We tried Wellness but our puppy had horrible diarrhea problems. Apparently that is very common with their new, lower quality formulation. From that website, I definitely suggest the Natural Balance.
Your parents should look around--they will find that the prices of higher quality foods aren't all that much more expensive. Here is a comparison of the ingredients between Purina ONE and Canidae. The price comparison is at the bottom. Feel free to print it out and give it to them.
Purina ONE:
Lamb (natural source of glucosamine),
brewers rice, oat meal,
corn gluten meal,
poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), whole grain
corn,
animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), non-fat yogurt, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate,
animal digest, potassium chloride, caramel color,
salt, choline chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, brewers dried yeast, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin,
menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.
Brewer's Rice is the small milled fragment of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. Brewer's rice is a lower quality rice product that is missing many of the nutrients found in ground rice and ground brown rice. It is basically a waste product of the alcohol industry.
Corn Gluten Meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of cornstarch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm. Corn gluten in dog foods is cheap protein filler.
Poultry By-Product Meal consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcasses of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines; exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices. This is a low-quality, inconsistent ingredient, with multiple organs used, constantly changing proportions, and questionable nutritional value. The origin can be any fowl (turkeys, ducks, geese, buzzards, etc.), instead of a single source, like chicken. Poultry by-product meal is much less expensive and less digestible than chicken meal.
Animal Fat: Animal fat is a "generic" fat source that is most often made up of rendered animal fat, restaurant grease, or other oils too rancid or deemed inedible for humans. Look for a named fat source, such as poultry or chicken fat, that is naturally preserved.
Animal Digest: A material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. Animal digest is a palatability enhancer, which can contain unpredictable parts from animals of unknown origin.
Salt: While salt is a necessary mineral, it is also generally present in sufficient quantities in the ingredients pet foods include. Just like for humans, too much sodium intake is unhealthy for animals. In poor quality foods it is often used in large amounts to add flavor and make the food more interesting.
Menadione: Toxic.
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione
Canidae:
Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.
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Pet Food Direct Prices: 20lb Bag
Purina ONE: $24.29
Canidae: $20.99
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Sources:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com
http://www.ourpetfood.com/comparison.html
