Kibble fillers

With yet another scandal blowing over grain-free kibble this time and risks of heart disease, it’s becoming a real minefield to get real information on how best to feed our canine friends.

From what I gather, the problem lies in the binders, or fillers, necessary to make the kibble in the first place.
It appears to be their type/origin and then their proportion which is so heavily criticised.
Not everyone is able to feed raw or barf, for various reasons. What is left for us ?

The fillers which were supposed to be useless at best, bad or harmful thereafter were corn, barley and rice. Then they added potato, peas, lentils and legumes.
And there I was, thinking that kibble was supposed to be a complete and balanced feed.

So when we want to evaluate if we can’t be giving a better, or more adapted kibble, what should we be looking for ?
Which fillers are the “safest” ?
Or maybe, at the end of the day, everything is just based on trends and fashions ...

Thoughts ?

Don't panic! These reports have not been fully substantiated, and in one I read they actually admitted that lifestyle could also be causing the rise in heart problems! 

Personally I would avoid anything with wheat in it - wheat is no good for dogs & is a VERY cheap filler. 

Rice isn't 'bad' but should only be there in small amounts & should never be in the top 3 ingredients. Brown is better than white.

Oats aren't bad, either, but again, shouldn't be in the top ingredients.

It's probably best to avoid peas/legumes until their effects on dogs have been properly investigated.

Thanks for your reply gilly.

It really is a bother because I appreciate that things evolve but at late, I really have the impression that everything is criticised without offering something positive to balance it out.

Opium is finishing her bag of puppy kibble so I’m going to switch the girls over to adult orijen whilst I continue to read around in the hope of finding “better”.

This is something I really want to know about. I have been doing so much research and I’m not closer to making a decision what’s best. The problem I found is that all grain free foods, at least the ones in available in Australia, peas are the second or third ingredient. So many different options.

Hi Nifty et all - read these posts with interest and careful thoughts before contributing - I'm not as well educated as you guys on this subject but will read up!!

IT’s a real minefield you’re right; if we read every study new and old I’m personally left confused and sometimes concerned  - am I doing right by my dog??

When you refer to the fillers and their origins I guess we don't have any idea where they actually come from, which type of farm based environment - good/bad/old/new/in date/out of date etc... Then they get mixed into the foods as fillers and we pay for the ‘privilige’.

That said I’ve always been a believer that how our dogs look, act and how healthy their coats are is the best tangible gauge as to any food query/ies - a tad old fashioned I guess but I simply use trial and error, quite definitively though as once I believe I have the right food/ratios etc then I'm religious in sticking to them.

It would be absolutely brilliant if Panorama or similar carried out an investigation with positive and definite results to allay people fears or concerns over what's best for our dogs.

I personally opted for a wheat gluten free food for PJ from Pero, https://www.pero-online.co.uk/our-range/puppy-food/pero-best-puppy-food/

This was after speaking with other Bull Breed owners, reading reviews and speaking directly with the manufacturer - I can only say that the results speak for themselves and she's a happy, healthy lunatic lol.

One small criticism of this particular food is the partially size, could do with being double the size really - it's circa 7mm...

Hope my waffle doest detract from the subject

Doesn't detract at all! 

I'm not a fan of Pero (nearly 40% rice in some cases!), but if your dog does well on it, great - go for it!

Ok cool - I hear what you say about the rice - so far so good though, 23% in the food PJ is on. I also add about a desert spoon of good quality tinned meat just to 'appetise' or wet it up a little - plus a tiny bit of fresh water if it's hot weather. Fresh water always readily available of course.

Can I ask which food you have a positive opinion of? I did used to used the raw diet, which was good but then mixed in with salmon oil and SG35?? Sorry can't remember the exact name of this, multi vitamin additive...

Then once a week I'd change up the meals to 3/4 dry and 1/4 tinned fish such as mackerel - used to buy dog food by the pallet load back then so prices were ok lol!

There is so much to consider with food it can be so overwhelming! Misty is on Orijen original grain free kibble and she loves it. She looks good on it. I spent so long looking at food only for her to think she has won the lottery when she finds some rotten bit of food on the street I do wonder why I bother

It really is difficult.
I have 2 bags of orijen on order and then I might try the carnilove which has pretty good reviews here.

Will let you know how we get on

Orijen is good, but quite expensive. 

I like the look of Acana... 

https://www.kennelgate.co.uk/search?query=Acana

Mine are actually on Acana but I will admit that the FDA report worried me a little. Opium is finishing puppy kibble and I switched Nifty to Orijen adult so that was my short term plan, to do the same

Haven't done so yet but will check out these foods - if they're excellent quality and liked by our dogs then they should provide really positive results..? Coats, teeth, eyes, build etc..? PJ is set now on what I have as I'm more than happy with how she looks, health etc but I was going to try her on some of the other foods that Pero do once she's adult - but if the two mentioned Orijen and Acana also make for good reading and you guys have been/are really happy with how your guys and gals are doing then I'd be very keen to try