Best food available in Australia (would also appreciate US help)

[Kirsten]

I emailed my friend to ask her what brand it was that had sand in it.  I couldn't remember which is why I didn't name it.  Can I say her dog's seizures were due to the food?  I have no direct evidence of that.  But I do know this 2-year old dog has a history of health problems related to things like urinary tract health and allergies which I have to believe are at least partly diet related.  Whether it's because this dog is more delicate to begin with, I can't say because she is a rescue with no genetic health history for comparison.  Regardless, there is no legitimate reason for sand in dog food.

Can I say Luna's sister's problems were due to her diet?  I have a strong suspicion that they are.  They were severe problems (EPI) and as I said, I know about 50 dogs from my breeder's line, but I know of no other with anything remotely like the problems she was having.  The line is not perfect (no line is), but my breeder made full disclosure on what was floating around in her gene pool and her disclosure was born out in the dogs I have met as well as my own.  As for Luna and her other sisters, my observation is they have cast iron gullets and can handle about anything half way reasonable one might feed a dog, including Tabasco (which was intended to keep Cole from licking a sore but just made everyone help him lick it all the harder because they apparently LOVE hot sauce).

[Cera]

Wellness as a brand is not grain free, but Wellness CORE is.

Thanks Sheener  Now the funny thing is that I meant to write Taste of the Wild...not Wellness at all. 

My brain is not functioning properly.

[Kirsten]

Heard back from my friend regarding the food she found sand in.  It was California Natural, lamb, low-calorie.  She had used it for several years previously with no problems.  She does attribute some of her dog's health issues to this food.  She observed sand in her dog's feces which her vet confirmed.  The kibble had changed color about the time the company was bought out.  She consulted the local boutique store where she purchased the food and they reported some other customers had complained that their dogs stopped eating the food, but none claimed health issues related to the food.  She then decided to dissect some individual kibbles and that's when she discovered the sand.  She said she continues to prefer to feed a natural dog food, but will never purchase that particular brand again.  I think that's a pretty good recounting of what she told me of her experiences (I wound up calling her and discussing it over the phone).  I know the dog personally (have known her since she was a pup) and have been involved in helping to deal with her health issues.   

Oh.  She did also report that she doesn't like the prescription diet, mostly because of the volume of fecal output and the odor of same.  I'm pretty sure it is K/D or an equivalent because this dog's kidneys are failing.  Prescription kidney diets are low in protein and high in fiber, which explains the increased output volume.  This is necessary for the treatment of kidney disorders.

[Magesteff]

California Naturals may have been adding sand to "bulk up" the food without adding cost. Sand (depending on where they get it) is free - they can still claim a bag of food is 30#, but might only have 20# of ingredients, cutting cost.

Re:K/D: While Hobbes and Spike are cats: I was feeding them K/D as Spike has early kidney disease. Hobbes is 15 and taking prednesone for Asthma, so feeding it to her as well certainly wouldn't hurt. Neither cat likes the canned K/d and refused to eat it. They both ate the k/d kibble, but when Spike started loosing weight and the kibble was falling out of his mouth - he is 22 and is missing a lot of teeth due to age - when the bag ran out I got Pirina One Vibrant maturity from the store as I had been adding glucosame/chondroitin as they both have arthritis. Spike gained weight. Not a lot but the musces on either side of his backbone that had started to atrophy filled back in. Spike will never be a normal weight, but I want to keep as much weight on him as I can.

I think it was kibble shape, rather than any ingredient - the K/d kibble fell out of his mouth because it is round (cylinder) shaped, and fell out too easy, the Purina One was more flat little triangles that stayed on his tongue better. There is no more kibbler all around the dish so it is going down into his stomach rather than ending up on the floor.