Pet Foods

Question
Some people seem very vocal about their disgust with commercial pet foods. Claiming that the preservatives poison our pets and that they can not digest the ingredients (eg:corn, etc.).

How much of this is true and how much is overblown? Would my dog be better off on a natural food diet? Raw meats and rice, etc.?

I had him on a high end pet store brand food with lamb and rice (supposedly the best ingredients) and he didn't like it much. He also seemed to vommit a lot (once every couple of days or more).

I couldn't get to the pet supply store and got him a little bag of some cheap stuff at the corner store and he LOVED it- and his vommiting has ceased and stool has hardened up a bit.

Should I stick with it? I don't want him to get problems down the road- the ingredients do not look appealing, but he is doing well on it.

Suggestions? Thanks much.

PS- if you ever have a a question on politics or business matters, I'll return the favor ;)

I work as a researcher.  

Answer
Ideally, I tell people to look for a food with MEAT as the first ingredient.  It is best to feed all-natural in my opinion.  Obviously it takes a lot of time to prepare a home-made diet AND make sure it is properly balanced.  Therefore, kibble is much more convenient and you know your pet is getting all the right vitamins and minerals.   

I often say avoid by-products, dyes, preservatives and artificial colors.   Yes, corn is a common ingredient to cause digestive upsets and food allergies (my one beagle is very allergic to corn and soy--another very common allergan).  It is a cheap filler and many pet foods have it as the first ingredient.   And there is a lot of stink about certain preservatives causing cancer and some food companies use meat from rendering plants that had animals put to sleep or road-kill...so a food that say human-quality or organic is a safer bet for your pets.

You are what you eat goes for pets too.  Of course, there are many pets eating cheap food that are "healthy" but I try to get people to gear up to the higher quality foods for even better health.  Plus they don't need to eat as much which means less stool.  Natural diets usually do help settle digestive and skin/allergy problems--I prefer fish-based diets to help those dogs.

I feed my cats Prairie Lamb and Rice dry food www.naturesvariety.com   My one cat has IBD, therefore, I avoid corn in his diet.  Plus cats are obligate carnivores and do not eat corn in the wild.  I also offer a variety of canned food for a bit of flavor....nutro natural, solid gold, triumph, natural balance, california natural, lick your chops... My cats also get a bunch of supplements but I won't bore you with the details.

What I would recommend for you is to get a good quality diet and supplement with plain yogurt to help his intestinal tract.  If need be, you can add in digestive enzymes....I like Dancing Paws Shake'N'Zyme www.dancingpaws.com   

To get more healthy, add in your own raw or cooked veggies, cottage cheese, cooked eggs, some grains and a bit of raw meat if you desire.

Hope that helps!