What are you feeding your dog?
Many dogs will develop an allergy to one of their foods during their lifetime. Many mass-produced foods on the market today have an abundance of grains in their ingredients. Those two statements are less coincidentally linked than most people care to think. Common ingredients that have been found to be troublesome for dogs are wheat, gluten, brewers yeast, corn and soy. Many dogs can handle these ingredients in moderation, but not as a main component of their diet. Add to that the comparatively larger amount of preservatives that mainstream foods use in their production, and you can see that there is less "real" dog food in every kibble. And then there's the meat ingredients. Did you know it's legal for dog food manufacturers to use roadkill meat in the production of their food? It's true...how scary is that?
Those are all contributing factors to why we do not carry mass-produced food in our store. But don't take our word for it - the best thing you can do is educate yourself. There are many sources out there, but whatever your methods, the most important thing you can do is get the education. You may very well end up saving your dog's life.
If you like books, check out "Foods Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food," by Ann N. Martin. If you prefer to do your reading online, start with Dog Food Scoop, which has many great articles and links.
Below is an introduction to the foods we do carry, and we invite you to call or come visit us to find out more about Eagle Pack, Merrick, Taste of the Wild and VéRUS.
Want to know how good your dog's food is? This quiz gives a numerical grade to foods based on their ingredients. This quiz is not perfect, but it will help you get a general idea of where your dog food falls out. Take the test here. Using this method, the following are scores of some common foods:
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 D
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Benful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
VeRUS Life Advantage / Score 99 A
Eagle Pack / Score 111 A+
Taste of the Wild / Score 113 A+
Merrick canned food / Score 109 A+
Eagle Pack
In the 1980's the family-founded Eagle Pack brand pioneered holistic-natural nutrition. Their breakthrough formulas were the first to position protein rich meat meals above corn or soy. They led the trend to better health for your pet through research based holistic supplements that include prebiotics, probiotics and antioxidants. Their ingredients are sourced from quality suppliers. Chicken meal is produced from chickens passed by the USDA; meals are antibiotic free with no added hormones. Fruits and veggies are added.
Every ingredient selected for use in Eagle Pack's holistic foods performs a function in the overall wellness of your pet. They conduct worldwide research on ingredients to be certain they make a positive contribution to your pet's health. If an ingredient is in an Eagle Pack diet it is there for a specific benefit. They look to offer you and your pet the comfort that comes from good nutrition.
VéRUS
What Makes VéRUS So Healthy for Your Pets?
For starters, they do not use byproducts. These are things other than meat, such as heads, feet, underdeveloped eggs, lungs, spleens, bones, blood, etc. Byproducts are poorly digested, increasing the workload on your pet’s kidneys. Kidney failure is the second major killer of older dogs.
VéRUS does not use fillers. These are cheap processed grains, such as brewers rice, ground rice, wheat flour, rye flour, etc. Processed grains are stripped of their nutritional value and these empty calories contribute to excess weight gain.
VéRUS also does not use chemical preservatives. The average dog consumes 6 to 9 pounds of chemical additives a year in their diet. Many of the chemical additives and preservatives our pets eat are not approved for human consumption. It comes as no surprise that cancer is the #1 killer of older dogs.
The nutrition from VéRUS products is supplied through whole foods. Their take on holistic is the use of whole meats, whole grains, vitamin antioxidant preservation, incorporation of organic nutrient sources, and chelated minerals. Their foods are carefully crafted to yield the ideal levels of protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and micronutrients for your pet.
Merrick
Merrick holistic can entrées read like a menu at a five star gourmet
restaurant and are unique to say the least. These meals combine the
fine quality of human grade ingredients from the protein sources that they use as the number one ingredient to the fresh vegetables and fruits
that they add to all of these special dishes. If you read their ingredient
panel, you will notice that they did not forget any of the details and
that these meals are loaded with nutrition.
The specialty of their foods at Merrick are the details, and one of
those details is the apples they use. They use Fuji, Golden Delicious,
Granny Smith and Red varieties to give their meals the special Merrick
touch, and they pair them with the entrée that they compliment best.
After all, this is a five star menu, right? They make the cans especially
for your pet right at their plant in Texas, and we would love for
your canine companion to have a taste of the good life today. Give them a
try and treat your dog like royalty.
Taste of the Wild
Years of domestication have turned your pets from fierce predator to best friends. However, modern science proves that your dog or cat still share the DNA of the wolf or wild cat. Taste of the Wild Brand Dog and Cat food offers your pet a diet dictated by his genes. It provides your pet with the kind of natural, balanced diet that he could find "in the wild."
Now you can satisfy your dog's instinctual cravings with
Taste of the Wild. Choose from High Prairie Canine with Roasted Bison
& Roasted Venison, Pacific Stream Canine with Smoked Salmon,
and Wetlands Canine with Roasted Fowl.
Made with real roasted meats and supplemented with fruits and vegetables, these grain-free formulas provide a superior taste sensation, highly digestible energy and natural antioxidants to support a healthy immune system and overall health. Your pets crave a taste of the wild. Go ahead and give them one.
