[angiesample]

Quick Question...

One of my friends recently adopted a 1 year old Aussie mix and is trying to decided what food to feed her... The humane society was feeding her Iams which she knows is not good, so she of course wants to change it as soon as she can. She feels she does not have time for a raw diet. She is really interested in a brand called Avoderm.. has anyone heard of this? I did some research and i guess it has Avocado Oil in it which i thought was bad for dogs. Let me know ur opinion please!! Thanks!

[gambler-girl]

Originally Posted by angiesample

Quick Question...

One of my friends recently adopted a 1 year old Aussie mix and is trying to decided what food to feed her... The humane society was feeding her Iams which she knows is not good, so she of course wants to change it as soon as she can. She feels she does not have time for a raw diet. She is really interested in a brand called Avoderm.. has anyone heard of this? I did some research and i guess it has Avocado Oil in it which i thought was bad for dogs. Let me know ur opinion please!! Thanks!

Iams is not the best food but I would not be in a big rush to change his food, he has had so much change take it slow give him a month or two. Let him settle in get to know him before elective changes are brought to him

GG

[Todd]

Avoderm is a much better food than Iams, but there are still better alternatives out there. Raw diets are really not all that time consuming, especially if you go with a prey model variation, but if she still decides to go with something commercially made she could try pre-packaged raw diets they sell online or at pet stores (Primal, BARF, Natures Variety, Bravo, etc). With Avoderm, stay away from the oven baked formula because the first ingredient is whole wheat flour which is not the first thing you want in you dog's food. Otherwise, this food is a decent food for a puppy, but as an adult I highly recommend switching the dog to a grain-free kibble with a lot more meat content/protein. Not as a puppy though because this can cause growth problems in large to giant breed dogs. What breed of dog is this? Is price an issue? There are better foods which are not grain-free like California Natural, Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae, etc. Here's something I typed a while ago...

Have you considered feeding a raw diet? How bout a home cooked diet? In my opinion, these are your best options. If this is too inconvenient, I'd suggest choosing a high quality kibble. Most of the foods you see on television commercials and sold at the grocery stores aren't the best choices. Look for a high quality, natural food without artificial preservatives, colors, additives, fillers, corn, wheat, or soy as a initial rule of thumb. Grain free is the best way to go, which generally has high amounts of meat protein. If price is an issue, don't sweat it. There are plenty of good foods out there that are priced the same as poor quality foods. Here is a great site to learn more about what foods are the best and the worst, and their pros and cons. The 6 star foods are the best and the 1 star foods are the worse. I'd at least try to feed 4 star foods, but of course 6 star foods would be ideal. Here are some brands I'd recommend off the top of my head;

Best (Don't use these foods until your dog is an adult/done growing. At least until one year or more, maybe even less, depending on breed. These foods have too high amounts of overall nutrition and cause larger breed dogs to grow too fast and develop bone problems. Wait until adult)

EVO
Taste Of The Wild
Origin
Timberwolf Organics
Canidae Grain-Free Formula
Wellness CORE

Very Good

Innova
Wellness
Canidae
California Natural (Great For Dogs With Food Allergies)
Solid Gold

Good For Best Quality On A Budget

Fromm
Premium Edge
Natural Balance
Diamond Naturals
Avoderm (not baked)

*Don't forget to consider home cooked or especially raw (which is EXTREMELY cost effective). Let me know if these interest you and I can give you more info. Good Luck!

great resource: http//:Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble

[angiesample]

Thanks Todd for all the information i will be letting her know what u recommend and let her make her decision...

Gambler-girl: Thanks for the info.. shes had dogs her whole life so she knows not to do anything dramatic. Shes big into research, so i think she just wants to know what shes going to do.. not necessarily start the process yet.

[Lunareclipse]

My pooches get one home-cooked meal and one raw food meal a day. They have kibble down for whenever they feel like snacking.

[DoggieVogue]

My dogs both eat Nutro brand Natural Choice dry food. It came vet recommended to us and my pups seem to like it better than any other we've tried! I'd recommend it, but every dog is different!

[Cassie'sPet]

So looking forward to reading posts about raw dieting for dogs. So far my Cassie gets and LURVES her raw bones I buy frozen, going to buy them fresh from the butcher from now on and she eats carrots when I peel them for a recipe. What I really need is a list of foods NOT to give a dog, I think GARLIC? might be one of them? Great to read this thread.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by DoggieVogue

My dogs both eat Nutro brand Natural Choice dry food. It came vet recommended to us and my pups seem to like it better than any other we've tried! I'd recommend it, but every dog is different!

I feel that Nuetro is a step above foods like science diet, iams, purina, etc, however I still feel that it is a borderline poor food and there are other alternatives for very comparable prices such as Primium Edge, Fromm, Avoderm, Diamond Naturals, etc.

I def. agree with you though that all dogs are different and do well on different variations of diets.

[angiesample]

"cassies Pet"- i feed my dog a raw diet. I actually started about 2 and half weeks ago and I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Im still learning and am loving doing the research and letting my dog try new foods and seeing her reaction. You are right about garlic although some people say u can give a little i dont feel comfortable enough to risk it. I also know that apple peel and the seeds are toxic, but if ur willign to peel and core them ur dog will probably love them! I think onion is not good either. Im still in the process of learning, but this is the right place to find out more about raw diet. You will notice a huge difference in your dog! Good luck!

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by Cassie'sPet

So looking forward to reading posts about raw dieting for dogs. So far my Cassie gets and LURVES her raw bones I buy frozen, going to buy them fresh from the butcher from now on and she eats carrots when I peel them for a recipe. What I really need is a list of foods NOT to give a dog, I think GARLIC? might be one of them? Great to read this thread.

This thread is for you:Foods that are hazardous to a dog
ops: and you too, Angiesample!

[angiesample]

So on that list i saw that Avocados are on it. Now Avoderm contains "avocado Oil" do u think thats bad? Although i think i convinced my girl friend to feed her dog Taste of Wild . Its not a raw diet but it seems like a great food! Just curious about the avocado oil! Thanks!

[Todd]

Originally Posted by angiesample

So on that list i saw that Avocados are on it. Now Avoderm contains "avocado Oil" do u think thats bad? Although i think i convinced my girl friend to feed her dog Taste of Wild . Its not a raw diet but it seems like a great food! Just curious about the avocado oil! Thanks!

It is true that avocado oil can be dangerous to pets as far as gastro distress goes, however the amount used in Avoderm in not enough to cause adverse effects. Avocados can have many benefits such as a healthy coat and skin, but can be toxic in certain doses. Sort of like garlic. Garlic can be toxic to dogs in certain doses but a small amount is safe and beneficial. Same goes with broccoli for instance. There is no mention of avocado until after the tenth ingredient so it's a safe assumption that there is not that much included. Furthermore, avocado is generally not "toxic" or fatal to dogs. It is mostly known to just cause gastro distress in dogs. If this results from feeding Avoderm than obviously don't continue feeding it, however with the amount of avocado in the food it's highly unlikely.

By the way, Taste Of The Wild is a great kibble!

[Yogi]

Actually this is not true. Avocado pits as well as leaves and skin are the toxic portions not the meat or oil. But like anything, too much is not good and this is when a dog will generally have issues caused by the "persin" which is in the fatty content of avocado meat. Fact is that most of the avocado farmers have dogs that eat those that have fallen off the trees for years leaving all but the meat and have had no ill effects.
Persin though is toxic to other animals but for some reason not to dogs when they do not gloat on them.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

Actually this is not true. Avocado pits as well as leaves and skin are the toxic portions not the meat or oil. But like anything, too much is not good and this is when a dog will generally have issues caused by the "persin" which is in the fatty content of avocado meat. Fact is that most of the avocado farmers have dogs that eat those that have fallen off the trees for years leaving all but the meat and have had no ill effects.
Persin though is toxic to other animals but for some reason not to dogs when they do not gloat on them.

Oh, OK. That makes sense then that they would include it in their food. Thanks for clearing things up.

[GSDS4Life]

I have been giving garlic to my dogs for many years. This includes my past dogs. When I bake their treats, I put garlic in it. When I cook homemade meals, I put garlic in it. They have never had any health issues at all. All are very healthy. It's actually a great natural flee repelant.

I have also given my dogs grapes. The seedless ones. Again I have been doing this for many years. No they don't get them everyday. They get roughly 4, and it's every month.

I'm with Todd on the Nutro. The ingredients are not to my liking. Way to much fillers.Also, sorry to say, but many vets know nothing about nutrition.

DoggieVogue, please do some research on Menadione (Vitamin K3)

It's in Nutro and it's not a good thing. I have a great link, but can't post it yet.

[CorkyMax]

Certain varieties appear to be more of a problem than others---[B]Avocados Are Dangerous to Dogs[/BAs far as the oil goes--I would consider that to be part of the fruit.

[angiesample]

You should always do ur own research when it comes to food for your dogs. Vets recommend what they are paid to recommend. Which doesnt mean there recommending a bad food necessarily, but they have to make money. Plus different kinds of dog food isnt really covered when they go to school and even if it was, dog foods are always changing.

[GSDS4Life]

yayyyyyyyyy I can post links.LOL

Here is the Menadione link

The Dog Food Project - Menadione (Vitamin K3)

[gambler-girl]

Originally Posted by angiesample

You should always do ur own research when it comes to food for your dogs. Vets recommend what they are paid to recommend. Which doesnt mean there recommending a bad food necessarily, but they have to make money. Plus different kinds of dog food isnt really covered when they go to school and even if it was, dog foods are always changing.

My perspective is vets are not all equal, some are very smart and others perhaps graduated in the bottom of the class. As for food they get 4 hrs on the subject in school here in Ontario I assume it is similar elsewhere. I forget which one I think it is science diet gives free food to vet students hopeing that when the graduate that they will recomend SD. They are just people who have opionions, some informed some not. Food is not medicine.

GG

[Todd]

Originally Posted by gambler-girl

My perspective is vets are not all equal, some are very smart and others perhaps graduated in the bottom of the class. As for food they get 4 hrs on the subject in school here in Ontario I assume it is similar elsewhere. I forget which one I think it is science diet gives free food to vet students hopeing that when the graduate that they will recomend SD. They are just people who have opionions, some informed some not. Food is not medicine.

GG

Thank you for sharing this. I agree with you, especially about standard vet's nutritional education.