How bad is Nutro really????

[mbeumel]

Ok i just brought my new puppies home last week.The what I thought big great Champion dog breeder fed them crap.He has all these champion dogs and feeds them performance wal-mart crap.I changed them to Nuto Nat Choice large breed puppy.Didnt know any better due to working at Petsuppermarket for 3 years.We were always trained and told by the rep. that Nutro was the best.I have read every post on here and no one feeds Nutro.I have never heard of Canidae before..but thats what everyone on here swears by.I looked it up and the nearest place to get Canidae is 50 miles form where I live.Should I make the drive....are the results really that different from Nutro?My cocker has been on Nutro for 3 years now..and does great on it.Also can someone explain the barf diet to me.Everyone talks about it on here..but dosent go into explaining.I want to do whats best for my new girls.

[rottnkidd]

Hi Melody - I can't help you out with the Nutro question because I'm not familiar with the product. Perhaps some of the other members that feed kibble can advise you why they've chosen Canidae. California Natural is also a good product, that's made
by Natura. Check out their website if you're interested.
www.naturapet.com I've been feeding a raw diet since my girl was a pup. I think the best place to start with a natural diet is through reading. I'd suggest "Switching to Raw" by Sue Johnson.
www.switchingtoraw.com It's a very, simple easy-to-read book
to get a beginner started. There are several other books on the subject, but if you're thinking about switching from kibble, I'd start with this one. You have to do what you're comfortable with. Many of us have chosen to feed a raw diet because we've
seen many serious health issues on the rise with our breed. It has to be attributed to something, so many of us have decided to do our homework and find what we think, is a better way to feed our dog's. Commercial dog food has only been around since the
50's. What were people feeding prior to that? Mostly tablescraps
or like my grandmother who came from Europe, she feed raw bones and some cooked food! That was during the 1920's thru the 40's. Her dog's were not spayed or neutered, they weren't vaccinated, and they lived to 15 and 16 yrs of age; simply dying of old age! It's my opinion, but the dog food manufacturer's have done a phenomenal job of convincing us that dog's need kibble for a "complete and balanced" diet. And we've all grown up believing this! Do some research, read some books, and then decide what you feel is best for your dog's. The raw diet isn't
rocket science, but also it's not about throwing raw meat in the dog's bowl! There's a method to the madness :o) There's some great people here who will be more then happy to help you with questions you might have. But please read and educate yourself about Bones And Raw Foods before taking the plunge! Good luck to you!
kathy

[Roscoe's dad]

Nutro natural choice is not a bad food, I would rate it as a midgrade food, better than grocery store store food, Iam science diet etc. I would not rate it as a Premium or super premium. I fed my dog either Precise or Nutro natural before switching to BARF.:)

[spoteet]

I am feeding my puppy Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy from Nutro and he is the picture of health. His coat shines like a beacon.

[chris nanney]

I fed Nutro Natural Choice Chicken and Rice for an extended period of time to two and later three dogs with good results. Some people swear by Nutro products. I saw some web photos of some really well conditioned Am Staff/Pits and emailed the breeders. They fed Nutro and raved about the food. One in particular raised her dogs on the large breed puppy (these were large 60+ lb Pits).

In my opinion, it is one of the better foods you can buy at Petsmart.

[Homerhomer]

Originally posted by Roscoe's dad
Nutro natural choice is not a bad food, I would rate it as a midgrade food, better than grocery store store food, Iam science diet etc. I would not rate it as a Premium or super premium.

I second this statement. While canidae is a great food I don't think that this is the one you have to buy. There are other very good foods like wellness, solid gold, precise and probably some more. Foods as such are usually sold in small pet stores so call around and see what brands they carry.
To do some reading on barf just type in barf in any search engine and you will have plenty of reading material.

[Tazwick]

I have fed Nutro Natural Lamb and Rice before switching to the Nutro Natural Chicken and Rice...I still did not get the results I wanted to see. But every dog is different. The problems I had with my dog was that his fur was like someone dumped a cup of vegetable oil on him and his fur was so greasy that it clumped together...plus my dog didn't really want to eat it. I chalked it up to him just being picky, but later I found out that a feed store an hour away sold Canidae. So I went and bought some to see if it was really as good as many people here and other forums say it is.

Well, first thing I saw was that my dog loved it, he wasn't acting picky and ate it quite a bit faster than what he did with the Nutro. Then after a few weeks of feeding it, his coat was so soft and shiny, his energy level came up significantly, and he put on much needed weight. (12lbs in 3wks). He was only 62lbs at 12mos. He wasn't extremely underweight or anything, cause at this time he only weighs 80lbs at 16mos.

I also have my new pup on the food as well. She loves it too!!
I will never change to any other brand. I found that this food is really what all the hype is about and I am going to stick with it. But remember, that every dog is different, and if a dog is doing well on Nutro, he may not do well on Canidae...

[livertw]

Daisy eats Nutro Natural Large Breed kibble. She is bright-eyed and shiny and sleek. At $32 (with tax) for a 40 pound bag, it isn't driving me to the poorhouse. She eats with great enthusiasm -- so much so that I dole her kibble out in one cup increments just to slow her down. I use the kibble as "treats" too. I am totally satisfied with it. She poops a firm stool once/twice a day, and she looks just great! :p

[rottnelmo]

I actually feed three different foods because I have three different needs in my house hold.

My border/lab is fed the Nutro Max Lamb and Rice, it was one of the only *true* lamb and rices I could find, besides Cal. Natural. He was under weight and had lost most of the hair on his belly and around his neck. We switched him to Nutro Lamb and Rice and within a week he was looking better. He picked up weight and his coat has come back in so beautifully. He is shiny, soft and beautiful.

My Dobe/Rott mix is a finky girl and cant handle Turkey products. So she is on Nutro Adult and doing very well on it. She was on Canidae, but she got to heavy on it and was scratchy and itchy.

My Rott was on Eukanuba when I got him, but switched him to Solid Gold Hund-N-Flocken. He did terrible on it. His coat was dull and listless and he would throw up if he got something that was *not* a Solid Gold Product. So I switched him to Eagle Pack Natural. I didnt like that it was a lamb and rice, because he was not exhibiting any kind of allergies to anything. So, I searched for Canidae. He was also underweight, he had gone through a stomach irritant and dropped weight during it. I put him on Canidae with a scoop of yogurt and a drop of flaxseed oil, the improvement is mind boogling! He is doing very well on it and always eats it right up.

I have had wonderful results on Nutro and on Canidae...I think it just depends on the dog.

Beth

[rottnreba]

I used Nutramax Natural Choice for years. The I switched to Innova for awhile. I bought some Canidae at the dog show in Chicago this spring and have been using it since. Both my 3 y.o. rott and my 14 y.o. dobe/lab mix relish it. I travel to the next town to buy it at Pet Supplies Plus. 40 pounds is $32.00. I also use the canned.

[Jags]

Melody..From what you said..I have a good Idea who the breeder is...If you turn on your PM i will sent you a Msg

[Zephyr]

Melody,

I've been feeding my dogs [more than one breed] Pro-Plan Performance Chicken/Rice AND meat/veggie table scraps AND a whole chicken w/broth a week for many years.

I don't feed any raw [see the thread I started on why] meat to my dog. My dogs have been healthy, happy and shiny for years. They all live a long time too - though large breeds have NEVER lived as long as smaller dogs. Consider that when you hear claims of long life. It's the same diet now with the newest, a 20 month old rescue Rottie girl. She loves the Pro-Plan Performance. I did compare the labels of the kibbles - including Canidae, Royal Canin [actually was good too], Innova and Wellness. Innova has a website that allows you to compare ingredients. Check it out at www.naturapet.com. You may decide to feed something else than their product, or to feed what works for your dog [but be careful of the BARF].

You'll see that Pro-Plan [chicken/rice in my case] uses actual WHOLE CHICKEN as the first ingredient and has a 30% protein listed, not chicken meal, which is what the Innova products and others use. "Meal" is what's left over from processing the meat source at a slaughterhouse [excluding noses, beaks, hoofs, hair]. It's a cheap source for dog food manufacturers, and a bonanza for slaughterhouses. It can include hydrolyzed hair, dehydrated gargage, even manure, and urine, as well as poultry waste, ruminant waste [chud chewers are ruminants], anything from an animal source, including...get this...the "4-D's" - dead, diseased, disabled, dying animals. Blech!

Anyway, whole chicken means that - assuming the manufacturer isn't lying. And many can and do without threat of being prosecuted by our government [the FTC decided to rescind Section 241, which disallowed misrepresentation and making false statements on labels or in marketing]. So use common sense and read a LOT.

Check out Ann Martin's new book, "Protect Your Pet", which decries BARF and most commercial dog kibbles. She does include many recipes for cooked food, which might be a healthy middle ground for many.

Which is why I feed my dog[s] real human quality food I COOK and know is as free as humanly possible of contaminants such as bacteria, parasites and disease [some pet food manufacturers even use road kill, zoo animals and worst, euthanized dogs and cats!]. I also feed kibble as I can't formulate a nutritionally valid diet in my kitchen [I don't own a lab, and I doubt any one who feeds BARF does either]. I supplement with cod liver oil in pill form, a multi-vitamin and Vit. C and brewer's yeast.

With what I've been feeding for almost 2 decades, and judging by the fact my dogs have never been sick, something I do must be right.

BTW, I did find that Royal Canin, another ultra-premium food, is good as far as ingredients go and my dog did love it. It's big huge kibble - the size of a charcoal bricket. She does love the ProPlan Performance [41.75 lbs. for $35.00 at Petsmart] and eats anything I give her that we eat too [and I'm a good cook and cook healthy food daily for myself and family].

Best regards on the new puppy too!

Payton

:)

[mbeumel]

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to give me thier imput.Everyone was verry helpful in thier own way.:) I am a new member and really enjoying it on here.
I do have one thig tho..as I said I worked as assistant manager of the pet suppermarket here in Sebring for 3 years.As of such I had to have reps.of all the kibble companies we carried come in and do seminars for the employes(and myself).Nutro and euk,would always bring with them the red book for food terms and laws regarding what the food companies could use.
Now nutro told us that the term MEAL was used to describe any meat that is good enough for human consumption.Its by products that are proscessed in the slauter houses as Zephyr reffered to.
They told us that meal was after all internal organs,and poop shoots were out.
Meal was the meat after the water was taken out of it.
Now I might be wrong...Im only going by what was taught to me.
Once again thank you to everyones help!!!!:D

[brunie's mom]

mbeumel:
You are right Zeyphyr has his facts wrong.. the only difference between chicken and chicken meal is the water has been taken out of the meat.
Chicken meal is better because there will be less water when the meat is added to the food... this means more meat:)

Zephyr:
I think you better go and study a bit more about nutrition.. you have many fact wrong:(
Chicken by-product meal is when the beaks and the feathers and junk are ground up... NOT chicken meal.
Please take a look at your bag of ProPlan and compare it to Innova.
Innova uses human grade quality meats, fruits and veggies...ProPlan uses the 4 D meats.. meat that can't be used for humans. It is also full of corn.. none of the super premium foods use corn.. it is a cheap filler.

Gina

[lblax]

nothing wrong with nutro we feed large breed puppy till 16 months then switched to canidae but if i couldnt get it i would switch back to nutro in a heartbeat