# Thoughts on Zignature?



## Daisy123 (Jan 26, 2009)

My dog loved Zignature but she started gaining too much weight on that food. The pet food store owner recommended it and said it was a high quality food. I let the store owner know that my dog gained too much weight on Zignature so he recommended Now Fresh which is a Canadian food. She loves it and her weight is under control.


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## mayasmom (Dec 3, 2014)

Thanks for your reply Daisy123. Petcurean products are now on my possible list of feed to try if the zignature doesn't work out. I've discovered they have a grain free/potato free in their "go" line which may work for us. I hear Canadian pet food quality standards are even higher than in the U.S. so that certainly makes one feel better as well.


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

mayasmom said:


> Thanks for your reply Daisy123. Petcurean products are now on my possible list of feed to try if the zignature doesn't work out. I've discovered they have a grain free/potato free in their "go" line which may work for us. I hear Canadian pet food quality standards are even higher than in the U.S. so that certainly makes one feel better as well.


Canada has no rules on pet food, plants are not inspected and if your pet gets sick there isn't even a number to call to report it. 

Canadian pet food regulations | Truth about Pet Food

Canada just recently confirmed last month a case of Mad Cow Disease which means cows are still eating feeds with animal content. 

Not sure why people believe that Canadian standards are high because they have the least regulated market of the all the major markets.

And regarding Zignature, the company doesn't make its own foods and they are largely peas and other vegetable ingredients. It is just a marketing company with a few employees that sell the food. Look at the "About Us" section of the website. It is a joke.


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## mayasmom (Dec 3, 2014)

Points well taken Rob S. Thank you for the info. If I may ask, what brand(s) do you feel you can particularly trust in the pet food industry? Or do you prefer to feed a raw diet more directly under your control? We are all so inundated with information and misinformation it can become very difficult to determine what's best for our pets


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

mayasmom said:


> Points well taken Rob S. Thank you for the info. If I may ask, what brand(s) do you feel you can particularly trust in the pet food industry? Or do you prefer to feed a raw diet more directly under your control? We are all so inundated with information and misinformation it can become very difficult to determine what's best for our pets


I do feed kibble and I don't supplement. I am just wary of these pop-up food companies like Zignature, Wild Calling etc. that don't make their own food and don't seem to have any particular expertise.

I have been using Farmina N&D for about a year. It is an Italian brand and I am very happy with it. I can't find anything wrong with it or the results. 

Another brand I like is Dr. Tim's. The food is co-packed but the co-packer is good and Dr. Tim has quite a bit of experience and is well known in sled dog racing.

Fromm makes a good food but lately the use of legumes in its foods is becoming troubling.

So Farmina N&D gets my nod. Lots of technical know how and the food is visibly different than others foods.


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## Wendy427 (Apr 4, 2009)

I just googled Farmina N&D and it's $50.00 USD for a 4-pound bag!

Edited to add: My apologies! I mis-read the bag weight. *It's 26.4 pounds!*


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

Wendy427 said:


> I just googled Farmina N&D and it's $50.00 USD for a 4-pound bag!
> 
> Edited to add: My apologies! I mis-read the bag weight. *It's 26.4 pounds!*


Sounds like you almost had a heart attack!!! I pay $65 for the grain free chicken which is a very fair price. I paid $49 for the excellent Chicken Low Grain which is about the same price as Fromm Gold, but Fromm Gold has much less protein and fat.

The other thing is, don't automatically think its only available on-line because many stores have the foods.

You can check in with the guy on FB if you need a store in your area. In NJ, I have many options including the CherryBrook stores.


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## Wendy427 (Apr 4, 2009)

I started feeding Maxi Farmina Lamb and blueberry. She loves it! One thing I've noticed is that she has lower-quantity poops. Could this be because Farmina is "low-residue"? She was on Zignature before and always had very large poops.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

I have my rescue dog Charlie on Zignature Trout and Salmon. His foster mom had him on it. When I adopted him, I tried to switch him to my other dogs hypoallergenic kibble from Royal Canin, but he didn't care for it. So I switched him back to Zignature. He seems to like it and he does have very large poops! 

One day I accidentally switched their bowls and I didn't realize until Duke (my other dog with food allergies) had almost finished his bowl. I stopped to look because Charlie wasn't touching his food. Duke had severe itching the next few days and very runny poos so it does not work for him. I'm very careful now to make sure not to switch the foods. Both are expensive in my opinion, but cheaper than constantly running to the vet due to issues caused by food.


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

All the fiber in the legumes makes the poops so large. Beans are like a laxative. Farmina doesn't use legumes.

I was getting ready to try Farmina until today when I realized that every one of their foods has chicken and/or eggs in it. Even their fish recipe contains eggs.


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## Susan: w/ Summit we climb (Jun 12, 2014)

I'm going to start using Zignature's Lamb Formula right now, but I plan to switch to Acana Lamb & Apple in six months or so, when Summit's mostly finished growing. I like Acana's whole foods better than Zignature's supplements, once Summit can handle the higher calcium level.


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

Wendy427 said:


> I started feeding Maxi Farmina Lamb and blueberry. She loves it! One thing I've noticed is that she has lower-quantity poops. Could this be because Farmina is "low-residue"? She was on Zignature before and always had very large poops.


Farmina is very low in fiber, Zignature is very high fiber because of all the peas.

Fiber is by definition not digestible, so more fiber more poops.

Also, more fiber means less nutrition.


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