Anyone know about the dog food at Trader Joe's

[cissy k]

I am not really thinking about switching but was wondering if anyone uses it. Also, they had chicken jerky "mad in china" on the shelf so I told the manager that he should really check with the manufacturer and read up on it on the internet.

[Raleighsmom]

Yes Cissy, I used to buy Trader Joe's dog food for my old lab Charlie....he lived to 14 yrs. old, and never had any problems other than arthritus, which did him in, in the end. His coat was as shiney as Molly's.....sometimes I wonder about all this high priced dog food....think about it...it was never around when we were growing up, and all our animals were healthy!!! You NEVER heard of any dogs or cats with allergies, tummy issues, etc....I'm beginning to think that the holistic dog food is like the holistic people food...all high priced, and does nothing for anyone! The only thing it does is line the pockets of the manufacturers who are laughing all the way to the bank!!! I may even consider going back to Trader Joes and trying it again on Raleigh and Molly..will let you know how they do!.....good catch on the chicken jerky!!!

[cissy k]

Thanks. I pretty much LOVE everything there and so much of their stuff is organic so I was curious. I realized that I wrote "mad in China" instead of "made in China" but I guess both probably apply these days!!

[MaxandMe]

OK i am going to say something that may not be the norm nowadays in regards to high quality dogfood

I once cooked for Max for 4.5mos then had a year of success w/Canidae and then problems started again with old formula.
so back to homecooking. Tried new formula...worse problems. Back to homemade again . THEN calif natural was working
but doodles were still chewing/licking paws and mushy poops. so back on homemade diet again and then they got sarcotic mange.

So here it's 9 weeks later........max and peanut almost have what we'd call virgin systems like puppies from a litter.
They've been on a special homemade diet for purposes of cleaning out their intestines, they're screaming with health now
and eliminating allergies.

QUESTION: some of these high protein filler and/or high protein HIGH QUALITY HEALTHY DOG FOOD, well are some cuasing the
allergy and/or tummy issues many are dealing with doodles?
dry skin, flaking skin, itching, red eyes, hot spots, even staph infections, chewing/licking paws, etc .......are allergy symptoms.

3 types of allergies: food, inhalant and environmental.

Food allergies at times can take a dog sometimes time like a 1.5 to 2 years for "build up" to occur and present itself in symptoms i described above.
weeds /molds outside are environmental

Soooooooooooooooo i look at all the dogs i've had and/or fostered we didn't have these "high" quality food
YES my dogs sustained themselves on Purina and at one point Dad's with table scraps of leftovers many nights of the week.
NONE of my dogs ever had issues.......they rarely visited a vet except for vaccinations.

So i wonder as i am working with specialty pathologist vet..........we're going over foods, proteins, fillers, and what foods arent' good for dogs
vs what isn't.

NOW i've gone thru at least 8 high quality foods ...only one worked and that one after 12mos cuased problems BEFORE the new formula.

On homemade...nothing, coat shines, eyes bright/white, no flaking, solid smaller poops, drink less water, more energy, happy, nap soundly,
Max barely sheds now i can count how many hairs i sweep up.

and YES i know rottweiler breeder feeding her dogs purina for 20years of breeding, another doberman breeder and 2 other types of breeders
feedign what we consider "inferior" food. THEY"RE dogs are awesome, the rottweilers are therapy dogs ,none overweight etc.
No ear infections, no mushies /itching etc.

Sooooooooooo i'll keep you updated but i am tempted to feed different kibble w/some homemade added like i used to.
My vet meets with me next week.......will update then as i am seriously considering a major switch in food.

I am seeing so many doodles on high quality food with digestive problems and/or allergies....are these high quality complex protein foods part of
the problem?

NONE Of my breeders LD's and GD;s have any of these food /tummy issues.......i have one friend that has beau's sister, met others that have Gd's and yet
others that have Ld's from max's litter and previous ones. NONE have any poop/allergy issues. So why do i with Max?

This is FOOD FOR THOUGHT....i know at least 3 foods Max cannot tolerate at all, specialty vet has done complete history from day 1 we've had max, every med, every food, every illness or allergy problem and every food he's had and any reactions too.

[cissy k]

All good points. We will be anxious to hear how yours do on the kibble. Thanks for the input!!

[Jac]

Okay, two points...but first, thanks Cissy for bringing this to the attention of the store personnel! I hope they listen. (I love Trader Joes.)
1) As much as I love Trader Joe's...their dog food WAS on the recall list when the toxic food was in the news...probably not using the same stuff now, but it was there.
2) I agree with Ann Marie. If I only had one or two dogs, they would get home cooking! In fact, I have toyed with the idea of ... don't laugh...well, okay, laugh...HIRING A COOK for my dogs! I don't have the desire to spend every day cooking for them and that is what I'd have to do with so many dogs...but I think that even if I bought good "human" food and hired a cook, it would cost less than the dog food! (And be far better for them.)

[gene]

Not to hop on the China soap box again, but the difference in what we fed out pets years ago may have had a lot of filler, ash, and unnecessary stuff and high in fat, but it was all made here in the US, with US products. Now, we import so much from China that that kibble that we fed our pets for years, just isn't the same any more.

I'm sticking with raw. Just found out from my butcher that all their chickens are cornfed and free range. Same with the beef, pork, etc. It's actually turning out to be a little less than the holistic kibble we were buying. Still trying to fine tune the amounts they get......Jonah's starting to get a little chunky again........

I'm with you Jac......it's beginning to get scary just to eat prepackaged food any more! You just never know.

Home much property do you have right now Jac??........can you say Doodle/people commune?? Heck, I'll be the dog cook!!

[Jac]

Hey, Gene, we have room! We are on 8 acres, but i am certain that Jonah, Miko, Rumor and any of the lucky fosters you may get would fit right in! Actually, that would be really fun!

[cissy k]

Jaq, thanks for the input as well!

As for a person coming to cook for the dogs, I can tell you that you should have no problem finding a qualified person to handle that at a reasonable price. My BIL is a personal chef and caterer in Los Angeles and I know he would not care who he was cooking for. And, since you would not need anything fancy, the cost should be minimal. Just food (and that could be bought in bulk) and whatever the chef would charge. If you allow them to cook it in your home, the cost is usually less, too, because they don't have to buy extra stuff to transport it from their place to yours.

Seriously, times are getting tough and personal chefs are going to get hit hard in many places. My BIL works for mostly Hollywood types and for them money is not so much an issue, but in other places catering will be an easy place to cut a home budget.

Best of luck!!

There I go again, hijacking my own thread!!!

[MaxandMe]

With the cost of HUMAN FOOD haven risen .......believe it or not , there is barely a difference in cost between kibble and homemade

finally i can get beef for $1.99 lb at Walmart, Chicken $1,99 at Sams....i buy yogurt, sweet potatoes, pineapple, probiotics, salmon oil,
vitamin E oil, brewers yeast, and more. IT adds up as Max and Peanut eat 3.5cups a day usually but right now with cool weather
their appetite increases. and if we are out exercising them more than usual, well i've had days max bugs me every 30min or so for more food
about 3 hours later I give in ........he either brings me his bowl or is carrying it around in his mouth following me.

[Raleighsmom]

Not to hop on the China soap box again, but the difference in what we fed out pets years ago may have had a lot of filler, ash, and unnecessary stuff and high in fat, but it was all made here in the US, with US products. Now, we import so much from China that that kibble that we fed our pets for years, just isn't the same any more.

Good thought, which I obviously never thought of!!!
I was at Trader Joes yesterday, which I love, checked out the kibble(which I didn't get), and happened to spot the chicken jerky... made in China!! So at the checkout, I mentioned it to the cashier, who adamantly stated that all goods from China had been removed from the shelves....then she called the manager over, who went and checked, and came back to affirm that I was correct....let's see if they're gone next week!!! Trader Joes carries goods from all over the world...even tho they removed products made in China, it leaves me to wonder if the other countries buy their ingredients from China, and just because it says 'Made in France', it could possibly have junk from China in it....guess we'll never know, and have to hope for the best!!!

[Jac]

Good for you, Kathie, for speaking up and letting them know!
I agree that many products manufactured in other countries, including the USA, use ingredients purchased from China.
I am glad that the clerk was "corrected"...good job!

[Tink]

Just weighing in here... I use Purina all the way for both my adult dogs and puppies. ALL are shiny, healthy weight, and energetic. My vet has given them all a thumbs up, and no digestive issues with any so far. My dams don't get skinny while nursing big litters, and while I go through about 50 lbs per week (for just the 5 adult dogs)and shovel a lot of poop, Purina has served us well.

Edited to add:
My dh is a true farm boy. He raised beef cattle, and had 60,000 laying chickens at one time, besides a menagerie of cats, dogs, milk cows, pigs, and occasional rabbits and geese. He swears through all his years of raising animals that when you go with the "higher quality" feeds the animals start having problems. According to him, the "fillers" are also fiber or roughage, which they need as much as we do. He says the organic ingredients still have to be processed and treated in order not to spoil so there are things done to (and as a result left in) the food that are more harmful than good. They're not listed as an ingredient because they're not part of the recipe but they're still there as a part of the process of making the food. I had a real fight on my hands when I tried switching the dogs to Canidae, Nutro, Nurti Source, and other "better" dog foods. He was absolutely against it and even though he rarely interferes in my dog business, this time he felt strongly enough about it to speak up.

I have to say that my brief experiment with those products only served to convince me that he was right. He's nearly 60 yrs old and this is what he's done much of his life; as even after leaving farming we've always had dogs, cats, horses, etc. Until I decided to "improve" things, we never had a problem. Now that we're firmly back on Purina, we've got healthy, happy animals and dh can smile and say "Told you so" lol

[Raleighsmom]

Good for you, Kathie, for speaking up and letting them know!

Hah!!!!! Do I dare speak up at PetSmart or Petco??????? If I did, I'm not so sure they'd remove any of it, because their shelves would be EMPTY!!!!! I did find a goodie for Raleigh and Molly, that said 'Made in the USA'...and that product was Purina's 'Carvers'....round roasted slices with over 80% beef, no artificial colors or flavors, no by products and they love them..altho Molly would love anything!!!

Speaking of Purina, I like your hubby's reasoning Tink, and just might go that route when this last 30lb. bag of Canidae Chicken and Rice is finished....! Thanks for the tips!!!

[MaxandMe]

UPDATE ...I talked to several breeders i know this past week about PURINA...Personally i know a rottweiler, doberman, and 2 doodle breeders here
in rochester, NY that feed PURINA. I have personally seen their dogs for the past 2 to 15years they're all healthy, no skin problems or itchies, ears etc
they ONLY go to vets for vaccinations/yearly well visit.

Max was on Purina when i first got him....when he was finicky i thought it was his food and read about how i should be feeding quality food
and switched him. I've have problems almost since day 1 that i did except for a year period of Canidae working till it built up , which Canidae admitted it can build up in system. WE tried their methods: feed canned, try mixing other dry food varieties of Canidae, then even tried mixing in taste of wild.
THEN tried new formula: that was a NO GO even after bland diet

to-date : Nutro Max before recall, Innova, EVo, Blue Buffalo, Merrick, Taste of Wild, Wellness, Canidae, ...Calif Natural they still licked/chewed paws severely.
Anything with Lamb or high protein immmediate diarrhea. (there were a couple other high quality i've tried can't remember names).
i am NOT ready for raw and I do NOT want to cook all the time.

Sooooooooo I am going to try going back to way i had raised all my dogs in past......on Purina and table scraps.
None of my dogs nor the ones i fostered every had health issues or allergies. NOR did my cats either in past.

AS of YESTERDAY I started putting in 1/2 cup PURINA mixed in with Max and Peanut's homemade food. So far solid poops, no gas
usually in past they get that gas and mushy poops immediately on any new food even with 1/4 to 1/3cup mixed in just once a day.
It's too eary to tell i'll know soon though.If i see any chewing of paws, flaking skin, mushy poops , ear infections.......then i'll have my answer.

Okay, some are going to disagree with me, but seriously, MAX and PEANUT'S systems are cleaned out being on strict homemade diet via me and pathologist vet. SO as they say: "dont' knock it tillyou've tried it" is my motto right now. AND in past when we didnt' have all these "healthy foods" and Purina wasn't on the recall last year. So if the std poodle and retriever breeding parents dont' have any allergies ........where did mine get theirs from? I know of 5 people
with LD;s and GD;s from my breeder of both previous and subsequent litters NOT ONE HAS ANY food issues and/or poop /allergy problems. I am the only one.

SO here i am seeing Std Poodles with NO tummy /skin or allergy issues,as well as labs, goldens, rotts, and dobermans.......all fed purina and sometimes some extra human table food screaming with health. I HAVE been saying for quite some time "THE FOOD YOUR DOG can Tolerate and is healthy on is the to feed"--I am practicing what I preach. If Purina works out great........if not back to drawing board.

will keep you posted.....when a dog is on homemade diet for 8weeks or more , allergic symptoms generally appear by 2 weeks.