We switched our 2 boys to raw from kibble about 6 months ago. The switch came because we were simply exhausted from walking them 3 times a day because they had loose stool (we don't have fenced in yard, so we need to walk them to go to the bathroom). Our vet recommended more fiber in their diet to help with loose stool. This intuitively just didn't resonate with us. Basenji are one of the most ancient breeds of dog… why on earth would more fiber be a solution to their problem (I know the theoretical why, but logically it was counter-intuitive)? We read many sources or literature on the raw diet and thought this would be a good switch for them. Again, they are an ancient breed so moving toward raw foods seemed appropriate and logical. It took that about a month for them to get really accustomed to eating raw chicken quarters, rabbit halves or pork shoulders but now they have no problem gulping their meal right down, bone and all (for those of you who don't feed raw, gulping is a normal behavior and bone is an essential part of the diet). Their digestion issues have vanished and we've even seen marked improvement in their destructive behavior. Two super happy boys now, two super happy Basenji owners!!
Dog Food: Chicken/Duck/Turkey Meal in ingredients
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So I was just at the pet store looking for another dry dog food to rotate.
I noticed the 2nd/3rd ingredients are things like "chicken meal", "duck meal", "turkey meal", etc.
Does anyone know exactly what's in these "meals"?
(It sounds to me like it's a filler of some sort.)
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"Meals" are concentrated meat products; i.e., the water has been taken out. It's a good thing to have the "meal" as a first or second ingredient, as long as it's a named meat (chicken, beef, etc.).
Lots of times a dog food will tout chicken, beef, whatever, as the first ingredient; however, if it's not a "meal," then once all the water is taken out…like it must be for a kibble...then it's actual place in the list of ingredients will be something less that first place, probably a ways down the list.
What you DON'T want in a dog food are "by-products," no matter the source (chicken, turkey, etc.).
If you read the reviews at Dog Food Analysis, http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/, you'll get a feel for what's good and what's not so good in dog food.
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Thanks for the info!
