Anyone Know Anything About Rachel Ray Dogfood?

[Guest arlosmom]

Does anyone know any thing about Rachel Ray dog food. I have never heard of it but I am skeptical. We are getting a senior girl on Monday and she has been eating this. I think I will buy one bag to ease the transition but will probably change her to what we are feeding. Any thoughts?

[winnie]

I've only heard negative things, but don't ask me for specifics. It's sold at Wal-Mart... 'nuff said.

[OwnedBySummer]

Sold at Walmart? Ick. Anyway, I dug around on the website and here's the ingredient list for the "beef and brown rice" version. I am not all that good at analyzing dog foods but this doesn't look all that good to me. I don't like the corn meal being in the top 5 ingredients and I don't like "animal fat". Don't they know what kind of animal? And then right after that, we have a corn ingredient again. And ingredient #5 is soybean meal. I know soybean oils aren't good for greys, dunno about soybean meal.

 

Beef, Chicken Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Soybean Meal, Animal Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Corn Gluten Meal, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Peas, Dried Tomatoes, Dried Carrots, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Olive Oil, Iron Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Dried Parsley, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Mixed Tocopherols, Niacin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Folic Acid

 

I feed Blue Buffalo Wilderness to Summer and here's their ingredients. They seem better to me.

 

Deboned Salmon, Menhaden Fish Meal (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Chicken Meal, Potato Starch, Peas, Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed (natural source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Alfalfa Meal, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Shidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium.

Edited September 30, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest GryffinSong]

Yeah, I looked at her foods at the grocery store and was not terribly impressed. Too bad, I enjoy her show and hoped for better. I don't know anyone who's feeding it, so don't have any opinion except a theoretical one.

[Guest arlosmom]

Yuck! that is enough to convince me to transition her to something else as soon as possible. We are using the Costco Lamb with good results and the a mixture of that with Pro Plan sensitive stomach for Kingfish and Janus.

[Guest Energy11]

Yep! Sold at Wal-mart.! We won't even buy treats there.

 

Our Cari loved it, BUT as you can see by the other posters, the stuff isn't great, and loaded with artificial colors, etc. :-(

 

Kirkland (Costco) is really a wonderful food and inexpensive. I WISH we had a Costco closer-by, and we'd use it for sure. A good friend brought us a bag when we were at Mt. Hounds, and mine loved it, and did well.

 

I'd never use the Rachael Ray food, though.

 

 

[Hubcitypam]

Sold at Walmart? Ick.

The hounds food comes from Wal Mart.

 

Poodles Wellness Core comes from Canine Commissary.

Oops -- some of our treats even come from there and some come {{{{{{{shudder}}}}}} from Dollar General as even tho they are the same DG is actually cheaper than Wal-Mart.

 

I did a lot of looking went to food heck and back with Rex and just quit being a food snob based on what "they" say and having the "better" foods (especially Blue) rip out his insides. No meat and bone meal is about my only hard and fast rule.

 

That said -- there are better foods at Wal-Mart. Oddly enough I rember seeing it at the Wal Mart in East Texas, but not here....

Edited September 30, 2010 by Hubcitypam

[Houndtime]

There is a Rachel Ray biscuit with just 6 ingredients. No wheat. They can be purchased in your local grocery store. My dogs love them.

[OwnedBySummer]

Sold at Walmart? Ick.

The hounds food comes from Wal Mart.

 

Poodles Wellness Core comes from Canine Commissary.

Oops -- some of our treats even come from there and some come {{{{{{{shudder}}}}}} from Dollar General as even tho they are the same DG is actually cheaper than Wal-Mart.

 

I did a lot of looking went to food heck and back with Rex and just quit being a food snob based on what "they" say and having the "better" foods (especially Blue) rip out his insides. No meat and bone meal is about my only hard and fast rule.

 

That said -- there are better foods at Wal-Mart. Oddly enough I rember seeing it at the Wal Mart in East Texas, but not here....

 

Canadian Walmarts, as far as I'm aware, don't sell quality dog food. I shouldn't have icked before considering that perhaps the US Walmarts have different inventory.

Edited September 30, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest issy]

FWIW, my parents feed their Bostons the Rachel Ray food - after going through expensive food after expensive food, they do the "best" on it (no gas, good poops, shiny coat, never itchy) above all the other non-walmart foods they've tried. I wouldn't have even tried it, based on the ingredients, but hey.

[Guest EddiesMom]

For a food marketed with the tagline, "No Junk--No Fillers", Rachael Ray's Nutrish contains a good deal of both. Corn meal, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, and unidentified animal fat are all on my junk/fillers list.

[Guest Sunset123]

 

Kirkland (Costco) is really a wonderful food and inexpensive. I WISH we had a Costco closer-by, and we'd use it for sure. A good friend brought us a bag when we were at Mt. Hounds, and mine loved it, and did well.

 

 

Mmmhmm! I've sworn by Kirkland for all of my dogs, from shelter mutts to hound. Easy on the tummy and easy on the wallet!

[Guest arlosmom]

Well, based on what I have heard here, I think I will buy her one bag since she is used to it and slowly transition her to Kirkland. Thanks everyone!

[Hubcitypam]

Canadian Walmarts, as far as I'm aware, don't sell quality dog food. I shouldn't have icked before considering that perhaps the US Walmarts have different inventory.

Quality is in the eye of the beholder. My greys do just fine on GROCERY STORE Food!!! Sometimes I buy it at WalMart and sometimes at Kroger. I've been there done that have the T-shirt on the expensive stuff from Canine Commissary (where I still buy Poodles food because of his health issues). It is not a cost issue at this point in my life. If my dogs are shiny happy healthy and have great poops on grocery store food when they did horrible on Blue Buffalo and its ilk I'm sticking with grocery store food. As Batmom says "dogs innards can't read". If there a Costco closer than 15 miles away I might consider feeding Kirkland. I have fed Diamond in the past but they did better on *gasp* grocery store food.

 

When Rex was so ill and I was researching foods I found one superpremium website that had a comparison chart. When corn was in any of the competitions food it was labeled "cheap filler" but it actually appeared in a couple of their foods and was labeled "for a shiny coat and quick energy". I went on the search for the holy grail for Rex after people "in the know" on this forum convinced me I was doing my dogs a vast disservice feeding anything with corn, wheat, soy, grain, by products, meal, meat that wasn't meal (has too much water and less protein),beet pulp or [insert any ingredient here]. It's so insane that I just quit trying to keep up with the Joneses.

 

It always amazes me that the real dogmen and women of the world -- those who make their living with dogs -- seldom feed the superpremium foods listed here. Until it was discontinued about 2 years ago most racing dogs ate Purina High Pro -- same with expensive hunting dogs.

[Guest Diadado]

 

Kirkland (Costco) is really a wonderful food and inexpensive. I WISH we had a Costco closer-by, and we'd use it for sure. A good friend brought us a bag when we were at Mt. Hounds, and mine loved it, and did well.

 

 

Mmmhmm! I've sworn by Kirkland for all of my dogs, from shelter mutts to hound. Easy on the tummy and easy on the wallet!

 

 

I wish the Kirkland food was bigger pieces. My dog tended to swallow it whole so I switched to a different food which he seems to be doing better on.

[Guest sheila]

My greys do just fine on GROCERY STORE Food!!! Sometimes I buy it at WalMart and sometimes at Kroger. I've been there done that have the T-shirt on the expensive stuff from Canine Commissary (where I still buy Poodles food because of his health issues). It is not a cost issue at this point in my life. If my dogs are shiny happy healthy and have great poops on grocery store food when they did horrible on Blue Buffalo and its ilk I'm sticking with grocery store food. As Batmom says "dogs innards can't read". If there a Costco closer than 15 miles away I might consider feeding Kirkland. I have fed Diamond in the past but they did better on *gasp* grocery store food.

 

When Rex was so ill and I was researching foods I found one superpremium website that had a comparison chart. When corn was in any of the competitions food it was labeled "cheap filler" but it actually appeared in a couple of their foods and was labeled "for a shiny coat and quick energy". I went on the search for the holy grail for Rex after people "in the know" on this forum convinced me I was doing my dogs a vast disservice feeding anything with corn, wheat, soy, grain, by products, meal, meat that wasn't meal (has too much water and less protein),beet pulp or [insert any ingredient here]. It's so insane that I just quit trying to keep up with the Joneses.

 

It always amazes me that the real dogmen and women of the world -- those who make their living with dogs -- seldom feed the superpremium foods listed here. Until it was discontinued about 2 years ago most racing dogs ate Purina High Pro -- same with expensive hunting dogs.

I'm with Pam on this one. When I first became a member of GT I became convinced that only premium high dollar food was good enough for my dogs and I was jumping through hoops to keep up. Then reality set in and I looked around and realized I was spending more on feeding the hounds than I was myself. I looked around and saw ppl around me whose dogs lived long and healthy lives eating Alpo and doing fine. Heck, I have a friend with an 11 yr old Dobie who has been eating Ol' Roy since she was a puppy and is still healthy and active. I currently feed Purina One Chicken and Rice (and I can buy it at Wal-Mart) and everything is fine here.

[Guest bluefawn]

There is a Rachel Ray biscuit with just 6 ingredients. No wheat. They can be purchased in your local grocery store. My dogs love them.

 

I was just going to post on the Just 6 when I saw your post, and went and got a pouch from the kitchen. I bought the chicken, lamb, and 2 of the beef, since they were 4 for $5.00 at the grocery store. The ingredients on the beef are: Rice Flour, Barley, Beef, Oat Fiber, Olive Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Malted Barley Flour. They have eaten all of the chicken and lamb ones, so just had this pouch left. But the lamb & chicken had almost the same ingredients. The pups love them (Penny doesn't like any treats, so not speaking for her here . I have not bought her kibble and probably won't after what I read here.

[Houndtime]

There is a Rachel Ray biscuit with just 6 ingredients. No wheat. They can be purchased in your local grocery store. My dogs love them.

 

I was just going to post on the Just 6 when I saw your post, and went and got a pouch from the kitchen. I bought the chicken, lamb, and 2 of the beef, since they were 4 for $5.00 at the grocery store. The ingredients on the beef are: Rice Flour, Barley, Beef, Oat Fiber, Olive Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Malted Barley Flour. They have eaten all of the chicken and lamb ones, so just had this pouch left. But the lamb & chicken had almost the same ingredients. The pups love them (Penny doesn't like any treats, so not speaking for her here . I have not bought her kibble and probably won't after what I read here.

That was an excellent price. They are $3.49, here, per bag. I had some $1.50 off coupons that someone left next to the bags, so I bought two to try. The loved them, so I went back and bought another bag to take to Dewey.

[OwnedBySummer]

There is a Rachel Ray biscuit with just 6 ingredients. No wheat. They can be purchased in your local grocery store. My dogs love them.

 

I was just going to post on the Just 6 when I saw your post, and went and got a pouch from the kitchen. I bought the chicken, lamb, and 2 of the beef, since they were 4 for $5.00 at the grocery store. The ingredients on the beef are: Rice Flour, Barley, Beef, Oat Fiber, Olive Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Malted Barley Flour. They have eaten all of the chicken and lamb ones, so just had this pouch left. But the lamb & chicken had almost the same ingredients. The pups love them (Penny doesn't like any treats, so not speaking for her here . I have not bought her kibble and probably won't after what I read here.

 

The cookies sound great! Like you, I'm not going to touch the kibble but the treats -- I'll have to see if they're in Canada (yet).

 

My greys do just fine on GROCERY STORE Food!!! Sometimes I buy it at WalMart and sometimes at Kroger. I've been there done that have the T-shirt on the expensive stuff from Canine Commissary (where I still buy Poodles food because of his health issues). It is not a cost issue at this point in my life. If my dogs are shiny happy healthy and have great poops on grocery store food when they did horrible on Blue Buffalo and its ilk I'm sticking with grocery store food. As Batmom says "dogs innards can't read". If there a Costco closer than 15 miles away I might consider feeding Kirkland. I have fed Diamond in the past but they did better on *gasp* grocery store food.

 

When Rex was so ill and I was researching foods I found one superpremium website that had a comparison chart. When corn was in any of the competitions food it was labeled "cheap filler" but it actually appeared in a couple of their foods and was labeled "for a shiny coat and quick energy". I went on the search for the holy grail for Rex after people "in the know" on this forum convinced me I was doing my dogs a vast disservice feeding anything with corn, wheat, soy, grain, by products, meal, meat that wasn't meal (has too much water and less protein),beet pulp or [insert any ingredient here]. It's so insane that I just quit trying to keep up with the Joneses.

 

I've certainly been "brainwashed" that I have to feed expensive kibble... Hmmm, now I'm going to rethink that!

 

It always amazes me that the real dogmen and women of the world -- those who make their living with dogs -- seldom feed the superpremium foods listed here. Until it was discontinued about 2 years ago most racing dogs ate Purina High Pro -- same with expensive hunting dogs.

I'm with Pam on this one. When I first became a member of GT I became convinced that only premium high dollar food was good enough for my dogs and I was jumping through hoops to keep up. Then reality set in and I looked around and realized I was spending more on feeding the hounds than I was myself. I looked around and saw ppl around me whose dogs lived long and healthy lives eating Alpo and doing fine. Heck, I have a friend with an 11 yr old Dobie who has been eating Ol' Roy since she was a puppy and is still healthy and active. I currently feed Purina One Chicken and Rice (and I can buy it at Wal-Mart) and everything is fine here.

 

I've certainly been "brainwashed" that I have to buy expensive kibble. I still don't want to feed corn or wheat to her (as I think she's actually allergic to the wheat anyway) but I certainly don't need to buy such expensive kibble, methinks.

Edited October 2, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest arlosmom]

I believe I will have to hunt for the treats too. They sound OK to me.

[Guest houndog990]

There is a Rachel Ray biscuit with just 6 ingredients. No wheat. They can be purchased in your local grocery store. My dogs love them.

 

I was just going to post on the Just 6 when I saw your post, and went and got a pouch from the kitchen. I bought the chicken, lamb, and 2 of the beef, since they were 4 for $5.00 at the grocery store. The ingredients on the beef are: Rice Flour, Barley, Beef, Oat Fiber, Olive Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Malted Barley Flour. They have eaten all of the chicken and lamb ones, so just had this pouch left. But the lamb & chicken had almost the same ingredients. The pups love them (Penny doesn't like any treats, so not speaking for her here . I have not bought her kibble and probably won't after what I read here.

let me know where i can mail the bag i bought. i have a small kennel at the house and not one dog i give them to will eat them!

[OwnedBySummer]

I was just out treat hunting and couldn't find the Rachel Rae ones. Although they do sound like a good thing. I bought Blue Buffalo chicken liver cookies and Zero-G lamb/venison cookies.

[tydyelady]

I agree about all the expensive dog kibble hype too. I feed Opie Kirkland Lamb and thankfully he does great on it. I went through a bunch of different food before the Kirkland, when we first got him, including Taste of the Wild Bison. Expensive as heck, and after a few months that wasn't agreeing with him. Switched to Kirkland, and that is the food he gets, and loves it.

What did all the dogs of the world do 20+ (I'm just guessing here) years ago before the designer dog foods? Were they all dropping dead from the horrible food they ate? I had lots of dogs, including an Afghan, who ate grocery store food, and basically whatever was on sale (of the 2-3 that they ate). And my Afghan was almost 16 when he passed, and I had some shepard mixes that lived til 15. My black lab, who ate grocery store food until her last 4-5 years, when my son was working at Petsmart and convinced me she needed a "better" food. She was 1 month shy of her 17th birthday.

Point is, whatever your dog does the best on, that is what you should feed it.