Crappy Food

Ivy

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
1,713
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Ontario
#1
I've encountered this on many occasions with past and present fosters.

Jersey has been eating pedigree her whole life, mind you she's only 2 (almost) but her coat is beautiful and with a beautiful shine, her teeth look great and doesn't stink considering she's on kibble. I also had a foster that was 11 and he was also on crap food his whole life and it was the same thing. He was in great shape with nice clean teeth and everything. He was adopted out and is still going strong.

I would never personally feed my own dogs that, but sometimes I feel I should just leave whatever foster I have on the food if they're doing so well.

Thoughts?
 

MicksMom

Active Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
3,978
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Warren Co, NJ
#2
Well, I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Sibe/GSD we had when we got married was fed Purina Hi Pro for awhile, store brand burger type stuff, Pedigree (different than the one out now. This was back in the mid-late 80s), and, the last few years of his life, Gaines Cycle 4. He lived to be 17, and was healthy as a horse.

ETA- Mick, OTOH, did best on Pro Plan.
 

PWCorgi

Priscilla Winifred Corgi
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
14,854
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
34
Location
Twin Citay!
#3
I think a lot of the coat/tooth health boils down to genetics. So while you can help/hurt it with food, it pretty much is what it is.

Even on the best food in the world (even raw) Frodo still gets gunky teeth that I have to brush to keep clean. If I don't do it for 2 weeks, it's there again.
 

Maxy24

Active Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
8,070
Likes
2
Points
38
Age
32
Location
Massachusetts
#4
I would still try to switch. My brother did great on a diet of bologna and cheese sandwiches, grilled cheese, nutty bars, and soda but it still wasn't a healthy diet and might be wreaking havoc on the inside. Or it might not be, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. If my dog came down with something I would always wonder if I could have prevented it with better food. But I agree genes probably affect health more than anything
 

JessLough

Love My Mutt
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
13,404
Likes
2
Points
38
Age
33
Location
Guelph, Ontario
#5
I keep fosters on what they came on if they're doing well with it. I was iffy about Nacho, but ended up keeping him on his food (though we may be doing a switch since he may become long term)
 

Southpaw

orange iguanas.
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
7,788
Likes
1
Points
38
Age
32
Location
Minnesota
#7
I tend to believe that a dog that's fed Ol Roy might look fantastic, but that doesn't mean it's the best food for them or that it's actually healthy. Nutrition is nutrition is nutrition. I pretty much eat nothing but junk, outwardly it probably doesn't show (I won't judge myself :p) but yeah I know my diet isn't doing me any favors and that it'll catch up with me.

Now if I were just fostering I don't know that I would really go too wild and crazy with my food choice. I'd probably feed something better just for the plain fact that I think cheapy foods smell bad and are nastily greasy. Wouldn't put as much thought into it as I do my own dogs though.
 

Saeleofu

Active Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
9,036
Likes
0
Points
36
#8
I usually just feed my fosters whatever I'm currently feeding my own dogs. Makes it easier. Now, Tango was a different story. He was small enough I could really feed anything and not cost much, and I wanted to make sure he had the absolute best nutrition while he was healing from his amputation. So he got Orijen kibble and Nature's Variety premade raw. Once he was healed I switched him to what my dogs were eating, which at the time I think was TOTW. I have no idea what he was eating before because the previous owners didn't tell me, but I'm assuming it was crap given the rest of his care was crap.

I do think oral health is genetic, and not necessarily that the most well-bred dogs have the best oral health. Neither of my dogs has much for buildup, but considering Logan has significantly more than Gavroche (who has, well, nothing), even though Logan just had a dental and they eat the exact same thing...yeah. My parents' dog Max lived well into his teens and he NEVER needed a dental, his teeth were perfect except for wear.
 

Barb04

Super Moderator
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
27,429
Likes
4
Points
38
#9
All I can tell you is my neighbor down the block has fed Dog Chow to all her dogs. Her oldest being 15 years old (pittie/boxer mix). My other neightbor feeds Pedigree. There's no way you can convince them to switch to "better" foods when their dogs are healthy & living long lives.
 

Saintgirl

New Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2005
Messages
941
Likes
0
Points
0
Age
47
#10
I always switch my foster Saints off of crappy diets. She is still a baby if she is nearly two and generally a dog in good health will present with a nice coat, nails, etc at this age even on a bad diet. The reason that I switch them off is because off their lifespan being so short. Most Saints who end up in rescue are coming from byb's and a lifespan that is only 8-10 will usually be on the lower end with a byb saint. My old boy did very well until he was 7 1/2 and then his decline was rapid. He made it one day past his eighth birthday. My current boy is 6 (a foster failure!) who we got when he was 4. He was fed Old Roy his entire life (until the day he came into our home). I prefer to give him the best diet he can to prolong his life any way I can.

I am tired of the whole argument that 'so and so have a dog who lived to be 16 amd they only ever ate old roy (or any other trash food). Great! But let's face it, if we eat McDonalds every day of our life the odds are that we will not be as healthy as the person who makes a conscientious decision about what they eat. Nutrition is pretty cut and dry as far as I see it, healthy eating promotes a healthy body. Saints are not known to be the healthiest breed out there so I do everything I can for them. But beware, Saints are notorious for their cow patties when switching their foods. I always do pumpkin with a slow switch!
 

*blackrose

"I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
7,065
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
33
Location
WI
#11
I think it depends on the level of "crappy". Grains and named meat byproducts? Eh. Nasty preservatives, sugar, food dyes...I'd switch.
 
Joined
Nov 16, 2012
Messages
407
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Texas
#12
I tend to believe that a dog that's fed Ol Roy might look fantastic, but that doesn't mean it's the best food for them or that it's actually healthy. Nutrition is nutrition is nutrition. I pretty much eat nothing but junk, outwardly it probably doesn't show (I won't judge myself :p) but yeah I know my diet isn't doing me any favors and that it'll catch up with me.

Now if I were just fostering I don't know that I would really go too wild and crazy with my food choice. I'd probably feed something better just for the plain fact that I think cheapy foods smell bad and are nastily greasy. Wouldn't put as much thought into it as I do my own dogs though.
This...except I normally feed fosters raw if for no other reason than to keep kibble poop out of my yard. lol Plus it's just kind of easier for me to feed everyone the same thing.
 

Ivy

New Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
1,713
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Ontario
#13
I would never personally feed crappy food (Pedigree, Ol Roy, etc) to my guys. I am switching my current foster to TLC food soon.
 

Emily

Rollin' with my bitches
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
2,115
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Illinois
#14
This...except I normally feed fosters raw if for no other reason than to keep kibble poop out of my yard. lol Plus it's just kind of easier for me to feed everyone the same thing.
Same.

When I had Ketchup and Mustard I fed them kibble only because they needed enormous quantities of food to regain condition. I started them on Diamond Naturals because my bank account was tight and again, they needed LOTS of food. (5 cups per day, EACH, so 10 Cs per day). When they were down to normal rations on put them on TOTW.

But generally, yeah, I have a big freezer full of raw food, so feeding fosters raw is actually easier for me. :lol-sign: Otherwise I have to go out and get kibble.

Even if fosters appeared to do fine on crap food, I'd switch them to something decent. I can't imagine going out and buying a bag of Pedigree, LOL. I don't if I could make myself buy it, actually. I just can't spend my money on something like that. LOL
 

JacksonsMom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
8,694
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Maryland
#15
I think it depends on the level of "crappy". Grains and named meat byproducts? Eh. Nasty preservatives, sugar, food dyes...I'd switch.
Yeah, this.

I really believe that Ol' Roy, Beneful, etc are the crappiest of the crappiest. I don't think any dog deserves to eat that crap.

But when it comes to food like Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, Eukanuba, Royal Canin... to be honest, I've seen a lot of dogs that do very well on these foods.

I don't think food makes *that* much of a difference in the overall scheme of things. I much more believe that things like over-vaccinating, spaying/neutering and at what age, exercise, lifestyle, and genetics play a much greater role.

I still couldn't get myself to feed a lot of those foods, but lately I don't really pay as much attention to ingredients, but moreso WHERE the food is coming from, how trustworthy the company is, where it's being manufactured, recalls/how many/how it was handled, etc. Diamond foods could have the best ingredient list in the world and I still wouldn't feed it. Same with Purina (the whole "lets not pull these chicken jerky treats even though they're killing dogs" rubs me horribly).

But really there is WAY too many factors out there to say "this dog did better on x food and this dog did better on y food". Raw is not the magic answer for every dog, just as any kibble is not going to work for every dog.

The only way to even get somewhat of an understanding of how certain foods work for dogs would be if there was a study that took 100's of dogs, fed a group of them one food, another group another food, and they each got the same amount of exercise and came from good genetic backgrounds as far as we could tell, and then see if one group lived longer and healthier than another, etc. Which is most likely never going to happen. The feeding trials they do on foods is such a joke... so they're impossible to tell. But I agree, that I prefer to see a food with SOME kind of feeding trial. I don't really want my dog being the guinea pig.

As far as oral health, if I don't brush Jackson's teeth EVERY day, plaque and tarter creeps up real quickly. He had a dental at 3 years old in Nov. 2011 and will probably need another one this year. And I brush at least 3-4x a week, he gets bones, and other oral care. And it doesn't matter what kind of food he's on.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2011
Messages
6,405
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Minnesota
#16
Honestly for a foster who is feeling well I would just leave them on whatever they are eating rather than change the diet, then have it potentially be changed again going to the permanent home. Whatever the dog eats for a few weeks or months in my home isn't going to impact their long term health.
 

JessLough

Love My Mutt
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
13,404
Likes
2
Points
38
Age
33
Location
Guelph, Ontario
#17
Yeah, this.

I really believe that Ol' Roy, Beneful, etc are the crappiest of the crappiest. I don't think any dog deserves to eat that crap.

But when it comes to food like Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, Eukanuba, Royal Canin... to be honest, I've seen a lot of dogs that do very well on these foods.

I don't think food makes *that* much of a difference in the overall scheme of things. I much more believe that things like over-vaccinating, spaying/neutering and at what age, exercise, lifestyle, and genetics play a much greater role.

I still couldn't get myself to feed a lot of those foods, but lately I don't really pay as much attention to ingredients, but moreso WHERE the food is coming from, how trustworthy the company is, where it's being manufactured, recalls/how many/how it was handled, etc. Diamond foods could have the best ingredient list in the world and I still wouldn't feed it. Same with Purina (the whole "lets not pull these chicken jerky treats even though they're killing dogs" rubs me horribly).

But really there is WAY too many factors out there to say "this dog did better on x food and this dog did better on y food". Raw is not the magic answer for every dog, just as any kibble is not going to work for every dog.

The only way to even get somewhat of an understanding of how certain foods work for dogs would be if there was a study that took 100's of dogs, fed a group of them one food, another group another food, and they each got the same amount of exercise and came from good genetic backgrounds as far as we could tell, and then see if one group lived longer and healthier than another, etc. Which is most likely never going to happen. The feeding trials they do on foods is such a joke... so they're impossible to tell. But I agree, that I prefer to see a food with SOME kind of feeding trial. I don't really want my dog being the guinea pig.

As far as oral health, if I don't brush Jackson's teeth EVERY day, plaque and tarter creeps up real quickly. He had a dental at 3 years old in Nov. 2011 and will probably need another one this year. And I brush at least 3-4x a week, he gets bones, and other oral care. And it doesn't matter what kind of food he's on.
That study wouldn't work, unless they cloned the exact same dog multiple times.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2011
Messages
6,405
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Minnesota
#18
That study wouldn't work, unless they cloned the exact same dog multiple times.
Not really, otherwise no one could ever do any studies on anything. The goal is to eliminate as many differences as possible, but you can never have a totally uniform study population.
 

JacksonsMom

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2009
Messages
8,694
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Maryland
#19
That study wouldn't work, unless they cloned the exact same dog multiple times.
well, I wasn't really thoroughly thinking out a study or anything lol. I mean I came up with it in .5 seconds for my post. All I mean is that extensive studies would have to be done to prove if food even makes that much of a difference in most canines and well... that's not going to happen. That's my only point.
 

milos_mommy

Active Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
15,349
Likes
0
Points
36
#20
Not really, otherwise no one could ever do any studies on anything. The goal is to eliminate as many differences as possible, but you can never have a totally uniform study population.
Aside from the fact that a study from entirely cloned dogs would only tell you what the food would do for THAT dog. It wouldn't tell you what impact diet was having on the general dog population as a whole. With a general pulling-dogs-off-the-streets study, there are going to be too many outside factors, but having a population with the same general health status and exercise would certainly be a legitimate study...most likely way more legitimate than one with dogs with the same genetic makeup.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Top