[lammer29]

I went to store to buy a new food as my GR doesn't like The Taste of the Wild anymore. I was figuring that I'd have to go back to a grain formula due to the cost (TOW was the cheapest), and surprisingly I found a price comparable grain free. I had never heard of it,but I bought it anyway. I usually would research and research, but times are tough here financially and I had to make a decision to get something... so I bought this Earthborn Holistic Primitive natural grain free (dry) bag. I am mixing with the TOW, and the girls seem to like it. My Maisie was refusing to eat unless I added canned or anything to the TOW food, so I knew it was time for a change. She is eating the mix well.I googled the name and got one review (5 out of 6 stars). I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with this food or any info.It is made by Midwestern Pet foods in Evanston,IL. The bag says it is made in the USA.With all the pet food scares from the past, i get a bit nervous, but this seemed okay, unless I hear some bad info...

 

[artbuc]

Check out this thread from Dogster:

http://www.dogster.com/forums/Food_and_Nutrition/thread/644440/1

 

[unclelar]

I am not familiar with this food but I am always interested in better foods so I looked at their web site.
Primitive Natural has 717 calories per cup compared to about 370 for TOW which we have fed and my two would not eat.
Their feeding guidelines and for Primitive Natural (717 calories) it says 65 to 80lbs feed 2 3/4 to 3 1/4/.
The Adult Vantage line has 472 calories per cup and it recommends feeding 66 to 85lbs feed 2 1/2 to 3 cups per day.
I don't under stand more calories equals more food? (I'd be on a different diet today)

 

[artbuc]

I am not familiar with this food but I am always interested in better foods so I looked at their web site.
Primitive Natural has 717 calories per cup compared to about 370 for TOW which we have fed and my two would not eat.
Their feeding guidelines and for Primitive Natural (717 calories) it says 65 to 80lbs feed 2 3/4 to 3 1/4/.
The Adult Vantage line has 472 calories per cup and it recommends feeding 66 to 85lbs feed 2 1/2 to 3 cups per day.
I don't under stand more calories equals more food? (I'd be on a different diet today)

Just looked at Ocean Fusion on their web page. Only 22% protein and 12% fat. Yet, they claim 4356kcal/kg. These numbers seem very "fishy" to me. They must be using a different method to determine caloric content?

 

[hotel4dogs]

JMHO, I don't try anything "new and different" on my dogs. I wait until it's been around a long time and is proven.
Again, JMO.

 

[unclelar]

What they are not listing is Carbs. There could be a considerable amount of carbs which would translate to calories.

Also fiber in Primitive is 2.4 while in the other two it is 4%. This could reduce the "Net" carb percentage lowering the calories. Most nutrition threads I have read don't want less then 3% fiber.

Again I don't know about the quality of the food these are just things that pop out and make you go "HUH?"

 

[missmarstar]

I am not familiar with this food but I am always interested in better foods so I looked at their web site.
Primitive Natural has 717 calories per cup compared to about 370 for TOW which we have fed and my two would not eat.
Their feeding guidelines and for Primitive Natural (717 calories) it says 65 to 80lbs feed 2 3/4 to 3 1/4/.
The Adult Vantage line has 472 calories per cup and it recommends feeding 66 to 85lbs feed 2 1/2 to 3 cups per day.
I don't under stand more calories equals more food? (I'd be on a different diet today)

Wow I have never seen a dog kibble with over 700 calories per cup... maybe its a typo on the site??? and to feed about 3 cups of that per day seems like way too much for that size range.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

My dogs would look Macy's balloons if they were fed 3 cups of 700 cal/cup food. Holy moly!!!!

 

[lammer29]

I only looked at the ingredients... bad mommy. I am emailing them to inquire as to the high calorie count. The bag does not state calories, and to be honest, since I am stillmixing it with the TOW, I have just given them about 1/4 twice/day. I would definitely have to reduce the feeding amount to continue on its own. The girls seem to like it, Maisies hasn't refused to eat since I started feeding with it.I am not sure how ling they have been around, so not sure if new or I just wasn't familiar.Now I don't know if I keep them on grain free, this was the only other one I could find that was reasonably priced besides TOW, but if they won't eat it, it doesn't matter how inexpensive it is!Maybe I'll just switch to the fish flavor of TOW, the venison gave them both such horrible gas, and I think that originally I hesitated to feed the fish formula as they hadn't declared the fish was e free. But neither does this company make that claim, so I guess that is out the window.I 'll let you know what the company has to say, thanks so much for all your input, I need some guidance lately... a bit overwhelmed with my life. This site is always so helpful...

 

[unclelar]

I only looked at the ingredients... bad mommy. I am emailing them to inquire as to the high calorie count. The bag does not state calories, and to be honest, since I am stillmixing it with the TOW, I have just given them about 1/4 twice/day. I would definitely have to reduce the feeding amount to continue on its own. The girls seem to like it, Maisies hasn't refused to eat since I started feeding with it.I am not sure how ling they have been around, so not sure if new or I just wasn't familiar.Now I don't know if I keep them on grain free, this was the only other one I could find that was reasonably priced besides TOW, but if they won't eat it, it doesn't matter how inexpensive it is!Maybe I'll just switch to the fish flavor of TOW, the venison gave them both such horrible gas, and I think that originally I hesitated to feed the fish formula as they hadn't declared the fish was e free. But neither does this company make that claim, so I guess that is out the window.I 'll let you know what the company has to say, thanks so much for all your input, I need some guidance lately... a bit overwhelmed with my life. This site is always so helpful...

Not bad mommy.....You care enough to look and ask questions, I once fed mine food I wouldn't leave out for a stray. (I'd feed the stray it just would be better food). I think their in good hands.

 

[missmarstar]

Now I don't know if I keep them on grain free, this was the only other one I could find that was reasonably priced besides TOW, but if they won't eat it, it doesn't matter how inexpensive it is!

Just a question.. how long did they refuse the TOTW? Sometimes switching up their food everytime they act a little picky just makes them pickier!

Honestly I would kind of give them a little tough love here.. if TOTW worked well for them and is in your budget, I'd feed them that. Put the food down for 10 minutes, what they don't eat, they don't get again until the next meal. I venture to say they will quickly learn that they better eat when their food is put down and stop being so picky.

You could try rotating the different formulas of TOTW if you like and that may help too.

 

[lammer29]

This is the response that I got from the company

Thank you for your interest in Earthborn Holistic Natural food for dogs. Yes, 717 kilo-calories per cup is the correct listing for our Earthborn Holistic food. The formula contains a lot of meat and is high in protein which accounts for the high calories. Fiber is found in a variety of sources, but in pet foods, it comes primarily from plants and grains present in the food. Almost all carbohydrate sources will contain some fiber. Some of the most common sources of fiber in pet foods include rice hulls, corn and corn by-products, soybean hulls, beet pulp, bran, peanut hulls and pectin. Since Primitive Natural is a grain-free food it is lower in fiber. Fiber is not considered an essential nutrient in the diet of cats and dogs, but it is present in almost every commercial pet diet. Pets do not derive any energy from fiber, however, there are benefits of having fiber in the diet. We offer Primitive Natural as an option for pet owners wanting to feed a grain-free diet.



Cindy Montgomery
VP, Marketing
Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc.
9634 Hedden Road
Evansville, IN 47725
p 812-867-4504, ext. 107
f 812-867-0424
[email protected]



On Dec 5, 2009, at 5:23 PM, lammer29 wrote;

I just recently bought a bag of your grain free Primitive Natural dog food. I don't seem to find the calorie info on the bag, but at your website it states that there are 717 kilo-calories per cup. Yikes! Is this correct? The food my dogs were on prior to this (also grain free) had 375 k/cals per cup.Also fiber is low for average dog food (lower that your other formulas, recommended is over 3).I am anxious to hear back as well as some other of my friends who have same questions.
Thank you,
​

Not much more info, I am still feeding it an dthe girls are eating it welll, just less of what I would have given of any of the other grain free or anything else for that matter. I don't know how long i will feed it. I just know that Maisie would sniff the bowl and walk away during the last few weeks on the TOW. She didn't care much if I took it away for the day. She had never done that before with any other food I have given.This from the dog that was on Ol' Roy when I got her.I don't know if I should switch back to a grain product or what i'll do. Wish finances weren't a factor, but since my situation has changed drastically it is a big factor in what I will feed while keeping their health and well being in mind.They like this, i just hope they don't get too pudgy or feel hungry on the lesser amount I am feeding.
​

 

[LOVEisGOLDEN]

I picked up a bag of this today. still searching & deciding whether or not to try it on Blush. She is currently on TOTW:HP due to her celiac disease. I like that the earthborn contains chicken fat, rather than TOTWs canola oil.

am concerned about the fiber though, since she has anal gland issues...

 

[teri4now]

I have been feeding my black lab/boxer mix Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural for about 5 months now. She absolutely loves it, but after reading what I have on this forum I am not surprised that she has gained about 10 pounds. I checked their website, it says there are 717 kilo-calories per cup, which when calculated as 'normal' calories is 717,000. WHAT?? Maybe I don't understand, are calories different for dogs than they are for humans? It just so happens we have a vet appt. today and I am going to ask about it. I thought I was doing the right thing, mostly meat and berries, etc., in this food instead of who knows what. I will say, it has made her virtually gas free, and her stools are much less frequent and solid. I hate to change it, she loves the food and the side effects are a great benefit, but if the vet says she is way too much overweight I will have no choice. I'd like to know other healty options from you guys, because I am sure the vet will try to push something on me that they sell there.
Thanks!!!

 

[LOVEisGOLDEN]

I still feed taste of the wild to Blush & Professional to Layla, am happy with both.

 

[K9 Passion]

Because it's such a nutrient dense food, just feed less to prevent weight gain. Feeding less is one advantage of nutrient dense nutrition.

 

[teri4now]

The vet said she could stand to loose 3 lbs. LOL! She's 98 lbs., so I'm not as concerned now. Although I do think that I need to look into exactly how much my daughter feeds her. She is 'her' dog, we adopted her from the pound for her birthday in November. We couldn't have gotten a better dog! I feel sad for the family that had to give her up. It was a couple with a toddler and a newborn, and the dad lost his job. She was VERY well trained, just an exceptional dog!! Anyway, she is fed 3 times a day: 1 cup in the morning, 2 cups after school, 1 cup at dinner time. This follows the chart on the bag for her weight, giving her 4 cups a day. However, my daughter's 'cups' are probably bigger than an actual measuring cup amount. We just use a small plastic cup to scoop it out. I am going to put a measuring scoop in there instead, see if that helps. I haven't measured the actual amount in the cup we are using, but I imagine it's more. Thanks for the advice, and if this doesn't work, I will be switching to Taste of the Wild as I have already researched it online, thanks to you all.
Teri

 

[Bender]

Wow I have never seen a dog kibble with over 700 calories per cup... maybe its a typo on the site??? and to feed about 3 cups of that per day seems like way too much for that size range.

That's what I was thinking too. And if it's really kilo-calories that means it's that much more regular calories...

I'm thinking they mean regular calories, otherwise you'd be feeding tablespoons of the food per day...

Lana

 

[tippykayak]

That's what I was thinking too. And if it's really kilo-calories that means it's that much more regular calories...

I'm thinking they mean regular calories, otherwise you'd be feeding tablespoons of the food per day...

Lana

In America, the convention is to list the unit on food as "Cal" or "calories," but in scientific literature and most of the rest of the world, the same unit is kcal or kilocalorie.

Just drop the "kilo" and you're fine.

 

[nixietink]

The vet said she could stand to loose 3 lbs. LOL! She's 98 lbs., so I'm not as concerned now. Although I do think that I need to look into exactly how much my daughter feeds her. She is 'her' dog, we adopted her from the pound for her birthday in November. We couldn't have gotten a better dog! I feel sad for the family that had to give her up. It was a couple with a toddler and a newborn, and the dad lost his job. She was VERY well trained, just an exceptional dog!! Anyway, she is fed 3 times a day: 1 cup in the morning, 2 cups after school, 1 cup at dinner time. This follows the chart on the bag for her weight, giving her 4 cups a day. However, my daughter's 'cups' are probably bigger than an actual measuring cup amount. We just use a small plastic cup to scoop it out. I am going to put a measuring scoop in there instead, see if that helps. I haven't measured the actual amount in the cup we are using, but I imagine it's more. Thanks for the advice, and if this doesn't work, I will be switching to Taste of the Wild as I have already researched it online, thanks to you all.
Teri

To me, that seems like a lot of food especially at over 700 calories a cup! Quite often the chart on the bag is a gross overestimate of what the dog really needs.