I disagree with several of these points. 1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points This is the industry's definition of by-products: The non-rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hoofs. It shall be suitable for use in animal food. If it bears name descriptive of its kind, it must correspond thereto. None of these things are bad for an animal to eat. In fact brain tissue contains taurine, an important amino acid that is not found in other body parts. Liver is an excellent source of iron. Bone and cartilage contains calcium, phosphorus, glucosamine, and chondroitin sulfate and other important trace minerals. How do you think wolves survive 20 years without someone sprinkling vitamins and minerals onto their food? They eat the WHOLE animal, and therefore don't need extra stuff. Vitamins and minerals are only added to pet food because much of the healthy stuff has been removed. The only reason people don't eat by-products is because we think they are yucky tasting (well, some people eat by-products, they just call them tripe, menudo, liver, etc). Wolves don't eat the meat and leave the rest of the animal laying around, they eat the whole animal, and since dogs and wolves are genetically identical, dogs should eat the whole animal too. The "evil" of by-products was invented by a very clever marketing firm, not based in fact or science of animal nutrition. 2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points This isn't a problem unless your dog has allergies. 3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points Actually, if the food contains these preservatives, subtract all 100 points. NEVER feed a dog or cat a food containing these items. EVER. 8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points 9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points Corn is not a bad thing to be in dog food, unless your dog happens to be allergic to it. However I agree it should not be a top 5 ingredient. 11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points 12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points 13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points 14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef), subtract 1 point There is nothing wrong with lamb, soy, wheat, or beef unless your dog happens to be allergic to any of these items. The soy and wheat should not be in the top 5 ingredients since they are not animals, and dogs are by nature, mostly carnivores. 13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point Actually don't bother adding a point because the amount added is never enough to have any benefit. The other points are good. I personally would add a lot more points for raw diets though.

My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a retired show dog and was raised on Orijen and other pricey brands. She was a very picky eater when I got her and had issues with runny stools occasionally. When I was "dog-sitting" a friend's dog, she stole a taste of the food he feeds his dog - Rachel Ray's "Zero Grain" - and gobbled it down. I switched her over to that and the runny poop problem disappeared like magic. She's at a good weight, has the shiniest coat she's ever had, and now begs for her food. I give her 1/2 cup twice a day with a chopped up hard-boiled egg, and some frozen veggies mixed in. (She prefers Bird's Eye California Blend - broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.) She gobbles it up and is healthy, happy and has a glorious coat. Sometimes the premium dog foods have way too much protein in them and give dogs runny stools because they can't tolerate the extra protein. There is no one "best" dog food for all dogs, despite what surveys and well-meaning people say. You have to experiment with different ones and see what works best for your own dog. "Expensive" doesn't always mean the best. What is best for your dog may not be best for another dog or breed. If your dog likes it and it doesn't give your dog runny stools or constipation issues, and the dog's coat is glossy, not dry, and the dog is neither gaining excess weight or losing weight, then that's probably the best food for him/her.

Oooh, AnnaC54 and Poohpup, your pooches are perfectly adorable! LOL that they keep their bowls to remind you it's dinner time. Ours doesn't bring his bowl to us, rather he summons us to him lol. He gives a bark and waits there until we get his message: cal_quail, like annkh I totally can't relate to a picky eater. Our dog eats almost anything including some of his absolute favorites which are raw brocolli stalk slices and raw brussels sprouts. His absolute favorites are broccoli, cantaloupe, apples, pears and cauliflower. For your picky eater, could mixing in a few thin slices of fruit or veggies help? Just a thought. Bellsmom, love your setup too. One last pic of Hemi when he was a pup (in our previous home's kitchen). Man, now I want another puppy, they are so cute at that age when they are all head and paws. Anyway, this is proof that he's definitely not a picky eater, haha.

In our "Pet Center". It's a corner cabinet turned 90-degrees that faces the foyer where we feed our dogs. It's the only cabinet that has two roll out tray shelves (ROTS). I meant to order it as a trash pullout type cabinet with the door attached to the bottom ROTS and an independent top ROTS, but I forgot to tell my KD about it until it was too late (I was so focused on the inside of the kitchen!) I put the bottom ROTS as low as I could. On that shelf is the dog food (for 3 standard poodles) in a 6-gallon Popcorn Factory can with a tight fitting lid; treats are in a 2-gallon Popcorn Factory can. I put the top ROTS as high as possible and store pet meds, leashes, collars, etc. The top drawer holds batteries and flashlights and similar items. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Tks buehl - OT ? - Pet Center