Something to think about . . . .

[Stinky The Clown]

Sparkly's been shopping around for dog food that is low in calories for our stout Shih-Tzu. In looking over some of the premium canned foods, she noticed that the spendier ones say things like "This food processed in a facility that also processes food for human consumption."

Do we want tom know what that human food is?

[Auntie Bush]

1. Pink slime?

[Curmudgeoness]

2. Ewwwww! I don't think so!

Either that, you have found some really great dog food.....and when you get hungry and there's nothing to snack on?????

[Stinky The Clown]

3. The kid at Petco was telling Sparkly he and others at the store had tasted this stuff:

[Curmudgeoness]

4. And......

what did they tell her the concensus was on it?

Excuse me......

[Stinky The Clown]

5. He was telling her how good it was. Said it even had some seasoning in it.

Me? I don't want to check to see if he was right.

She had another kind for them today that had a whole chicken wing in it. I got upset by that and told her not to feed it to them (chicken bones not good for doggies/choking hazard). Turns out the bones were cooked so long they were literally rubbery. The dogs each got a spoonful and a bit of bone. They loved it.

[KC]

7. What brand or

What kind of food was it? I guess the bones were ok like that but I'd still be afraid of them.

[Stinky The Clown]

9. Merrick Wing-a-Ling

A similar product is the Smothered Comfort that has a big chunk of meat in the can.

[TorchTheWitch]

6. I had switched to Merrick for my dog

Though he gets the dry grain free dry duck and sweet potato rather than the wet food. I like Merrick because they're one of precious few that make it themselves in their own facilities. I had been feeding him Blue Buffalo, but they have farmed out their manufacturing to large companies that make all kinds of other brands of dog food, and Yoshi didn't seem to like it much anyway.

[Walk away]

10. This is the canned food I feed my guys...

The food is human quality. Some flavors actually have whole chicken legs or wings right in the can. They are so braised that the dogs can eat them bones and all. Henry practically passes out when he get the wing from the Wing-A-Ling!
Their favorites are...Cowboy Cookout, Granny's Pot Pie and Turducken.

There are a bunch of companies copying the presentation of Merrick these days but no one else has their salespeople eat their food when they sell the brand to pet stores.

Henry, Robbie and Tiny Toby have been eating Merrick canned and Wellness dry for over a decade and they do great on it.

[Sparkly]

11. Exactly. Have you compared it with Spot's Stew or Natural Balance?

I think Spot's Stew is also supposed to be manufactured with human standards (not sure). I always look at the calorie counts, and I believe Spot's chicken and lamb types are okay. But the prices, while always high, seem to have jumped to the "cannot bring myself to pay that" level lately (even though one can lasts us about three days for three dogs, since I just add a little to their dry food). I think Ellen DeGeneres is involved and they support animal charities... but the prices are crazy.

Natural Balance Ultra Reduced Calorie seems to be good nutritionally. It's ground rather than solids/gravy, so it goes further especially if you add water. (This is Dick van Patten's brand.)

But definitely, the Merrick stuff is incredible. (And yes, the guy at PetCo had eaten it.) The "Smothered Comfort" is another one with a big chunk of meat in the middle. The only problem is breaking that up, as well as the wings in Wingaling, to distribute among the dogs. And there is quite a bit of liquid "gravy" stuff... But chunks of meat and bone? Total doggie nirvana.

(I also add canned unsalted green beans sometimes. The little one's weight is going down, so something is working!)

[Walk away]

12. I have been buying food on McChewy. No tax or shipping...

(for over $50 orders) and they usually get it here in two days. They beat every price around (including Pet Smart and Co) by the case. Cases of the Holiday flavors are usually less expensive too. We are currently on their Valentine's dinner and Easter is next! They also have coupons and sales. I recommend them all the time. I am sure there must be other on line companies with good deals but this one has made my life so much easier. They carry all of the better brands.

[KC]

8. I just

went to PetSmart and got some Wellness Core for my dog to try because he seems to have a sensitive stomach . They have one, same brand, called Simple that looks good and another Core for weight so you might consider trying that one.