This little comment was posted on a FB page. Here's my take on it..
Renal failure can happen with elderly dogs and cats even when fed kibble grain inclusive or grain free.
I mean for pete's sakes of coarse a senior dog is eventually going to have health issues! kibble fed, home cooked or raw something might happen as the dog gets older, eye sight loss, glaucoma, tumor, arthritis, renal failure or whatever and who knows the dog might age gracefully and healthy to the end!
I mean sure a poorly done raw is just as bad as bad quality kibble like ol'roy.. ol"roy biscuits gave my last three dogs death farts I'd hate to imagine the gas if they ate that kibble brand. haha
I find it so odd how many human health nutritionist recommend to eat fresh healthy foods and to keep processed ones at a minimum, but giving fresh food to dogs is a big no no.
I mean I don't condemn people for feeding lower priced kibble brands especially if they are having financial issues or for some reason that is only food that works. Sadly sometimes you gotta make sacrifices.
I do find I'm not feeding as much of good quality kibble compared to when I fed beneful.
Sometimes I see comments like better quality kibble gave my dogs the runs.. Which sometimes dogs don't handle grain free or some ingredients in some kibble too well.. Sometime it is because the dog transitioned too fast or owner fed too much of it. they're used to their lower quality kibble needing more cups so they make a mistake and feed too much.. There is many good quality kibble that has grains in it too if dog has issues with potatoes..
I notice how better quality kibble isn't as much cups compared to lower ones.
Bella's food cost us $59 from chewy.com they have it lower price there compared to in store which is like $71 or so..
For price comparison Beneful I found online is selling for $38. $21 cheaper than the wellness core.
Despite being more pricey you feed bit less compared to beneful.
Beneful guideline has for dog Bella's size 56lbs she'll need 3 1/4cups to 4cups a day.
VS
Wellness core ocean guideline has it for 2 1/4cups - 2 3/4cups a day. Big difference!
Coarse it depends on the dog some needs bit more some less. depends on activity level, weather and so on.
I know I had to ask my dad to feed lower amounts of the wellness as he would give her two cups a meal and then I was noticing how loose her #2 were and asked how much she was given.. Once it was lowered to right amount she got better.
I chose beneful for comparison since that was my last three dogs ate.
Dink seemed to perk up once we switched her to wellness core ocean. Coarse she did eventually went back to being slow and hard to get up, but I think the better kibble helped. She lived to 16 till she had be put to sleep due to the pain she was in. She was 14 when we switched so I think she had good year and half maybe two of being more perky. Sadly winter took a hard toll on her in the final years.
I'm no dog nutritionist or food expert. I'm still learning everyday. I still find food like purina and beneful lacking ingredient wise. poultry by products, menadione sodium bisulfite complex etc.
As a raw feeder I do feed by products like beef green tripe, beef trachea, gullet, lungs, spleen, pancreas, chicken feet, gizzards, liver, and stuff like beef snouts or whole quail even(head, feathers and all).
Only difference I know what animal that by product came from. I don't mind it if kibble had liver, kidneys, hearts, lungs and stuff like that long as it is listed what is it and what animal. To me poultry, chicken, animal or beef by product is too broad of description and can mean anything!
There are many good brands out there for decent price too. Taste of the wild is pretty good for it's price and ingredients.
Dr.tim's, Annamaet, wellness core, core ocean, Farmina, fromm etc.
Coarse if you have a dog with food allergies then you'll pay what you can to keep an reaction down..
Bella had issues with farmina chicken so we got her back on core ocean and she isn't as itchy. I'm thinking it was chicken in the kibble as she had issues with fromm and Totw. Both had chicken in it somewhere either egg, cartilage, or chicken meal..
Currently she does not itch at all on the fish based kibble. I might try red meat based kibble if it has no chicken next time to see if she reacts or not.
Currently switching to acana pacifica she is now half and half of each and doing fine no itching yet. We'll see when she is on it full time.
