Karen sent this to me privately as she didn’t want to publicly bash my list of recommended foods. I think you should see what Karen’s research shows, it is useful information. From the foods listed below list the only foods Karen puts her stamp of approval in are: Orijen and Honest Kitchen
This is Karen’s new website is: karensk9s.com
The following is the down side would be to the ingredients in that list and why I really hesitate to respond. . It’s long to read, but true, .
- Orijen – 🙂
- Canine Caviar:
Canola Oil – The Weston A. Price Foundation article quotes numerous studies of the effects of Canola oil in animals; “These studies all point in the same direction–that canola oil is definitely not healthy for the cardiovascular system. Like rapeseed oil, its predecessor, canola oil is associated with fibrotic lesions of the heart. It also causes vitamin E deficiency, undesirable changes in the blood platelets and shortened life-span in stroke-prone rats when it was the only oil in the animals’ diet. Furthermore, it seems to retard growth, which is why the FDA does not allow the use of canola oil in infant formula.”
- Honest Kitchen – 🙂
- Innova, California Natural – Produced by Proctor & Gamble:
-Not human grade ingredients.
-Flavorings or Natural Flavorings – can be ANY leftover parts including infectious lungs, tumors, feces etc.
-White Rice: in the top 7 ingredients in some. Rice implies “white rice” a highly processed ingredient which has little or no nutritional value.
-Canned products (13 oz) lined with: BPA or bisphenol A: BPA Used to line canned food: causes precancerous conditions, kidney and developmental problems in animals.
- Pinnacle & Avo Active Care
– is produced by “Breeder’s Choice”: From Breeders-Choice concerning Ethoxyquin: “However, because it is found in the food chain, trace amounts cannot easily be eliminated.”
-Ethoxyquin is not only used as a preservative in dog foods but it is also used as a pesticide and as a hardening agent in the manufacture of rubber and tires. Ethoxyquin has been “implicated in birth defects, stillborn puppies, liver failure, infertility and cancer”. Ethoxyquin is a registered pesticide, FDA doesn’t allow it to be used as a preservative in food for human consumption, classified as a probable carcinogen.
-Sodium Selenate: ScienceLab.com states Sodium Selenite “may be toxic to blood, kidneys, liver, skin, central nervous system. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.
-Copper Sulfate: Copper sulfate is also registered for use as a weed seed treatment, for treatment of tree wounds, for control of fungi and fungal/bacterial slimes occurring in wood, and in water systems, including sewer pumps and force mains, pulp and paper mills, cooling towers and spray ponds.
-Egg Product: Eggs rejected for human use are turned into powdered or liquid for use by the pet food industry. Condensed information from “Poultry Science Association”: “acidified egg liquids are treated with 92% equivalency of 3.4 N NaOH after which egg meats were cooked and incorporated into specialty pet food formulations.” NaOH is sodium hydroxide, commonly known as caustic or LYE….a CORRISIVE!
Needs to say: sourced from USDA eggs or human quality eggs.
- Wellness:
-Sodium Selenate: ScienceLab.com states Sodium Selenite “may be toxic to blood, kidneys, liver, skin, central nervous system. Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.
-Copper Sulfate: Copper sulfate is also registered for use as a weed seed treatment, for treatment of tree wounds, for control of fungi and fungal/bacterial slimes occurring in wood, and in water systems, including
sewer pumps and force mains, pulp and paper mills, cooling towers and spray ponds.
-Canola: see above under Canine Caviar
-Flavoring: see above under Innova/California Natural
- Companion Natural Pet Food (raw diet) 🙂
Dear Friends of Companion Natural Pet Food,
After much thought and deliberation, Companion Natural Pet Food has a new name.
We are now Fresh Is Best Natural Pet Food. 🙂
- Animal Food Services ( raw diet)
-Did not find anywhere where it said that it was human grade meat. Animals harvested from USDA plants must first be saturated with chemicals or charcoal called “denatured” a procedure designed to make it unpalatable to humans, ensuring it cannot be re-sold as human grade meat.
-“AFS diets are composed primarily of beef, internal organ meats such as hearts, livers, kidneys, tripe and finely ground bone.” Too much of a good thing is not good. It should contain muscle meat.
-“All ingredients originate only from animals harvested in USDA regulated and inspected meat packing plants.” What they don’t say is if it is the human grade un-denatured parts that leave the packing plant.
- Nature’s Variety Raw diet:
-The rabbit in all of their foods comes from China.
-“Our manufacturing facilities are used to produce pet food rather than human food, and since this is not in line with the USDA’s definition of human grade, our foods cannot be classified as being human grade.” -Again, denatured meat.
- Merrick:
-Sodium Selenite: see above
-Canola: see above
-Yeast: Some dogs are allergic to yeast, and dogs that are allergic to other foods are likely to be allergic to yeast as well. Yeast is usually the leftovers from brewing beer. Several references feel that the effects of brewer’s yeast for dogs may include bloat, gas, and indigestion.
-Flavorings: see Innova/California above
*Fromms:
-Sodium Selenite: see above.
-Canned formulas are lined with BPA or bisphenol A: BPA Used to line canned food: causes precancerous conditions, kidney and developmental problems in animals.
*Royal Canin:
-Sodium Selenite: see above
-Copper Sulfate: see above
-Soy & Soy Products: Per Dr. Karen Becker: “Soy is estrogenic and can wreak havoc on your dog’s endocrine system.” Soybeans and/or soy products are not clinically proven to be safe for pets to consume. Soy products are fat-free (defatted) soybean meal and is a primary, low-cost, source of protein for animal feeds: Soybeans also contain potent enzyme-inhibitors. These inhibitors block uptake of trypsin and other enzymes which the body needs for protein digestion.
Even though most of those ingredients are towards the bottom of the ingredient list on the label, every day use of the same ingredient, even if it is in the foods that you rotate to, builds up over time. It’s really a personal decision on what you choose to use. But you need to know the facts. Karen Murray
Karen’s website is awesome! It is one of the most comprehensive and accessible (meaning, I can understand it) resources I’ve found on dog food online.
Thank You Jennie 🙂
I love it too, Karen! Thank you so much for sharing all of your very hard work!
Thanks for the info Karen! Schumi is still on kibble in the a.m. (currently Orijen) and raw at night. A pet store by me has started selling Honest Kitchen and I was thinking of trying it again (gotta figure out which types Schumi does or doesn’t like I can’t remember. He turns his nose up at one of them). Do you need to give the vitamin mix when you feed Honest Kitchen (like the Love kind)?
Hi Becky!
No, vitamin supplements are not needed for the Orijen or the Honest Kitchen, but you could include oils. Feed Coconut Oil or Flax Oil (Doogan itches with flax) when feeding Chicken and Turkey and Hemp Oil when feeding Beef. Also, Krill oil every day except on the days when feeding fish. If you explain to them that you can’t remember which one he doesn’t like, they will send you free samples. Also, just FYI the HK “Preference” is one of their products that you add your own meat to!
Karen, what about Acana? It is a slightly less pricey brand from the makers of Orijen.
Hey Ann!
2 things to consider.
*One brand contains some type of grains making it less expensive and the other non-grain contains potatoes. So the % of meat protein goes down.
*And so, far, their site does not say “fit for human consumption” as their Orijen page states. My best guess is that the quality muscle meats and such go into the Orijen (80%/20%) and then the other left over parts are ground together and used in their sister food Acana since they have their own manufacturing plant. Don’t forget though that their meats begin as fit for human consumption so the left over part would be good meat too, just not able to make that statement. Good food for the $ if you don’t mind the higher carbo percentages. The Orijen has 80% meat and 20% carb combo.
Karen,
One more question, since you’ve been so wonderful with your answers.
I am used to supplementing the dogs food with Joint Max Granules (antioxidants, glucosamine, chondroitin, creatin, & MSM combo).
If I switch to Orijen, which appears to have all that & more, should I continue or stop the supplements?
Thanks again for all your knowledge.
No problem, any time!
Ahhhhhh…..I see you’ve been doing some homework! Good for YOU!!! You get 3 smiley faces for looking at the ingredients! 🙂 😉 🙂
Calculate, by their weight, if you would need to add more to the food by using Dr. Becker’s recommendations:
•10 mg. per pound daily for maintenance and wellness
•20 mg. per pound 1 to 2 times daily for therapeutic serving to slow degenerative musculoskeletal changes.
Another great supplement that you could rotate your Joint Max with is a human product called ChrondroSamine Plus by Biotics Research. It is a professional product but you can get it at http://www.covenanthealthproducts.com $36 for 90 capsules. It is item #7815
Hope this helps!
OMG Karen… you are a superb wealth of information.
Thank you SO much!
Karen,
I am sorry to go back again on this but Julie says that this blog is our learning tool… so I am learning…
To make sure I understand:
For example: Orijen Large Puppy has the following: Glucosamine-1400 mg & Chondroitin-1200 mg. Joint Max has Glucosamine-1000 mg & Chondroitin-100 mg (yes, that’s 100, not 1000).
If U-Rock weighs 50 lbs he should be taking in 500 mg daily (10 mg x 50 lbs), so it appears that the Orijen contents are enough. Did I understand this right?
Thanks again!
NO problem! So here’s the thing most people don’t realize. When a kibble says to feed your dog a certain amount for its size, and you cut down that amount to….let’s say….help your dog lose weight, they actually will not be getting the recommended AAFCO daily vitamin and mineral level, or in your case the amount of joint supplement stated on the label. I don’t know if you cut your dogs food back or feed the recommendation, but it’s worth checking out.
Let me know exactly how much you are feeding right now and what brand.
You will most likely be feeding a slightly smaller amount of Orijen according to the package for his weight, as it is a more dense and concentrated food.
I’ll look into this further tonite for you. 🙂
Karen,
Right now I am at the end of the Royale Canine GSD bag. I’ve been feeding U-Rock 5 cups daily (along with the additional cooked food I add in the evening). The Orijen Large Puppy recommendations are 5.5 – 6 cups daily.
Again, thanks for your research!
OKKKKKK…..here’s the skinny on whether to add or not to add additional Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements to the Orijen!
I reached out to Bonnie Gerow at Champion Foods, who I’ve exchanged numerous emails with over the past several months. After she figured the grams, kilograms, milligrams (way too much for me!) in ENGLISH it means that there is 168 mg. of Glucosamine and 144 milligrams of Chondroitin within 1 cup of the food! So it looks like 5.5 cups would contain 924 mg of Glucosamine and 792 mg of Chodroitin which would be sufficient! I also like to
add MSM to give a sulphur boost, but that’s just me! You could also add a raw, skinless chicken neck a couple times per week too for some au-natural Glucosamine/Chondroitin!
Hope this helps! 😉
Karen, Ohhhhh… you are too good to be true! Many thanks!
You are most welcome!
Don’t forget to rotate your pups food too. Orijen Adult Dog and 6 Fish are “All Life Stages” and their Chond/Glucos levels are about the same. Also, The Honest Kitchen “Embark”. Just remember to wean him on slowly, mixing the new with the previous food, so as not to cause upset. It’s possible to get loose stool or diarrhea and that is fairly typical when switching from a food with grains and different items in it + your not sure how this little guys stomach works yet! 🙂 They are all so different! You might want to use some canned pumpkin (not the spice included one) if this happens or some Slippery Elm from the health food store.
A good product of digestive enzymes + a pro-biotic is called: “Digest All” by Holistic Pets Organic. http://www.thewholisticpet.com/index.cfm All Human Grade ingredients!