In The Realm Of Food...what Does "too Rich" Mean?

[Guest RMarie]

I often read on here about how some foods are "too rich." What does that mean? Does that refer to the quantity or quality of the protein? Thanks!

[GeorgeofNE]

I think it often refers to the fat content, but I think it's one of those expressions that people use in different ways.

[JohnF]

Too fatty and too high a protien amount for the particular dog. Very fatty foods risk causing Pancreatitis and Cholecystitis too.

[Guest Carstel]

Usually means high in protein. Most foods are around 20-27%, but several of the newer brands, like Orijen, are very high in protein - near 40% - which is often too rich for many dogs.

[RedHead]

I don't think this term has an actual true meaning, I think people just use it when a food with a higher meat quality doesn't agree with their dog. It doesn't necessarily mean a dog can't handle a higher meat diet, it is just that protein used in grain free or higher meat kibbles is extremely concentrated (it is cooked down, moisture is removed to make a powder), and altered/denatured from its original form. I don't think this sits so well with many digestive tracts in higher doses....(probably a reason why they don't put meat in human cereal! lol). I think the rendered fat probably is more of a problem than the protein, but it probably depends on the dog.

[a_daerr]

Hmm... I don't know about anyone else, but when I mean "too rich," I'm referring to the ingredients. Fat and protein content are definitely a big factor. But the grain-free and limited ingredient foods have a lot of fruit, vegetables, herbs, and alternative forms of starch that (while they sound nice and natural) are extraneous and sometimes difficult for dogs to digest. Just to give you an idea, Blue Buffalo is pretty notorious for being called "too rich" on GT. The back of the bag lists these ingredients: peas, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, blueberries, cranberries, rosemary oil, etc. When I was experimenting with diet, I found that the richer foods gave my hounds more digestive issues, especially diarrhea and gas. I also think certain protein sources are richer than others (i.e. "gamy" foods like venison, bison, pheasant, and duck).

[Hubcitypam]

I can't really define rich but can tell you all my greys and dogs in general have done better on so called "crappy" food that had corn, rice and other "cheap fillers".

Blue Buffalo's "no corn no wheat no soy" mantra did not work for my greys, grey/shepherd mix and Poodle who has a pretty solid gut.

 

As far as blueberries, cranberries, etc. in my experience they are not the culprit...they are so far down on the list there might be a dozen blueberries in a bag.

[Guest aheuay]

Our grey came to us being fed Purina One and had very large and loose poops. Upon reading the blog we started adding a tablespoon of plain greek yogurt to her food at each feeding and it helped almost immediately. I too like many of the other GT bloggers am at a loss to not give our dog a better quality food. but if it is going to upset her belly seems silly to change her food.