...


Adding melamine made no sense to me either.


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## Javadoo

InkedMarie said:


> I'm partially deaf so no, I don't wear ear plugs for bike week but i should have a couple weeks ago when I was front row for a concert at the Meadowbrook. I seriously had ringing in my ears for three days and everyone sounded like Alvin and the chipmunks!


I saw 3 Doors Down at Meadowbrook last summer!


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## InkedMarie

Javadoo said:


> I saw 3 Doors Down at Meadowbrook last summer!


I live less than 15min away! This show was the Country Throwdown Tour. First show I've been to there with the speakers on the floor, we had front row. Holy moley, LOUD and boom boom for sure!


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## DaViking

kaliberknl said:


> Adding melamine made no sense to me either.


The contaminated ingredients was wheat gluten, rice protein and corn gluten. All major feed ingredients manufactured and stored in a different way where the potential for adulteration is much higher, intentional or not. Synthetic vitamin premixes are chemically controlled and verified many times before it ends up in human tablets, fortified foods or pet food. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see as much local/national short traveled products as possible but my fear of meats, fats and plant products from China is much much higher than pure vitamin premixes. At least with the knowledge I have today.


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## rockysdad

Thanks for all the info guys.

I noticed Orijen and Acana do not offer canned foods.

I'm currently feeding Rocky Wellness Stew canned foods, would you guys recommend anything better?

I plan on feeding him Orijen dry food in the morning and a can of wet food at night


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## Javadoo

rockysdad said:


> Thanks for all the info guys.
> 
> I noticed Orijen and Acana do not offer canned foods.
> 
> I'm currently feeding Rocky Wellness Stew canned foods, would you guys recommend anything better?
> 
> I plan on feeding him Orijen dry food in the morning and a can of wet food at night


Wellness 95% canned foods or EVO 95% canned foods.


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## Deaf Dogs

I like Merrick canned foods, both the BG and the 5 Star Entrees. I also like the Addiction canned foods. I dont feed Evo or Wellness since they were bought by... CRAP I cant remember who bought them... Mars? I cant remember. All I know is the staff at Global told me they wont be carrying it anymore due to this buy out. That was more than a year ago, I think. Anyway, I wont feed those brands. Just as I will never feed a Diamond made product again, either.

No Champion does not make canned food. Apparently they would need a completely separate plant to start making canned, or farm it out to another canned food factory, which they're unwilling to do.


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## Javadoo

Deaf Dogs said:


> I like Merrick canned foods, both the BG and the 5 Star Entrees. I also like the Addiction canned foods. I dont feed Evo or Wellness since they were bought by... CRAP I cant remember who bought them... Mars? I cant remember. All I know is the staff at Global told me they wont be carrying it anymore due to this buy out. That was more than a year ago, I think. Anyway, I wont feed those brands. Just as I will never feed a Diamond made product again, either.
> 
> No Champion does not make canned food. Apparently they would need a completely separate plant to start making canned, or farm it out to another canned food factory, which they're unwilling to do.


P & G.
I won't buy Merrick because of recalls.


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## Deaf Dogs

I thought Merrick bought P&G not the other way around?

eta Sorry, I got confused, they bought C&P LOL


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## Deaf Dogs

The only recalls I could find were for treats last year due to salmonella. That's not severe enough for me to be concerned, not like Diamond, with several serious recalls of most of their brands.


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## InkedMarie

Deaf Dogs said:


> I thought Merrick bought P&G not the other way around?
> 
> eta Sorry, I got confused, they bought C&P LOL


I thought Merrick & Castor and Pollux merged?


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## rockysdad

haha so im confused, which one should I pick? Merrick, Wellness or Evo? Seems all 3 of those brands have had recall issues from their companies

Any other brands to consider?


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## kathylcsw

Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural


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## BearMurphy

i'm not sure you can get away from vitamins (especially vit C) being from china at some point in the supply chain from what I've heard. i'm actually surprised at champion's wording. I would think they would not source from or import directly from china, but to say nothing at all is from china is almost impossible this day in age. i wonder how they circumvent that when human grade vitamins can't? i don't see vitC in their ingredient list so maybe that's how?


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## whiteleo

rockysdad said:


> haha so im confused, which one should I pick? Merrick, Wellness or Evo? Seems all 3 of those brands have had recall issues from their companies
> 
> Any other brands to consider?


I personally feed my fosters Acana grasslands but when I feel like they need an add on to their kibble (since I have 3 freezers full of raw meat for my own dogs) I will cook up some meat and add it to their meal. Better than anything you can buy canned...


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## kaliberknl

Here is a link to a blog written by a woman who owns a pet food store and has researched the subject of hidden Chinese ingredients: Midas Touch Naturally Healthy Pets, llc - see the Saturday April 7, 2012 entry


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## kaliberknl

She posts the following: "_The food I have removed from our shelves because they include ingredients from China are:

Taste of The Wild
NutriSource
Weruva
BFF
Nature's Variety (kibble and cans)
By Nature
Now
Go
Sojos grain-free varieties (the Sojos Original does not include China sourced ingredients)"
_


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## kaliberknl

Followed by: "_The companies whose food remains on our shelves because they have assured me there are no ingredients from China:

Nature's Logic
Merrick
Before Grain
Acana
Orijen
Verus
Stella & Chewy's
OC Raw Dog
Primal
Bravo
The Honest Kitchen
Rad Cat
Aunt Jeni's
Vital Essentials
Horizon Legacy
Ziwi Peak
Dr. Harvey's
Sojos - original formula "_


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## Javadoo

rockysdad said:


> haha so im confused, which one should I pick? Merrick, Wellness or Evo? Seems all 3 of those brands have had recall issues from their companies
> 
> Any other brands to consider?


Earthborn Holistics
Nutrisource
Fromm*** (this would be my first choice)

I rotate both Fromm and Earthborn Holistics.
VERY happy with both.
Small, family owned companies. Never had a recall of any kind.


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## kaliberknl

Fromm is the only one that I think is China free. Earthborn has stated they use Chinese premixes and Midas Touch says Nutrisource also uses them.


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## PDXdogmom

This is a 5 year old article from the Seattle Times, but what is said is probably even more true today. It's very difficult for humans even to escape a China made ingredient if they take any vitamins or meds at all. I just don't see making the vitamin pre-mix a major component for choosing a dog food. There are so many other factors that rise above it IMO

Nation & World | China corners vitamin market | Seattle Times Newspaper


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## DaViking

PDXdogmom said:


> This is a 5 year old article from the Seattle Times, but what is said is probably even more true today. It's very difficult for humans even to escape a China made ingredient if they take any vitamins or meds at all. I just don't see making the vitamin pre-mix a major component for choosing a dog food. There are so many other factors that rise above it IMO
> 
> Nation & World | China corners vitamin market | Seattle Times Newspaper


Second that.
Even if a manufacturer buy pre-mixes from say Mexico, the Mexican plant/company is probably a China customer.


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## kaliberknl

It is a big deal for those of us who have seen dog die from Chinese melamine :-(


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## rockysdad

Thanks for the input everyone.

One last question:
Rocky eats the Wellness Stews for dinner and it seems that when I feed him this, he gets alot more eye mucus and 'boogers'. Does anyone know which ingredient may be causing this? His eyes are fine when I give him just regular Wellness canned food that isnt stew.

Also I don't want to give him Angel eyes as it is antibiotics and wouldn't want him to be on antibiotics everyday.

P.S. I plan on switching him to Merrick once this batch of Wellness Stews is done. I'm just wondering which ingredients to avoid so he doesnt get this eye mucus.


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## StellaLucyDesi

rockysdad, Wellness Stews have a lot of ingredients. It would be very hard for one of us to tell you what specific ingredient causes the eye boogers. If there are any other canned foods that don't give him the eye issues compare the ingredients to the Wellness Stews and see which are in the Wellness that aren't in the other food. That's about all the suggestion I have for determining this...it could be a protein, something in the preservatives or vitamin/mineral mix, etc. Every dog is different.


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## TTs Towel

Why isn't Hill's in the poll? What about Blue Buffalo??


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## Caty M

TTs Towel said:


> Why isn't Hill's in the poll? What about Blue Buffalo??


I don't like either company. Do neither use any China ingredients? Hill's has awful ingredients and is SO overpriced for what it is (a big bag of grains). Barely any meat. Blue Buffalo has seemed kind of sketchy to me ever since they started their marketing campaigns, and I just don't trust them, they've not been very open about their recalls.


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## TTs Towel

Caty M said:


> I don't like either company. Do neither use any China ingredients? Hill's has awful ingredients and is SO overpriced for what it is (a big bag of grains). Barely any meat. Blue Buffalo has seemed kind of sketchy to me ever since they started their marketing campaigns, and I just don't trust them, they've not been very open about their recalls.


As a BB feeder, I've wondered about recalls and recent advertising. Interestingly, Hill's has never had a dogfood recall. I dont think either has ingredients from China though.


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## kaliberknl

Both BB and Wellness source vitamins from China.


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