Which one would you chose?

[MyPemCharlie]

That is a good point about not giving too much food variety. My vet tech neighbors said one of the things "Doc" hates worst is diagnosing allergies and there is almost nothing the dog hasn't eaten to test them on. I'm not giving Charlie any of the exotic foods (buffalo, duck, venison, and white fish) for meats and potato/sweet potato for carbs. In the (hopefully unlikely) event he develops food allergies, those ingredients are reserved for "test" foods.

Also good to note the use of raw meat versus meal. "Whole (fresh) chicken" is 80% water so the final dry product does not contain much real meat, versus "chicken meal" has been dried before addition and is almost all meat.

Thanks Cindy for those observations!

[Corgis4me]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

All stages dog food is not even recommended for normal puppies ahead of the food designated as puppy food by the producers who produce both types - at least this was so with the only two companies I consulted with. Also, the Massey University canine nutritionist I consulted and a couple of vets I most frequently deal with with a pletoria of matters, confirmed that puppy food is much preferable to all stages food for puppies. International Corgi breeders I have spoken with on the subject (two in New Zealand, one in Australia and one in Canada) all seem to think that (normal) Corgis require puppy food of a normal type and strength of calcuim, proteins etc etc as found in AAFCO-approved super premium dry dog food and usually given until the puppy passes the 12 month mark. I have previously outlined more fully the items that puppy food contains in particular food brands that are either not in the all stages diets or to a lesser degree.

So are you saying, based on the experts you have spoken to, that the AAFCO plus the CEO's of these companies that produce "All Life Stages" foods are purposely misleading us into believing that their foods are fine for growing puppies?

Seems to me that would be a strange way for them to gain the trust of consumers and to grow as a reputable company by selling an inferior product to the public claiming it can be fed to puppies, yet would lack the necessary nutrients and not be adequate for their health into adulthood. Means also that the AAFCO(who also prints their statement on the packages) would have to be part of their plan to mislead us into believing "All Life Stages" foods are just fine for puppies just so we would buy it.

I wonder what the AAFCO employees and the employees/CEOs of these Companies that produce the "All Life Stages food " feed their puppies? I'm assuming they couldn't possibly be feeding the food they produce since it must be inferior

[Corgi_Lover]

I have heard that alllife stages are highly recomeneded but i just dont get them and personally dont trust them. i mean they have puppy food, adult food, and senior food for a reason. how on earth are they able to get all those different types of food into one bag???? i just dont understand. i mean i know it is certified but i personnally just dont trust it.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Corgi_Lover

I have heard that alllife stages are highly recomeneded but i just dont get them and personally dont trust them. i mean they have puppy food, adult food, and senior food for a reason.

That reason is marketing. John Q. Public buying whatever the ads tell them is "good" for their pets.

Manufactured pet foods are a fairly recent development in man's history with dogs. The below links will give you some reading on how pet foods came to be.
The Pet Food Institute (PFI) - the voice of the pet food industry.
History of dog food
The History of Pet Food
History of Dog Food | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter

how on earth are they able to get all those different types of food into one bag????

The basic ingredients are the same regardless of label - meat and grain with maybe fruits and vegetables. Like humans, what did babies eat before Gerber and Beechnut came along? Same thing the older humans ate - but mashed or pureed. What do elderly humans eat? Same thing as teenagers and adults eat - except maybe mashed or pureed again. Dogs are no different.

Individual dogs may have special needs in their diet, just as some humans require specialized nutrition, but overall, we all really eat the same foods from cradle to the grave.

Debbie

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Corgi_Lover

I have heard that alllife stages are highly recomeneded but i just dont get them and personally dont trust them. i mean they have puppy food, adult food, and senior food for a reason. how on earth are they able to get all those different types of food into one bag???? i just dont understand. i mean i know it is certified but i personnally just dont trust it.

Why not trust it? It's made by the same companies that make the different formulas. If you trust the puppy formula, adult formula (which is usually the all life stages too) and the senior, why not trust the all life stages?

And it IS AAFCO certified/approved or whatever, to be suitable for all life stages. It meets the minimum requirements needed for each stage. Which means it probably exceeds the requirements for some stages. There is no reason to not trust it. Your dog won't be shorted on nutrition, no matter the age of the dog.

Do you eat a different food from your parents? Do your grandparents eat a different food?

Wolves feed their babies the same thing they eat, maybe prechewed but the same thing. There aren't any puppy formula deer in the woods.

Peggy

[MyPemCharlie]

I'd be more concerned about the quality of the food, not whether the label says "Puppy", "Adult", "All Life Stages", etc. A human family who eats well-balanced, nutritious meals feed their kids the same. A human family who eats candy bars, sodas and chips shovel those things into their kids. I'd say their is a similar difference in dog food ingredients.

A second point is that there are a lot of Puppy formulas packed with protein, extra calcium and other supplements. Science has indicated that these overly-rich puppy formulas show increases in hip and elbow displasia and other skeletal problems by producing rapid growth spurts. Many vets recommend switching to adult food in breeds prone to bone problems (like Corgis) before one year in order to slow growth. The dog won't be a smaller adult. It just won't get to its full size as quickly, which could be much better for the bones.

Just pay attention to ingredients. Some puppy foods are not overloaded with supplements and some adult foods are too rich for puppies. The opposite is also true...depends on the brand. As Debbie said, "It's marketing."

[Corgi_Lover]

so, debbie, peggy, are you saying you would go and live on baby food? they have other nutrients that we dont need or we have nutrients they dont need. and ya before they go all these food maybe that is why people died so young. and also kids usually nursed longer, up to three years, to get the nutrients.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Corgi_Lover

so, debbie, peggy, are you saying you would go and live on baby food? they have other nutrients that we dont need or we have nutrients they dont need. and ya before they go all these food maybe that is why people died so young. and also kids usually nursed longer, up to three years, to get the nutrients.

No, I'm not saying I would live on baby food. However there are people who have had to do that.

You're missing my point. What I am saying is that an all life stages food has to have enough neutrients to meet the minimum requirements for a PUPPY. Or it could not be labled all life stages.

And that means that it exceeds the requirements needed for maintence for an adult dog.

People died young not due to not eating baby food as babies, but due to disease that they did not know how to cure in those times.

Peggy

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Corgi_Lover

so, debbie, peggy, are you saying you would go and live on baby food?

You missed the point Lauren. What is baby food? Meat, fruit, vegetables, cereal right, etc.? What do children, teens, adults and the elderly eat? Meat, fruit, vegetables, cereal right, etc.

[quote=} they have other nutrients that we dont need or we have nutrients they dont need.[/QUOTE]

And many puppy formulas are too hot and rich for many breeds of puppies.

and ya before they go all these food maybe that is why people died so young. and also kids usually nursed longer, up to three years, to get the nutrients.

You are leaving out advances in health care, hygiene and many other societal advances. Nursing until 3 wasn't necessarily for nutritional purposes either.

Do you know how a dam will begin weaning her puppies on her own? She regurgitates a part of her meal for them ... just like wolves and other animals do ... that is the way of nature.

Debbie

[Michael Romanos]

Debbie -I think you are just trying to "divide and conquer." As Nick Cave explained (and I repeated his explanation previously in Go Corgi), Puppy desigated food and all stages food from the same producer are not quite the same thing and the all-stages is inferior to that of puppy food for a normal healthy (Corgi) because as I said in my previous post, several important food items for puppies are likely to be minimal in the all-stages diet whereas they should be more maximised as per the puppy formula. This declaration by Cave was confirmed to me in telephone conversations I had with nutrition staff of two international food producers of AAFCO-approved food.

Without a doubt, it is the most important period in a dog's life - the food they are given as pups.

[Dillydoodle]

Really this is common sense, most of us "GET IT." .. a few dont and never will no matter how hard we try to post links and informatoin based on many years of personal experience with multiple dogs, or those of us who have made a practice to really research foods... I guess if you want to buy something labeld as adult or puppy or senior to make you feel better, then go ahead. The overall point was missed, and something tells me it will continue to be missed...

Micheal - Dr. cave is biased, we have all been over this same argument so many times - when a vet works for a dog food company his opinions are no longer impartial... he is touting Hills science diet becuase he works for them... As i said before, Tell me how peanut hulls and chicken by-product meal is healthy and belongs in dog food. It doesnt... take the time to research dog food and the ingredients in it...if you wont eat it , then why should they?

Emilie