We posted this info back in the winter. Since then several people have asked for this information.

Top 10 Best Dog Foods by Whole Dog Journal:

We just received our last issue of the Whole Dog Journal. I am not sure if my pet human, Beta-chic will renew it. She has a love-hate relationship with the journal. But that is a blog post for another day. Right now i am very busy and important while chewing on my Lucky Antler Deer Horn so i will turn this blog post over to her. (Oh by the way- i ate her reading glasses so please excuse any html blips!)
xoxoox
Quan Yin

The Whole Dog Journal’s Dry Foods of 2011 in alphabetical order- not in order of best dog food. Some of these companies make several brands of dog food. Please check their websites for more info.
drum roll please…

Addiction Foods New Zealand addictionfoods.com

Annamaet petfoods Sellersville PA USAwww.accamaet.com”>

Artemis Pet Foods N. Hollywood CA www.artemiscompany.com

Back to Basics Meadville PA www.backtobasics.com

Bench & Field Pet Foods Grand Rapids Mi www.benchandfield.com

Blue Buffalo Company Wilton CT www.bluebuff.com

Blue Seal Feeds (By Nature )Londonery NH www.bynaturepetfoods.com

Breeders Choice (AvoDerm) Irwindale CA www.apdselectchoice.com

Burns Pet Health Val. IN www.burnshealthpet.com

Canidae Corp San Luis Obispo CA www.canidae.com

Canine Caviar Pet Foods (Organix) Costa Mesa CA www.caninecaviar.com

Castor & Pollux Pet Works www.castorpolluxpet.com

Champion Petfoods (Acana & Orijen) Alberta Canada www.championpetfoods.com

Della Natural Commodities (Wenawe) Bayside NY www.dellanaturalpet.com

Diamond Pet Products (Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover Soul, Taste of the Wild) Meta MO chickensoupforthepetloversoul.com

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pacoima CA www.naturalbalance.net

Dogswell LA CA www.dogswell.com

Dr G’s Pet Food Company Sedona AZ www.drgsfreshpetfood.com

Dr Tim’s Pet Food Company Marquette MI www.drtims.com

Drs Foster & Smith WI www.drsfostersmith.com

Earthborn Holistic Evansville IN
www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com

Since this list is very long i will not be posting the html for the rest of the websites. So sorry!

Evangers Dog & Cat Food www.evangersdogfood.com

FirstMate Pet Foods BC Canada www.firstmate.com

Fromm Family Foods Mequon WI www.frommfamily.com

Horizon Pet Nutrition Canada www.horizonpetnutrition.com

Laughing Dog INC Lodi CA www.laughingdogorganic.com

Linocoln Biotech East Bend NC www.lincolnbiotech.com

Lotus Natural Food Torrance CA www.lotuspetfoods.com

Merrick Pet Care (Before Grain, Whole Earth Farms) Armarillo TX www.merrickpetcare.com

Mulligan Stew Pet Food Jackson Wy www.mulliganstewpetfood.com

Natura Pet Products (California Naturals, Innova, Evo, Karma, Healthwise) Davis Ca www.naturalpet.com
From Four Paws Acupuncture : Please note that this company has been bought out by Proctor and Gamble which tests on animals. There is no guarantee that the quality will remain the same in the future.

Nature’s Variety (Instinct & Prairie )Lincoln N.E. wwwnaturesvariety.com

Omnipro Pet Foods Madison MS www.omnipropet.net

Perfect Health Diet Products Elmsford NY www.phdproducts.com

Pet Chef Express New Westminister Canada www.petchefexpress.com

Petcurean Pet Nutrition BC Canada www.petcurean.com

Pet Valu Ontario CA

Precise Pet Products TX USA www.precisepet.com

Smartpak Canine Plymouth MA www.smartpakcanine.com

Solid Gold Health Products. El Cajon CA www.solidgoldhealth.com

Tuffy’s Pet Foods Inc Perham MN www.nutrisourcedogfood.com

Verus Pet Foods Abingdon MD www.veruspetfoods.com

WellPet Tewsbury MA (Wellness) www.wellpet.com

Here they are folks, the top 8 dog foods that are claiming to be holistic and oh so healthy for your dog. This info comes from Whole Dog Journal.
Don’t you wish David Letterman would do a top ten worse dog food list?

And the losers are:

Eukanuba Nautrally Wild Turkey & Multigrain

Iams Healthy Chicken Naturals

Nature’s Best Science Diet Chicken & Brown Rice

Rachel Ray Nutrish Beef & Brown Rice

Chef Michaels Purina Chicken

Purina ONE Smart Blend Chicken & Rice

Are you ready for this one?
Whole Foods 365 Performance
ingredients: chicken-by-product, rice, corn meal, corn GLUTEN, wheat, dried beet pulp, natural flavors, flaxseed and dried egg product
More proof that not everything you buy at Whole Foods is good for you or your pets!

And drum roll please.. the absolute worst dog food claiming to be holistic and nutritious is….
Beneful Purina Healthy Harvest
corn, corn gluten, whole wheat flour, animal fat, soy protein, soy flour, water, rice flour, pearled barley, and sugar
(Do you think you could add any more allergens or junk to this! No animal protein is in this food at all. Yet people buy this for their dogs because the healthy picture on the bag. I think the bag would be more nutritious for your dog than the ingredients.)

I would also like to include on the worst dog food list the following brands which contain wheat, corn ,soy, by-products and who knows what else!
IAMS
EUKANUBA
SCIENCE DIET
PURINA
ALPO
HILLS

Please note that wheat, corn, and soy can be the cause of allergies in dogs. Wheat and all gluten exacerbates all pain and arthritis and auto-immune disorders. It has also been proven to bring on seizures in dogs.

Read the story at www.huffingtonpost.com

Here they are folks, the top 8 dog foods that are claiming to be holistic and oh so healthy for your dog. This info comes from Whole Dog Journal.
Don’t you wish David Letterman would do a top ten worse dog food list?

And the losers are:

Eukanuba Nautrally Wild Turkey & Multigrain

Iams Healthy Chicken Naturals

Nature’s Best Science Diet Chicken & Brown Rice

Rachel Ray Nutrish Beef & Brown Rice

Chef Michaels Purina Chicken

Purina ONE Smart Blend Chicken & Rice

Are you ready for this one?
Whole Foods 365 Performance
ingredients: chicken-by-product, rice, corn meal, corn GLUTEN, wheat, dried beet pulp, natural flavors, flaxseed and dried egg product
More proof that not everything you buy at Whole Foods is good for you or your pets!

And drum roll please.. the absolute worst dog food claiming to be holistic and nutritious is….
Beneful Purina Healthy Harvest
corn, corn gluten, whole wheat flour, animal fat, soy protein, soy flour, water, rice flour, pearled barley, and sugar
(Do you think you could add any more allergens or junk to this! No animal protein is in this food at all. Yet people buy this for their dogs because the healthy picture on the bag. I think the bag would be more nutritious for your dog than the ingredients.)

Please note that wheat, corn, and soy can be the cause of allergies in dogs. Wheat and all gluten exacerbates all pain and arthritis and auto-immune disorders. It has also been proven to bring on seizures in dogs.

We just received our last issue of the Whole Dog Journal. I am not sure if my pet human, Beta-chic will renew it. She has a love-hate relationship with the journal. But that is a blog post for another day. Right now i am very busy and important while chewing on my Lucky Antler Deer Horn so i will turn this blog post over to her. (Oh by the way- i ate her reading glasses so please excuse any html blips!)
xoxoox
Quan Yin

The Whole Dog Journal’s Dry Foods of 2011 in alphabetical order- not in order of best dog food. Some of these companies make several brands of dog food. Please check their websites for more info.
drum roll please…

Addiction Foods New Zealand addictionfoods.com

Annamaet petfoods Sellersville PA USAwww.accamaet.com”>

Artemis Pet Foods N. Hollywood CA www.artemiscompany.com

Back to Basics Meadville PA www.backtobasics.com

Bench & Field Pet Foods Grand Rapids Mi www.benchandfield.com

Blue Buffalo Company Wilton CT www.bluebuff.com

Blue Seal Feeds (By Nature )Londonery NH www.bynaturepetfoods.com

Breeders Choice (AvoDerm) Irwindale CA www.apdselectchoice.com

Burns Pet Health Val. IN www.burnshealthpet.com

Canidae Corp San Luis Obispo CA www.canidae.com

Canine Caviar Pet Foods (Organix) Costa Mesa CA www.caninecaviar.com

Castor & Pollux Pet Works www.castorpolluxpet.com

Champion Petfoods (Acana & Orijen) Alberta Canada www.championpetfoods.com

Della Natural Commodities (Wenawe) Bayside NY www.dellanaturalpet.com

Diamond Pet Products (Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover Soul, Taste of the Wild) Meta MO chickensoupforthepetloversoul.com

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pacoima CA www.naturalbalance.net

Dogswell LA CA www.dogswell.com

Dr G’s Pet Food Company Sedona AZ www.drgsfreshpetfood.com

Dr Tim’s Pet Food Company Marquette MI www.drtims.com

Drs Foster & Smith WI www.drsfostersmith.com

Earthborn Holistic Evansville IN
www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com

Since this list is very long i will not be posting the html for the rest of the websites. So sorry!

Evangers Dog & Cat Food www.evangersdogfood.com

FirstMate Pet Foods BC Canada www.firstmate.com

Fromm Family Foods Mequon WI www.frommfamily.com

Horizon Pet Nutrition Canada www.horizonpetnutrition.com

Laughing Dog INC Lodi CA www.laughingdogorganic.com

Linocoln Biotech East Bend NC www.lincolnbiotech.com

Lotus Natural Food Torrance CA www.lotuspetfoods.com

Merrick Pet Care (Before Grain, Whole Earth Farms) Armarillo TX www.merrickpetcare.com

Mulligan Stew Pet Food Jackson Wy www.mulliganstewpetfood.com

Natura Pet Products (California Naturals, Innova, Evo, Karma, Healthwise) Davis Ca www.naturalpet.com
From Four Paws Acupuncture : Please note that this company has been bought out by Proctor and Gamble which tests on animals. There is no guarantee that the quality will remain the same in the future.

Nature’s Variety (Instinct & Prairie )Lincoln N.E. wwwnaturesvariety.com

Omnipro Pet Foods Madison MS www.omnipropet.net

Perfect Health Diet Products Elmsford NY www.phdproducts.com

Pet Chef Express New Westminister Canada www.petchefexpress.com

Petcurean Pet Nutrition BC Canada www.petcurean.com

Pet Valu Ontario CA

Precise Pet Products TX USA www.precisepet.com

Smartpak Canine Plymouth MA www.smartpakcanine.com

Solid Gold Health Products. El Cajon CA www.solidgoldhealth.com

Tuffy’s Pet Foods Inc Perham MN www.nutrisourcedogfood.com

Verus Pet Foods Abingdon MD www.veruspetfoods.com

WellPet Tewsbury MA (Wellness) www.wellpet.com

Next post we will tell you the foods they did NOT recommend!

Blue Buffalo Dog Food Recalled
Excess Vitamin D in Some Lots of ‘Blue’ Brand Dog Food
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Katherine Scott, DVM, DACVIM

Oct. 12, 2010 — The Blue Buffalo Company Ltd. is recalling several lots of its “Blue” brand dog food, which may have excessive amounts of vitamin D.

So far 36 dogs have had symptoms, which include lethargy, unusually frequent water consumption and urination, and, in some cases vomiting. All recovered with no long-term effects noted to date.

Blue Buffalo CEO Bill Bishop says consumers whose dogs show any adverse reaction to the recalled products should have their pet checked by a veterinarian. He promises to reimburse consumers for any veterinary or testing expenses related to illness caused by company products.

Bishop says the company’s ingredient supplier had produced a vitamin D supplement immediately before preparing ingredients for the Blue brand dog food. The company thinks that some of this vitamin D was “carried over” into the Blue Buffalo products.

In a news release, Bishop says the “increased vitamin D presents no serious health risk, and any negative reaction to these products has been confined to a very small segment of the canine population who appear to be sensitive to higher levels of vitamin D.”

No other Blue brand dry or canned pet foods are involved in this recall, and only the specific code dates of these products are involved: Click here to see the recall list

Meet Quan Yin, our latest staff member of Four Paws Acupuncture and PR dog in charge of Pawsitive Relations. She is also the administrator of this new blog, The Barking Oracle. So many titles for a 55 pound rescue dog.

Quan Yin has a very sweet disposition and an old soul. She is named after the Buddhist Goddess of Compassion Quan Yin, also spelled Kuan Yin or Guan Yin. Quan also means dog in Chinese. click here for more info on Quan Yin

Originally from TN, Quan Yin was abandoned during the floods and was fostered by very kind folks working with the SPCA of TN . Thanks to Sheila Duncan and her organization Trouble Says Be Tough we learned about this sweet girl and decided to adopt her. A month later she was transported up to New England via http://www.petsllc.net The sound of diesel engines still terrify her. She is still adjusting to the noises and smells of Salem with the aid of Bach Flower remedies, melatonin, and with lots and lots of love. Quan Yin is teaching us all to have patience.

This dear girl loves her new feline roomies, especially Nubi wan Kenobi, who is really a dog in a cat’s body (aka the puppy-cat). Our other two cats, Zevo Calamari and Luna miso Poosie tolerate Quan Yin but have yet to cuddle with her. More lessons in patience! Can a cat learn to have patience?

Soon Quan Yin will be writing the canine advice column Ask Quan Yin. If you have any dog related questions please email her at QuanYin at fourpawsacupuncture dot com. It is hard to type with paws so she will only be answering a few questions per month.

Thanks to Quan Yin i will be taking more time off to play and relax. We are working on our new summer schedule for house calls and hoping to have an office by fall of 2010 for all those patients who are out of our travel zone.

We are so grateful to have this new dear girl in our lives. There are so many dogs who need homes. Please consider adopting a rescue dog the next time you consider getting a dog.

This came from a forwarded email. Thought i would post it for all. I have met so many dog owners who feed their dogs grapes as treats. Please pass on this info to other dog owners. (and if you email this please use the Bcc and not the Cc to add your email addresses!)

Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic Danville , OH

This week I had the first case in history of
raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patientwas a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime
between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday.

He started with vomiting, diarrhea andshaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn’t call my emergency service until 7 AM.

I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn’t seen any formal paper on the subject. We had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me – had heard something about it, but… Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.
The dog’s BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and Creatine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal).
Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values
at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and Creatine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of fluids. At that point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a
urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.

He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given Lasix as a
diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting medications and they still couldn’t control his vomiting. Today his urine output decreased
again, his BUN was over 120, his Creatine was at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220 … He continued to vomit
and the owners elected to Euthanize.

This is a very sad case – great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk.

Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our
ex-handler’s. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Onions, chocolate, cocoa, avocados and macadamia nuts can
be fatal, too

Here’s Trouble!” In January, 2006, after some tough times of her own, then twelve year old Kendra Duncan of Marblehead, Massachusetts, decided that kids (and adults too) could use some help during difficult times … maybe they were ill, or had lost a loved one … or were simply feeling a little bit afraid. They needed a great big hug … and more!

She sat down and drew a very simple little pup, and named him “Trouble”! She then worked with her aunt, Sheila, to design a cuddly plush toy as well as a children’s book which tells Trouble’s story of rescue and hope…and how to “be tough” when times are hard.

Trouble has a mission … to make people feel better … and he does! It’s magical! ” To learn more visit http://www.troublesaysbetough.com.

Purchase this adorable stuffed Trouble dog or the children’s book and the proceeds are donated back to the SPCA of TN towards rescuing another poor dog that has no hope.

I just received this email and thought it should be shared with all pet owners.

Please tell every dog or cat owner you know. Even if you don’t have a pet, please pass this to those who do. (When sending emails to large groups of people please put all email addresses in the Bcc not the Cc for the privacy and safety of all!)

Over the weekend, the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. The dogs loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog (Calypso) decided the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn’t acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk. Half way through the walk, she had a seizure and died instantly.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company’s website, This product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats.

Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey’s, and they claim that “It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat

Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won’t eat it.”*Snopes site gives the following information: click here

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman’s Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores contains a lethal ingredient called ‘Theobromine’. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks.

Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker’s chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline.

A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal
amounts of theobromine.

It is shocking that the FDA still allows the pet food industry to add harmful and disgusting ingredients in their products after all the recalls in the industry. These are the same brands that have the wonderful commercials on TV, sponsor ACK Dog Shows, and have full page ads in most dog magazines. Advertising at its best.

These are just a few of the ingredients found in some well known brands of pet foods. A warning to those with weak stomachs please read with caution!

*Animal meat meal and animal by-products: this is what is left of the slaughtered animal after the meat is removed. It can include things like beaks, feet, blood, intestines, bones, and tissue.

*Beef and bone meal: another by product of beef which can include hair, hooves,horn,manure, entrails and blood.

*Chicken Byproduct Meal: Consists of the dry, ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines — exclusive of feathers except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.

*Corn bran: which is the outer layer of the corn kernel. It has no nutritional value.

*Corn Gluten: is the residue from corn which can be used as a protein but can cause allergies in many dogs just like wheat gluten.

*Wheat Gluten: The tough, viscid nitrogenous substance remaining when wheat is washed to remove the starch. An inexpensive byproduct of human food processing with almost no nutritional value left, serves mostly as a binder.

Wheat also exacerbates pain in dogs and humans.

Take the time to research your pet’s food before buying a pretty package. Most of the smaller pet supply shops carry the healthy brands. It is difficult to find those in most grocery chains unless it is a natural health food store.

If you would like to learn more about the best commercial dog foods on the market please visit the link below. Your dog will thank you!
www.dogaware.com