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The recent discussion on the pet food recall made me do something I`ve never done before:  read the ingredients on the food that my dog eats! 

Can anyone tell me what this all means?  Is there anything lacking, or something that really doesn`t need to be there?  How does this compare to other brands?

Here is what they put in IAMS Large Breed Adult food:

Ingredients
Chicken, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Glucosamine), Ground Whole Grain Barley, Fish Meal, Dried Beet Pulp (Sugar Removed), Chicken Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Flax Meal, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Dried Chicken Cartilage (Natural source of Glucosamine), DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Fish Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), L-Tryptophan, Rosemary Extract

Guaranteed Analysis

Nutrient	(percent)
Crude Protein not less than	23.0%
Crude Fat not less than	13.0%
Crude Fat not more than	16.0%
Crude Fiber not more than	5.0%
Moisture not more than	10.0%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids not less than	2.30%*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids not less than	0.23%*
Glucosamine not less than	350 mg/kg*

* Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food

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Oleg Issers | StartupNation.com Web Team

50% of computer programming is trial and error. The other 50% is copy and paste.

By-Product meal is just ground up parts ... whatever they have laying around.
Vegetable pulps are like the grinds you get after using  juicer. They are a source of fiber - they are dried and all sugars/juices are removed.

Honestly that`s a pretty gross ingredient list.

The analysis is when they break it down chemically and the burn it to see it`s component molecules.

To sum up, it`s whole chicken carcasses, several grains and plant fibers, and mineral powders kind of all ground up together.

If you want a better explanation I can give you one.

I think I had this exact list at a chinese place last week.

Sounds like my multi-vitamin!

Ever read the paragraphs of ingredients on one of those vending machine goodies, `Dunkin Sticks`? My favorite: `Beef Tallow`. Aren`t candles made from that?

Also, Peeps, that easter candy bunny thing, includes `Carnauba Wax` for the little brown eyes. Also used in car washes as a polishing agent.

Don`t be dissin` beef tallow! That`s what made McDonald`s french fries the best in the world...UNTIL some anti-meat nutcase decided to sue. Now we have ho-hum run-of-the-mill fries, take-`em-or-leave-`em.

:-)

That doesn`t sound all that bad actually (especially considering that the target consumer is a non-discerning beast that will occasionally eat paper, plastic, or his own vomit!)

How does it compare to a brand like Canidae?

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Oleg Issers | StartupNation.com Web Team

50% of computer programming is trial and error. The other 50% is copy and paste.

I don`t know, but this discussion has put the kybash on my jonesing for KFC.
Thanks!

I wonder if old people are still going to buy dog food?

Craig: That`s just wrong. Although, those Mighty Dog commercials do look a little appealing.

On another note, I took my 71-year old mother to church this morning (why do old people get up at like 5am?) for a bus trip with 35 other seniors down to Savannah.

The bus charter company was called `Young`.