What does "good food" really mean?

I have an issue with the guilt that goes with not feeding a premium food. My friend Bev, owns a pet store near Toronto. She breeds two breeds of terriers, one larger and one small and she runs obedience classes, shows in performance and confirmation. She once told me of one of her customers coming into her store nearly in tears. He had lost his job and was now going to be forced into feeding a cheaper brand of food. He felt like he was going to kill his dog with the lesser quality food because everyone told him your dog is what it eats and not to feed this, that and the other. Bev assured him that since his dog would be just fine and to stop listening to everyone's opinions because in the end, that is all they have.
I know that during the course of my years in dogs I have fed all kinds of things. I have never really seen too much of a difference no matter what I fed and my dogs lived long and healthy lives. Interestingly, when I switched from food with ethoxyquin as it's preserver, I started having reproductive issues. Can I blame the new food? Maybe yes, maybe no. I also started seeing more dental issues in dogs. That I do think is food related. I don't think the long term feeding of high fat foods are good for any dog but not only have high fish oil foods become popular, people add more oil for good measure. I think of gall bladders and livers.
Now I feed Go Natural Chicken to one dog as well as Carna4, changed the westie from TOTW fish ( the only dog I have had a pancreas problem with) to a low fat diet, Tinsel went from TOTW fish to Go Chicken without any difference in coat or anything I can readily observe. If something needs to change, I will change it. I generally tell people to start with whatever the breeder, assuming the breeder is worth his/her salt and her dogs are healthy, feeds. Since they feed many dogs with varying backgrounds they have likely fed as many feeds as I have and have found one that they feel works for their dogs.
 
Remember 'Sheltie Guy'? A very nice young man who adored his Sheltie, and became obsessed that he had caused her death by feeding her suboptimal foods, particularly those containing ethoxyquin. It became something of a crusade on his part.
I always felt so really bad for him, because it almost certainly wasn't true, and was based on alarmist 'internet science', which in his case was simply, inexcusably, harmful.
 
my two cents

Alrighty folks, you will always have opinions, but you must temper the emotion with fact! I have walked the planet a long time, and I can tell ya in years past- food was food, it wasn't laced with all kinds of preservatives, additives, and fillers, or at least it was the exception, not the rule. Nowdays everything is about bottom line, GREED, and producing something for nothing, which has lead to issues you didn't encounter before. Consumers have had to be more aware and more slanted to watchdog mode, because production methods aren't what they SAY, or what should be allowed, and that is the issue in a nutshell. If the words printed on the product were TRUE and fully representational of the product, and not just for advertising sake, ALL of us would be in better shape, but unfortunately what is printed, ain't always so. Or the omission, or semantics of correctness has changed the snake oil stuff to be thought of as ok and edible. Meaning meat by products didn't use to conjure up ground up roadkill, euthanized pets, it use to mean the lesser cuts of an edible animal (by products is NOT a food group, fancy name for trash-not fit for consumption-doesn't BENEFIT the living).

So being alarmist, and trying to make sure what you purchase as feed for your pet, is really FOOD, and not something that doesn't even qualify is understandable. And name brands of yesteryear USE to stand for quality and have good reputations for doing the right thing, well, that mindset isn't true NOW. And even brands that you thought were family owned have MERGED, or been acquired by the conglomerates you wouldn't KNOWINGLY support if there was open disclosure. I found that out DIGGING, CALLING and researching. When you call and they can't answer WHO owns your company...it usually means you won't be happy finding out the answer. Because the conglomerates DON'T like or allow competition.

Natural- doesn't MEAN much, Organic- is NOT always pesticide free, wholesome- has no criteria. So a pet owner with the BEST intentions can be purchasing CRAP, paying lots for it, and then wondering why their sheltie is NOT thriving as it should. Yes, every sheltie is different, but as a rule they are more sensitive, develop allergies and intolerances that aren't seen as readily in other breeds, so as a good pet owner, you do the best you can, with the jumbled/masked info available. Because unfortunately DISCLOSURE and HONESTY in the food industry isn't readily available anymore. It is misleading and non-inclusive, until SOMETHING happens, and investigations are done and what you thought you were buying isn't what the product was describing as its contents. Everything on the planet needs a healthy gut, eating the right stuff for it to thrive, not just survive, so I can see why confusion reigns here. People are just trying to cut through the illusion, lies, and get quality food for their pet at a price their budget allows. It should be straightforward, but nowdays, it isn't as easy as 1-2-3! We ALL must be informed, aware, and diligent that we are feeding our beloved pets FOOD, and not anything that isn't in that category. If you can't pronounce it, not sure what an ingredient is, chances are pretty good that it won't benefit your animal! And please, Keep America working, try to purchase home grown, made in the US stuff because the survival as a nation depends on OUR support!!!!!!!!
 
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