I worked in the pet food industry for 13 years as a nutrition specialist my job was to research the market for trends, break down nutrition,work in a team to create formulations based on digest ability and work on points of interest for sales teams.
I also worked on the sales teams for 6 out of the 13 years in the field as inside sales,so I'm well informed on the in and outs of how the industry works,looking at an ingredient label the first 4 ingredients make up 95% of the product while the minerals are important, the Protein is the most important.
Your dog and cat have not evolved over time to digest grain or vegetables, so protein is the number one ingredient you are looking for in a food. There are several different types used while a lot of companies try and put a marketing spin on shapes, colors and bright advertising on vegetables and fruits, which are targeted more at the people not the dogs or the cats.
Dogs and cats cannot break down vegetable protein as well as meat. They do not get enough out of it and despite what common sense tells you, you do not want all whole protein in a dry food because through the baking process water is removed and you only end up with a faction of the mass it started out as.
So, in a first ingredient you want a protein meal not counting by products. By products are not necessarily bad for your animal it's just that they include a lot of bones and cartilage that take away from the actual protein that you are looking for. A protein meal simply means concentrated source of protein with water removed without losing what your animal needs to thrive.
If you have a protein meal in the first ingredient and then say ingredient 3 or 4 is a byproduct meal that is okay because the main source of protein is a more pure source. No matter what dry food you get you need a grain as a binder to hold it all together and over the years there has been a huge amount of attention on corn, while not all for nothing, corn or any grain should never be a main ingredient of the source of food. It is cheaper than rice and not nearly as digestible there are different types used in the foods you are buying for your animals.
Corn gluten simply means the hard outer shell removed which means it's mainly a vegetable protein source with very few minor minerals, which is usually used as a protein filler or binder or both. The level on the ingredient list depicts what it is used for in the formulation, if it is in the main ingredients the first 4, it's a protein filler to boost protein levels which is essentially adding false readings on the nutritional label usually found in foods high in byproduct meals.
Ground yellow corn is the most common and has not had the hard outer shell removed which is used as a filler and binder, also reduces the digest capabilities in the animal.
Ash is an ingredient you want very low content in any food source, it will raise the PH balance of the urine causing spots in your yard, but most importantly causing urinary tract infections in dogs, however,cats are very susceptible to this as well.
Any way, on to my review of this food this is what I use for my cats it is a reasonably priced food that borders on the good and the bad, but more to the good while not the best there is on the market. Working in the industry for far too many years I cannot bring myself to buy over priced foods when there are decent options out there like this one. Like I said I worked in the industry and I know how it works in pet stores you walk in and the "best foods" are closer to the front door and this is not because they are the best foods available to your animals, those company's buy those spots on the shelf and at the end of the day every single employee has been bought by the company they work for in that pet store. I used to train those employees in those stores "propaganda" it's not that the company with the big white bag is the best those veterinarians had their schooling paid for by that company information based on that is more biased and convoluted lies.
It's not that corn is bad for your dog or cat it's how it was processed and how it is implemented in the formula. Your bag of food says farm raised chicken well so is foster farms, we only use white meat, what makes that better than dark meat? Is it the price? Does it taste better to your dog? No of course not ... Yogurt? When it is the 19th ingredient on the list how much do you think is in the bag? Seriously, how often did your dog eat yogurt in the wild?
It's all marketing you can achieve the same effect as yogurt for an upset stomach with oatmeal and it is much cheaper, the point I am trying to get across here is: to educate and make you think there is a science and once you know it everything becomes more clear. There is no reason to break the bank to ensure your dog or cat are achieving their best while eating a food tailored to their needs. You don't need to believe the hype just because they work for a pet store, does not mean they are a know it all.
Have a Great Day !
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