# In your opinion what is your definition of a premium vs lower quality kibble? why?



## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

As I understand things, with kibbles, a premium food is identified as having the main source of protein and fat derived from meats, e.g. chicken, duck, turkey, salmon, beef, etc. With the cheaper, non-premium foods a good proportion of the protein and fat content is derived from vegetative sources, e.g. soya, wheat, etc. The other thing which identifies a premium food, of course, is the price, but the best thing to do is read the labels to be sure of what you are buying. Meat or meat meal should be the first and main ingredient on the label of a premium food. Also the other thing is that there should be no colour or extra additives, apart from necessary preservatives and those needed to replace/supplement the vitamins lost in processing the kibble.


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## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

IMVHO a nutrient dense food is premium with better ingredients. Not loaded with a lot of fillers, to include corn, wheat and soy.


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## Zazoo (Jul 1, 2011)

Go to this link.. It gives you all the dog foods and where they rate on the healthy scale..  Best Dog Foods Ranked - Our 5 Scoop List of Best Dog Food Brands



oakleysmommy said:


> just wondering what in your mind is a premium food and a not so premium food? on another forum there was an interesting quote "if your dog food isnt working take a "step down" in quality.. Not looking for arguements My definition is i went from Wellness to ProPlan. to me its a step down as Wellness has more meals less fillers in the top ingredeints compared to Proplan which has one protein source and fillers in the top ingredients.:gotme:


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I don't really agree with the definition of "filler" that's being used by people in this thread. If an ingredient has nutritive value, why would it be called "filler?"

For example, why is corn "filler" while potato can be part of a "premium" "grain-free" food?


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

I like to see meats and meat meals as the first ingredients. It doesn't have to be a grain-free food, although that is what I feed, but I like to see ethyoxyquin free, no BHT, BHA, or hormones.


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## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

I look at corn as undigested in the gut, that is why it's only a rental.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Blondie said:


> I look at corn as undigested in the gut, that is why it's only a rental.


Your assumption is incorrect. Processed corn IS digestable by a dogs' digestive system.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

A kibbles quality is best measured by the results it delivers over the long term while being fed to lots of dogs. A quality kibble produces dogs with good health, thick shiny coats, bright clear eyes, good durability and stamina. 

Lesser foods require greater volume, and/or supplementation to achieve results equal to those delivered by a high quality food.


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## Molly's Mum (Apr 1, 2011)

aerolor said:


> As I understand things, with kibbles, a premium food is identified as having the main source of protein and fat derived from meats, e.g. chicken, duck, turkey, salmon, beef, etc. With the cheaper, non-premium foods a good proportion of the protein and fat content is derived from vegetative sources, e.g. soya, wheat, etc. The other thing which identifies a premium food, of course, is the price, but the best thing to do is read the labels to be sure of what you are buying. Meat or meat meal should be the first and main ingredient on the label of a premium food. Also the other thing is that there should be no colour or extra additives, apart from necessary preservatives and those needed to replace/supplement the vitamins lost in processing the kibble.


This is my understanding of a premium food too. In addition, the chicken used in our brand of dog food is raised in the UK (where we live) for human consumption, it is the meat taken off the bones from chicken which is entering the human food chain and is used within 24 hours. No feathers, head or feet are used in the dog food. The chickens are not fed any growth hormones. They are not battery reared chickens and the food has not been tested on animals.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

Molly's Mum said:


> This is my understanding of a premium food too. In addition, the chicken used in our brand of dog food is raised in the UK (where we live) for human consumption, it is the meat taken off the bones from *chicken which is entering the human food chain and is used within 24 hours. No feathers, head or feet are used in the dog food.* *The chickens are not fed any growth hormones. They are not battery reared chickens and the food has not been tested on animals*.


Can you say which brand of food you are feeding Molly on MM - from her photographs it looks as if it suits her and is doing very well on it. My pup Bonnie is about 4 weeks younger than Molly and it is interesting watching Molly's progress and projecting what Bonnie might look like a month further on. Bonnie is a little darker, but other than that they appear to be very similar types. :wavey:


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## Molly's Mum (Apr 1, 2011)

She started out on James Wellbeloved because that's what the breeder was feeding her. I changed her over to Arden Grange about two weeks ago and she's doing very well on it. Her itching seems to be less, although it was never very bad, and her smelly wind issues have all but disappeared. She also much prefers the taste of AG and will happily eat it as a training treat. When she was on JW she wouldn't eat it as a training treat, just spat it out and I had to mix the kibble with wet food otherwise she wouldn't eat it all. If you google Arden Grange they have a good website with lots of information about their food, nutrition and ethics. I discussed changing over her food via email with them and they were very supportive giving lots of useful information, they also sent me some free samples of the kibble to try before I committed to buying anything from them.

Edit: Just wanted to say that James Wellbeloved is a good food too, didn't want my post to be misunderstood to read that I'm implying it's not a good quality food. But I felt Molly wasn't liking it very much and I had concerns about her itching and smelly wind. So those who feed JW are still giving a good food, it just wasn't what we felt was best for Molly.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

Molly's Mum said:


> She started out on James Wellbeloved because that's what the breeder was feeding her. I changed her over to Arden Grange about two weeks ago and she's doing very well on it. Her itching seems to be less, although it was never very bad, and her smelly wind issues have all but disappeared. She also much prefers the taste of AG and will happily eat it as a training treat. When she was on JW she wouldn't eat it as a training treat, just spat it out and I had to mix the kibble with wet food otherwise she wouldn't eat it all. If you google Arden Grange they have a good website with lots of information about their food, nutrition and ethics. I discussed changing over her food via email with them and they were very supportive giving lots of useful information, they also sent me some free samples of the kibble to try before I committed to buying anything from them.


Thank you Molly's Mum, I'll take a look. Bonnie is on Wainwrights which is quite a reasonable quality food but, although there is a variety in the puppy range, they only do turkey and rice in the large breed puppy. I tend to add bits of cooked chicken and minced lamb into it, although I know you don't need to. Best wishes.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I tend to think that premium kibbles are those that have named meats and tend to tout natural ingredients. 

I do not think that corn, soy, wheat automatically make a dog food a lower quality kibble. If you look in my signature pic, those past dogs I had were fed food with corn and wheat in it. Sammy especially was a hand and praise magnet when we were at shows because of his glossy coat. I think corn can be bad for some dogs (my current guy), but not all dogs.

Lower quality kibble - I tend to think it's those dog foods that do not specify what kind of animal was used in the kibble and the kibble is mostly ground corn (as in corn is listed more than once on the list). Ditto if there seems to be a lot of artificial content in the ingredients list.


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## desi.n.nutro (Mar 18, 2011)

I have a different angle. I agree with what has been said so far but I would like to add that a Premium food company makes their own products. They should do a lot of testing and safety exams. It also helps if they are company owned vs. corporate owned so the ingredients are determined by nutritionalists rather than a Board of Directors.


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

"Smelly Wind"! I love that! fftopic: (I am giving myself an off-topic buzz! LOL!) 



Molly's Mum said:


> She started out on James Wellbeloved because that's what the breeder was feeding her. I changed her over to Arden Grange about two weeks ago and she's doing very well on it. Her itching seems to be less, although it was never very bad, and her smelly wind issues have all but disappeared. She also much prefers the taste of AG and will happily eat it as a training treat. When she was on JW she wouldn't eat it as a training treat, just spat it out and I had to mix the kibble with wet food otherwise she wouldn't eat it all. If you google Arden Grange they have a good website with lots of information about their food, nutrition and ethics. I discussed changing over her food via email with them and they were very supportive giving lots of useful information, they also sent me some free samples of the kibble to try before I committed to buying anything from them.
> 
> Edit: Just wanted to say that James Wellbeloved is a good food too, didn't want my post to be misunderstood to read that I'm implying it's not a good quality food. But I felt Molly wasn't liking it very much and I had concerns about her itching and smelly wind. So those who feed JW are still giving a good food, it just wasn't what we felt was best for Molly.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Blondie said:


> I look at corn as undigested in the gut, that is why it's only a rental.


This is sort of a common comment, but just because the pericarp isn't broken down doesn't mean that the rest of the corn seed wasn't used by your body. Otherwise, why do we eat corn on the cob? It's got a ton of calories and nutrition in it that our bodies can access.

Ground corn is even easier, but even whole corn isn't "filler" in a human or canine diet.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Molly's Mum said:


> This is my understanding of a premium food too. In addition, the chicken used in our brand of dog food is raised in the UK (where we live) for human consumption, it is the meat taken off the bones from chicken which is entering the human food chain and is used within 24 hours. No feathers, head or feet are used in the dog food. The chickens are not fed any growth hormones. They are not battery reared chickens and the food has not been tested on animals.


I don't know about the UK, but growth hormone is not legal for use in chicken in the US anyway.

Feathers are also not a legal ingredient in "chicken," "chicken meat," "chicken meat meal," or "chicken byproduct meal" in a US food. And I'm not sure what the problem is with heads and feet. They may be gross to people, but they're meat, bones, and skin, just like the rest of the bird.


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## nellie'smom (Dec 27, 2007)

I don't even know anymore  I work at a kennel and I see all kinds of beautiful dogs on all kinds of different foods from ol'roy to fromm!


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## Bellapuppy (Jun 18, 2011)

I've taken quite a few biology classes and understand that certain animals produce enzymes that can break down plant proteins. Humans and dogs are both capable and produce certain enzymes that can break down the plant material to use for energy. There is much debate whether or not dogs are proven omnivores, but I have given Bella vegetables as treats and I don't see them emerging undigested in her waste. I have always used Authority brand dog and cat food and have never been let down. All my pets have shiny fur, clear eyes, and seem very healthy.


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## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

Thanks Swampcollie and Tippykayak ~ I stand corrected.


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