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1 29667 Thu January 10, 2008
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No recommendations None indicated None indicated
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Description: Feeding guideline:
A 25lb dog should be fed 1 1/4 cups


Metabolizable energy:
405 kcal/cup


Ingredients
Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Chicken Flavor, Brewers Rice, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dried Egg Product, Fish meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Flax Meal, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Dried Chicken Cartilage (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), DL-Methionine, L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract.


Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein not less than 25.00%
Crude Fat not less than 16.00%
Crude Fiber not more than 4.00%
Moisture not more than 10.00%
Vitamin E not less than 140 IU/kg
L-Carnitine not less than 30 mg/kg*
Omega-6 Fatty Acids not less than 2.0%*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids not less than 0.35%*
Glucosamine not less than 375 mg/kg*
Chondroitin Sulfate not less than 35 mg/kg*



Editors

Registered: October 2005
Posts: 3953
Review Date: Thu January 10, 2008 Would you recommend the product? No | Price you paid?: Not Indicated | Rating: 0 

 
Pros: First ingredient is a named meat product
Cons: Insufficient meat content, byproducts, low quality grain, controversial filler

The first ingredient in the food is a named meat product. This is not a meal ingredient. It is inclusive of water content (about 80%). Once that is removed, as it must be to create a dehydrated product, the ingredient will weigh around 20% of its wet weight. Ingredients are listed in order of weight, and the dehydrated ingredient would probably be more accurately placed much further down the ingredient list. It is highly unlikely that this ingredient makes any significant contribution to the overall meat content of the food. The next ingredient, and the main meat ingredient in the food, is byproducts. It is impossible to ascertain the quality of by-products and these are usually products that are of such low quality as to be rejected for use in the human food chain, or else are those parts that have so little value that they cannot be used elsewhere in either the human or pet food industries. The AAFCO definition of chicken by-product meal is “a meal consisting of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.” Since the glucosamine and chondroitin are sourced from cartillage and bone (present in all meat and meat meal ingredients, unless de-boned), we consider advertising of this to be a gimmick. The amounts of these substances in the food are far below useful or therapudic levels, as is the case in all dog food products.


The main grains in the food are corn, sorghum and barley. Barley and sorghum are decent quality grains, but corn is of limited value. It is a cheap grain that is difficult to digest and commonly associated with food allergies. Brewers rice is a further low quality grain and byproduct. Beet pulp is controversial filler which appears to be used in large quantities in this food. It is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required.


Fish meal is a further meat ingredient in the food, but it is far too far down the ingredient list to make any significant contribution to the overall meat content of the food. We find no sign on the manufacturer's website of a guarantee that only ethoxyquin-free protein ingredients are used in this food (ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative, commonly added to fish ingredients, and that is banned or heavily regulated in human food due to the belief that it is carcinogenic). We would prefer to see the use of whole eggs rather than egg product in the food.


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