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First day mixing in 4-Health Grain Free


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We finally got to a Tractor Supply store this morning and bought a bag of the 4-Health Grain Free Turkey and Potato and mixed just a little in with her previous food (Purina One Smartblend Puppy Chow) and what a difference !

 

With the Purina One she used to pick out the chicken nuggets first, then it got to where I had to enhance the Purina One with a little added stuff like chicken or turkey meat, bits of cheese or egg, ect. just to get her to eat it at all.

 

This morning when I mixed a little 4-Health Grain Free Turkey and Potato in she went right for her food bowl and started eagerly eating without any other added enhancements !

 

......wow, a dog food she really likes just as it is right out of the bag !

 

(The Tractor Supply said they get more in once a week because it goes off the shelves pretty quick)

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Update: She just recently threw up a small amount (about two tablespoons worth) but otherwise she seems ok.

 

.......so I guess it is not unusual for any dog to throw up a little when first mixing in a new food, right ?

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No, that is unusual, she should not be throwing up anything. Potato is equally bad for dogs (assuming white, not sweet) compared to corn and grain. They usually can't digest it, so is also a filler. If you're interested in going grain free, natures variety has a kibble. I've seen Blue, but know nothing about it. Stella and Chewies has a freeze dried raw if raw raw is not an option.

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Thanks for the various input, it is appreciated !

 

She hasn't thrown up again since earlier even though she has eaten more.

 

She is actually picking out the 4-Health grain free to eat and leaving the Purina One in the bowl :)

 

I thought to try the 4-Health grain free based on others' reviews based on their experiences, it seems to be highly thought of by quite a few people.

 

It's not unusual when they eat faster than they are used to eating. You may want to add a little water or take other measures to slow down her eating.

 

 

No, that is unusual, she should not be throwing up anything. Potato is equally bad for dogs (assuming white, not sweet) compared to corn and grain. They usually can't digest it, so is also a filler. If you're interested in going grain free, natures variety has a kibble. I've seen Blue, but know nothing about it. Stella and Chewies has a freeze dried raw if raw raw is not an option.

 

 

Although ditto to Gideon's Girl about the faster eating... I've had three dogs that can't do potato, so I latched onto that.

 

 

He is feeding Purina, so his dog may need to improve nutrition in stages, instead of all at once.

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Personally, I wouldn't feed that brand.

 

The "grain free" rage is just another unfortunate marketing ploy of dog food companies. Allergies to grain are actually pretty uncommon in dogs. More often, they are allergic to the protein in the food (chicken, beef, etc).

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I thought I remembered reading some positive comments on the forum about 4-Health grain free, but I understand there are varying views on the forum, I still appreciate any and all input BOTH pro or con though :)

 

The thing is at least Xena REALLY likes 4-Health grain free, were she just seemed to tolerate the Purina One.

 

It got a fairly good review on the dog food advisor site -

 

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/4health-grain-free-dog-food-dry/

 

 

 

Personally, I wouldn't feed that brand.

 

The "grain free" rage is just another unfortunate marketing ploy of dog food companies. Allergies to grain are actually pretty uncommon in dogs. More often, they are allergic to the protein in the food (chicken, beef, etc).

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I don't consider that web page to be the most accurate source of info.

 

Just because a pet likes a food doesn't mean it's high quality or nutritional for them. If you let children dictate what they ate, many would live on soda, chicken nuggets and candy.

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Are there any really accurate review sites ?

 

The trick is to find an affordable food, that is both nutritious AND your dog actually likes to eat, because if a dog does not like it they won't want to eat it.

 

4-Health grain free seems to be reasonably nutritious.

 

I don't consider that web page to be the most accurate source of info.

 

Just because a pet likes a food doesn't mean it's high quality or nutritional for them. If you let children dictate what they ate, many would live on soda, chicken nuggets and candy.

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Gary,

4Health is not a bad food. It's the Tractor Supply premium brand. Some folks won't want to use it because it's made by Diamond (I believe) and Diamond has had some recalls in the past.

 

The key is to find a food that your dog likes and does well on and that you can afford. I don't think that particular food falls into the potato chips and cookies category of dog foods.

 

J.

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Gary,

4Health is not a bad food. It's the Tractor Supply premium brand. Some folks won't want to use it because it's made by Diamond (I believe) and Diamond has had some recalls in the past.

 

The key is to find a food that your dog likes and does well on and that you can afford. I don't think that particular food falls into the potato chips and cookies category of dog foods.

 

J.

+1

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Thanks for your input, I also might tend to be more leary if the food came from a place that had a history of recalls, but we are using the grain-free version of 4-Health and I remembered a post made back in June that addressed that concern which read -

 

"4Health also has a good canned food line that is at a good price. If you're like me and live in the Southeast and avoid Diamond made products because our food comes from the plant that has had all the recalls, then you don't want the grain inclusive 4Health kibble, however the grain free comes from Ainsworth, not Diamond, and is still a good price."

 

above quote is from -

 

http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=34984&page=2&do=findComment&comment=440709

 

In good humor, I couldn't resist mentioning.....

 

.....speaking about potato chips, my dog does like our homemade dehydrated sweet potato chips :)

 

.....and we had a box of dog treats that actually looked like oreo type sandwich cookies, but like the sweet potato chips they were made of healthy natural ingredients with no unhealthy additives :)

 

(the cookies were made by "Three Dog Bakery" and Walmart had them at a closeout price of $1.00 a package, I saw them elsewhere for about $6.00 a package, which is a little too steep)

 

Gary,

4Health is not a bad food. It's the Tractor Supply premium brand. Some folks won't want to use it because it's made by Diamond (I believe) and Diamond has had some recalls in the past.

 

The key is to find a food that your dog likes and does well on and that you can afford. I don't think that particular food falls into the potato chips and cookies category of dog foods.

 

J.

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I didn't say that brand is junk food because the dog likes it, but that a dog liking the taste does not imply nutritional value.

 

There are ratings on that web site that I do not agree with, brands rated with 4 stars that I think deserve 1 star at best. This opinion is largely based on having some inside knowledge. All I am saying is that looks can be deceiving.

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I completely agree with Liz that the Dog Food rating sites aren't accurate. They are one person's personal opinion and that person isn't a trained animal nutritionist. What someone feeds their dog seems to be a personal choice in today's world. I don't know about 4H foods but in general I wouldn't feed a diet that hadn't had been through AAFCO feeding trials. If it says, " formulated to meet AAFCO requirements" on the bag then it hasn't been tested in feeding trials. Just because a diet has the required nutrients on laboratory tests doesn't mean that the dog's body can digest and utilize the nutrients. Also, it is a good idea to feed a high end diet made by a company that also produces prescription formulas because those companies perform a great deal of animal nutrition research and have a reputation to maintain.

 

Bethany, Loki-mon, and Nosie Rosie

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And yet some of the foods made by companies who also make prescription formulas are less than stellar ingredientwise.

 

I'll just keep repeating what I always say: find the best food you can afford that your dog also does well on. Sites like Dog Food Adviser are as good a place as any to start. If you do enough research/reading you (the general you) will get a feel for what makes a good, nutritious food and what doesn't.

 

And I also want to add the caveat that manufacturing in general isn't as clean or as pretty as we'd like it to be. There's a reason federal regulations allow a certain amount of unsavory things in processed foods--it's nearly impossible to get/keep those things out. I'm not trying to defend any specific manufacturer, but I think people would do well to recognize that processed foods for both humans and animals are going to have stuff in them you'd rather they didn't. It's the nature of the beast. (And FWIW, it doesn't stop my from buying and eating that sort of stuff, though I do take less pleasure in the eating, knowing what could be in there, lol!).

 

J.

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