So it's been an interesting couple days for me. I decided to order some Dr. Tims pursuit food based on high ratings and the fact that the vet who formulated the food, is active on the pet nutrition forum I participate in.
Looking at the food strictly from an ingredient perspective, there's nothing particularly stellar about it, I'd say that there are other foods on the market that look better on paper. The reason why I wanted to give this a try was because:
1) Dr. Tim stands behind his food and has been very forward about any concerns. He's even made changes to the ingredient list, such as removing menadione(Vit K).
2) It's produced at an independent plant, with no history of recalls
3) The chicken meal that is used is low ash, meaning that it does not have a whole lot of bone present making it superior to some other brands.
4) The vitamins/minerals in the food come from Holland, not China, which makes me feel better about quality control due to stricter European standards.
Here's the ingredient list of the formula I'm going to try with Uno:
Chicken meal, brown rice flour, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), oat flour, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), dried whole eggs, rice bran, menhaden fish oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), ocean herring meal, flax seed meal, catfish meal, chicken liver meal, dried porcine plasma protein, salmon meal, lecithin, potassium chloride, salt, canola oil, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried chicory root, calcium carbonate, yucca shidigera extract, organic kelp meal, dried psyllium seed husk, choline chloride, DL-methionine, L-lysine, algae fat product (a source of DHA), L-ascorbyl-2 polyphosphate (stabilized ascorbic acid), vitamin E supplement, L-carnitine, zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, taurine, beta carotene, ferrous sulfate, ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), manganese sulfate, inositol, niacin supplement, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, zinc oxide, biotin, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), copper sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), copper proteinate, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), calcium pantothenate, potassium iodide (source of iodine), manganous oxide, vitamin B12 supplement, sodium selenite, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, rosemary extract.
This particular formula is 30% protein and 20% fat.
Few things that I would prefer to see differently is catfish meal, herring meal and chicken liver meal higher up on the list, preferably keeping the protein levels the same, but reducing chicken meal. I also dislike the use of canola oil since it's a GMO ingredient. There are healthier oils on the market that supply omega 6, such as safflower oil or flaxseed oil.
There's some debate whether citric acid causes bloat in dogs, but I would rather not see it in food, just to be on the safe side.
The rest looks acceptable for the most part.
Originally I was planning on starting him on Back to Basics, but I think after he's finished eating Horizon Legacy, I'll try him on Dr Tims to see how he does on it.
Well unto more news! so couple cool things happened. I ordered this food from petflow.com, I really don't use them because they tend to have higher prices then some other websites, but I had a $10 off coupon, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Plus shipping was free.
Fast forward 2 days, the Fed Ex truck shows up, of course I was really happy how quick the shipping was, but upon opening the package, I was disappointed that I only received 2 - 18 lb bags instead of a 44 lb bag I ordered.
I emailed customer support getting ready to vent my frustration for screwing up my order. The lady on the other hand was very apologetic and she said that they would get it sorted out right away and I'll get my 8 lb bag of food in couple days.
So fast forward to today, I get home and the's a huge box on the porch. I open it up expecting a small bag, and guess what?? they send me a 44 lb bag!! so basically I got 80 lbs of food for $54 shipped. So I was pretty happy to say the least.
Little later in the day, I went online to check some deal sites I visit, turns out someone posted a coupon for 50% off total purchase at Petco. Whoever created the coupon did not think it through because it can be re-used multiple times by different people. Of course everyone went beserk after the coupon went viral and spend hundreds of dollars at Petco. Since I was going to the park with the dog and there's a store on the way, I figured what the heck.
I got a 30 lb bag of Pinnacle grain free, 50 lbs of cat litter, large flexi tape leash (it was on sale for $17), 3 toys, flea comb, bag of salmon jerky, and a small collar for Indy. I think the total was like $120, they scanned the coupon and voila! 50% off! So with tax everything came out to $66, so I am super happy.
I was thinking of going back and getting more food, but at this point I have 5 unopened bags for 2 dogs, so I'll have to use those up before they expire.
Then we went for an 8 mile walk/hike at the local park, came across a doe which was pretty cool and ran into a lost dog, thankfully he was wearing tags with his address so I was able to find his home pretty quickly.
So overall, satisfying day :)
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Influence on vet students by pet food companies
So this week while doing some browsing, I came across a post on facebook warning about potential health issues associated with feeding Beneful including organ failure and seizures, posted by a vet in Arkansas. It seems to have caused a great divide and people commenting left and right, some agreeing with the post, others claiming it to be a "scare tactic" and still swear by Purina products.
I saw an interesting pattern of the people who swore by Beneful, most of them have not done any research besides what the vet has told them or what they saw in the commercial. Most claim their dogs to be healthy, but I know from experience, most people cannot tell a difference between a healthy dog and one that has obvious issues from eating crappy food.
I've been pet-sitting on/off the last 12+ years and I've seen dogs and cats with problems that people tend to overlook because they consider it a normal part of being a dog/cat. For example obesity, dental problems, frequent ear infections, dull/greasy coats, lethargy just to name a few. Cats most often struggle with kidney issues as well as urinary crystals due to being fed high carb, dry food their entire lives.
I recently watched a 10 year old cat with progressive kidney disease, she was put on prescription dry food which is mostly made up of corn and peanut hulls, along with daily subcutaneous fluids to re-hydrate her to maintain somewhat stable kidney function. I found it mind-boggling to see an obviously intelligent owner who meant well, blindly follow a very poor advice from a vet by feeding dry food to a cat with compromised kidneys, dehydrating her further in the process. All I could do was suggest an alternative course and leave a can of EVO canned cat food. She seemed very hesitant about my advice and said that the canned food was probably not a good idea because it was "high protein". It's incredibly sad to see animals that are suffering in the hands of misinformed owners.
So anyways, back to the topic. The above mentioned vet posted a response to all the Beneful comments by stating the following which I found very interesting. Particularly since I've come across a lot of naysayers that claim pet companies do not influence vet students while they are in school.
Here's an honest response and I really appreciate, it's a rarity to come across a vet that is willing to think outside the bubble and actually care about something as vital as nutrition when it comes to animals long term health. :
-I am a licensed and practicing veterinarian.
-I started this very thread on the dangers of Beneful.
-I graduated 10 years ago from the number 2 vet school in the nation.
-We as veterinary students received virtually no internal nutritional training.
-Nutritional education we received was from Hill’s Science Diet, Iams and Purina.
-Hill’s, Iams and Purina not only provided us as poor vet students with free food for our pets for the 4 years of veterinary school, but they sponsored major events, scholarships, educational meetings and provided us with endless freebees. Their support during our hardest times made veterinarian’s feel obligated to recommend these companies.
-Hill’s, Iams and Purina sponsor extremely expensive booths at veterinarians’ continuing education meetings, continuing to demonstrate their “strength” in the pet food market.
-I learned from my own trial and error, first on my own pets, then on the numerous dogs I rescue, how high quality diet plays a critical role in the health of our pets.
-Now in this practice I purchased 18 months ago, I have personally seen the significant effects that good nutrition can make. I started my campaign against Beneful, because about 80-90% of my dog owners in this practice were feeding it and thinking they were doing right by their dogs.
-Since we have started promoting good nutrition in this practice, I have seen about a 75% decline in my ear, skin and allergy cases. A decrease in medical cases is not good for our bottom line, but as I have learned on my own pets, nutrition is key for their overall well being. Overall, my patients are healthier, my clients are happier, and I sleep better at night knowing this.
-Please, if you learn nothing more from reading this, be an informed consumer for your pets. If you need to research pet foods, consult http://
You can read more responses and show your support on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southwest-Pet-Hospital/171020129603271
I saw an interesting pattern of the people who swore by Beneful, most of them have not done any research besides what the vet has told them or what they saw in the commercial. Most claim their dogs to be healthy, but I know from experience, most people cannot tell a difference between a healthy dog and one that has obvious issues from eating crappy food.
I've been pet-sitting on/off the last 12+ years and I've seen dogs and cats with problems that people tend to overlook because they consider it a normal part of being a dog/cat. For example obesity, dental problems, frequent ear infections, dull/greasy coats, lethargy just to name a few. Cats most often struggle with kidney issues as well as urinary crystals due to being fed high carb, dry food their entire lives.
I recently watched a 10 year old cat with progressive kidney disease, she was put on prescription dry food which is mostly made up of corn and peanut hulls, along with daily subcutaneous fluids to re-hydrate her to maintain somewhat stable kidney function. I found it mind-boggling to see an obviously intelligent owner who meant well, blindly follow a very poor advice from a vet by feeding dry food to a cat with compromised kidneys, dehydrating her further in the process. All I could do was suggest an alternative course and leave a can of EVO canned cat food. She seemed very hesitant about my advice and said that the canned food was probably not a good idea because it was "high protein". It's incredibly sad to see animals that are suffering in the hands of misinformed owners.
So anyways, back to the topic. The above mentioned vet posted a response to all the Beneful comments by stating the following which I found very interesting. Particularly since I've come across a lot of naysayers that claim pet companies do not influence vet students while they are in school.
Here's an honest response and I really appreciate, it's a rarity to come across a vet that is willing to think outside the bubble and actually care about something as vital as nutrition when it comes to animals long term health. :
-I am a licensed and practicing veterinarian.
-I started this very thread on the dangers of Beneful.
-I graduated 10 years ago from the number 2 vet school in the nation.
-We as veterinary students received virtually no internal nutritional training.
-Nutritional education we received was from Hill’s Science Diet, Iams and Purina.
-Hill’s, Iams and Purina not only provided us as poor vet students with free food for our pets for the 4 years of veterinary school, but they sponsored major events, scholarships, educational meetings and provided us with endless freebees. Their support during our hardest times made veterinarian’s feel obligated to recommend these companies.
-Hill’s, Iams and Purina sponsor extremely expensive booths at veterinarians’ continuing education meetings, continuing to demonstrate their “strength” in the pet food market.
-I learned from my own trial and error, first on my own pets, then on the numerous dogs I rescue, how high quality diet plays a critical role in the health of our pets.
-Now in this practice I purchased 18 months ago, I have personally seen the significant effects that good nutrition can make. I started my campaign against Beneful, because about 80-90% of my dog owners in this practice were feeding it and thinking they were doing right by their dogs.
-Since we have started promoting good nutrition in this practice, I have seen about a 75% decline in my ear, skin and allergy cases. A decrease in medical cases is not good for our bottom line, but as I have learned on my own pets, nutrition is key for their overall well being. Overall, my patients are healthier, my clients are happier, and I sleep better at night knowing this.
-Please, if you learn nothing more from reading this, be an informed consumer for your pets. If you need to research pet foods, consult http://
You can read more responses and show your support on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southwest-Pet-Hospital/171020129603271
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