Hey everyone! Since Victor is off the shelves right now due to the recall, I made the switch to N&D.
I did accidentally buy the grain free option (chicken and pomegranate). I know there’s a bunch of controversy with grain free diets lately. Fortunately, this brand was not on the list.
I know that the big issue is peas, lentils, starchy things that’s causing this problem. This brands GF does not contain those. There is pea fiber listed, but no fillers.
Is this a good option to feed going forward? I can move back to the ancestral grains option if needed.
@cody640 I wouldn't feed a grain free food. We don't know enough about exactly why grain free can cause diet associated DCM. We just know that there's a link.
So we're not sure how dogs get taurine into their bodies, and if grain free decreases available taurine or what.
I feed Purina Pro Plan. They have people who do research on nutrition on staff, and they've worked to ensure that dogs fed PPP won't wind up with DCM. I have no idea if Farmina has any staff doing any nutrition research.
@cody640 I’m currently introducing my dog to the Farmina N&D tropical selection line. It seems to have a more balanced ingredient list. My thinking is that European standards are much higher than those in North America. She loves it! Her poops on Purina Pro Plan were massive and mushy.
@cody640 I’m from Europe and this brand is considered a very good one here. I’m planning to switch my dog on it soon. I really don’t understand why people have problems with it, ingredients are good
@eront What do you mean? Ingredients are information about what’s in the food. Yeah they have some ways to make it pretty looking but you can’t say the information there is useless
@eront So yeah it’s like I said brands have ways to make it look pretty. But the one thing they can’t do is lie about ingredients. And if I see that there is seven types of corn on the list, it means that it’s the main ingredient and I’m not going to feed my dog only corn. I would choose something with different types of grains, veggies and fruits. So why shouldn’t I look at the ingredients?
@crystalparker Because the ingredients aren't going to tell you the whole picture, and laypeople aren't the ones able to really judge if this or that is bad.
It's best to not use the ingredients list as consideration because it's become a marketing thing, it has nothing to do with the quality of the food and the ingredients marketing is how we end up having people preferring foods that don't undergo scientific feeding trials or have a board certified veterinary nutritionist formulating the foods, and now we see a problem stemming from it: DCM.
@eront I mean I agree that you need to look into brands and make sure that food is made by professionals and have trials, but I still don’t get why you should ignore the ingredients. Here for example I think farmina is a good brand, they have feeding trials and veterinarians formulating foods. And then I look at the ingredients and I also like them. Maybe it’s just different in America I don’t know
@crystalparker It's the same everywhere, as somebody who isn't a veterinary nutritionist, there's no way to tell quality of a food based on ingredients lists. The ingredients list is marketing 100% of the time, unless your dog has an allergy you don't need to look at it at all.
I personally don't like Farmina because they outsource their manufacturing, and they still have associations with DCM and aren't discontinuing the line despite that.
@cody640 This diet contains sweet potatoes and pea fiber high in the ingredients list which are both implicated (peas, potatoes, pulses, or the 3Ps are all possible causes). I wouldn't feed it. Farmina does have at least 2 DCM cases confirmed on their diet.
@cody640 I wouldn’t feed it. Not only is there the DCM risks, but switching foods isn’t always easy on a dog’s stomach - then you add in switching from a grain formula to a grain free - this can be even more likely to upset their digestive system.
My friend fed Victor and switched to pro plan 30/20 sport formula since the protein and fat ratio was close to her previous formula, and her dog is doing well on it.
Chewy’s customer service is great. If you tell them you accidentally ordered the wrong formula, you could probably return it and swap it. Or they might tell you to donate it to a shelter and will send you the correct item.
