# What do you look for in a kibble/canned company?



## meggels (May 30, 2010)

What is important to you when you are looking for a kibble or canned diet for your dog? How much time do you put into your research? What do you think is the MOST important factor?

For me, I believe that the company itself is my first priority, as I'm really only interested in feeding foods from trustworthy companies. There are foods that Abbie does well on that wouldn't necessarily be my ideal ingredient list (Fromm's 4 Star grain inclusive line for example) but I like the company so much, I am willing to try them anyways. 

Ingredient lists are also something I look at heavily, but I don't think that can be the sole basis of a decision, as, like I just said, even sometimes, a dog will do well on a food that you may not expect based on the ingredient list.


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

For me it is a combination of the company and the ingredients/formulas they offer.
Fromm is my top food choice-I rotate all 4 of their grain free formulas and my girls do amazing on them.
I also rotate Earthborn Holistics-another great company. 80 years, no recalls. And no chicken in their grain free foods!!!


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Javadoo said:


> For me it is a combination of the company and the ingredients/formulas they offer.
> Fromm is my top food choice-I rotate all 4 of their grain free formulas and my girls do amazing on them.
> I also rotate Earthborn Holistics-another great company. 80 years, no recalls. And no chicken in their grain free foods!!!


Except for the primitive natural LOL!!!

I tried Abbie on the Fromm Gamebird once and noticed she did better on the Chicken a la Veg and Pork & Applesauce than the Gamebird.


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

meggels said:


> Except for the primitive natural LOL!!!
> 
> I tried Abbie on the Fromm Gamebird once and noticed she did better on the Chicken a la Veg and Pork & Applesauce than the Gamebird.


I don't feed the primitive natural so I'm safe there!

My girls do great on all 4 formulas. They're eating Gamebird right now, along with EH Coastal Catch and Great Plains and Fromm Salmon Tunalini.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

Javadoo said:


> I don't feed the primitive natural so I'm safe there!
> 
> My girls do great on all 4 formulas. They're eating Gamebird right now, along with EH Coastal Catch and Great Plains and Fromm Salmon Tunalini.



I kinda wondered why she did so much better on the grain inclusive's vs the gamebird...hmmm...guess I'll never really know lol.

She does great on EB's formulas. She's only had the GPF and Prim Natural (once, like...a year ago lol) but she does great on them.


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## Justapup (Jul 9, 2012)

Im with meggels on this one. I pay attention to the company first. Then i look at how they advertise their food. Finally i check the ingredients. I like to avoid companies with long recall list. I check to see if what the advertise matches. Like say a company claims a parricular brand is grain free and if the food is actually grain free. Lastly i check whats in it. I dont like ceetain starches in my dogs food and i like to avoid chicken.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Two aspects are equally important to me:

Length of time the company has been in business coupled with excellent quality control
What the kibble formulas DON'T include in the ingredient lists.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

PDXdogmom said:


> Two aspects are equally important to me:
> 
> Length of time the company has been in business coupled with excellent quality control
> What the kibble formulas DON'T include in the ingredient lists.



Care to elaborate on the second one? I would be interested to hear what you mean


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

With all the recalls, a company that has had no recalls is very important. So is a company that has their own plant. That isn't always possible, or may not be because there aren't a whole lot. A dog food company that is transparent about where their ingredients come from is very good. 
I hang out at the dogfoodadvisor and there is a pre made raw that is very highly rated but not recommended due to very poor customer service. That is also important to me. If I want to call them, I expect to easily find the phone number. I rarely email because if I ask a question, they answer which probably prompts another question for me.


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## shellbeme (Dec 8, 2010)

A while ago all I was really concerned with were ingredients, now, I look into the company itself. Past recalls are important to me, how open the company is with their facilities, how good the customer service is, if they own their own processing facilities, and where they get their ingredients from. What kind of testing and nutritionists do they have?

Fromm is currently my favorite, and honestly right now there are not many dog foods out there that I would feed.


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## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

I look at the company and it's history. How open they are to answering my questions without using an answer that sounds like a computer generated gimmik is huge. I like customer service that sounds like I am talking with a real person, not a sales man/company rep or a generic message who just wants me to buy their product. If they don't have a full nutrient analysis online, I want it sent to me. So far, Fromm is the only company that I've contacted has sent me theirs. I asked for the nutrient analysis of one formula, I got them all. 
Ingredients is another big one. I want to see a lot of meat, not just one good meat source and a million plant sources. I don't want to see the same thing over and over (meat is an exception) but in different forms in the food. I also don't want to see certain preservatives used.
Reviews. I read as many reviews of the food as possible. Reviews that actually analyze the food and mentions it's pros and cons, preferably how well it is digested. (I have a sensitive dog, this is important to me.) I want to know what people did not like about the food, what the did like about the food, and how well their dogs did on it and what their overall health was.
Price. It has to be worth the price I am paying for it. I don't want a "premium" kibble that's full of crap. If I'm gonna shell out big bucks for a food, I want it's quality reflected in that price.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I used to be very into ingredients and if a food didn't have meat in the first 3 ingredients I'd write it off, or if it was under a certain protein or whatever. 

I now pay a lot more attention to the company behind them, and how well a dog does on a food, and I don't necessarily think having a gazillion different meats and ingredients is the "best" for every dog like I used to.

I want to know where the food is coming from, the ingredients, where it's being made. I also like a company that is willing to answer specific questions and good customer service.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Meg, I might be mistaken but I think PDX means that she does not want the food to contain controversial or harmful ingredients like BHA/BHT, Menadione (synthetic vit. K), GMO products etc.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

When I fed commercial foods, I looked at:



Company (recalls, reputation, corporate news);
Ingredients;
Whether my dogs like it;
Whether my dogs do well on it.

The food my dogs did best on was Fromm's LBP formula. They strongly preferred Acana to Orijen, didn't do as well on Fromm's grain-free formulas, and still gobble up friends' Evo and TOTW. I always wanted them to like Orijen because of how highly everyone regards the company and ingredients, but my dogs had a different opinion.

I still look at these factors when buying commercial treats, though since treats comprise less of their diet, I'm not quite as picky.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I'm similar to you, Megs. Frankly, some of Fromms ingredient lists are ok, but nothing glamorous. No fresh caught Whitefish or Walleye like Champion 

But Fromm is a good example of what I'm beginning to really look at with my foods. Family owned, been that way for years. Really stable company. About the only knock I have on them and I don't have all the facts was why they had their canned foods outsourced. No major recalls that I've ever been able to find. Great, personalized customer service whenever I've had a question. Foods, as far as I've been able to find, all made in their own facilities. 

Nature's Logic is another smaller company I'm beginning to take a look at. Of coure, I'm still a Champion fan even though I'm worried they are treading on the line of becoming too big and getting tempted on things(outsourcing production is always my biggest worry). 

I've seen firsthand what happens when companies outsource with comanufacturers. I can't say much but I will say...I just don't like it. 

So to summarize... Minimum recall history, Family owned, smaller companies, transparency in their practices, the "feel" I get when researching them....and I hate to admit it but price does come into play if everything else checks out. Oh yeah, poop quality is up there too... Seriously. I'm not qualified to get much deeper into what works for my guys other than to keep an eye on their stool quality.


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## StellaLucyDesi (Oct 29, 2008)

I pretty much agree with what everyone else is saying. I look at the company and whether or not they have their own factory (preferable). I look at their recall history (none is my requirement), customer service reputation, food ingredients (where they're sourced, quality, etc.), whether my dogs like it and do well on it. I'm choosing Fromm at the moment and I am feeding just the Gamebird and Salmon Tunalini. I like their canned food, too, and it is not made in China (anymore....that was disconcerting to me when they used to be and sooo glad they "saw the light"). I also like Weruva, The Honest Kitchen and Pinnacle/Avoderm.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

kevin bradley said:


> I'm similar to you, Megs. Frankly, some of Fromms ingredient lists are ok, but nothing glamorous. No fresh caught Whitefish or Walleye like Champion
> 
> But Fromm is a good example of what I'm beginning to really look at with my foods. Family owned, been that way for years. Really stable company. About the only knock I have on them and I don't have all the facts was why they had their canned foods outsourced. No major recalls that I've ever been able to find. Great, personalized customer service whenever I've had a question. Foods, as far as I've been able to find, all made in their own facilities.
> 
> ...



Yup, I'm ALWAYS watching stools LOL. Even though Fromm's 4- star grain inclusive lines weren't anything special...Abbie's stools on them were PHENOMENAL. That and Earthborn's Great Plains Feast.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Caty M said:


> Meg, I might be mistaken but I think PDX means that she does not want the food to contain controversial or harmful ingredients like BHA/BHT, Menadione (synthetic vit. K), GMO products etc.


Yes, that was my line of thinking. Plus, I look for formulas that don't have any glutens, digest, unnamed animal fats, soy, wheat, etc.


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