Holistic dog food? good or bad?
Posted By Elza on September 27, 2009
I used to feed my 2 dogs Iams canned dog food and found out it is garbage…all by-products. I always thought Iams was one of the best, now I don’t think so when compared to pet store brands. I recently put them on Holistic dog food and they love it, they don’t turn their noses away. Holistic dog food…No by-products. So does anybody know what "Holistic" means and was it a good decision?
The word Holostic is being misused in this term.holistic means body.mind and spirit.
Iams is not that bad, but it definitely isnt the best, its alot of corn and grains an YES some byproducts ARE bad,contrary to what ratlover says, if the by products ARE NOT SPECIFIED, for example it says animal liver, or meat byproduct, these are very general terms, animal or meat can mean the scraps came from ANY animals under the sun, roadkill, cow, chicken, horses, pork, the 4 D animals (dead,dying,disease,disabled). However if it says, beef byproduct, that is really not that bad, because it specifies what animal the organs, sinews, etc etc came from. The only problem with by products is that it is hard to specify what quality the byproduct are. It could be poorly handled or low quality (the 4 d animals). So there is no law that is monitoring the quality of the byproduct in your pet food. Its better to avoid byproducts, and if you choose to feed other than muscle meat(liver,tongue,stomach,) then buy it from a butcher where you can monitor how quality the meat is. Also lower quality food such as Iams, Eukanuba, tend to use more artificial color and additive which may or may not be carcinogenic. Some lower quality food add synthetic vitamin K (menadion) to pet food. There is no conclusive evidence that this additive is necessary or even beneficial yet some companys still add it to their food. it is speculated to be a possible carcinogenic additive.
I would rather be safe than sorry. So i feed my animals low grain, real meat products like Wellness,Evo, etc.
I think you made the right choice.
Holistic means that the body is whole, and i check out the website and the food seems like a good choice, make sure when u are looking at dog food the the ingredients don’t say wheat gluten meal or gluten meal.
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‘Holistic’ is an over used term. It really means to treat the whole body, physical, mental, and spiritual. Most dog food companies use the term incorrectly.
Regardless, the food is probably fine as long as they do well on it.
BTW, Iams is a perfectly good food. By-products are not bad, I am always astonished at this rumor. By-products do not include feet, feathers, beaks, hooves, or any other inedible substance, nor does it include roadkill, garbage, etc. It is simply parts that Americans do not eat, i.e. kidneys, reproductive organs, intestines without their contents, lungs, etc. All perfectly good food. And after all, that’s what a wild dog or wolf would eat. They do not eat solely muscle meat as that would not provide all the nutrients they need. Raw feeders who feed whole prey model are probably feeding the best way as to what a dog would eat in the wild. (Although, domestic dogs are far removed from their wild ancestors, in dentition, GI tract, etc., but that’s another argument.)
Any food that carries an AAFCO statement is a fine food. Preferably the feeding trial statement. You should be able to call the company and ask if they do feeding trials, some do but don’t carry that AAFCO statement. Why is this important? Otherwise the food is simply ‘formulated to meet AAFCO standards’ but hasn’t been ‘tested’ on living animals.
Certainly there are good and bad foods. I would never feed Ol’Roy, Beneful, Gravy Train (do they even still make that?), Alpo, or that sort of junk. Contrary to popular (at least on YA) belief, Iams/Hill’s/Purina ONE/Pro Plan/Royal Canin are perfectly good foods. Innova/Chicken Soup/Merrick/etc. are excellent foods as well.
If your dog does well on a food, with a good appetite, good activity level, small firm stools, etc. then there is no reason to change it.
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RVT
The word Holostic is being misused in this term.holistic means body.mind and spirit.
Iams is not that bad, but it definitely isnt the best, its alot of corn and grains an YES some byproducts ARE bad,contrary to what ratlover says, if the by products ARE NOT SPECIFIED, for example it says animal liver, or meat byproduct, these are very general terms, animal or meat can mean the scraps came from ANY animals under the sun, roadkill, cow, chicken, horses, pork, the 4 D animals (dead,dying,disease,disabled). However if it says, beef byproduct, that is really not that bad, because it specifies what animal the organs, sinews, etc etc came from. The only problem with by products is that it is hard to specify what quality the byproduct are. It could be poorly handled or low quality (the 4 d animals). So there is no law that is monitoring the quality of the byproduct in your pet food. Its better to avoid byproducts, and if you choose to feed other than muscle meat(liver,tongue,stomach,) then buy it from a butcher where you can monitor how quality the meat is. Also lower quality food such as Iams, Eukanuba, tend to use more artificial color and additive which may or may not be carcinogenic. Some lower quality food add synthetic vitamin K (menadion) to pet food. There is no conclusive evidence that this additive is necessary or even beneficial yet some companys still add it to their food. it is speculated to be a possible carcinogenic additive.
I would rather be safe than sorry. So i feed my animals low grain, real meat products like Wellness,Evo, etc.
I think you made the right choice.
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SAME AS ORGANIC FOR HUMANS……….. CASH GRAB… ASK YOUR VET… HE /SHE WOULD BE THE BEST FOR ADVISE
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