Food Friday: Annamaet Sustain

I bought this bag of Annamaet Sustain because I wanted to try out another fish-based kibble. This company actually makes two different grain-free fish kibbles, the other is their Aqualuk formula. Sustain is unique because it is made with sustainabley-harvested fish. Knowing the current state of world fisheries, this is a pretty cool concept.

The Company

Annamaet is named after the founder's mother, Anna Mae. Rob Downey is unique among the pet food company executives I've read about so far, because he has actually published papers on dog diets. He's been publishing in places like the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine since 1979. Are you impressed? I'm impressed. Rob Downey also races sled dogs, and a lot of his works have to do with stamina and effects of diet on working dogs.

Annamaet is definitely a company that is concerned with ecological sustainability, something I'm always happy to support. They're also concerned with contamination, and one of the few pet food companies that formulate their own vitamin and mineral packs rather than buying pre-made packs. The pre-made stuff usually has ingredients from China, which are more likely to be suspect.

 This company does use a co packer to manufacture their food, they do not have their own production facility. I do not believe their co packer has been involved in any recalls though.

The Food

The first ingredient in Sustain is cod heads, from line-caught fish. The second ingredient is turkey meal, so this is actually a turkey-based food. These are followed by chickpeas, sweet potatoes, both green peas and pea protein isolate, and tapioca. The two pea ingredients mean that peas should really be a bit higher on the ingredient list, but overall this is a good grain-free food. It is not currently lsted on the Dog Food Advisor website, but all of the other Annamaet grain-free dogs foods rate five out of five stars.

The Verdict

At 33% protein and 13% fat, this food is an interesting combination of high protein and relatively low fat. This might be why my girls didn't do very well on it, as highly active working dogs they really need the energy provided by a higher fat food. Still, I think this is an excellent option for a less active dog. I would definitely consider Sustain for an overweight dog, as it offers lower fat without being packed full of carbohydrates.

Food Friday: Pulsar Pulses and Fish Formula

Pulsar's Pulses and Fish Formula is a grain-free kibble made with red lentils, peas, and salmon. This is a potato-free food with a low glycemic index. Pulsar strives to make high-quality grain-free food that is still affordable.The Pulsar foods are all formulated for all life stages. There's a lot to love about this company.

The Company

Parent company Horizon actually owns their own production facility in Saskatchewan, Canada. No co packers here! To date, they have never had a recall. They've only been around since 2007, making them seem rather new compared to giants like Tuffy's and Fromm. Still, a newer company with their own facility is pretty awesome, some of the older and larger companies have been guilty of letting their equipment get old and icky. (I'm looking at you, Diamond.) They opened a second production facility next door in 2016. 

Like Champion Pet Foods, Horizon seeks to source their ingredients as locally as possible. The company is located in an agricultural basin, surrounded by farmland. They get a whole lot of their ingredients directly from the growers. Yes, another Canadian company with grower-direct ingredients and control of their own production means, that sounds very much like Champion, makers of Acana and Orijen. However, Horizon also places a lot of emphasis on affordability. Their foods are made with the same integrity, but without the sticker shock.

The Food

Ok, I can't be the only person who looked at this bag and went, "Pulses and fish? What the heck is a pulse?!" I kinda figured it was a creative made-up term, like Blue Buffalo's "lifesource bits". I was wrong though, it turns out that "pulse" is another words for legumes. Yes, beans, peas, and lentils are all pulses. Thanks to pulses.org, I now know that pulses are a great form of sustainable agriculture. Hooray for Google!

I had been wanting to try out some fish kibbles, so I ordered this bag from Chewy.com. Admittedly, mostly I got it so I could tell you the story of how I learned what pulses are. Horizon makes four brands of food, and Pulsar is their most affordable option. This means it has the lowest amount of meat ingredients. This food has a lower protein and fat content than I'd like for my dogs in the long-term, but it was still worth trying.

The ingredients for Pulses and Fish starts with salmon meal, followed by red lentils, peas, and pea starch. This means they use ingredient splitting to make it look like there's less peas in their food, but they only have pea products on their twice and don't do that with any other ingredients. That's not nearly as bad as foods with ingredient lists that look like, "salmon, peas, pea starch, pea protein, pea flour..." There's more peas in that food than fish. Horizon is a bit more honest with us.

I'm not super thrilled that they chose to put egg product in this food. Horizon appears to be one of those companies that thinks eggs are so awesome that they should be in everything all the time. Having owned a dearly beloved dog with a major egg allergy, it annoys me that this can't be considered a limited-ingredient or allergy-friendly food.

The Verdict

While I love the company and their philosophy, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to other pet owners, I don't think Pulsar is the best choice for my high-energy working dogs. Both Godzilla and Zip have had rather dull coats lately, and I'm looking for a food with enough fat and protein content to have them looking and feeling their best.

Treat Tuesday: Plato Hunder's Crunch

These Hunder's Crunch treats by Plato Pet Treats are like little stinky fish wheels. I was expecting something kind of like a dog biscuit, but it turns out they're a sort of jerky roll. The package says this, but please forgive me for missing that bit because the package says a ton of other things too.

Good For: Keeping all the dogs busy crunching for several minutes. Hiding for the dogs to find via smell. Picky dogs. Dogs with allergies to anything but fish.

Not Good For: High-value training treats. Not smelling like fish.

How Much We Like Them: Even Ranger, who can be a bit finicky, got crazy-eyes and ran off with one of these when I was passing them out.

Fish Oil Capsules or Liquid: Which is Cheaper?

Fish oil comes in capsules and bottled, marketed for humans and just for dogs, but what gives you the most bang for your buck? There's some compelling evidence for fish oil being actually useful for dogs, but not all dietary supplements are created equal. Two years ago this New York Times article, about supplements not containing what's on the label, made me reconsider the few dietary supplements I do use. Happily, someone has actually gone to the trouble of analyzing various fish oil products, at least for humans.

So What's the Cheapest Source of Fish Oil?

Briz likes fish. And food. Any food, really.

Ask a group of dog people what is the most economical fish oil for their dogs, and you will get a difference answer from every person. 

"Liquid products are more expensive."

"Capsules are way more expensive."

 "Some more costly products are more economical because they are more potent and therefore can be given in much smaller doses."

Which of these is actually true? Are capsules or liquid cheaper? Is fish oil marketed for dogs more expensive than fish oil marketed for people? Are tested products more expensive than untested ones?

Let's Do Some Math

I quickly learned that nobody had a satisfactory answer to my question, and I really love concrete answers. As the cost of fish oil is measurable, all that was required was some figuring...and maybe a spreadsheet. For comparison purposes, I picked two dog products that were recommended to me, and two human products that rated well on the list of tested fish oils. 

• Grizzly Pollock Oil by Grizzly Pet Products seems to be one of the most economical products available at www.Chewy.com, at $23 for a 32-oz bottle. That's about $0.71 per fluid ounce.
• Vetoquinol AllerG-3 seems more expensive, at $15 for an 8-oz bottle. That's about $1.90 per fluid ounce.
• The Vitamin Shoppe's house brand Omega-3 1100mg Fish Oil was the second-highest rated human product, containing slightly more of the active ingredients than was listed on the label. LabDoor rated it the best value for human products, at $35 for 180 capsules. That's $0.19 per pill.
• Controlled Labs OxiMega Fish Oil was another readily-available product with active ingredient levels that exceeded those listed on the label. At $22 for 120 capsules, it also seems to be a good value. That's $0.18 per pill.

So at 18-cents per pill, the Controlled Labs capsules initially seemed like the best value, and capsules in general appeared to be the most economical form in which to buy fish oil. Next, I checked the manufacturer's recommended dosage for each product, and calculated how much it would cost to feed to 45-lb Brisbane. Here's what I learned:

• At $0.08 per 3.5ml pump, it would cost $0.16 per day to feed Brisbane the recommended dose of 2 pumps per day of Grizzly Pollack Oil. That's $4.80 a month.
• At $0.06 per 1-ml pump, it would cost $0.12 per day to feed Brisbane the recommended dose of 2 pumps per day of Vetoquinol AllerGo3 liquid. That's $3.60 a month. 
• At $0.19 per 1200mg capsule, it would cost $0.19 per day to feed Brisbane the recommended (for humans) dose of 1 capsule per day of of Vitamin Shoppe Omega-3 fish oil. That's $5.70 a month.
• At $0.18 per capsule, it would cost $0.36 per day to feed Brisbane the recommended (for humans) dose of 2 capsules per day of Controlled Labs OxiMega fish oil. That's $10.80 a month.

Wow, so the OxiMega fish oil is actually the most expensive when given at the manufacturer's recommended dose! The Vetoquinol was the most expensive per ounce, but the least per recommended dose. Both of the liquid products turned out to be a better value than the capsules...right? Not exactly.

It's All About the Active Ingredients

As it turns out, aside from the omega-3 fatty acids, the active ingredients in fish oil are really Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). According to the University of Colorado Veterinary Hospital, the maximum recommended dose of EPA+DHA for osteoarthritis is 310mg per kg of body weight per day. At 45-lbs or 20.5kg, Brisbane would get about 3000mg per day. That's a lot, and the amount of EPA and DHA varies immensely between products. Here's how it changes the value:

• 1 3.5-ml pump of Grizzly Pollack Oil contains 195mg of DHA and 385mg of EPA for a total of 580mg per pump. The maximum dose of 3000mg for Brisbane would be 5 pumps at a cost of $0.40 per day, and $12 per month.
• 1 1-ml pump of Vetoquinol AllerG-3 contains 120mg of DHA and 180mg of EPA for a total of 300mg. The maximum dose of 3000mg for Brisbane would be 10 pumps at a a cost of $0.60 per day, and $18 per month.
• 1 1200mg capsule of Vitamin Shoppe Omega-3 fish oil contains 240mg DHA and 600mg of EPA for a total of 840mg per pill. The maximum dose of 3000mg for Brisbane would be 4 pills a a cost of $0.76 per day, and $22.80 per month.
• 1 capsule of Controlled Labs OxiMega fish oil contains 200mg DHA and 400mg of EPA, for a total of 600mg. The maximum dose of 3000mg for Brisbane would be 5 pills at a cost of $0.90 per day, and $27 per month.

So What's the Best Source of Fish Oil?

Of the four products I examined here, the Grizzly Pollack Oil is the most economical. Chewy.com also has it available in a 64-oz bottle that would drop the price per month for Brisbane to $10.50, which means I should probably order that right now and not have to worry about it for a few months. I could also rotate that with Grizzly Salmon Oil, which would cost $10.80 per month to feed if I bought the giant bottle. The salmon oil is slightly more expensive than the pollock oil, but also contains slightly more EPA and DHA so it evens out. Liquid products do indeed seem to be less expensive than capsules, but I don't think any have been tested by a third party so I have to take the manufacturer's word that they contain the levels of active ingredients claimed. It's a trade-off. 

This was fun! I learned a lot, and the results weren't quite what I expected. Please feel free to check my math, question my motives, or request the same breakdown for another product!

Food Friday: Weruva Marbella Paella Dog Food

Weruva's Marbella Paella dog food is one of the many canned foods I have tried to convince Ru to eat after his dental cleaning and tooth extraction. Ru was not impressed. I was though, this company and their foods are rather unique, and will definitely be making into our regular rotation. I may even start feeding their foods to my cats.

The full name of this food is Marbella Paella with Mackerel and Pumpkin in Aspic. That's a pretty fancy name. For those less culinarily educated, aspic is the savory gelatin you get from boiling bones to make broth. It's meat Jello.

This stuff is mostly made out of mackerel, and it's really obvious. I can see big chunks of fish in there. One of the unique things about Weruva is their take on ingredients.

I learned from Dog Food Logic that "chicken" in the pet food industry is defined as "flesh and skin, with or without bones". So the meat that goes into my dogs' food could be something that looks just like what I'd find on my plate in a restaurant, or it could be a pile of skin and bones. Pet food companies are not allowed to explain what "chicken" means to them on their product packaging, but they can on their websites. That's where I learned that Weruva uses people food for their pet food. Their dog food is made out of boneless, skinless cuts of meat intended for human consumption. Amazing.

The only thing that originally made me hesitate for a moment was the fact that Weruva's foods are made in Thailand. I'm hesitant to use products imported from Asia due to the rampant recalls, but most of those have been tied to products from China where quality control is severely lacking. I hold products of Thailand in higher esteem. What really made me feel at ease was the fact that Weruva's pet foods are manufactured in a human food plant that makes human food the rest of the time. They have to pass human food standards to get their foods made and imported, and they still test the heck out of everything.

It's no surprise that Weruva's Human Style canned foods rate five out of five stars on Dog Food Advisor. I think the main reason they weren't particularly on my radar before is that ten of their 15 foods are chicken-based. Happily, they don't insist on cramming eggs into the other five flavors. Three of those five are fish-based though, and that's a lot of fish. I don't think I'd choose to feed my dogs Weruva exclusively, but it's definitely a welcome addition to our food rotation. For everyone but Ru, who won't touch it.

Treat Tuesday: Honest Kitchen Beams

At the suggestion of one of my awesome readers, I got Brisbane some Beams fish treats from Honest Kitchen. They are absolutely disgusting. Brisbane loves them.

These things are just dried Icelandic catfish skins. Those are marine fish, unlike the catfish that inhabit American lakes and rivers. Honest Kitchen advertises these as an alternative to chicken jerky or bully sticks. They don't last Briz nearly as long as a thick bully stick, but they last way longer than any kind of jerky treat we've tried. This is definitely an allergy-friendly dog chew.

Good For: Dogs with food allergies. Occupying Brisbane for about 10-15 minutes. Making my husband ask "Where is that horrible smell coming from?"

Not Good For: Lasting as long as a thicker chew. Being discreet and nonoffensive. Looking pretty.

How Much We Like Them: This is the only thing Brisbane has ever attempted to swallow whole. For about 60 seconds I wasn't entirely certain he could breathe and was considering whether I should pry it out of his throat or perform the doggy Heimlich maneuver. He's still lovingly licking the floor where he chewed it (after horking it back up) several minutes later.

Treat Tuesday: Honest Kitchen Quickies

Honest Kitchen Quickies are stinky little heart-shaped treats that come in a cute little tube. They are intended to be quick and easy training treats, and are just the right size for regular-sized dogs. They are made from nothing but dried haddock fish, with just 1.1 calories per treat.

Good For: High value training treats. Hiding in food puzzles. Getting attention by rattling the can. Hiding the tube in my pocket.

Not Good For: Dogs that don't looooooove fish.

How Much We Like Them: Not enough to use them for training unless I feel like having my hands, my treat bag, and my dogs smell like fish. Everything smells like fish. So much fish. Fish.

Have you tried any Honest Kitchen treats yet?