Treat Tuesday: Bravo Bonus Bites Freeze Dried Salmon

The freeze dried salmon treats from Bravo have been hiding at the bottom of my treat bin since SuperZoo. We've tried several different freeze dried liver treats, but this was my first encounter with freeze dried salmon. It stinks. A lot. Like, wow. These things are just USA-sourced Atlantic salmon, and nothing else. They come in nice little non-crumbly cubes.

Good For: Dogs with allergies. High-value training treats. Being highly visible when tossed on the ground.

Not Good For: Situations where you don't want to smell like salmon, because O.M.G. Seriously.

Bottom Line: Unlike freeze dried liver treats, the stank from these doesn't cling to your hands. It comes off with just soap and water, you don't need lava soap and an scrub brush.

Food Friday: FirstMate Limited Ingredient Canned Wild Salmon Dog Food

FirstMate is not a brand I see around here often, but I found their canned food in the same shop as I found Canine Caviar. They were not really on my radar until I went to check out their website for this blog post. It turns out they're based in British Columbia, so they're a west coast company that just isn't that common down here in southern California. It turns out they're one of the great pet food companies, privately owned with their own production facility and no recalls ever.

The Company

FirstMate was founded by an experienced fisherman concerned with dwindling fish stocks in the oceans of the world. This is a cause near and dear to my own heart, so I already like this company. The founder turned his efforts to the farmed salmon industry, and started up a fish food company named after his fishing boat, the Taplow. 

Here's where the story gets interesting! The fish farms had guard dogs that periodically helped themselves to the fish food. That stuff is apparently expensive, and Taplow feeds was asked to develop a food specifically for the guard dogs. The story given on the FirstMate website is that the fish farmers asked Taplow to make a dog food so good, the dogs would stay out of the fish food. I suspect it was something a little bit more cost-and-convenience based, along the lines of "Hey, since we're already paying you a gazillion dollars for fish chow, could you throw in a little something cheap for the dogs and save us an extra order/trip?"

At any rate, Taplow Feeds owns their own production facility, and has never had a recall. That's a pretty impressive. This is a privately-owned company, and the fisherman founder planned from the beginning to be a dog food manufacturer and not just a marketing company like those that use a co packer. They source their lamb from Australia, and everything else from Canada and the USA.

I'm not sure if this means the food is tasty, or that my cat is a bit of a weirdo.

The Food

FirstMate dog food was launched in 1989 if I'm reading things right. In 1995 they already had a grain-free food made from fish and potato. Color me impressed. Their grain-inclusive foods are based on barley, rice, and oatmeal. The grain-free dry foods are all potato-based and use chicken fat. They have a disclaimer on every ingredients list that says they use treated chicken fat that contains no protein and therefore cannot cause an allergic reaction, but I honestly just don't trust any of those. Maybe if my dog had fewer allergies. 

Their Limited Ingredient canned foods are awesome, though. This one just has salmon, potato, and vitamins and minerals. That's it. The dogs all loved it, as did one of my cats. James crashed my photo shoot and ate most of the bowl, and I let him because my cats are kind of spoiled. 

The Dog Food Advisor website does not have a rating for FirstMate's canned foods, but their grain-free and grain-inclusive foods both have an average rating of four out of five stars. The ingredients in the dry foods all look good to me, but they lost a star due to below-average fat content and above-average carbohydrates in most of their recipes. This would make me hesitate to use this food long-term for a dog with weight issues, like Brisbane. I would love to see the site analyze the FirstMate wet foods though, as these seem quite nice and are definitely something to add to the rotation when I get the chance.

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: Artemis OsoPure Salmon and Garbanzo Bean Formula

I picked up this sample of Artemis OsoPure Salmon and Garbanzo Bean Formula kibble at the little feed store around the corner from my house. I had been aware of the Artemis brand of food since around 2010, but at the time the only product line available in my area was their Fresh Mix line. Those are all chicken-based, so I had mentally filed Artemis under "nifty foods my dog can't eat". I was pleased to find that they had extended their product range and that three of the foods in their OsoPure line were egg-free and poultry-free.

Sweet Potatoes, Always Sweet Potatoes

After I picked up this sample, but before I used it, I got back the results of Brisbane's major allergy test. He is allergic to sweet potatoes, among other things. The vast majority of grain-free dog food contains sweet potatoes, including all of the Artemis OsoPure kibbles. Oh well. Fortunately I have Sisci to sample the many non-Briz-safe foods we encounter.

The Company

The Artemis company was founded in 1998 in Carson, California, so they are at least local to my state. This is basically a marketing company, as their food is actually produced by Diamond Pet Foods. Diamond makes a ton of foods, including Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Taste of the Wild, and Canidae. The Diamond pet food plant has been involved in at least one major recall that spanned multiple brands, so these are not my preferred brands of food.

The Food

As grain-free dog foods go, this one is merely ok. It Is made from salmon meal, followed by garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and peas. That's a lot of carb sources, so many that Dog Food Advisor only rates it 3.5 out of 5 stars. Sisci isn't food-crazy or indestructible like Brisbane, but she ate it willingly and the sample didn't upset her stomach at all. This is not a food I would choose to feed my dogs long-term, and probably not something I would include in their regular rotation because there are a lot of better options available. Still, it's better than pretty much anything I can find at the grocery store and definitely not something I would feel bad about feeding if it was the best option available.

Treat Tuesday: Little Chewzzies

These Little Chewzzies by Emerald Pet arrived in our October Allergy-Friendly BarkBox. These little bones are 5 calories each, and are fairly easy to split into smaller pieces for tiny training treats. We got the salmon flavor, which I thought were pretty awesome until the results of Brisbane's allergy test revealed that he is allergic to barley. Guess what's in all the corn-free wheat-free treats? (I might be a little bitter about this.)

Good For: Mid-value training treats for non-exciting training at home with minimal distractions. The dogs will eat them and even work for them for a bit, but get tired of them pretty quick.

Not Good For: Dogs with barley allergies. High-value training treats in distracting environments. Extended training sessions with lots of rewards.

How Much We Like Them: Enough to use up half the bag before taking a picture of them. Significantly less since learning that Brisbane can't have them, as he is my bottomless pit and head treat-snarfer.

Food Friday: PureVita Salmon and Peas Entree

PureVita is a food we just started carrying at work, so I got to spend an evening geeking out about dog food with a company representative. The food is made by Tuffy's Pet Foods, part of KLN Family Brands. This is pretty cool because the entire thing is family-owned and run, and they have been making pet food since 1964. While they promised employees each a free bag of dog food, this has yet to materialize and so, as always, this is an unbiased review of a food that I paid retail price for and have not been compensated for in any way.

The Company

Tuffy Nelson was working for his father's feed company, Pine Lakes Feed, in 1964 when he got the idea to make dog food. In the 1970's Tuffy's son began making snack foods and candy. They make the Australian licorice I like way too much. I love that all of the KLN Family Brand products are made in the USA, employing tons of people in their factories.

Tuffy's Pet Foods actually consists of several different brands. PureVita seems to be the highest quality, they also make NutriSource, Natural Planet, and Natural Planet Organics foods. The only recall I can find associated with their facilities was one earlier this year for Nutrisca, a food they co pack. They recently opened a brand new production facility with a new vacuum-tube system designed to simplify cleaning and sanitation. Even though they haven't had issues with recalls, they have gone ahead and invested in better equipment to make their food even safer. I think that's pretty cool.

The Food

PureVita foods are all made with single-source proteins, including fats. They don't feel the need to

throw chicken fat or eggs in every product. At this point they offer foods made with salmon, turkey, duck, bison, and venison. Brisbane is allergic to chicken, turkey, duck, and eggs, but he can eat three of those foods. Our salmon food is made from salmon and peas and sweet potatoes. There's also a bit of alfalfa, sunflower oil, and a tiny bit of blueberries. That's basically it for potential allergens, so this could be a good food for a dog with allergies.

The ingredients for this food are all tested for quality before they make it to the production line. The company does a lot of testing and research too, they're not content to just make food that is "good enough". The food contains both probiotics and prebiotics for better digestion. It is supposed to be so digestible that it will reduce gas and stomach problems even in super-farty bulldogs. I have not personally experienced this effect, but my dogs aren't normally gassy and they digest pretty much everything well. I think my favorite thing about PureVita so far is the velcro closure at the top of the bag that is super easy to close. The bigger bags have a giant ziploc closure. So airtight. So awesome.

The Taste Test

The product representative I spoke to claimed that even picky dogs would love this food. Ru has yet to refuse it, but he is wildly inconsistent. Sisci eats it without complaint, though she doesn't think it is awesome enough for training treats. Brisbane, as always, loves it because Brisbane loves all food forever.

I like PureVita a lot. It's a company with a lot of heart, which I can't say for Fromm, the other well-known family pet food company. I like the science behind their foods, and how they keep improving their products with more digestible and easily-absorbed vitamins and minerals. I feel like they sort of have Brisbane and his allergies in mind, whereas with Fromm he's not even on their radar. I also like that the company avoid hypocrisy. They sell dog food with grain in it. They sell grain-free food. When selling their grain-free food, they sell it on its own merits rather than telling me how terrible grains are for my dog. Their food is rated four out of five stars on the Dog Food Advisor website, losing one star due to its high level of plant protein versus meat protein. The Salmon and Peas Entree is 444 kcal/cup, which is a bit lower than many of our foods and means super-efficient Brisbane can eat more of it. He likes that.

Treat Tuesday: Alaska's Puppy Love Wild Salmon Jerky Treats

I've been trying to figure out where this bag of Wild Alaskan Salmon Jerky Treats came from, since I don't remember buying it and its not in any of my subscription box pictures.  I'm pretty we got it as an oops bonus after BarkBox sent us forbidden proteins in our allergy-friendly BarkBox for a second month in a row. These are from the Seldovia Wild Seafood Company's brand of dog treats, Puppy Love.

Good For: Mid-value training treats for balance and perch work. Picky chihuahuas who don't like most of the treats Brisbane gets for balance and perch work.

Not Good For: High-value training treats in distracting environments. Picky heeler puppies. Making my hands not smell like fish.

How Much We Like Them: See how that bag is almost empty? I had to save these just so I could take this picture.

Treat Tuesday: Aussie Naturals Fish Strips

We got these Aussie Naturals Fish Strips in our January BarkBox, and they have been stinking up my  treat cabinet ever since. They are made from salmon skin and nothing else. Just 100% sockeye salmon, a great allergy-friendly chew. Did I mention they smell like fish? A whole lot? They come in a resealable plastic bag to help contain a small fraction of the fishy smell, and are made in the USA.

Good For: Dogs with allergies to almost everything. Small dogs who enjoy a good chewing session. Mid-sized and large dogs who enjoy a brief chewing session. Shiny healthy skins and coats.

Not Good For: Ripping into smaller pieces. Lasting Brisbane longer than five minutes. Extremely picky chihuahuas. Feeding the dogs on my way out the door when I don't want to arrive at my destination smelling like fish.

How Much We Like Them: Well Brisbane thinks they're super awesome. They are also supposed to do amazing things for his skin and coat. I'm trying to get his hair to grow back after a particularly bad round of allergy issues, and he needs all the omega-3's he can get.