Farmina

[Ellie May]

Curiosity...

Some of this company's rx foods have unnamed animal fats and hydrolyzed animal proteins as ingredients. I have no real opinion on the company (and no reason or desire to feed it), but why are supporters of companies who list all ingredients accepting this brand? It is being treated as the best thing since sliced bread.

Not a criticism bc I really don't care about the company, but ?

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Curiosity...

Some of this company's rx foods have unnamed animal fats and hydrolyzed animal proteins as ingredients. I have no real opinion on the company (and no reason or desire to feed it), but why are supporters of companies who list all ingredients accepting this brand? It is being treated as the best thing since sliced bread.

Not a criticism bc I really don't care about the company, but ?

I can't speak to the issue of animal fats, but as far as hydrolyzed animal proteins go, once the proteins are broken down by hydrolysis, it really doesn't matter where they came from, they are all essentially the same. From what I understand, their non-prescription foods DO list the animal sources of all of their ingredients, so maybe the reputation of the non-prescription foods is being extended (rightly or wrongly) to the prescription foods? I don't know anything about this brand, and I'm not interested in feeding it to Bella either since she is doing well on her current food.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by pstinard

I can't speak to the issue of animal fats, but as far as hydrolyzed animal proteins go, once the proteins are broken down by hydrolysis, it really doesn't matter where they came from, they are all essentially the same. From what I understand, their non-prescription foods DO list the animal sources of all of their ingredients, so maybe the reputation of the non-prescription foods is being extended (rightly or wrongly) to the prescription foods? I don't know anything about this brand, and I'm not interested in feeding it to Bella either since she is doing well on her current food.

I think the issue is about disclosure. Plus, I do think that the protein source does matter for some dogs even if it is hydrolyzed. For example, dogs with PVH (formerly known as MVD) do much better on an amino acid profile that reduces the amount of ammonia byproducts rather than consume some amino acids from meats (i.e, chicken turkey or fish create less byproducts than lamb or beef and this reduces taxing the capacity of an already compromised liver.)

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by 107barney

I think the issue is about disclosure. Plus, I do think that the protein source does matter for some dogs even if it is hydrolyzed. For example, dogs with PVH (formerly known as MVD) do much better on an amino acid profile that reduces the amount of ammonia byproducts rather than consume some amino acids from meats (i.e, chicken turkey or fish create less byproducts than lamb or beef and this reduces taxing the capacity of an already compromised liver.)

Good point. The amino acid profile does differ from meat to meat. Perhaps they feel they don't need to disclose the source since the amino acid profile is one that is appropriate for the prescription diet? Anyone feeding the prescription diet to their dogs should definitely ask the company questions.

[merripups]

I now have a store for food whose owner is incredible!!!!
She will not carry a food unless she first tours the factory. That is dedication!
Secondly, if a company changes formula in any way and doesn't tell her, the food is gone.
She is so knowing that she is my go to person for any food issue or questions.
Her store is called Pet Empawrium (spelling not right). She won't pull punches and tells you exactly what she thinks!

[107barney]

Originally Posted by pstinard

Good point. The amino acid profile does differ from meat to meat. Perhaps they feel they don't need to disclose the source since the amino acid profile is one that is appropriate for the prescription diet? Anyone feeding the prescription diet to their dogs should definitely ask the company questions.

Maybe. But, the hydrolyzed foods are usually marketed for the allergy dogs so a dog with multiple conditions might need a vet nutritionist for more detailed advice.

[Britster]

To be honest I did not know they made RX foods, as they are not available in the US. I would ask them, they have great customer service.

As for the reason I like them though? They have 6 staff veterinarians and 20 other professionals with advanced scientific degrees working for them. Two of their people are fellows to the European equivalent of the AVMA. They do extensive testing with the University of Milan and Naples and been around since 1965 and is owned by the Russo family. The food is tested for 24 months in three published studies for safety before they are put on the market.

AND I am happy with the ingredients. To be honest I'd be feeding a food from Hills or RC or Purina if they had foods that ... worked for Jackson. The food he did pretty good on was Purina One Beyond, but otherwise, whenever there is lots of rice, corn, and tons of grains, etc, he just gets too flabby for my liking and dull hair and softer poop. But I was in a catch-22 because of my lack of trust in most dog food companies but also not really wanting to feed him certain things. So Farmina has been working for us. We're on our 2nd 5.5lb bag (but had been feeding many sample bags before this too) and all is running very smoothly this far.