# Taste Of The Wild High Prairie



## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Anyone using this for their Golden? How have they done on it?

And, ahem, what kind of Poop Condition should I expect with it?

I've got Gilmour on a 5 pound sample bag right now and may move to it completely.

I have emailed them for some info that is not on their web site:



If they make it themselves, or if it's subbed out. I will not buy chow from anyone using Diamond as a manufacturer, or anyone that uses Chinese sourced ingredients.
The Calcium level is oddly missing from the bag and the analysis on their web site.
If they certify their fish as Mercury Free.


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

It is made by Diamond!.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

It is a Diamond product. ALso look into the ethoxyquin issue. From what I remember, they were more than vague is saying that THEY don't add it, but cannot speak to what their suppliers do.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Ah, hell. The store clerk, who otherwise seemed knowledgeable, said it wasn't 





golden&hovawart said:


> It is made by Diamond!.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Oh, well. At least he got to bite one Bison in the butt


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

To be fair, Diamond's recalls were due to contaminated grains, and since TOTW is a grain free food I would be less worried about that. 

That said, I don't like their vagueness about the ethoxyquin issue.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Unfortunately we are fairly certain all 3 of my mom's cats died from the Pet Food Fiasco. I don't think the trust can ever be regained.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

In addition to the food itself, I've become more and more interested in researching the companies behind the food. There are some that have recurrent quality control issues, that provide limited, vague information information, and in general are not at all transparent. To compound the issue, it seems to be a constantly changing playing field as companies are sold, merged, formulas changed, etc. Right now I'm favoring the natura products, Champion, and the Honest Kitchen ( they don't have their own plant but their food is made in a human foods plant).


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

NuttinButGoldens said:


> Unfortunately we are fairly certain all 3 of my mom's cats died from the Pet Food Fiasco. I don't think the trust can ever be regained.



Oh I don't blame you. I was not at all affected by the recalls and still would not touch Diamond foods now, regardless. Just throwing that grain thing out there.  

Like P&M's Mom below, I tend to look at the company as a whole, not just the food in particular... and would go with a company I know and trust... Natura (Innova, EVO, Healthwise, CA Natural), Natures Variety and Champion foods are ones I personally would look to for quality and great ingredients. I'm also a fan of The Honest Kitchen raw dehydrated though its quite expensive if fed as the sole food.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

missmarstar said:


> Oh I don't blame you. I was not at all affected by the recalls and still would not touch Diamond foods now, regardless. Just throwing that grain thing out there.
> 
> Like P&M's Mom below, I tend to look at the company as a whole, not just the food in particular... and would go with a company I know and trust... Natura (Innova, EVO, Healthwise, CA Natural), Natures Variety and Champion foods are ones I personally would look to for quality and great ingredients. .


Ditto......


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## Kelbys'Dad (Jan 19, 2009)

We are currently feeding our two the High Prairie. We do a rotation and we aren't sure how long we will continue this one. Yes, we gnashed our teeth over the ethoxyquin issue :doh: , but our dealer is very good with the different foods and we felt somewhat assured this would be fine for a period of time. The BM's decreased (quantity wise) with this food, and they seem to like it fine. But then Jake eats anything and everything.:yuck:


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## Montana's Mommy (Mar 10, 2009)

I just switched Montana is TOTW Bison/Venison. My new addition Ripley has been on it for her life time and has done well from what the breeder told me. She gives this to all 11 of her GR. It's not cheap I know that. I switched Montana from Proplan weight management.


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## BJSalz (Mar 24, 2009)

Can anyone tell me if Blue Buffalo is made from a good trustworthy company? We just switched to that but I don't know who makes it; should have done my research before switching.

Thanks.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

BJSalz said:


> Can anyone tell me if Blue Buffalo is made from a good trustworthy company? We just switched to that but I don't know who makes it; should have done my research before switching.
> 
> Thanks.



I believe they make their own food (The Blue Buffalo Co.) and its a good line of foods IMO, and easily available at Petsmart. I particularly like the Wilderness formula, though the others are good too, just a bit higher grain content than I prefer.


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## BJSalz (Mar 24, 2009)

missmarstar said:


> I believe they make their own food (The Blue Buffalo Co.) and its a good line of foods IMO, and easily available at Petsmart. I particularly like the Wilderness formula, though the others are good too, just a bit higher grain content than I prefer.


 
Thanks for your reply. I'll check out the Wilderness formula.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

missmarstar said:


> I believe they make their own food (The Blue Buffalo Co.) and its a good line of foods IMO, and easily available at Petsmart. I particularly like the Wilderness formula, though the others are good too, just a bit higher grain content than I prefer.



Quoting myself.. upon looking closer, it looks like BB is manufactured by an outside source.. doing a bit more research now. Though I still believe out of the foods sold at Petsmart it is one of the best ones.


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> In addition to the food itself, I've become more and more interested in researching the companies behind the food. There are some that have recurrent quality control issues, that provide limited, vague information information, and in general are not at all transparent. To compound the issue, it seems to be a constantly changing playing field as companies are sold, merged, formulas changed, etc. *Right now I'm favoring the natura products, Champion, and the Honest Kitchen ( they don't have their own plant but their food is made in a human foods *plant).


I would have posted the exact same thing. I'm rotating kibble for breakfast: Champion's Orijen and Acana Prairie Harvest as well as Natura's EVO. For dinner I give my dogs Honest Kitchen. I hope to be adding Horizon Legacy (Canadian) to the kibble rotation next month. From what I read, it seems to be a very responsible company also.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

The only thing about Evo is the protein. It is somewhat controversial because it's so high (42%).

I've decided, for now, to keep him on Castor & Pollux just to see if this phase will pass. As long as I spice it up with something, he seems to be generally fine with it.

Breakfast remains a bit of a problem. He'll eat about half of it. Dinner has not been an issue so far.

Maybe he's telling me he just doesn't need any more? He gets 1.5 cups twice a day, with his mix-in's depending on what meal it is (Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Raw Hamburger, Bone Meal).

Castor & Pollux isn't made in-house, but it is not made by Diamond. When I wrote them about how/where it's made they sent me a very detailed and friendly message.

In short, all of their ingredients come from either the US or Canada. Their foods are made for them in a 100% Certified Organic plant (only one in the country I believe). I believe the same plant produces human grade foods.

I will try to find the email, but it may be gone by now.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

Ok, I found the original email from them I could not find it in my InBox, but luckily I had posted it here earlier this year.

We should call this place WikiGolden. You can find anything here LOL.

Gilmours breeder swears by this stuff, and she has been doing this for over 40 years now. She actually researches this stuff out before making recommendations, and I really do trust her 100%. She has not steered me wrong yet 

I really want to keep Gilmour on this food so I've decided instead of changing, I'm going to work harder on figuring out what it is that's bothering him instead.

I personally believe Castor & Pollux deserves more attention than it gets. No, it's not cheap. But I've never allowed that to get in my way when it comes to the guys.

So here's the email I received from them. I believe it was back in April:


Dear Larry,

Thank you so much for your message. Castor the Dog asked me to reply as his paws are a little clumsy on the keyboard!

California Natural is definitely a high quality dog and cat food brand and I certainly understand that you want to proceed very cautiously with any change in diet given the allergy challenges that you’ve faced. Natural Ultramix and Organix (our line of certified organic food and treats) are both produced at CJ Foods in Kansas. This is one of less than a handful of certified organic manufacturing facilities in the United States. With the exception of a couple of microminerals that are not currently available domestically, all of our ingredients are grown/raised in the US and Canada. However, what’s most important is that ALL of our finished food and treat products are tested for melamine and cyanuric acid (the two contaminants associated with the pet food recalls), salmonella and other toxins BEFORE they are released for sale. This is in addition to inbound ingredient testing too.

Natural Ultramix is our natural option that features a high meat content with real pieces of fruits and veggies blended with the kibble. Organix is our certified organic line of food and treats that features certified organic, free range chicken as the #1 ingredient. Both diets are highly digestible and very tasty!

I’d be more than happy to send a complimentary 3 lb bag of Natural Ultramix or Organix to you along with coupons. Let me know which you’d prefer to try and provide me with your address information; we’ll get the package on its way to you via UPS.

Thank you for being such a wonderful pet parent! We’re a small, family company that is committed to providing safe, healthy, natural and organic products for dogs and cats. We’re all pet parents ourselves and take this commitment very, very seriously.

Waggingly,
Shelley Gunton
Co-Owner/”Top Dog”


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> It is a Diamond product. ALso look into the ethoxyquin issue. From what I remember, they were more than vague is saying that THEY don't add it, but cannot speak to what their suppliers do.


Shadow did very well on the food, but I contacted them regarding the ethoxyquin issue and they were vague. He was eating the fish formula, so I was concerned. Shadow is now on California Natural and Tucker is on Eagle Pack Holistic. They were on THK, but it was too expensive and gave them horrific smelling gas...LOL They didn't care, but we did.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

I do like that C&P states on their web site that their foods are ethoxyquin free.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

I got a reply back from TOTW...

"Thank you for your inquiry.

Most of the ingredients in Taste of the Wild originate in the United States..
There are critical ingredients that are not available domestically in an
adequate supply and with as much quality as our international supply. We do
purchase some ingredients from foreign suppliers such as lamb meal from New
Zealand, potato protein from Germany and dried chicory root from Belgium. We
screen for all toxins with a test called ToxiScreen. This test screens for
other toxins besides melamine and cyanuric acid but heavy metals, pesticide
residue, aflatoxin, vomitoxin, rodenticide, and many others. Should any of
these contaminants be present in the sample, the ToxiScreen test will detect
it. 

The High Prairie formula has 2.1% calcium, as fed.

Taste of the Wild is one of Diamond Pet Food's own brands, manufactured in
the 3 company owned plants. Our foods are tested for mercury as part of the
routine quality control procedures.

Sincerely"


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I think I have their email somewhere. I specifically asked if they knew what their fish formulas were preserved with and just found the answer to be evasive. That was some time ago though. Things change.


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## goldensonly (Jun 13, 2005)

My 7 dogs, (6 goldens, 1 weimaraner) were on TOTW for over a year and a half, and they ate it like it was new food each and every day!! They loved it.... I liked the availability and the price was SO much better than the other super premium foods. They did GREAT on it... small, hard, consistent poops! We did recently switch to Blue Buffalo, for no other reason than a couple of my goldens were really gaining weight, and that is the ONLY thing bad I'd heard from other TOTW users, that their dogs gained weight... No amount of cutting back seemed to help, so we're seeing how the BB does... if I don't see a difference after 3 or 4 months, we will most likely go back to TOTW, as I felt it was a REALLY GOOD FOOD!!! 
It being made by Diamond is a concern for me, but if I remember correctly, this formula was a brand new formula AFTER all those recalls, and I just have to trust that they are being dilligent in their testings.


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